MA-1: Morse accused of inappropriate sexual relations with college students

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Here’s a thought:  Maybe instead of playing the boy who cried homophobia, you guys should stop making excuses for folks like Jon Hoadley and Alex Morse and focus on electing progressives who aren’t despicable scumbags.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

https://twitter.com/VictoryFund/status/1292873563624570883

“Alex has been running for Congress for more than a year and this letter was released one week before the first debate and three weeks before the primary. It is clear it was timed with the political calendar and without enough time for an independent investigation to be completed. That is a disservice to voters who want a progressive member of Congress but now only have time to make a decision based on vague and anonymous accusations.

“Alex is taking responsibility for actions that made students uncomfortable and we support the independent investigation by UMass, despite no complaints having ever been made to the university. But it is critical the media and others avoid reinforcing tired homophobic tropes or sensationalizing this story because of Alex’s sexual orientation. Alex has been open about the fact that he has had consensual relationships with other men, including students enrolled at local universities that he has met using dating apps, and there are no allegations of non-consent or of anyone underage. The media and voters should review the allegations and determine whether a straight candidate would be held to the same scrutiny and standards.”

tl;dr: The LGBTQ Victory Fund is standing by Morse and explicitly accuse the MACDs of making the accusations for political reasons. They also implicitly criticize people using homophobic tropes.

In that case, shame on them!

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Ladies and gentlemen, this is why the MACDs released their statement when they did.

Oh give me a f***ing break  If it was a political hit job deploying false allegations then that’d be one thing, but there is no evidence of that.  If Morse did what he’s accused of then that’s disqualifying, period.  And btw, UMass found the allegations serious and credible enough that they are not rehiring Morse (not should they).

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Anyway, hopefully Neal wins the primary, but takes the hint and doesn’t run again in 2022.  That way, a solid progressive who isn’t a creep can represent the next decade’s version of this seat in two years.  There’s no reason not to elect a Berniecrat here, provided they’re sane and not a bigot or a grifter (which is a pretty low bar that most Berniecrats easily clear despite the obnoxious vocal minority).

Incidentally, I do get the sense that a good number of Berniecrats learned from 2020 that their movement needs to do a better job of not making actual enemies out of Democrats they disagree with and recognizing the difference between criticizing a candidate and behaving in ways that can easily be taken as a deeply personal attack on anyone who supports said candidate.  Then again, Biden has also been infinitely better than Hillary (and for that matter, much better than Obama was as President) about not being a condescending a**hole to Berniecrats.*  

The whole “don’t turn ideological disagreements among allies into deeply personal scorched earth fight to the death/keep your eyes on the prize” thing cuts both ways.  Hillary never understood that, but Biden clearly does which is a pleasant surprise.  But I digress...

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Sounding more and more like a hit
https://twitter.com/ryangrim/status/1293378626348552194

Came here to post this. While everyone might be apprehensive of the source, everything checks out.

At the very least, it shows that UMASSCD leadership actively knew about the Morse allegations for 9 months, and that Ennis worked to suppress his campaign in order to push his own agenda.

Morse's defense also matches up with my research of CD events in the area. The last UMass event he attended was in 2016 - before Ennis (or most of UMASSCD's leadership) attended college.

I thought it was woke zoomery gone too far at first, but Jesus Christ it's just as bad as the devil on my shoulder was telling me.

I'll wait for a credible source, no offense

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Good to see the vocal Centrists quieting down awfully quick by simply saying "Intercept bad" when the narrative doesn't suit them anymore.

I’m not sure “only centrists think teachers sleeping with students is a bad thing” is a hill you guys want to die on...

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

The Intercept now has a story saying that the College Democrats were coached by the MA Democratic Party chair, executive director and Jim Roosevelt.

https://theintercept.com/2020/08/14/alex-morse-richie-neal-state-party/

I’ll wait for a credible source or some tangible evidence

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

The Intercept now has a story saying that the College Democrats were coached by the MA Democratic Party chair, executive director and Jim Roosevelt.

https://theintercept.com/2020/08/14/alex-morse-richie-neal-state-party/

I’ll wait for a credible source or some tangible evidence

Other outlets have had all week to get in on this but they've ignored it. Disliking Glenn Greenwald is one thing, ignoring legitimate reporting from a credible source is another.

The Intercept has deliberately reported blatantly false stories before.  I’ve seen other outlets verify their reporting re: it being a hit job and if a credible source reports this too then I’ll be the first to acknowledge it. 

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

https://twitter.com/ryangrim/status/1295441863181295623?s=21


Full poll: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tCdGPejbbxmgWQo4ZBnT7Wf4slflgU2r/view

Trailing in your own internal by 5% isn’t exactly something to brag about

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Repeat after me:

The

Intercept

Is

Not

A

Credible

Source

Yes because the Intercept is the only one reporting that has reported this.

