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: Democratic Party
Baker’s Decision will Help Protect His Legacy & the Statehouse Status Quo
Charlie Baker’s decision not to make an unprecedented run for a third consecutive four-year term in the Corner Office was a wise one for many reasons, most of which have been well and thoroughly discussed by thoughtful observers. The complications of his party having been thoroughly trumpified and the various land mines Democrats could detonate…
The Utter Futility of the MassGOP: Not New, Just More Obnoxious Lately.
The ongoing conflict within the MassGOP between Trumpist wingnuts and politically rational conservatives is as crazy and counter-productive as virtually every political analyst has indicated. It is, indeed, absurd for state Republicans to oppose Charlie Baker’s brand of conservatism. What it is not, however, is surprising or unexplainable. The most interesting thing about anti-Baker wingnuttery…
Is the Guv in Trouble?
Seems like dissatisfaction with Governor Baker is getting a lot of media attention lately. Of course, my view might be off since my Boston Globe subscription lapsed and I’m resisting renewal because their education rate sucks. Thank God for Commonwealth Magazine. Pardon the digression. Anyway, the vaccine roll out in Massachusetts has had some hiccups…
GOP Senate Candidate Misunderstands Mass Voters
Republican Massachusetts U.S. Senate candidate Kevin O’Connor criticized Senator Markey in a tweet for not opposing outright the idea of a Democratic senate packing the Supreme Court next year. Clearly, O’Conner thinks Bay State voters might be turned off by brazen partisanship enough to hold this against Markey. Though I haven’t seen polling data on…
2020 Democratic Primaries Reveal Limits of Progressive Reform Politics in Massachusetts
Two 2020 Democratic primaries illustrate a central paradox of Massachusetts politics, which is that politics in cradle of American democracy, the place where America began as an act of rebellion, is among the most establishment friendly in the nation. Bright blue Massachusetts is liberal in principle but conservative in practice. The recent primary victories of…
Neal’s Victory Reinforces What We Already Knew About WMass Voters
As readers of MassPoliticsProfs have known for eight years now, Massachusetts voters are not what the rest of the country thinks they are. They are not the tip of the progressive spear in America. They are not politics-hating Puritanical moralists ready and willing to punish corrupt politicians at a moments notice. They are highly individualistic…
True or False, Allegations Against Alex Morse Should be Ignored by Primary Voters
You don’t have to be Nostradamus to know that Alex Morse never had a realistic chance of beating Richie Neal. On the other hand, you don’t need to be Perry Mason to know that UMass College Democrats’ allegations of misconduct against Alex Morse, irrespective of the merits, are an attempt to ensure that Morse’s margin…
Battenfeld swings and misses in swipe at Healey
I haven’t read a Joe Battenfeld column in years, but yesterday’s effort to throw shade at the likely 2022 Democratic nominee for governor caught my eye. According to Joe, “[p]artisan politics has permeated the office of the state’s top cop to an unprecedented level – whether it’s the scores of lawsuits she’s filed against Trump…
Twitter’s Suggestions: Evidence of Right Wing Social Media Superiority
Last summer I read an interview with Sociologist Jen Schradie about her book, The Revolution That Wasn’t. Schradie’s surprising thesis was that conservatives, not progressives, have become the dominant political activists on the internet. With far greater financial resources and a base much more focused on political power than policy specifics, conservative activists have been…