This is just stupid. A super PAC created by California billionaire Tom Steyer, NextGen PAC, is
talking about launching a campaign against Republican Gabriel Gomez in the Massachusetts Senate race with Ed Markey. Markey doesn't want anything to do with it and "has called on Steyer to stay out of the race." That's because Markey has signed a pledge (that Gomez has not signed) to limit outside spending in his campaign—the "People's Pledge."
With that established, enter the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which sent out a press release whining that Markey "is the first to violate the 'People’s Pledge.'" You know, the pledge that isn't in effect because Gomez hasn't signed it. Which Markey couldn't technically violate because it isn't in effect, and because he's asked Steyer to stay out of it, and because it hasn't actually happened anyway because Steyer hasn't spent any money yet.
Cue Boston Magazine's David Bernstein:
[E]ven if we granted NRSC all of this, and agreed that "violate the People's Pledge" means "have an outside group announce plans to spend money on your behalf in what would be a violation of the People's Pledge if the candidates had actually entered into such an agreement," it would still be a lie to say that Ed Markey is the first to violate the pledge.
That’s because Gomez has already violated it.
As Paul McMorrow writes over at CommonWealth, the Massachusetts Republican Party—an outside group under the People's Pledge—has spent more than $300,000 on ads currently running; you’ll notice they disclose at the end that they are paid for by the MassGOP.
Unbelievable. Except that it isn't, because it's the NRSC and the Gomez campaign, which seems incapable of coming up with any thing in this campaign other than "Ed Markey is picking on me!" And all of the instances in which Ed Markey is being a big ol' meanie are actually complete lies!
Boy, the Republicans sure got themselves a winner this time around.
Please contribute $3 to Ed Markey.