Brian McGrory, Boston Globe columnist, gets it absolutely right todaywhile writing about Matt Amorello’s continuing fall from grace. Thecolumn is a little too maudlin and finger-pointy for my tastes but themain theme is dead on target: Massachusetts government is filled withunder-qualified men and women who got their positions by beingpolitically reliable. The same thing that helped speed the collapse ofthe Soviet Union, to take this point to extreme hyperbole in the leastamount of time possible. Huh. Who ever could have thought such athing. Politics as usual really does have a downside.
Recently, my partner at Clean Sweep asked me what I thought about thisidea: Could the whole Obamacare debacle be nothing more than trying tosolve the health care crisis exacerbated by illegal aliens filling upthe emergency rooms? I told him I thought it was an interesting idea,it had a ring of possibility to it, and that I’d see if I could findsome data reflecting on the issue. No matter which way the data falls,it’s an interesting question and one worth exploring. After all, wealready have Medicare for those who cannot afford health coverage so whydo we keep hearing about overflowing emergency departments?
Harry Truman was a colorful president, to say the least. He wasdefinitely the sort of person that tales and legends grow from but thisone, at least, has photographic evidence: a sign boldly stating “Thebuck stops here” on one side (“I’m from Missouri” reads the other) satprominently on his desk. Right or wrong, and people have been debatingmany of his decisions since he made them, Truman was willing to take thefallout. How often do we see that in a politician?
The end result is that an elected official is expected to follow theparty line, regardless of use for the constituency, or else “bad” thingswill happen. I don’t know about you, but I like to look at candidateswho roughly follow my way of thinking but also having the knowledge thathe or she will put the needs and desires of his or her district beforeanything else. That’s all. It’s so simple that it’s a little tooprofound to be followed by modern politicians.
Our esteemed State Senate President, Therese Murray had a bright ideaabout a month ago. She thought it’d be a swell idea to get some localhospitals to kick in some money that could then go to businessesstruggling to keep up with the constantly expanding health careexpense. Let’s rephrase that: “Hi, you’re successful. Can I have abunch of your money to give to some other people? You won’t really getanything out of it but I’m gonna look like a hero when I give them yourmoney!”
Eleven out of the thirteen members of the council thought that pledgingblind for re-election was a better idea than carefully and judiciouslyexamining the mayor’s proposed budget. Think about that for a moment.Those eleven members sided with a minority interest group over thecitizens of Boston without having any of the facts at hand. That’soutrageous enough that none should retain their jobs come election time.
Did I wake up in Massachusetts this morning? I went to bed there butseem to have woken in Never-Never Land or Bizarro World or some suchoddity. Not only is a politician on the front page of the BostonHerald and not facing indictment, it’s a Republican, and he’sintroduced legislation that require checks on immigrant status. Therewas no quick confirmation from the Boston Globe, at least notthe last time I checked which was admittedly rather early. I try toavoid local news within an hour of breakfast for the sake of mydigestion.
The fact that Marx may have been correct in reverse has the potential tobe one of the greatest jokes in history. Too many good people aregetting needlessly punished through this mismanagement to make it funny,though.
Well of course it is, this is no Zen exercise about trees, woods, and other noises. If the VAT isn't the sneakiest, most underhanded, nastiest way to take money away from those that actually produce I guess I need to rethink some definitions.
Not having grown up in New England, I thought of town meeting as aquaint, antiquated system that should have gone the way of thedinosaurs. Perhaps if it had, I thought, something useful like oilcould be produced; nothing useful could come from a group of peoplesitting around listening to other people treat picayune matters as ifthey were truly earth-shattering. Or so I thought. I was horriblywrong.
Recent experiences from an old-fashioned town meeting can restore faith in government, people, and our system.
The point is not that Lantigua has two jobs. Many people do. Whatreally matters is that he is going to continue his pattern of recklesslyself-serving behavior until he is forced to stop, at which point hewill undoubtedly claim persecution, anti-immigrant backlash, and evilRepublicans. The fact is that none of the above are true, especiallynot here.
What we do want is very simple: minimal government interference andmaximum assistance in living the best lives we can for ourselves, ourfamilies, and our communities. We want to help the people that needhelp, not those the government decides are worthy. We want to hirethose that can do the job, not those the government deems worthy. Wewant to conduct business, make profits, and spend those monies at otherbusiness, thereby helping to ensure prosperity for all.
We are all here because we are dissatisfied. It makes no difference if the person who feels that dissatisfaction is a Republican, Libertarian, or a Democrat because, first and foremost, we are Americans. We have a proud history of individualism and self-reliance yet tempered with a team spirit when that is needed. This is what makes the Tea Party successful: you don't have to be anything but you with an open mind to be one of us. And you don't have to give up anything or follow anybody blindly either. More . . .Read more…
When is an increase a decrease? When the government says it is apparently. If Patrick needs some lessons in cutting perhaps he should take a trip to Detroit where the automakers became quite adept at the task until they learned that the federal government could serve as their personal ATM from time to time. Cutting means getting rid of things, like the so-called wind farm scheme that has seen stiffer opposition than the British trying to take Breed’s Hill. Slashing the budget generally does not include offering government assurances to banks that small business loans will be backed by that same unslashed budget. More:Read more…
Now on to the real business hidden in the title. When started, the original plan was to focus on Massachusetts politics with a strong focus on Beacon Hill. Much to everyone's surprise, Scott Brown happened pulling us into the deeper, murkier, smellier world of national politics. I promise that we will try to get back on track because there really is no dearth of outrage to discuss - he says, thinking specifically of Governor Deval Patrick "cutting" the state budget by adding 3% and using the stimulus cash to balance the budget. Continue . . .Read more…
We tend to have a certain "all or nothing" approach within our culture, especially with regards to those we call heroes. This is unfortunate because it changes one of the most important aspects of people that I want to look up to: they did astonishing things even though they are human. When we start thinking that a person did superhuman things because he or she is superhuman we stop idealizing and start worshiping. When this happens, unpleasant facts and realities need to be shunned lest they potentially tarnish the reputation of this newly created deity and the discussion devolves into a flurry of accusations and counter-accusations. The important part, that there was a person who did great things while being human, filled with faults and failings, loses the real power for inspiration. We are complicated beings, none either all good or all bad so it is in overcoming the limitations that we should find the admirable, not in the manufactured predestination.Continued . . .Read more…
There is absolutely no lack of material for comment floating through the news today. As we have mentioned earlier, this race has attracted national attention along with national money, a fact that the Boston Globe deplores. What is it telling us, though, that the Globe neglects to mention that the vast majority of that money, a 2-1 imbalance, is earmarked for Martha Coakley? Oddly, the Globe didn't mention some of the reasons Coakley needs that money, such as paying people to hold her signs during public events. Globe readers would have to turn to the Boston Herald to see that Coakley's campaign schedule in Massachusetts has been light enough that she could get caught up in an altercation in Washington, DC. What was she doing there? Just another fundraiser attended and paid for by lobbyists for pharmaceutical companies and HMOs, something else the Globe neglected to mention. Not only is the fact that she was nowhere near Massachusetts potentially embarrassing, the fact that her spin on what happened may be completely bogus is worse.continue:Read more…
A Senate race should never be a national cause celebre, and certainly not a special election to replace someone who died in office. Under the current circumstances, though, it is hard to see how things could have turned out differently. Looked at pragmatically, can we honestly say that the current situation with the Massachusetts special election is one of circumstance? Or is it more arrogance and disregard for true democratic principles?see more at Clean Sweep Beacon Hill BlogRead more…
