Progressives roar to life in MA: Blogs bloom with enthusiasm

Our traffic has jumped 26 percent in the last month from 19,636 unique visitors a week to 24,669 last week. Our esteemed interlocutors at Red Mass Group have been deluged by reality-based -- i.e. progressive -- commentary in the past week, to the point where their current recommended user posts are: "The Memo of the Day," "SMOKING GUN : CHARLIE BAKER KNEW IN 1998 THE BIG DIG SPENDING PLAN WAS A SHAM," and "Cape Cod Times does not trust Jeff Perry."

The #magov and #mapoli Twitter feeds, once the unchallenged home of the so-called BakerBots (multiple fake accounts allegedly created by Baker sympathizers to spam the system), frequently boast pro-Deval one-liners, links, jokes, and badinage, (not to mention a steady stream of news stories about Perry's teen strip search issues, Baker's Big Dig memo, and so on).

Charlie Baker's Facebook page, similarly once the exclusive preserve of unctuous "He's just so tall" verbiage, alternating with ugly vituperation, is now studded with rejoinders and tweaks from plucky digital campaigners ("Well where the hell was Baker at in my community. He havent touched it. Thats why he went to fishing in New Bedford." and "Why would anyone vote for Baker? Baker and the GOP hid the true cost of the Big Dig project during the 16 years they ruled Beacon Hill before Patrick took office in 2007, pushed higher costs into the future and starved other road and bridge projects.") Governor Patrick's Facebook page brims with positives ("Good debate by you Mr. Gov. you where calm, respectiful and prepared.....We enjoyed it." and "Governor Deval Patrick the only person in the debate table who actually came to Lawrence to reach ALL the PEOPLE!!! Gov. DEVAL PATRICK! HELPING LAWRENCE & listening to our concerns to help us! That is Governor Patrick on Urban Issues!" are at the top of the pile right now), and witty smack downs for the vandals: "You're a poet, and you know it!!!!!"

Momentum can be a powerful thing in politics, and Perry's "he had to hear me screaming and crying" problems, combined with Baker's decision to commit himself as irrevocably to Perry as a man going over Niagara Falls to his barrel, have lit a firestorm under the state's progressive base. With an increasingly impressive gubernatorial campaign from Team Patrick, who set the tone for the party in the state, and vigorous efforts at the level of the various Congressional campaigns, the effect is encouraging.

Hope for the best, and work for it. Contribute or volunteer for GOTV using the boxes at upper left.