Early in the Tea Party movement days, I wrote the following:

There weren't a whole lot of big-money institutional Republican types disappointed by Sarah Palin's announcement that she will not seek the Presidency in 2012. But there were reportedly quite a few of those folks trying to lure Chris Christie into the race.

What I haven't seen much of is the suggestion that this may have a little something to do with the GOP's problem on gay rights.

John "JC Pennies" Connolly was the top fundraiser of the at-large Boston City Council field, leaving him with nearly a quarter-million on hand heading into the final 5+ weeks of the campaign. But young Felix G. Arroyo continues to build up a serious stake. Ayanna Pressley dropped to fifth in cash-on-hand, after spending some dough on signs, pamphlets, and other snazzy material.

They're calling it "The Most Important Debate Of Our Lifetime"; "Scary Showdown In Salem"; and "Marginally Less Ridiculous Than The GOP Debates."

Clearly, "they" (me and whoever's near my desk) need some assistance. That's where you come in!

On Friday, October 28, 2011, Presidential candidates Aleister Crowley* and Vermin Supreme will debate in Salem, Massachusetts, moderated by legendary journalist David S.

I just saw something -- a small something, a mere $100 line-item -- that should have Boston City Councilor Bill Linehan a little nervous.

It's a contribution, reported yesterday by Linehan challenger Suzanne Lee, from Shanti Fry of Cambridge. It's Fry's first donation to Lee, and comes just days after Lee finished first in the District 2 preliminary election.

As you probably know, there's an awful lot of enthusiasm, pro and con, over a video snippet in which Elizabeth Warren explains why financially successful people pay taxes. What's so striking to me about the reaction is how disproportionate it seems to what Warren said, which seems like a rather straightforward and uncontroversial claim.

Suzanne Lee didn't just make it to the November final, she finished first in yesterday's District 2 preliminary, 150 votes ahead of incumbent Bill Linehan. This defied my erroneous Ask Me Anything Day prediction of a Linehan-Ferrara finish, but maybe it was all because I swayed the voters with last week's blog post about her.

You may have heard that Bristol Palin got into a little barroom skirmish the other day, in which she lashed out (including a homophobic comment) at an obnoxious heckler. Different outlets handled the story differently, but I only noticed one -- conservative megasite Townhall.com -- that was too prudish to spell out the word "whore."

"Elias Nugator" asks:

Does Charlie Baker really want another crack at the corner office in 2014? Or is some other republican out in the weeds thinking about the Governor's race?

"Chris Matthews" asks:

If Brown loses do you see him running for governor in 2014?

And via Twitter, "Fox Van Allen" asks:

Take on the GOP next -- Mary Z.

"Jim C" asks:

what did you have to say (on BNN) last night about the city election in Boston this year?

"Kevin B. Gilnack" asks:

Do who you expect to make it through the D2 and D3 -- and heck, D7 -- preliminary elections next Tuesday?

I was indeed on BNN last night, yapping for a full half hour with the great Seth McCoy about the upcoming city elections, particularly the three district preliminaries.

"John O'Neill" asks:

Who do you think will be the Democratic Nominee for Governor in 2014?

Lil' Timmy Murray. I think he might be beaten for the nomination, but I don't yet see the person who could do it.

And yes, I realize that if I keep calling him that, one of these days I'm going to drive into Worcester and never return. Can't help myself.

"Anonymous" asks via stealthy, identity-masking email:

What's your take on the at-large race? Clearly, Connolly has the money and Arroyo appears to be strong in that department as well. Flaherty is finally in full campaign mode...who tops the ticket? Who's the one left out? And do you think topping the ticket is really that important for Connolly or any of the other mayoral hopefuls?

"Johnnie Mox" asks:

Even though the Senate President announeced she was keepng her firm grip on the Senate Presidency for a few years, things always change. The body has had great turnover in the last 6 years. Who do you see emerging as candidates as the next Senate President?

It's a tough one, huh? I wrote earlier this year that Therese Murray's leadership/committee assignments seemed to send a signal that she's in charge, and she's staying for a while (ditto with DeLeo on the house side), but you're right, things always change.

"Michael Graham," who may or may not be a slightly goofy-looking conservative radio talk-show host in Boston (congrats on the drive-time slot, BTW), sends the following Ask Me Anything Day question via email -- perhaps for fear of being caught on the Boston Phoenix web site:

With the Energy Oversight Committee's hearings on Solyndra happening literally as I type, is anyone in the MA media going to ask committee member Ed Markey about his vote against even issuing a subpoena? Or about his public claims that the DOE/WH were "cooperating fully" back in July, before we saw the emails warning of Solyndra disaster?

"David" asks:

There's now a debate scheduled on 10/4 for the Democratic Senate candidates. As with most primaries, it seems like the candidates agree on most of the issues. What do you expect will be the major topics? Are there any statewide issues that we should be looking for them to talk about?

I agree, there are unlikely to be many significant disagreements on the issues -- this early, it's more of a forum for candidates to express their "story" and demonstrate their ability to express liberal ideals in a way that resonates with the activist base.