Blue Mass Group

I delivered lawn signs and bumper stickers for Coakley yesterday, hosted a phone bank today.  Having done my part for civic engagement, I think I’ve earned my couch seat this evening for the Patriots-Colts match up.  Doing my best to root Brady, Belichick and the Pats to victory over the hated Peyton Manning (Bush contributor). Who’s got a prediction for the final score?

Today’s Globe op-ed page features short op-eds by each of the Democratic candidates for Senate.  Capuano focuses entirely on his positions on Afghanistan, Iraq, and the PATRIOT Act — an interesting choice, given his strategy up until now of emphasizing his insider DC experience and ability to bring home the pork bacon.  Strategic shift?  Or back to our regularly-scheduled program tomorrow? Coakley’s piece is all about how health care will be “a top priority” for her in the Senate.  Another interesting choice, as her position on Stupak-Pitts (or “Stupitts” for short) is the one most likely to have prevented much of what she says she wants in the rest of the piece, including of course a public option. Khazei talks about “big citizenship” as the key to his campaign.  He tones down the language about City Year “jobs” that we’ve found problematic, focusing instead on “service” and “the proposition that each person can make a difference.”  Oh, and also Afghanistan, casinos, jobs, med-mal reform, and no special interests.  Yvonne Abraham liked what she heard from Khazei in Thursday’s debate, and asks rhetorically, “Why is Khazei running dead last?” Pagliuca is all jobs, all the time.  Regulatory reform = jobs.  Health [...]

BMG's dearest David last week pointed out endorsements from nationally renown names Bloomberg and Pelosi. But no one has yet mentioned the endorsements from the recently elected Mayors of Fall River and Newton.

Mayor-elect Setti Warren and State Representative Ruth Balser of Newton announced last week their endorsements for AG Martha Coakley. Mayor-Elect William Flanagan and a host of local elected officials led by Sen. Joan Menard also rolled out their endorsements for AG Martha Coakley in Fall River.

Far from the big name recognition that the Bloomberg and Pelosi endorsements bring, as kennedyseat.com points out, these local endorsements might bring something more valuable for Coakley:

Patrick: Cut the State’s rape counseling program by 66%. The program known as SANE – for sexual assault nurse examiners – lost 66 percent of its $2.4 million budget as part of the state’s latest round of emergency cuts, leaving too little cash for the program to survive, advocates say. Cut the funding for The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling by one-half to $500,000 Interestingly, I found no mention of either cut in The Globe…  

With yesterday being Saturday, and my chance to wake and bake all day long, I find it necessary to state my position on the status of the Beatles and the need to redefine the objective.

Today I propose Paul and Ringo immediately get the Beatles back together, commence reheasals for a world tour and record an album of new original Beatles songs.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We have been asked by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee to make absolutely clear that the Coakley graphic below is not from the PCCC.  It was created by the author of this post, derived from PCCC ads targeting members of Congress. -David

The below Democrats voted to kill health care reform in Congress. We can no longer elect people just because they have a ‘D’ next to their name. The PCCC – Progressive Change Campaign Committee PAC – is dedicated to electing bold progressives to Congress. Sign up to join their cause.

Health care is not the same thing as health insurance.  That fact has not been mentioned much – if at all – during the health care debate.  Money spent on health insurance does not translate into health care, either.  All insurance is basically a “sucker bet”.  The bet the insurance company makes is that you and I will pay in more money then the insurance company will ever pay out.  This sucker bet, and the profit motive underlying the very concept of insurance, is why there is a double-driver to health care cost increases.  For every cost increase in actual care, health insurers collect the same amount of money, or more.

Health insurers keep 40% of every dollar paid in, their profit is far more than the 1% or so profit the lobbyists for the health insurer’s spin to congress and the public.

After 17 years of legislating, our Representative John Quinn is giving up his seat in Boston to make a run for Bristol County Sheriff.  He is the most viable opponent the incumbant Sheriff Hodgeson(R) has ever had challenge him. John’s backgroud in law and his stance on crime is as strong as the current sheriff, but John’s fiscal approach to the jail far exceeds Hodgeson.  Also it will be a relief to have someone in there that doesn’t allegedly “force” you to buy campaign fundraising tickets because he (hodgeson) gave you a job.