Joan Venocchi, one of the best commentators in Massachusetts, had an excellent column in yesterday's Boston Globe that lays bare the unfortunate state of machine politics in that state. She cites a rather grave statistic concerning the junior senator's popularity among his own constituents. A December poll found that John Kerry's approval rating stood at 43 percent with 53 percent disapproval. Fifty-six percent also believe that Kerry should give up his seat. In most states, these widely-felt sentiments would presumably open up the door for a Democratic challenger. But not Massachusetts, where machine politics die hard. As I noted before, Massachusetts' political class is arrogantly unresponsive to the will of the voters. The state legislature has scuttled the people's will on liberal and conservative causes ranging from public financing of elections to term limits. These know-nothings believe they know best. Kerry's delusions of grandeur about himself and his role in national politics are not just "John Kerry's Neverland," as Venocchi states, but Massachusetts's Neverland, because both he and Ted Kennedy will hold their seats for as long as they want. At the end of the day, of course, the voters are to blame for reelecting these men time and again. But the Massachusetts machine is so firmly entrenched that it's nearly impossible a Democrat would ever risk his future political prospects by mounting a bid against either senator. What made Deval Patrick's insurgent and successful run for Governor so promising was that the man was a consummate outsider. Of course, he is greatly accomplished and somewhat well-connected nationally, having served in the Clinton Justice Department. But he had hardly any local support when he decided to run for Governor of Massachusetts, no small thing in a state with such a clubby political culture. The smart money was all on Tom Reilly (a staple of the old-boy, Irish political network that runs Massachusetts) who worked his way up from a District Attorney to Attorney General. Patrick's win was remarkable not only because it helped shatter the state's residual bad image on the matter of race, but also because it signaled that politics-as-usual here was on its way out the door. --James Kirchick