They’re the only ones reporting MA Democratic Party involvement, but what happened was clearly a hit job either way, although the idea that this was even remotely homophobic (his being gay was irrelevant) - as well as the argument that Morse didn’t do anything wrong (IIRC, he’s admitted to having had sex with students  at the university where he taught) - is pretty absurd.  Morse’s conduct was disqualifying, but the sexual harassment allegations by the Amherst College Dems were false, as well as a truly despicable hit job.  Both can be true at the same time.  

If Neal had any knowledge or involvement then he is unfit for public office, but so far no credible evidence has emerged suggesting that was the case (and no, a sleezy fringe website with a history of deliberately publishing false stories - including a false rape allegation - and spreading propaganda for one of America’s main adversaries basically saying “We can’t prove the MA Democratic Party was involved, but just take our word for it w/o question” is not credible evidence).

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Wasserman calls it for Neal.

Glorious news

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Congratulations to Andrew Abramson and Timothy Ennis on their new employment in the office of Congressman Neal!

There is no evidence whatsoever that Neal or his campaign had anything to do with that hit-job. 

Wasserman calls it for Neal.

Glorious news

Why? Lloyd Doggett would have been a far better Ways and Means chair. Neal is far worse than even the average moderate Democrat when it comes to being compromised by corporate influence.

He's a guilty until proven innocent type.

No, I can only speak for myself, but the issue for me is that while the allegations by that College Dems group were clearly a disgusting hit-job, IIRC Morse himself still admitted to having had sex with students (not his own, but still ones attending the university that he taught at).  That’s unacceptable, period.  You may disagree, but for me this is a deal-breaker.  Plus, it seems pretty clear from the margin that Morse was gonna lose either way.  Richard Neal was never a great target. 

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

It’s amazing. It truly is.

Ed Markey:

— Voted for NAFTA
— Voted for the 1994 crime bill
— Voted for the Iraq War
— Didn’t support busing back in the day
— Is an old career politician in office for about 50 years

You know, it's funny; I thought progressives were the ones perpetuating cancel culture by demanding ideological purity from every candidate. But you'd have us as compromising hypocrites.

Surely Markey's victory proves that if you make concessions to the left, you'll win a substantial amount of their support, even if you have made mistakes in the past. Come to think of it, the fact that Biden's cleaning up with progressives in polls probably proves that too - but I understand the narrative that "progressives are immature!!!111" needs to be maintained as an insurance scapegoat in case your guy loses.

I don't particularly mind you guys demonising the left - we're used to it by now - but at least have a consistent caricature.

Not gonna lie, you actually make a really good point

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

It’s amazing. It truly is.

Ed Markey:

— Voted for NAFTA
— Voted for the 1994 crime bill
— Voted for the Iraq War
— Didn’t support busing back in the day
— Is an old career politician in office for about 50 years

You know, it's funny; I thought progressives were the ones perpetuating cancel culture by demanding ideological purity from every candidate. But you'd have us as compromising hypocrites.

Surely Markey's victory proves that if you make concessions to the left, you'll win a substantial amount of their support, even if you have made mistakes in the past. Come to think of it, the fact that Biden's cleaning up with progressives in polls probably proves that too - but I understand the narrative that "progressives are immature!!!111" needs to be maintained as an insurance scapegoat in case your guy loses.

I don't particularly mind you guys demonising the left - we're used to it by now - but at least have a consistent caricature.

Not gonna lie, you actually make a really good point

Sorry for the double quote, but no one would see this post otherwise

I can only speak for myself, but I also think you can turn that around too.  If Atlas is anything to go by, non-Berniecrat supporters were happy to back folks like Ritchie Torres (who got most of the establishment support in his primary), Mondaire Jones, Jesse Mermell*, Marie Newman, etc. 

Kori Bush winning was met with a resounding “meh, Clay got what he deserved.”  No one in the national establishment made a serious effort to help Henry Cueller and most of the Biden supporters on Atlas were rooting for Cisneros.  And there were clearly plenty of Biden/Markey/ and Bernie/Kennedy voters.  Even Ilhan Omar was - and still is tbh - the DFL establishment candidate when she first ran for Congress.

If you look at the race for Susan Davis’ open house seat, the decidedly anti-Squad Jewish political establishment has been actively supporting a Berniecrat (I keep getting fundraising e-mails about this race and I live in Ohio ) who is running against a Jewish establishment hack by the name of Sara Jacobs.  Why?  B/c Jacobs’ opponent reached out in good-faith instead and there turned out to be plenty of common ground on non-Israel issues.

All of which is to say that there is plenty of evidence both from Atlas anecdotes and RL voting behavior/political activities that both the establishment and Berniecrat wings are much more willing to compromise with each other in good-faith than either is willing to give the other credit for. 

*Mermell was a Ritchie Torres/Ayanna Pressley-style progressive rather than an Ilhan Omar/Rashida Tlaib type.