Last week I was in a colloquy on Twitter with a Boston political journalist and an activist, neither of whom enjoys my focus on money in politics. So, I’ll be doing more of that. But first, one thing they both say is the public does not care at all about who funds politics, especially dark…
Category: Dark Money and the Politics of School Privatization
Maura Healey Leads Bi-Partisan Push to Sanctify Dark Money
As Matt Stout of the Boston Globe shows today in Healey created a nonprofit to bankroll her transition into office. But, the donors are secret, and so is how much they gave her, Governor Maura Healey has joined the bi-partisan effort sanctify dark money in Massachusetts politics. Shame. The Healey-Driscoll Transition Committee, Inc. paid for…
Knives Out (and the Voters Get It in the Back)
Imagine my surprise, as an amiable old retiree trying to find my misplaced orthotics while sipping Metamucil-laced protein supplement, to find myself almost mentioned in a Massachusetts Politico piece titled “Knives Out” today. I say almost because attorney general candidate Quentin Palfrey used research from my blog posts to make a point about the Walton…
The Waltons’ Massachusetts Political Team (2020 update)
With a search for a new Boston Superintendent of Schools, a renewed review by the state of Boston Public Schools possibly leading to receivership, a new governor on the horizon, and the radical right promoting turmoil in public education, Massachusetts elites and philanthropic interest groups want to know one thing: what does the Walton family…
School Privatization Week: Keri Rodrigues Goes Coastal with Plans for National Parents Union
I noticed in the Sunday Globe that Governor Baker has proclaimed this “School Choice Week” and I thought, what better time than School Privatization Week to re-up some of my favorite dark money and the politics of school privatization posts? Here’s a piece on the “concept paper” submitted to the Walton Family Foundation by National…
School Privatization Week: The Walton Family’s Massachusetts Political Team 2019
I noticed in the Sunday Globe that Governor Baker has proclaimed this “School Choice Week” and I thought, what better time than School Privatization Week to re-up some of my favorite dark money and the politics of school privatization posts? Today let’s take another look at this one from 2019, The Walton Family’s Massachusetts Political…
School Privatization Week: New Campaign Song for Great Schools Massachusetts: ‘It’s Up to You, New York, New York
I noticed in the Sunday Globe that Governor Baker has proclaimed this “School Choice Week” and I thought, what better time than School Privatization Week to re-up some of my favorite dark money and the politics of school privatization posts? Let’s kick off the celebration with an early one but still one of my favorites:…
Possible Criminality in Ballot Question Signature Gathering? I Am Shocked, Shocked.
Jon Chesto of the Boston Globe just posted a remarkable piece on the ballot question process in Massachusetts, Norfolk DA probing signature fraud on business-backed Uber/Lyft referendum. It helps illustrate how the ballot measure process, trumpeted as a means for the citizens to pass policy over the objections of the legislature, has become a plaything…