Gomez v Markey: the Policy Wonk and the Neophyte

A newspaper chronicle of the campaign. (Some links require Boston Globe subscription)

Are you paying attention just yet to the Markey-Gomez race?

The vote is up next Tuesday, and turnup is predicted to be quite low. In such an environment, conventional political science thinking posits that voters will be disproportionately highly partizan but also highly informed.

What do we know about the two candidates?

Ed Markey is a veteran Democrat congressman who at the setout of his campaign was touting his work on telecom policy and legislation. That was, however, before the Edward Snowden NSA leaks became front page news. Since then, Markey has been quiet on the topic of telecom legislation.

Both candidates are interviewing with voters for a position in the Senate. From there, they will oversee the people in charge of the nation's secrets, through hearings - some public, others secret.

Yet both candidates have been remarkably quiet on the NSA surveillance scandal.

The NSA surveillance - missing in action during the campaign

In normal times, the Snowden saga would have been a boon to an insurgent candidate. But, in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings, the Republicans miscalculated by choosing in Gomez a candidate touting at every corner his sterling national security credentials.

Gabriel Gomez is a former SEAL associated with the producers of the Summer of 2012 anti-Obama documentary "Dishonorable Disclosures". On the campaign trail, Gomez was seen touring the Marathon bombing site with former New York City Mayor Rudi Giuliani.

But after the Snowden leaks on NSA surveillance became public, the polls in the Massachusetts senate race narrowed to about 7 points.

Another candidate than Gomez might have taken advantage of that. Another candidate than Markey would perhaps not have invited President Obama to drop by and tour with him.

But the public in Massachusetts has not fully tuned in to the Snowden scandal just yet.

Luckily, however, this is just a special election for just 1 1/2 years in the Senate. By the time the winner has to run again for office, the NSA wiretapping might just be full and center in the voters' attention.

Gomez woes with personal taxes, business experience

Gomez, on his side, caught flack in a Globe expose when he took a $281,500 historical-preservation federal tax deduction on his Cohasset house - after the historic commission in his town put his house on the historic list. This, while not illegal, is one of what the IRS calls a "Dirty Dozen tax scams."

Gomez, at the initial request of the journalists, in fact released taxes for years following his dodgy (but legal) tax deduction. It is unclear actually how the Globe found out about this deduction - presumably from an appraiser that Gomez was working with, and who had appraised the easement a lot lower than Gomez expected. When Gomez did not pay for the appraisal, and switched to a more compliant appraiser - the first appraiser sued him in small claims court, and during the campaign spoke to the Boston Globe.

And while Gomez touts his experience as a businessman who made millions of dollars in the private equity sector, it emerged that during his 13 year business career he was seldom the business deal maker.

Campaign strategy

On the campaign trail, both candidates are appealing to their base. But while being a Democrat is an asset to Markey in blue state Massachusetts, for Gomez having "R" next to his name is almost an unsurmountable handicap. 

Markey has brought on the campaign trail a string of national figures to stand by him and energize his campaign: Michelle Obama, followed by Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton. Yet the candidate caught slack for not showing up in person often enough to speak with voters.

Gomez in the meanwhile was barn storming the state, wearing his trademark SEAL jacket, and at least in the second part of his campaign bringing no national Republican figures along to his campaign events. But Scott Brown, more popular than other national Republican figures in the state, was supposed to join Gomez on the campaign trail in the last few days.

On the issues (other than NSA surveillance)

The candidates sparred in three indecisive debates, on June 6, June 11 and  June 18, and at a June 17 forum. Yet, on the issues, voters have learned little remarkable about Markey and Gomez. They differ predictably on US Economy remedies and on Foreign Policy.

Markey wants increased taxes on the wealthy - Gomez opposes them.

Gomez opposes increasing the federal debt limit "unless it were accompanied by spending cuts and reforms that put us on a path to long-term financial stability."

Markey would increase the debt limit without preconditins, rather than "risk economic collapse for political points by voting against raising the debt limit."

Both want a lower corporate tax rate.

And Markey supports more targeted federal investments in the clean energy sector, in the Massachusetts defense sector and for Massachusetts hospitals.

On foreign policy, Markey has a more activist view, spearheading efforts to address "poverty, injustice, hunger, disease, climate change". Gomez has a more targeted, narrow view of the reach of US foreign policy.

The vote on Tuesday

So who are the candidates, really? Ed Markey is a policy wonk whose record is sterling Democrat, who is effective at writing legislation, but appears to be relying too much on national figures on the campaign trail to burnish his resume.

Gomez, while adept on the campaign trail, does not have a fully persuasive record as businessman, has been thrust to the spotlight by a dodgy (but legal) federal income tax return practice, and otherwise has run of the mill Republican positions.

The polls are open Tuesday June 25th, 2013.