Tag: massachusetts

#rsrh MA-SEN: The Two Warren Whos.

Howie Carr of the Boston Herald had entirely too much fun with this piece discussing two Democratic potential sacrificial lambs candidates for Senate potential sacrificial lambs next year.  They are who I have dubbed the ‘Warren Whos:’ the battered, never-got-to-be-Consumer-Finance-Protection-Board Chair Elizabeth Warren and Newton, MA Mayor Setti Warren*. They are, of course, hoping to somehow unseat current Republican Scott Brown… and let’s just get this out of the way: yes, he’s not nearly conservative enough a Republican for… well, pretty much almost any state besides Massachusetts, these days.  But Scott Brown is in Massachusetts, and he does have the elementary good sense to not require conservatives to officially remember that he’s there.  I sincerely doubt that he’ll have an expensive primary, and Scott Brown will reportedly have a fat war chest for the general.  I suppose that what I’m saying is, don’t expect the GOP to shiv this guy in the back if we don’t absolutely have to… and ‘GOP internecine warfare’ is probably one of the hidden assumptions in any Democratic plan to retake this MA-SEN seat.

Anyway, a taste of what I mean by ‘fun,’ from Howie:

Elizabeth Warren or Setti Warren (no relation)? A Harvard law school professor and Obama appointee or a guy whose first name is Setti, which means a pablum-puking limousine liberal can’t pretend he mistakenly voted against Setti because he thought he was just another white male, which no self-respecting moonbat would do, unless of course he’s gay.

Howie goes on to note that Mayor Warren’s ‘qualifications’ – local guy, BC graduate, life-long MA native, Iraq War veteran – will have absolutely zero traction with MA progressives, who by all accounts much prefer the (largely self-) martyred Harvard Law professor with no electoral experience… and, apparently, not enough governmental experience to successfully navigate through the nomination process.  Which is frankly fine by me: while I cannot hope to expect that the Democrats can actually go out and find a candidate as catastrophically unsuited for campaigning as Martha Coakley was, Elizabeth Warren will make for an acceptable substitute.  Particularly since there’s every chance that progressives will throw money at this race with wild abandon…

Moe Lane

*Happens to be black.

Aw. John Tierney’s (D, MA-06) wife can’t go to a party!

Because of that pesky GPS bracelet on her calf.  Those big meanies in Massachusetts, making her stay under the indignity of house arrest for one, itty-bitty conviction of “iding and abetting the filing of false tax returns by her brother, Robert Eremian, a fugitive from federal charges of racketeering, illegal gambling, money laundering and witness tampering.”  I mean, she served a whole month of jail time for that!  What do they want, blood?

Yeah, I’ve written about this stituation before – also note here, where one of the district’s own papers is begging that the Massachusetts legislature end its agony and eliminate the district – and I’ll repeat: this is what happens when you have what is effectively an one-party state*.  Patrice Tierney got one month of jail time and two years’ worth of ‘supervised release:’ whether or not you think that was a reasonable punishment or not, it’s certainly an indication that it’s recognized that she did something wrong.  To invite her to a Democratic fundraiser anyway is not a ‘formality:’ it’s a confession that the people doing the invitation don’t agree that Tierney did something wrong. Continue reading Aw. John Tierney’s (D, MA-06) wife can’t go to a party!

Another state legislature passes labor union reform.

Much like similar laws passed in states like Wisconsin and Ohio, the legislation will go after public sector union abuse of collective bargaining over health care.  Let me refresh people about why that’s important: it’s important because the public perception of benefits packages has traditionally been that they are somehow fundamentally different than wages; this despite the fact that a person who used to have, say, $5,000/year’s worth of health care but now has $10,000/year has effectively gotten a $5,000 raise.  But since it’s not seen as a raise, many public sector unions have had free rein in effectively bargaining for more and more benefits every  year, in lieu of technical raises.  Which is what this legislation addresses:

House lawmakers voted overwhelmingly last night to strip police officers, teachers, and other municipal employees of most of their rights to bargain over health care, saying the change would save millions of dollars for financially strapped cities and towns.

[snip]

Under the legislation, mayors and other local officials would be given unfettered authority to set copayments and deductibles for their employees, after the 30-day discussion period with unions. Only the share of premiums paid by employees would remain on the health care bargaining table.

Continue reading Another state legislature passes labor union reform.

Gloucester Times begs for elimination of MA-06.

It’s the only way to be sure.

(Via The Campaign Spot) It’s fascinating to see a newspaper make the argument that its own Congressional District be broken up in order to get its own Congressman out of Congress, but bless me if the Gloucester Times isn’t doing precisely that:

It’s a long 19 months until the next election — and that’s no matter what shape the state’s redistricting takes.

But if Tierney’s role were squeezed out in the process of cutting the state’s congressional seat, it frankly wouldn’t be any great loss to his Gloucester and Cape Ann constituents.

People will remember John Tierney for that unfortunate wife-guilty-of-tax-fraud thing from last year.  To be fair, the Gloucester Times endorsed Tierney’s opponent in the 2010 elections – which means that the usual (justified) reaction of HAHAHAsuffer that people feel when a newspaper complains about Democratic malfeasance is actually not appropriate – but it does handily illustrate the problem of one-party states.  Heck of a thing when people have to hope for a wholesale redrawing of political maps in order to get rid of a particularly suboptimal Congressman…

Moe Lane (crosspost)

#rsrh Say what you like about Scott Brown…

…and goodness knows that your average conservative has quite a bit to say about any Republican who can win a statewide election in Massachusetts.  I’ve done some muttering myself.  But this must have been hysterical to watch:

With fiscal negotiations consuming Washington, Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick opted to use his remarks at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate to scold the “conservative movement, so-called,” for “sapping the optimism out of our country,” positing Kennedy as the quintessential optimist.

