"AP Source: Deval Patrick Tells Allies He Plans 2020 Bid." Official Announcement Before Fri.

[appalachiablue]

- Seattle Times, Nov. 13, 2019. WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is telling allies that he will join the 2020 presidential race, according to two people familiar with his plans. An official announcement is expected before Friday, the filing deadline for the New Hampshire primary.

His move injects a new layer of uncertainty into the contest less than three months before the first votes. Patrick, a popular two-term Democratic governor with a moderate bearing and close ties to former President Barack Obama, is starting late but with a compelling life story and political resume.

The two people with knowledge of Patrick’s plans spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. In addition to Patrick, Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City has taken steps toward launching a last-minute presidential campaign, filing candidate papers in Alabama and Arkansas.

The moves reflect uncertainty about the direction of the Democratic contest. Joe Biden entered the race as the front-runner and maintains significant support from black voters, whose backing is critical in a Democratic primary.

More, https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/ap-source-deval-patrick-tells-allies-he-plans-2020-bid/



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deval_Patrick

- The Guardian, "Former Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick to Join Democratic 2020 Race," Patrick believes he can appeal to both moderates and liberals. Move reflects centrist fears over lackluster Biden campaign. Nov. 13, 2019.

The former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick has told Democratic party leaders and confidants that he will run for president and join an already crowded field, according to media reports. It is thought that Patrick will kick off his campaign on Thursday with a video, and then make an appearance in New Hampshire, so he can file paperwork to get on the state’s vital early primary ballot, reported CNN.

Patrick’s last-minute entry into the race marks yet another change in the Democratic contest where nearly two dozen hopefuls have been competing for nearly a year, reported the New York Times. Nor is he likely to be the only late entrant as fears grow among centrist Democrats about the lackluster campaign of former vice-president Joe Biden and the stronger campaigns of the progressive senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. The former New York mayor and billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg recently submitted paperwork for Alabama’s Democratic primary.

Patrick, who in late 2018 decided not to run, has already told Biden about his interest in the contest, according to the New York Times. Patrick is only the second elected black governor in US history and has told confidants that he would conduct a campaign similar to that of Barack Obama in 2008 – emphasizing unity. He has reportedly told some key Democrats that none of the other contenders have gathered wind, leaving space for a candidate who can appeal to liberals and moderates alike...

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/13/deval-patrick-2020-democrats-former-massachusetts-governor

[BlueTsunami2018]

1. Pointless. We should be shedding candidates, not adding them.

What’s the game here? He’s not going to win. He’s not going to come close.

[ritapria]

3. I agree with you

Why is he running ? I guess he' ll hurt Warren in MA ...Beyond that, he will have no impact on the race at all ….

[appalachiablue]

4. "Centrist fears'? changes & uncertainly look bizarre. What a change from 2016

Flexibility is a virtue!

[Uncle Joe]

20. They want a brokered convention. n/t

[Me.]

2. Oh PLease, Enough Already

Most people don't even know who he is

[maxsolomon]

19. I know he's not in his 70s - I looked it up. 63.

I don't know if he's Charismatic.

Unfortunately, the current field lacks that quality, and a successful Democratic Presidential candidate needs it, in spades.

[StarfishSaver]

21. He is very charismatic

[maxsolomon]

22. well, then welcome to the big tent, Deval

i'm all ears.

[StarfishSaver]

23. He actually had a riff in stump speech that Obama borrowed from HIM

And Obama took a lot of heat (including from Hillary Clinton's campaign) for "plagiarism" until Patrick made clear that he himself had suggested that Obama use those lines.

In 2006 Patrick gave a speech quoting famous phrases: "'We have nothing to fear, but fear itself,' … just words. 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.' Just words. … 'I have a dream' … just words,'" he said, switching effortlessly from FDR to JFK to MLK.

On Saturday in Wisconsin, Obama said, "Don't tell me words don't matter. … 'I have a dream.' Just words. 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' Just words. 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself.' Just words. Just speeches."
Obama has conceded that he should have credited Patrick. "I was on the stump. He [Deval] suggested we use these lines. I thought they were good lines. I'm sure I should have. Didn't this time."

In 1988 Sen. Joseph Biden was driven out of the Democratic nomination race after he used parts of a speech from British Labor party leader Neil Kinnock, without crediting him.

Patrick said, "This isn't that," referring to what occurred with Biden. "He could have cited me in Wisconsin and everyone would have said 'who is that?'… Nobody's policies end up on the side of monuments or great buildings in Washington. I think it's a great power."
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Vote2008/story?id=4310143&page=1

Here's the pertinent part of Patrick's "Just Words" speech:

At a candidates forum last week, the moderator asked each of us to say something nice about the other candidates. Kerry Healey rather grudgingly said, Well, he can give a good speech. She would know this not because she has ever attended a speech of mine but because she has them filmed by this fine fellow here. But her dismissive point, and I hear it from her staff, is that all I have to offer is words. Just words.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

Just words.

We have nothing to fear but fear itself.

Just words. Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. Just words.

I have a dream.

Just words.

Let me say it before you do: I am no Dr. King, no President Kennedy, no FDR, no Thomas Jefferson. But I do know that the right words, spoken from the heart with conviction, with a vision of a better place and a faith in the unseen, are a call to action.

