John Kerry

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 CARTOONING THE ELECTION

Morning voter turnout in Massachusetts may have increased by more than 25 percent compared to the past three election cycles, John Kerry's Senate campaign just told PolitickerMA.com.

The Kerry camp uses a turnout model to measure where the vote total should be using an average of results from the last three elections.

Between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., the Kerry camp found that voter turnout Tuesday was up 30 percent compared to the average level it was at 10 a.m. in 2002, 2004 and 2006.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry said Sunday that Republican presidential nominee John McCain would continue the same policies implemented by Republican President George W. Bush.

Kerry, a frequent surrogate for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, appeared on NBC's Meet the Press in the show's final episode before the election on Tuesday.

"John McCain does not represent a break with George Bush," the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee said. "I mean, yesterday he was endorsed by Dick Cheney. He earned that endorsement by supporting this administration 90 percent of the time."

Kerry, a Boston Democrat, also criticized McCain for running a negative campaign. "This has been one of the most divisive campaigns in history," he said. "John McCain [said] he wanted this campaign to be about big ideas and he wanted it to respect the American people's desire not to be negative. It's been the most negative--100 percent of his advertising is negative."

U.S. Sen. John Kerry responded to Republican challenger Jeff Beatty's criticism Sunday, blasting Beatty for not offering a vision for the future of the country.

In an email to PolitickerMA.com, Brigid O'Rourke, a spokeswoman for the Boston Democrat, said Beatty has focused more on personal attacks than on offering his own policy proposals.

"Instead of worrying about prom dates, Jeff should just focus on his own campaign and start talking about what he stands for, because most Massachusetts voters still don't know," O'Rourke said. "Jeff has no clear stances on critical issues like providing health care to Americans, improving education, fixing our economy, or even taxes. All Jeff has been clear on is his support for guns in our schools, his reckless plan to drill our way to energy independence, and the fact that he is a faithful supporter of George Bush and the McCain-Palin ticket."

Republican U.S. Senate challenger Jeff Beatty said Sunday that his campaign to defeat John Kerry is going exactly as planned.

In a telephone interview with PolitickerMA.com on the way to the first of three camnpaign events on Sunday, Beatty said he knew all along that they would have to make a move late in the race to close the gap with Kerry.

"This is exactly the way we knew the plan had to unfold," Beatty said, "that we were going to have to rise up in the last days of the campaign."

The most recent polls show Kerry holding a significant lead over Beatty heading into Election Day A 7News/Suffolk University poll at the end of October showed Kerry up by 37 percent.

The group opposing Question 2 on the ballot Tuesday announced Saturday that former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn has come out against the ballot measure.

The Coalition for Safe Streets said the Massachusetts Catholic Conference mailed a letter Flynn wrote denouncing the ballot measure to 2,200 statewide parish communities.

Question 2 would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

In the letter, Flynn wrote that marijuana is a gateway drug. Question 2's success, Flynn also wrote, would weaken the state's drug laws and send the wrong message to children.

U.S. Sen. John Kerry is slated to appear on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. Kerry, a frequent surrogate for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, will appear with former senator and 2008 presidential contender Fred Thompson.

Thompson, it is worth noting, recently recorded a robo-call on behalf of Kerry's Republican challenger, Jeff Beatty.

Oregon has slowly moved from the swing state column to the Democratic column over the last eight years, USA Today reported Tuesday.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson has recorded a robo-call on behalf of Republican U.S. Senate challenger Jeff Beatty.

The 30-second call features Thompson, the Tennessee Republican who ran for president this year, touting Beatty's experience and judgment as the reasons why Massachusetts voters should elect him to replace U.S. Sen. John Kerry this year.

"Hello friend, this is Sen. Fred Thompson calling to ask you to please vote for Jeff Beatty for United States senator to replace John Kerry," Thompson says. "Jeff is an American hero who served in the Delta Force and the FBI. He's a former teamster and small businessman with the kind of common sense we need. Jeff won't coddle special interests; he's a leader who will protect your family your jobs and your country. Please vote for Jeff Beatty Nov. 4."        

This isn't the first time this year Republicans have turned to Thompson's baritone. Thompson, who is well-known for his role as New York District Attorney Arthur Branch on Law and Order, also narrated Republican presidential nominee John McCain's biographical film at the Republican National Convention.

The Beatty campaign said the robo-call will begin running Wednesday. Check it out below.

Politicker Photo

U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Boston) following Monday's debate

BOSTON - U.S. Sen. John Kerry and his Republican challenger Jeff Beatty met for round two Monday in another feisty debate that ranged from social issues to the current financial crisis facing the country.

For the first time in the race, both candidates discussed social issues at length. With Monday's news of an 8-year-old's accidental death while shooting an Uzi at a gun show in Westfield, both candidates were asked what they would do to make sure such an event never happens again.

Beatty said he has worked in the past to help keep schools safe and said the country needs "to enforce the laws we have."

"I think that if we enforce the laws we have, we'll be OK," he said.

Kerry, in contrast, said the current loophole that allows citizens to purchase weapons at gun shows needs to be closed.

"It just  defies common sense that we have people that can go out, through the gun show loophole, and buy semi-automatics anywhere in the country without adequate background checks," the senator said. "We have to close that loophole."