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What is Seth Moulton's Senate campaign actually about — besides age?
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It's Thursday. And you can still get tickets to see CNN's Jake Tapper at WBUR's CitySpace tonight. Come listen to him talk about his new book, ask him questions about covering the second Trump administration or just heckle him about his Philadelphia Eagles fandom. (Just kidding — don't do that last thing.)
To the news:
Not just a number: Rep. Seth Moulton has been arguing for a new generation of Democratic leaders even since he was elected to Congress over a decade ago. It was a point he again hammered in announcing his Senate primary campaign yesterday against incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, a 79-year-old fellow Democrat. "Every political consultant will tell me not to say this, but Senator Markey is too old," he told WBUR's Anthony Brooks. But according to Moulton, age isn't the only issue. In their interview, Anthony pressed Moulton on what actual different policies and approaches he would bring to the table as Massachusetts' junior senator. Here are the takeaways:
- Moulton says he wouldn't vote for Sen. Chuck Schumer as the party's leader in the Senate (joining a growing list of Democrats running for Senate across the country who have taken similar positions). "I believe our party needs new energy and change," said the 46-year-old Salem congressman.
- Moulton said there's "no question" he and Markey agree on most policy issues. When asked where the actual daylight is between them on policy, Moulton pointed to a bill he proposed last year to pour $205 billion into American high-speed rail, an amount that dwarfs previous national rail investments. "I don't know if [Markey] would sponsor my high-speed rail bill or not," Moulton said. "Some people think it's too ambitious. I don't think it's too ambitious to have what the rest of the world has. We should have the freedom to travel at 200 mph. You should be able to get from downtown Springfield to downtown Boston in 40 minutes. We don't even have plans like that on the table today." (Coincidentally or not, Markey introduced a bill just this past summer to invest a very similar amount into high-speed rail.)
- Age limits for members of Congress? Moulton thinks that should be on the table as well. He noted that Massachusetts has a mandatory retirement age of 70 for judges. "Let's have a conversation about what exactly that age limit should be, and whatever we conclude, I will fight to pass it into law and hold myself to it regardless," Moulton said. (Read more highlights from the interview here.)
In other news:
Back to the drawing board: Massachusetts officials plan to restart the entire process for finding a new company to upgrade and run 18 of the state's highway rest stops, from the Berkshires to the Cape. MassDOT announced the decision yesterday after the contract's original winner, Applegreen, pulled out of negotiations last month amid a messy PR and legal fight with the runner-up for the project, Waltham-based Global Partners. However, the decision to rebid the project means the state isn't automatically giving it to Global Partners. Massachusetts Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said they want to "make this a really competitive process" and "get as many people in as we possibly can bidding" to get "the best value for everybody."
- How long will that take? Unclear. Gulliver said he should have more specifics on the timeline by the MassDOT board's next meeting in December.
- In the meantime: The new rest stop operator was originally supposed to take over in January, since many of the leases expire at the end of the year. Gulliver says MassDOT is now working to extend leases with current service plaza vendors, such as McDonald's and Gulf fuels, to ensure there are no disruptions.
FYI: A number of airports across the country are refusing to play a video of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats for the government shutdown because they say it violates the Hatch Act, a federal ethics law against using taxpayer money for political purposes. In Massachusetts, officials say the video isn't playing at Boston's Logan Airport or Worcester Regional Airport — not because they're refusing but because they simply haven't been asked. "Besides, there are no video screens at our TSA checkpoints," Massport spokesperson Jennifer Mehigan said.
P.S.— Did you know you (or your company) can rent out CitySpace for your holiday party, corporate retreat, speaker series and more? The state-of-the-art venue on Boston's Comm. Ave. can be customized for gatherings of 25 to 275 in partnership with our best-in-class event experts. Visit wbur.org/rentals to learn more.
