Julia Azari is one of my favorite political scientists. I’m a big fan of both her work and her very entertaining Facebook posts. Nonetheless, I am not nearly as confident as she is that the crowded Democratic primary field shouldn’t worry Democrats. In her recent FiveThirtyEight.com piece Azari writes, quite correctly, that “there’s no consensus…
Month: October 2019
Why So Much Political Turmoil in Latin America This Month?
What in the world is happening in Latin America? In the last month there has been major political turmoil and protests in Haiti, Peru, Ecuador, Honduras, Chile and just this week Bolivia. There have been multiple deaths, hundreds wounded, government buildings attacked, subway stations set on fire, and state of emergency declared in Ecuador, Chile,…
“A Tale of Two Bills” or “Wingnut Trolling is a Bitch to Tackle”
Thanks to my Facebook friends I was alerted to two bills filed in the state legislature that have drawn some very counter-productive attention. The first one is a bill that would make verbally assaulting someone using the term “bitch” a finable offense in Massachusetts. The second would ban organized tackle football for children not yet…
The Walton Family’s Massachusetts Political Team, 2019
The Wednesday vote in the House on the Education Funding bill is a crucial test for interest groups opposing the Senate version, and all of them are influenced or controlled by the Walton Family of Arkansas. Let’s meet The Walton Family’s Massachusetts Political Team, 2019. The selected groups all have some political purpose and all…
Senator Warren’s Linguistic Stand Deserves Thoughtful Attention
Is it dishonest to refuse to tell a murderer where his next intended victim is hiding and instead to explain how we can reduce murder rates? If someone did reveal such information to a murderer, would Senator Warren’s critics applaud them for “at least being honest about their plan?” The effort to discredit Elizabeth Warren’s…
The Waltons and the Politics of Education Funding
The three interest groups pushing to undermine the Massachusetts senate’s education funding bill are all Walton funded, two of them essentially full-time agents of the Waltons. They have to solve a problem for the right-wing Wal-Mart heirs: not that funding public education might fail, but that it will succeed. The Waltons, who contributed over $2…
Why Omitting Climate Change from Last Night’s Debate is a Bigger Deal Than You Think
Last night’s Democratic presidential debate ended without a single question—not one—about climate change. The omission has already drawn the ire of a number of presidential hopefuls, including Julian Castro and Tom Steyer who questioned why CNN and The New York Times, the debate’s two host organizations, overlooked such a vitally important issue. To be fair,…
A Town Meeting Drinking Game
Google “debate drinking game” and you’ll get about 36 million results. For instance, the semi-official DebateDrinking.com has a set of rules for the 2019/2020 presidential election debates. Google “town meeting drinking game” though, and you get far fewer results. There are a couple of pieces on local politics related drinking games, like this one for…
Giuliani’s Pals Indicted on Marijuana Licensing Scheme. Could It Reach into Massachusetts?
Today’s indictment of Rudy Giuliani’s two business partners is a disgusting tale of illegality and greed—and it’s worth wondering if it involves any effort to infiltrate Massachusetts’ marijuana licensing program. I’ll tread lightly here. There is no allegation in the Indictment that Massachusetts is involved. In all likelihood there is none. But state regulators should…
Debbie Downer: Women in #MaPoli Style
Elizabeth Warren. Ayanna Pressley. Katherine Clark. Karen Polito. Maura Healey. Did you hear the news? Massachusetts, we are in the midst of a women and politics renaissance! After a span from 1983-2006 where no women served in the MA Congressional delegation, 36% of those currently serving now are — and they are among the highest…