That led to Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., taking the stage in an unadvertised appearance, addressing Kennedy’s widow, Vicki, and grinning, “I told you I’d come. Little surprise to everybody, isn’t it?”

Brown, elected to replace Kennedy last year in a historic stunner, said, “Me of all people, I understand the large shoes I have to fill.” He praised Kennedy’s knack for working across the aisle for compromise, then looked at Patrick and addressed him directly: “I have to go and do the people’s business, Governor, as you referenced. There are good people who do want to move things forward, regardless of their political party.”

Now, it’s politics – and 21st Century American politics, at that; so you can’t expect public smackdowns between politicians to involve pistols and canes and knife fights in hotels.  But this is fairly strong stuff, by the standards of these civilized times.  Especially when you consider that Governor Patrick has no intention whatsoever of running against Brown next year; which is a sentiment apparently shared by most of the Massachusetts Democratic party…

Moe Lane

(Via AoSHQ Headlines, and they really need a better way to link to those.)

#rsrh Let the MA redistricting wars begin!

This morning, the US Census bureau released the demographic data that the Massachusetts legislature will need to redraw its Congressional Districts. The actual data is only up on the Census website in limited form, but the Boston Globe summarized the information: Boston and Springfield lost population, while Lawrence, Plymouth, Revere, Shrewsbury, & Worcester gained some. This should give at least a rough approximation of where the lines are going to be drawn.  I’ve broken down the current cities by CD and Representative:

CD Rep Gain/Loss City
1 Olver Neither
2 Neal Loss Springfield
3 McGovern Gain Worcester
3 McGovern Gain Shrewsbury
4 Frank Neither
5 Tsongas Gain Lawrence
6 Tierney Neither
7 Markey Gain Revere
8 Capuano Loss Boston
9 Lynch Loss Boston
10 Keating Gain Plymouth

Continue reading #rsrh Let the MA redistricting wars begin!

Meet Marty Lamb (R CAND, MA).

Marty is running for Congress, just as soon as he knows which district he’s in.  That’s because of redistricting; and Marty has some very interesting information on redistricting… and how it applies to the City of Boston.  Hint: it’s not good news for the entrenched Democratic leadership.

Marty’s kept his old site here; it’ll be updated in the future to reflect the current election cycle.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

#rsrh QotD, Scott Brown edition.

Heh.

This much is worth remembering: When he entered the national consciousness, he was considered something of a lightweight. Sure, he was camera-ready – a handsome, fit guy surrounded by an attractive family. But as someone asking the people to send him to conduct the serious business of the United States Senate, he had little in the way of a legislative record. On the podium, he was more than a bit wooden, delivering halting lines like a high school jock going through the motions in his run for student council. And the jock label fit. Even though he graduated from a competitive college, he had distinguished himself on campus as an athlete, not a scholar. In the special election to fill the seat of Massachusetts’s most famous senator, his main obstacle was a credentialed Democrat who had earned a reputation for competence as the state’s attorney general. The prospect of this neophyte ascending to the Senate threw members of the intellectual class into fits of apoplexy.

Yet in the art of retail politics, the agreeable guy with the handsome face was a star, quickly establishing himself as the superior candidate. It was more than just the stamina he showed in shaking hand after hand after hand. It was the pleasant doggedness and smiling ease with which he did it. He clearly liked campaigning because he clearly liked people. And people clearly liked him.

Trust me.  Click through the link and keep reading.

Via RCP.

#rsrh MA Democrats embrace Thunderdome.

If there’s a silver lining to not winning any Congressional races in MA in 2010, it’s this: the Democrats there are unlikely to avoid a full-bore deathmatch over redistricting.  The ‘problem’ there is that MA will be losing a Congressional seat, thanks to the 2010 Census – which means that somebody’s going to be taking it on the chin.

The Boston Herald runs down the options.  You’ve got the guy whose wife is in jail for tax fraud (Tierney), the guy who just got the scare of his electoral life and is responsible for our current home mortgage mess (Frank), the freshman (Keating), the retiree (Olver), and two guys reportedly thinking about making a run at losing to Senator Scott Brown in 2012 (Lynch, Capuano).  None of the above are acting like they want to let go of their seats… though even if they did, they wouldn’t show it.

If I had to guess, I’d say that the House member most likely to get left out after the dust clear would be… Niki Tsongas.  She’s only been in office for several years, she’s a legacy pick, and… well, she’s a female Massachusetts Democrat.  Let us just say that the Massachusetts Democratic party is not renowned for being a bulwark of feminist empowerment.

Moe Lane

#rsrh Massachusetts suing health care rebels.

The executive summary is that the state of Massachusetts is becoming increasingly engaged in two types of legal actions: going after and fining citizens engaged in acts of civil disobedience by refusing to buy state-mandated health insurance; and defending itself in court against citizens seeking relief from said mandates and fines.  Each requires expensive outside legal counsel – which was probably omitted from the original calculation of ‘free’ universal health care costs, although it certainly should have been.  People often don’t like to be told that they have to engage in commerce and acquire something that they do not, in point of fact, want.  So the lawsuits will continue until morale improves.

This is your future under Obamacare, by the way.  Better hope that federal bureaucrats are more sympathetic to your particular situations than Massachusetts ones are!

Moe Lane