Baking Baker

I love this picture by Valley photographer Keith Sikes of Massachusetts Governor Charlie confidently arriving at The Fort in downtown Springfield.

The Gov has good reason to be confident, having won about 70% of the vote at last week's GOP convention in Worcester. However, complications remain. Despite Baker's lopsided convention win, religious conservative and Springfield resident Dr. Scott Lively also got enough votes to get on the ballot, meaning Baker has to first win the September primary. The conventional wisdom is that he will win the primary easily, but that doesn't mean that Lively isn't a factor. Over a million Massachusetts residents voted for Donald Trump in 2016, and Baker needs every one of them to win. Yet, Baker has tried to distance himself from Trump, which also has the effect of alienating the Trump supporters in his base.

Many see Lively's nearly 30% convention vote as more of an indicator of Republican displeasure over Baker's center-left governing style than an endorsement of Lively's fundamentalist religious conservatism. In other words, most of Lively's support came in the form of protest voters wanting to send Baker the message that he needs to move more to the right. If enough protest voters desert Baker in the primary, Lively may do well enough to embarrass Baker despite the Governor ultimately winning. Balancing the need to hold onto his Republican base in the primary, while still reaching out to the non-Republicans he will need in November, will be a real challenge.

Meanwhile, up in Hamp, Hillary remains completely unhinged.

Is Scott Pruit entering the cut throat Northampton real estate market?

The Mayor was passing out trees for Arbor Day.

As the farmers were hawking their crops.

Bertucci's in Amherst has bit the dust. I'm not surprised, although the food was good, their prices were high and the portions small.

This painting of a sheep in the Black Sheep is decidedly not black.

The world on an Amherst sidewalk.

This video of the late Doyle the Twig Painter training for an ersatz boxing match with Keith Walmer is a hoot.