“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…
Yvonne Abraham Explains Why Robert Kraft and Jim Davis “would be fools to appear in their own ads”
On Sunday the Boston Globe’s Metro columnist Yvonne Abraham wrote The face of opposition to Question 1 admits proposed tax wouldn’t hurt him much: ‘I’m not struggling.’ The face of opposition was Leo Cakounes who made some standard conservative talking points about government and then Ms. Abraham got to the important point: Fair enough. But…
The Enviable Values of John Fetterman & Coach Corso
I watched about thirty minutes of Tuesday’s Pennsylvania Senate Debate. I’ve watched College GameDay most Saturday mornings since the 90s. Both Democratic candidate for Senate Joe Fetterman and Coach Lee Corso are modeling a better us. Admittedly, most political observers and sports fans do not consider links between Fetterman and Corso. Hear me out. Both…
Management Follies: Chaos at National Parents Union
That must have been some “convening” National Parents Union held in September because by October two of NPU’s five board members had disappeared, as had four of the nine individuals on their September 17 “Our Leadership” page and all—ALL—of NPU’s “delegates.” NPU,—not national, not about parents, not a union—is routinely mismanaged, but it seems to…
“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 Privatization Cabal and Agenda Setting by Poll–Primary Day Edition
Really, do voters need a “tracking” poll released on Primary Day eve telling them a candidates is in the lead? Someone explain the public value to me. OK there is none—except the third poll in a series backed by school privatizers and designed to bolster the campaign of Andrea Campbell for Attorney General. While an…
“labor is the superior — greatly the superior — of capital”—Abraham Lincoln
On September 30, 1859 Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in Milwaukee in which he repeated his long held position, that “labor is the superior — greatly the superior — of capital.” Lincoln was responding to an 1858 speech by Senator James Henry Hammond of South Carolina, the “mud sill” speech. Hammond stated that: In all…
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…
#ParentSham2020: Ten Questions about National Parents Union’s Financials
The Koch-Walton front National Parents Union appears to be facing serious mismanagement: two boards of directors (again), two presidents, the unexplained disappearance of the co-founder/board member/secretary-treasurer as money was pouring in and leaders were not being paid, and an upcoming election of officers (not!). The organization is holding a #parentpower2020 “convening” September 2-4. Last year…
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…