Published November 4, 2010

Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.

Even in the euphoria of his 16th straight victory Tuesday night, Democratic Rep. Barney Frank took on “the media” and the Boston Herald. “Massachusetts has reaffirmed the complete political irrelevance of the Boston Herald,” he said to cheering supporters.

“There was no limit to the bias and vitriol they unleashed, and it had no impact. So good for Massachusetts.” (The comment comes at the 3:48 mark of this video.)

[youtube url=”fxeQty8Dc8U”]

Indeed, in Barney’s opinion the Herald was too frank. Take the “news story” printed Oct. 21, in which a reporter calls the congressman “panic-stricken” after he lent $200,000 to his own campaign. (As Universal Hub noted then, the Herald ran that story on its front page — instead of the politically explosive statement from a strip-search victim who condemned Republican Jeff Perry, the 10th congressional candidate.)

Frank won re-election by a margin of 11 percentage points.

Today, this:

Boston Herald cover for Nov. 4, 2010

In a two-byline story today, Herald publisher Pat Purcell and editorial page editor Rachelle Cohen declare a war of words with “Mr. Congeniality” for the next two years.

After weeks of attempting to keep his basic nastiness and contempt for voters in general and the media in particular in check, Frank could finally let loose. Oh sure, the Herald and then Fox News were his main targets, but, let’s face it, Barney isn’t what you would call a man of great personal warmth and charm.

Columnist Margery Eagan says Frank finally lost her vote — and respect — after 30 years:

What, does he not own a mirror? Is he incapable of introspection? Has he never seen YouTube’s collection of his best TV hissy fits?

Barney seemed to have forgotten: He won. Big. And he was lucky he did.

The contrast between a nasty, bitter Frank and his grateful, graceful opponent, Sean Bielat, could not have been more stark.

A Herald cartoon depicts Barney Frank as Barney Rubble, a caveman who destroyed the U.S. economy with his mallet. Howie Carr says Frank is the one who’s irrelevant.

And of course the Herald takes Frank to task for his partner’s heckling of Bielat during a talk with reporters — something WBUR’s Fred Thys witnessed and a Herald staffer captured on video:

[youtube url=”nHmIy6knxAQ”]

So who needs to lighten up — Barney Frank or the Boston Herald?

Published November 3, 2010

Though it may feel like the entire world was watching Tuesday’s election, life does exist outside of politics. The world has still turned amid all the election, ahem, hubbub.

With NFL and NBA seasons in full swing, here’s what you missed in the world of Boston sports while fixated on red tidal waves and blue donkeys. Let’s work backward to the weekend:

Ex-Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss was waived by the Minnesota Vikings. On Oct. 6, many Patriots fans woke up and were shocked to learn that the Hall of Fame wideout had been traded to Minnesota. Moss woke up Tuesday to see his name splashed across newspapers and on the top of the NFL’s waiver wire.

It’s amazing that someone with Moss’ talent has been left on the scrap heap. Oh well, great for us since we’re treated to this wonderful (and surprisingly catchy) Randy Moss rap mashup by DJ Steve Porter. Porter, who founded Holyoke-based PorterHouseMedia, is also behind the great NBA remix commercials.

[youtube url=”tmJcUlrkMNg”]

The Celtics celebrated Halloween. And gave me a reason for this post.

Highlights include captain Paul Pierce as The Frog from “The Princess and the Frog” (his daughter was the princess) and guard Rajon Rondo as an injured Tiger Woods.

Attendees at the Celtics team Halloween party, in costume. (Paul Pierce via Twitter)

The team is 3-1 on the season and riding a two-game winning streak. Shaq, or Shaquita on Halloween, missed Tuesday night’s game with a knee injury.

The Patriots vanquished the Vikings 28-18. Even Patriots players, however, like second-year cornerback Darius Butler, were caught up with election fervor. On Tuesday, Butler (@DariusButler28) posted this message on his twitter account:

Get out and VOTE! Unless u don’t know what’s goin on n what\who u voting for. In that case stay Home!

