Fun interview with Ed Crowley, a retired teacher and former bar owner, who’s sticking with Neal and Markey.

He credits Neal with helping revive Springfield.

Crowley grew up in Springfield but has lived in Holyoke for the past 20 years. Comparing Neal’s mayoralty in the 80s to Morse’s, he said, “I never saw that activism on the part of Morse.” – bei Russ's Breakfast and Lunch

Crowley voted for Morse in 2011, but was disappointed in Morse reneging on his opposition to bringing a casino to Holyoke (it went to Springfield anyway). He also wishes Morse did more to help the declining school system.

Crowley is very firmly in Markey’s corner cus of the Green New Deal. He had some choice things to say about Kennedy off camera. – bei Russ's Breakfast and Lunch

Here’s where it gets interesting: After I turned off the camera, Crowley said Pelosi’s endorsement was another reason not to vote for Kennedy. He sees her as a vector of corrupting money in politics, which he sees as the #1 underlying issue ...

... Crowley voted for Bernie twice partly for that reason. He also says he’s been following Bernie’s anti war activism for decades. Crowley was a Eugene McCarthy guy in 1968.

Holding a copy of The NY Times, Crowley complained that the paper has gotten too centrist and treated Bernie unfairly over old Cuba remarks. He reads HuffPost and watches @TYT.

Finally, he concedes that he doesn’t agree with Neal on everything like “that Blackwater thing.” I correct him and he confirms that he means Blackstone. “That was spooky.”