[Green Line]

35. I don't see that at all

I live in Mass, I wasn't at all impressed.

[Me.]

25. I Have No Idea What HIs Age Has To Do With It

and he doesn't appear to me to have the quotient of charisma he would need especially as he doesn't have a meaningful constituency or name recognition

[maxsolomon]

38. I know DU refuses to consider the age of a candidate, but I don't.

I'll own my Ageism. I thought HRC was too old, and I know DJT is too old.

Obama had no meaningful constituency or name recognition when he gave that convention speech in 2004, but I immediately recognized that he had the charisma needed to win the Presidency.

[Me.]

39. I Watched Nancy P.'s Presser This Morning

and there is nothing in what she does that would be disqualified by age nor HRC.

[maxsolomon]

40. Nope, but she's not running for president at 79, either.

It's a different animal entirely than House Rep.

[Me.]

41. You Have Your Conceit About This, I Have Mine

to each his own

[maxsolomon]

42. I'm not the only one with that "conceit", on DU, or in the Dem base.

Do you have a cut off?

Jimmy Carter can still run for another term. If you think he's too old or frail, then we share that conceit. Just not the same line in the sand.

[BannonsLiver]

5. Nothing personal but I won't allow any new candidates to enter my own calculations

Bloomy, Deval, anyone else, has missed my deadline.

[Tiggeroshii]

6. This will be interesting!

He definitely shares the Obama charisma, and could have a real shot at at least taking a lot of support from the moderates.

[evertonfc]

7. so, here's what's up

Some very influential political operatives have convinced him to run. Probably connected to Obama circle. Obama was big on Deval early but Deval declined and isn't really an attention seeking guy. There has to be some worry within some circles about our current candidates. Obama is not going to endorse Warren or Sanders and probably isn't thrilled about Biden per se. Deval was talked into this

[appalachiablue]

9. Plausible analysis. Latecomers look contrived to those following it. 'Centrist

fears' are driving stuff lately..The field is becoming quite a stew.

[ritapria]

12. You are right

Many people close to Obama were prepared to get behind him last year …..I would guess they don't give a fig what he is doing at this late date ….No one outside his family could care less what he is doing now .. It's a free country....If he wants to waste his time, that is his perogative

[Thekaspervote]

13. Yes, Obama and Patrick were friends and political allies, but to say Obama isn't happy about Biden

That’s just an opinion flying around.

If you are referring to Obama telling Biden he didn’t have to do this one, that was in regard to the 2016 election and two, that entire story was an effort to smack Biden down early on.

[evertonfc]

15. I didn't say that

Let me just say Biden isn't Obama's first choice. That's better. That's public knowledge . I assure you, Deval is being pushed by that circle. Maybe not Obama directly.

[Thekaspervote]

16. Fair enough

[boomer_wv]

18. Public knowledge?

Defend that statement.

[Celerity]

28. probably referring to these articles (or others like them)

Obama Repeatedly Tried to Get Biden Not to Run for President

The former president is reportedly worried Biden will "embarrass himself."

https://www.gq.com/story/obama-to-biden-dont-run#



Obama and Biden’s Relationship Looks Rosy. It Wasn’t Always That Simple.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/16/us/politics/biden-obama-history.html

[boomer_wv]

33. So....

Nothing but supposition?

[Celerity]

36. I cannot read the poster's mind, sorry. nt

[oasis]

30. "public knowledge". I guess that's that. Thanks.

[hedda_foil]

26. What you said.. and the promise of big campaign donations rolling in from big Dem bundlers

[zentrum]

8. Wants attention for the VP position.

But in an annoying way.

[oldsoftie]

11. Ha! But i do like him as a VP

[msongs]

10. oh look the front runners attacking the new kid in town lol. nt

[TheCowsCameHome]

14. Forget it.

He's going nowhere.

[Thekaspervote]

17. This from those that know him best

Last edited Wed Nov 13, 2019, 09:54 PM - Edit history (1)

bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/11/… His record in corporate America has come under close scrutiny since he left office; the conclusions that have been reached won’t play well in this electorate. I just don’t see how his history with Ameriquest & Bain Capital gets spun into a net positive.

[VarryOn]

31. I cant speak to whether those two companies are good or bad, but...

A politician with at least some experience in the private sector is a good thing.

[Aaron Pereira]

24. I've read President Obama thinks he's cut out for the job.

A little late but why not hear what he has to say?

[SKKY]

27. Just what we need. Another candidate to NOT get excited about.

[evertonfc]

29. according to the Atlantic

"Valerie Jarrett, Obama’s longtime confidante and senior White House adviser; David Simas, Obama’s former White House political director and the current CEO of the Obama Foundation, who previously worked as deputy chief of staff to Patrick when he was governor of Massachusetts; and David Axelrod, the former Obama political strategist—spent time last year trying to encourage Patrick to declare his candidacy for 2020. Two years ago, before the Democratic field began to coalesce, the ex-president himself urged Patrick to run, Obama aides told me at the time."

[PubliusEnigma]

32. Nope.

[KewlKat]

34. I know nothing about him, so I googled and found this speech he gave.

Gov. Deval Patrick: This Is 'Election of a Lifetime'

Sep 4, 2012

[MustLoveBeagles]

37. Kind of late in the game to be doing this

Still I'll try to keep an open mind.