Blue Mass Group

Massachusetts will be well-represented at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte this year. John Kerry, Deval Patrick, and Elizabeth Warren all have significant roles …  and then there’s BMG.

We’re sending only one of us this year: Charley has agreed to take the hit and cover the convention on our behalf. If you remember 2008, we had a great time in Denver and provided a hell of a lot of good content: Face-to-face conversations, interviews, and online chats with Deval Patrick, Tim Murray, Ed Markey, Jim McGovern, Barney Frank, and many more — as well as the local response to Ted Kennedy’s final public speech, exhorting the Democrats to pass universal health care. There’s an amazing amount to cover, and a huge amount that’s truly locally relevant, as well as the off-the-beaten path coverage — like that of the desolate Free Speech Zone (Here Be Dragons).

This is your chance to have a representative of this community at an event where the most powerful people in Massachusetts and the country have come to meet, greet and eat. It’s your chance to fill the empty vessel of Charley’s conscience with your whims, aspirations and pipedreams for a better future, which he will then faithfully communicate to our Dear Leaders. You want single-payer health care? A gazebo in every square? Universal broccoli in MA? Just tell us, and we’ll tell the decision-makers.

Our problem: Money. Our ad revenues will only pay for a portion of our expenses: Airfare, hotel, food, and local transportation. We are trying our damnedest to keep these expenses low, but the fact is that we need about $1400 to cover the expense. Yikes.

But many hands make light work. We understand that it’s an election year, and that you’re being beset on all sides by fundraising appeals. But if you can chip in here, we’d be most grateful.

Truly any amount, even $5, will help. We’ve got some sweeteners:

• Give $75 and get a BMG mug. (We use ours every day. Makes the morning taste more … progressive.)
• Give $150 and have lunch at Mr. Bartley’s in Harvard Square with The Editors, David, Bob, and Charley! (Dutch treat. It’s a fundraiser, after all.)
• Give $250 and have dinner at the Hilltop Steak House with The Editors! (same)

In all seriousness … we’ve been doing this blog for nearly eight years, and many of the up-front investments in improving the site’s content or technology have come out of our own pockets. It’s a labor of love, and of some money as well. If you’ve found BMG to be valuable over the years, please consider chipping in a small amount.

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