Guest post from Professor Raymond J. La Raja of UMass Amherst and Professor Brian Schaffner of Tufts University. With Election Day in just a few days, Massachusetts voters must make up their minds on three important ballot questions. Unfortunately too little attention has been paid to Question 2. We have several concerns about it. Question…
Category: Massachusetts Politics
Baker’s Re-Election is Business-as-Usual in MA Politics.
The coverage of the Bay State’s gubernatorial election this year is both business as usual and just a bit surreal. A Globe headline in today’s paper illustrates my point. It reads “Charlie Baker says he’s been tough on Trump when it matters. Is that enough for Mass. voters?” Average Massachusetts voters have taken no great…
Massachusetts Election Season: More Buckeye, Please
Less than a week from the November 6th election and I am here to write on Massachusetts politics. Folks, all I got is a longing for the Buckeye state where I grew up. Sure, I far prefer living in Massachusetts when it comes to public policy. State commitment to universal healthcare, prioritization of funding for…
Charlie Baker: Governor of Dark and Grey Money
Last week Channel 5 WCVB reporter Karen Andersen did a very good report on “grey money” and Governor Baker’s campaign. (Trigger warning: I’m interviewed in the piece). Between dark money and grey money, figuring out who gives to sustain Governor Baker and his pet causes may be the most difficult job in politics. “Grey money”…
The Experts and Question One
Economists and healthcare policy experts have weighed in on both sides of the debate over Question One. There are clearly compelling expert arguments on both sides. My analysis on this question to date (which can be reviewed here, here, here, and here) has been about how average voters ought to consider this and every other…
Question #1: Voters Shouldn’t Be Confused!
In my essay about how voters “should” decide on Question One I recommended that voters use the same basic methodology that their elected representatives use to decide how they will vote on issues because it is both an effective and efficient method that is far superior to unrealistic attempts to make “objective” or “non-partisan” judgments…
How “should” you decide on Question One?
Looking to cut through the political spin and find unbiased facts to make the “right” decision on Question One? Nope. Nobody is actually doing this. That’s not how humans work. Your vote is a “political” decision. If you are trying to “cut through the political spin” in order to “get the facts” you are kidding…
Hello? Is anyone paying attention to MA-9?
During the primary season, there was a lot of attention paid to the Pressley-Capuano race. That was understandable – how often is it that we have a competitive Congressional race in the state of Massachusetts, let alone a competitive primary? But since then, there has been little talk about Congressional races in Massachusetts, despite the…
Advantage Baker
There are still advantages to being an incumbent, and they were on full display last night as Governor Charlie Baker and Democratic challenger Jay Gonzalez debated for the first time on WBZ. The advantages had little to do with the content of the debate, an informative back and forth between two nominees of substance. It…
Update on “Who exactly does the American Nurse’s Association represent”
A prominent ANA-MA member who thought she was anonymously trolling the comments section of my post about her organization (“Who exactly does the American Nurses Association represent?”) ended up providing compelling evidence to support the charge that her organization represents the interests of hospitals, nurse managers, and nurse educators, NOT working bedside nurses, and bolstering…