Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker bestowed a small gift upon Democrats with his "sweetheart" remark to a Boston reporter, writes UMass Boston political science professor Maurice Cunningham, over on the Mass. Politics Profs blog:
Verbal blunders like Baker’s get the media and insider universe palpitated but rarely make a difference in the outcome of a political campaign.
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We may not hear the end of the sweetheart saga, but that is because it fits into the larger decision of the Democrats to associate Baker with the perception of the Republican brand as anti-women – a view that harmed Scott Brown in his failed re-election effort against Elizabeth Warren and is a key part of the Democrats’ 2014 campaign plan.
