U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Massachusetts, now has a three-peat.
He failed to oust House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, failed to gain any attraction as a presidential wannabe.
And now he’s arguably about to lose a primary race against U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, having failed to persuade anyone that Markey is too old for another term.
Moulton, 47, has been campaigning on the premise that Markey, 80, is beyond his prime, to coin a phrase.
But funny thing happened on the way to their third and final debate showdown last week – Moulton was the one who looked old and unready, not Markey.
In fact, Markey stole the show.
He was nimble on his feet, looked healthy and robust, and was overflowing with energy.
The candidate who looked tired and not ready for prime time was the much-younger Moulton.
He made the same misjudgment in this campaign that he did trying to oust Pelosi and Biden.
He raised more questions about his common sense than he answered.
Spending an entire campaign complaining that Markey is too old was belied by Ed Markey himself.
Moulton showed his colors as a one-trick pony.
He believed, falsely as it turned out, that voters would buy into his claims that Markey is too old.
Not only does the svelte Markey come across as more fit and resilient than the puffy Moulton, but he has the issues.
Moulton had nothing.
All he had was “Ed Markey is too old.”
Markey is a Massachusetts Democrat dream – as liberal as they come.
Moulton, if it’s possible, isn’t liberal enough, so when the thing about Markey being too old is taken out of the equation Moulton is left with nothing.
In fact, Markey took Moulton down with a sharp “left” hook during Thursday’s debate when he called out his opponent for having once criticized “transsexuals.”
Boys playing in girls sports plays well with Democrats in liberal Massachusetts so when Moulton two years ago questioned the transsexual playbook he made a major misstep, as history now shows.
Markey called him out for it during the debate, accusing Moulton of “throwing transsexual kids under the bus.”
Moulton stood nervous at the lectern, oddly, awkwardly grinning, shifting from foot to foot.
When a debate moderator asked Moulton at that point whether he favors boys playing in girls sports he choked.
He babbled something about its being a debate worth having.
Boys in girls sports plays well in Massachusetts, where a large majority of Democrats – 67 percent – favor the idea.
Markey can reserve a ballroom at his favorite Boston hotel for what will be a clear and convincing election victory on September 1.
More likely he’ll hold his celebration in Malden, his working-class hometown, among the poorest cities in Massachusetts, while Moulton stews in his – upper-crust Marblehead, where Izod rules.