The world may have turned, but Election Day, it seems, even infiltrated the world of sports.

Published November 3, 2010

This entry was cross-posted to ElectionWire.

Compared to Massachusetts, these blueberries are light blue. (Chris Nixon/Flickr)

Despite strong GOP challenges in some districts, Massachusetts’ U.S. congressional delegation remains all blue. Democrats won all statewide races and maintained wide majorities in the state Legislature.

Where, if anywhere, did Republicans make gains?

The GOP picked up 16 seats in the House, doubling their ranks, to 32, but continue to represent a small minority in the 160-member body. The GOP lost a seat in the state Senate, down to 4 of 40 seats.

What about all races — county sheriffs, governor’s councillors, state senators — all of ‘em?

Of the 447 races in Massachusetts, 338 were contested. (In the remaining 109, the winning candidate was unopposed.)

Of those 338 contests, just 18 winners were Republicans. That number could jump to 23, because Republicans are leading in five races that have not yet been called.

But you get the idea. A red tide swept over the nation last night — a tide arguably set in motion in January with the Senate election of Wrentham Republican Scott Brown. But GOP victories in Massachusetts represented a statistically insignificant 0.05  percent of the state’s total.

How blue were we on Election Day? Really blue. Midnight blue. Even the pundits didn’t see it coming.

Note: The Associated Press provided this data.

Published November 3, 2010

Massachusetts went all-blue Tuesday. (Dominick Reuter for WBUR)

Massachusetts stemmed a nationwide red tide Tuesday, with Democrats winning virtually every single race in the state. Democratic political analyst Dan Payne called the heralded Scott Brown victory a “fluke.”

On our live call-in special this morning, Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi said Brown was a catalyst who kicked the Dems into gear. Many of you had observations, too.

Twitterer @cellocat75 writes:

I really think the election results show that the Scott Brown win was more anti Kennedy & anti establishment than pro Republican.

@jendeaderick tweets:

If voters are angry that the government isn’t doing enough for them, it means they want more government, not less. Anti-GOP position.

A number of people have expressed pride in their blue state today. “MA is an island of sanity in this crazy country,” tweets @cmatjones. “Massachusetts is awesome and the rest of the country is jumping off the cliff,” @joegrav tweets.

Some folks, such as @harmonywho, think national Democrats could learn a thing or two from Mass.

“liberal” candidates who make their case, involve citizens/voters can, do win. Pay attention DNC.

What do you think?

• Do Democrats have a permanent majority in Massachusetts?
• Why did Republican Charlie Baker lose the governor’s race? Bad candidate or wrong candidate?
• Should the national Democratic Party learn something from Massachusetts?
• Are you pleased with last night’s outcome?
• Who will oppose Sen. Brown in 2012?

Thanks for all your tweets over the past 24 hours. Keep the conversation going in the comments.

Published November 2, 2010

Voting in Chatham, submitted to the WBUR Flickr group (Chris Seufert/Flickr)

ElectionWire is feeding your addiction to non-stop information with an Election Night live blog, fed by our reporters in the field and your #ivoted tweets. Check it out.

By the way, we’re keeping the blog apolitical until the polls close at 8 p.m. It’s WBUR policy that we do not air the voices/photos of candidates on Election Day.

Once the polls have closed, ElectionWire and the wbur.org home page will transform into Election Central, with live (as in, live live) returns data on every statewide race. You info-addicts won’t even have to hit the refresh key.

Published November 2, 2010

More than 2 million people in Massachusetts are expected to vote today. Will you be part of it?

How to vote in four simple steps:

1. Find your polling place. It’s really easy.
2. Vote. Don’t forget to turn over the ballot — there are questions on the back.
3. Get the little sticker. Wear it with pride, baby.
4. Tell Hubbub about it. When and where did you vote? How long did you wait in line? Did you encounter any problems?

If you’re undecided, see WBUR’s interactive guide to the issues in the gubernatorial race. And catch up on our extensive coverage from Plymouth.