The newly rebranded CommonWealth Beacon has put the concept of Massachusetts exceptionalism front and center lately with several thoughtful pieces about the quality of life in the Bay State based on the results of a brand new CWB/MassInc poll of Massachusetts residents. Michael Jonas’s Putting Massachusetts Exceptionalism to the Test asks whether Bay Staters can…
Category: Massachusetts Politics
Attorney General Campbell got the legislative audit question exactly right.
Click HERE for the CommonWealth Beacon story about Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s rejection of Auditor DiZoglio’s claim that her office has the legal authority to audit the legislature, with or without the legislature’s consent. Campbell’s analysis is entirely consistent with my earlier conclusion that DiZoglio’s push for legislative audit authority is a “well-intentioned bad idea.”…
Why Doesn’t Popularity Translate to Power in Massachusetts Politics?
A couple weeks back MassINC pollster Steve Koczela analyzed his most recent poll of Massachusetts residents in THIS CommonWealth article. Fascinating findings and excellent analysis. The question posed by Koczela that the data can’t answer (yet) is: Why are Democratic elected officials in the state less popular than their election margins and history suggest? I…
The Objective Truth in 2022 American Politics is Easy for Experts to See. Sadly, It Remains Frighteningly Difficult for Too Many to Say.
“If University Students can be Loyal Republicans in 2022, then anybody can talk about anything” The quotation above is a reply I posted this morning to a tweet by the UMass Amherst College Republicans in which they were trolling PA US Senate candidate John Fetterman for talking about crime. The reality that my tweet is…
“Democratic Debate Ducking” is the Wrong Frame in Media Coverage & Analysis of 2022 Elections in the Bay State
The Democratic nominees for constitutional office this year are apparently not keen on debating their MassGOP opponents. The political press appears unwilling to let them get away with this crime against democracy. I think somebody needs to seriously consider the possibility that running under the banner of a political party that has thoroughly abandoned essential…
The definitive list of #MaPoli endorsements
Every election year in Massachusetts, I update my piece on political endorsements in the Commonwealth. Note that the categories below are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes a Small Circle of Friends is also A Perfect Storm. Herewith, the #Mapoli endorsement hierarchy in order of importance: The Perfect Storm Endorsement: For Democrats, this comes in the form…
Is Maura Healey Having a “Sister Souljah Moment”?
Maura Healey is more well positioned to win the 2022 governor’s race than any candidate in an open seat Massachusetts governor’s race in at least half a century. Nonetheless, Healey is apologizing for an analogy she used at the end of a 2020 Chamber of Commerce speech that is being used against her by Bay…
GOP Effort to Stop Permanent Mail-In Voting Highlights Unique Aspects of Mass Politics
The MassGOP lawsuit to stop permanent mail-in voting is more interesting than you might think. The state’s Republican Party Chairman, Jim Lyons, has taken a very weak outfit and turned it into an exceptionally incompetent one that is now engaged full-time in garden variety “lib trolling,” an activity that hasn’t been as useful for party…
Legislative Opacity Makes Voice Votes a Safe Bet on Beacon Hill
The state senate recently passed a bill legalizing sports betting in the Commonwealth. It passed the chamber by a voice vote, which means that senators’ individual preferences on the bill’s passage were not formally recorded. The Boston Globe editors were shocked…shocked to see voice votes on gambling in the state senate. “A lawmaker’s first duty…
Letter to Jon Keller re Keri Rodrigues
Dear Mr. Keller, I noted with interest your interview on WBZ-TV with Keri Rodrigues, whom you described as a “long time Massachusetts activist.” The description does not do her justice. Ms. Rodrigues is a well-compensated communications professional who has worked for a series of interests funded by the Walton family, wealthy Bostonians, and Charles Koch….