Blue Mass Group

Today more than several former DNC Chairs have stood together for Clinton and for a Nov. victory: HRC is publicly supported by several prominent former DNC Chairs, including the family of late DNC Chairman Ron Brown.  Collectively, these leaders represent more than 30 years of commitment to the DNC.  They have written to DNC members today to discuss their support for HRC.  Below is a copy of the letter from former DNC chairs to DNC members on behalf of Senator Clinton: May 2, 2008 Dear Fellow Democratic Party Member: Democratic National Committee members work tirelessly to elect Democrats locally, and they serve as strong advocates for finding solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems.  As former DNC Chairs, we are proud to be leaders in a Party that seeks to alleviate the burden of limited access to health care, fix broken systems of public education, improve working conditions for middle-class men and women, and ensure America’s safety and security, at home and abroad. Those of us who support Hillary Clinton for president do so with the knowledge that she, just like us, has dedicated her life to improving the standard of living for others, and she has worked to make [...]

(Cross posted at Left in Lowell. He's your Ways and Means chair as well, so why not give the Senator a call? This bill is in his hands right now.)

I previously wrote about a Lowell info session on same day registration and the bill in front of the legislature. It generated some discussion of its own as well.

Now, we need your help! The Election Day Registration bill (S. 2514) is in front of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and doesn’t appear to be moving. We need to (politely) tell its Chair, Senator Panagiotakos, that we want this bill to move forward. The bill was recommended as ‘ought to pass’ by the Election Laws committee.

Mark Snyder Founder, QueerToday.com A letter to my queer and socialist/other lefty friends: Unfortunately we live in a capitalist society where votes are regularly stolen and the interests of corporations are held above the needs of the people…where we can’t rank our candidates when we vote, where war is glorified, where boys are discouraged from expressing themselves through tears or art, and women make less than men for the same or better work…where queer people are murdered and denied housing, where immigrants are called “illegal” and deported… Barack Obama will not be able to solve those problems. He is not completely anti-war. He is not anti-capitalist. He doesn’t have a specific plan to curb queer suicide and violence. He offers hopeful oratories but his policies are not the vision most of us have for the world. And he is only one person. So why should the left unite for him? Because the left must, for the first time in decades, defeat the radical right that has taken our country to the brink of destruction. The movement behind the Obama campaign is an important ingredient in the recipe to defeat the right-wing. The campaign has inspired people from all age groups, [...]

Looks like DaveMB beat me to the punch by a few hours, but I’d like to personally introduce myself to the BMG community.  My name is Matt Giancola and I am a candidate for State Representative in the 4th Middlesex District, encompassing Marlborough, Berlin, and Southborough.

Whether it’s the slagging economy,  or the lack of quality affordable and accessible health care to the neediest among us, our Commonwealth faces a great number of challenges.  Too often, Beacon Hill remains closed to the concerns of the people.  Certain corporate tax loopholes are ended, while others are opened.  Our bridges remain broken and the skyrocketing cost of public higher education keeps many out. It’s time for a forward-looking voice in the legislature to get things moving.

Bay State Bombast absolutely skewers Speaker DiMasi: The Boston Globe reports that a group of professional ticket brokers paid House Speaker Sal DiMasi’s accountant Richard Vitale — who also gave DiMasi a $250,000 third mortgage at a very favorable rate — to help convince the Speaker to pass a bill that loosened regulations on the ticket resale business. Last minute amendments to the law also: Made it illegal to bet when another story about DiMasi and influence peddling becomes public. Made it a crime to resell a Red Sox ticket to a tall person if that person will be sitting in front of Speaker DiMasi. Made it legal for citizens to use the State House freight elevator when carrying satchels of cash up to the Speaker’s office. Entitled Speaker DiMasi to a share of any income earned from scalping tickets to his fundraisers. Allowed the Speaker and 25 lobbyists to attend at least one free performance of “Riverdance” each year. Daniel Kurtzman collected the following: “President Bush announced the rebate checks for at least $600. … The rebates were pushed through by the president to help get the economy going. It’s kind of like when the mom of the kid [...]

This video is beginning to spread through the blogosphere today.  The Advisor in question is denying he said it…and says if you listen closely he says “white house.”   I turned it up as loud as I could, and I’m not sure but I lean towards hearing the n word. I’m sure someone will do some sort of audio analysis. UPDATE: After listening to the original documentary clip, I cannot hear at all his comments that are whispered. He still does seem to say who cares about indiana they are shit… it is unclear to me he is referring to the pollsters… I agree it would be bad for the Obama team to be linked to this. I hope that is not the case. If Obama’s team is not linked to it, and the mainstream media picks it up, and links it to Hilary’s “screw ‘em” comments – it could be bad for her as well… we’ll have to see how it plays out.

I got the following interesting email this week from the Deval Patrick Committee:

As part of a concerted effort to communicate the work of the Administration on a more regular basis, every week we will be sending out a summary that details some of our most pressing current and future efforts.

Excellent. Governor Patrick is wise to manage his tenure as a permanent campaign. The more engaged, lively and pervasive the better. This is a constructive step toward that end — and a useful way to bypass the media, which has its own agendas.

My primary unsolicited suggestion is that less can be more: I’d focus these summaries on a few specific issues each week (say, one to three) and pack them full of related specifics like meetings attended, speeches given, proposals released, legislation signed, etc. General statements like, “remained focused on the economic development plan,” don’t really add that much.

My secondary unsolicited suggestion is that the Committee post these on BMG and other blogs (our blogroll, for example) so that they can be reviewed by the public and integrated into the ongoing state-wide political discussion.

If your vote for president in the general election turns on the following, you are a sucker: Character issues, such as consistency, temperament, judgment, experience, or any other quality that accrues to the individual candidate, rather than to their political ideology; abstract ideas like hope, the “American dream” or an end to “politics as usual.” What a jerk I must be!  How could I say that character doesn’t count?  How could I say that we should not vote our hopes? Well, the truth is that character doesn’t count much at this stage of the game, especially the general election for president, and if your hopes and dreams are not consistent with a coherent philosophy of government, then they are worthless.   When Obama finally gets out from under the Clinton barrage to face John McCain in the general election the chattering class will spend 99% of its time talking about “issues” that mean nothing to knowledgeable voters.  The only thing knowledgeable voters care about is the ideological profile of the candidates.  The rest is just noise, or bread and circuses, if you will, intended to bring along the ignorant masses one way or the other.  There is one important exception [...]

You know the old saw about how universal health care is gonna break the bank? The Congressional Budget Office says no.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan plan for universal health care coverage would pay for itself and eventually could create modest budget surpluses, according to a congressional report released Thursday.

The report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation said the health care plan could be fully operational by 2012 and become “budget-neutral” by 2014. That means the plan would bring in as much revenue as it costs to implement. 

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., one of the plan's co-sponsors, said the report showed it is possible to provide health care coverage for all Americans — including the estimated 47 million people who are uninsured — without a large tax increase.

“We can get everyone in America health care coverage without breaking the bank,” he said.

Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, the other sponsor of the legislation, said the report confirmed that the plan would not only cut health-care costs but actually save money in the long run.

Well, we waste so much money in our system currently, it's hard to imagine we couldn't cut out some of the fat. Of course, that's someone's revenue stream, so prepare for an onslaught, regardless of the bill's bipartisan pedigree.

Read up on the Wyden plan here, and here. And for a giggle, watch this:

… And I'm sure you're shocked to hear this, but McCain's plan would indeed raise some folks' taxes — inlcuding perhaps yours, if you have good benefits in a high-premium state … like Massachusetts.