The good news is that enough progressives in the Mass. House of Representatives voted against the inadequate DeLeo/Murray transit bill so that, if it is passed in its current form in the Senate and then vetoed by the Governor, the votes are not likely there to override the veto. The final tally on the bill was 97-55; 107 votes were needed to make the margin veto-proof.
All Republicans voted against the bill (except Rep. Vieira, who didn’t vote), though presumably for the wrong reasons. In addition, 27 Democrats voted “no.” Progressive Mass. reports that of those 27, 9 were members of the Progressive Caucus. Bravi to those 9 – Reps. Andrews, Farley-Bouvier, Garballey, Hecht, Keefe, Provost, D. Rogers, Sciortino, and Sullivan – for being willing to take a tough vote against leadership but in the best interests of the Commonwealth. (A particular “bravo” to my Rep., Sean Garballey!) Thanks also to the other Dems who voted “no,” even though some of them may have done so for the same reasons as the Republicans. It’s never easy to vote against leadership, especially when a possible veto is in the offing.
Did your Rep vote the way you wanted? Let him or her know how you feel! (Not sure who your Rep is? Find out here.)
The bill now moves to the Senate. And the Senate has two choices: it could pass more or less the same bill, watch the Governor veto it, and then set up a big, long negotiation that will further delay progress and further exacerbate tensions, or it could pass a better bill, send it back to the House, work out the differences, and then send the Governor a bill he is willing to sign. To me, the latter seems like the more constructive approach. But I’m no politician.
The House roll-call is on the flip (click for larger).
lanugo says
Smizik, Khan and Balser from the Newton-Brookline world did not I think do their transit dependent communities any justice with this vote. They have Committee positions to protect but this was pretty fundamental to what I believe they stood for. Maybe they saw this as better than nothing, but is it? Really? I don’t see it. Disappointing and they need to hear from their progressive communities about why this was such a come down.
jconway says
Also has some splainin’ to do
jconway says
Jon Hecht Was one of the 9!
fenway49 says
I see this as perhaps worse than nothing.
I am in Rep. Khan’s district and am very disappointed. Perhaps more disappointed in Balser, who represents the most liberal parts of one of the most liberal cities in the Commonwealth.
lynpb says
Thanks to our Rep., Sean Garballey
jconway says
Both got elected in their 20s, ran solid grassroots oriented campaigns against long time figures in their communities, and both have maintained a commitment to progressive politics even if it means bucking the leadership. I suspect this also means both will go higher if they choose. Certainly role models I hope to follow.
Christopher says
Whenever you vote against a bill on the premise that it does not go far enough you are taking a gamble that you can pass something better. So if you won’t vote for half a loaf because you desperately want the full loaf, what’s going to happen if you end up with no loaf at all?
harmonywho says
We have a popular, eloquent and passionate Governor who’s fully committed to using his bully pulpit for a better way.
We have a core — if modest in numbers — group of progressive legislators who have put and will put themselves out there to do the right thing (in the House, Reps. Andrews, Farley-Bouvier, Garballey, Hecht, Keefe, Provost, D. Rogers, Sciortino, Sullivan. In the Senate, Chang-Diaz, Wolf, Eldridge, Donnelly are solid, as far as I have heard, and I hope a few more).
We have a Democratic party chair who is articulate and methodical in mapping out the political —and moral— stakes in not rising to this occasion.
We have a whole passel of stunned liberals who can’t believe that this is happening. “Didn’t we just vote on all of this in Nov. 2012? Wasn’t our understanding of the nature of taxes as investments in our community clear when we, you know, voted for Elizabeth Warren, against Scott Brown, for Barack Obama, and against Mitt Romney?”
*WE* have a lot of power to drive activism and outreach to these legislators. But we have to do it.
And we have to kick it up a notch, move beyond our own one-off phone calls: enlist friends, educate your grassroots team, motivate them to act and be organized enough to keep track and mobilize as necessary.
I know Progressive Mass is committed to doing all it can, but it’s a grassroots, people-powered, and primarily volunteer-driven organization. We need the grassroots peoples!!
We can do this. If we can’t annoy our email lists and make sure they act for this, what will do it for? Yes We Can!
liveandletlive says
It was about tax cuts for the wealthy and the negative impact it has. It certainly wasn’t a rally call to raise taxes on the poor and the middle class. If it had been, she never would have won.
harmonywho says
Governor:
Act to Invest:
harmonywho says
The truth is that with a flat income tax, there’s very little that’s politically feasible that we can do to get more out of the upper earners without marginally increasing a set of people in the middle. Both the Gov’s and the Act to Invest do a pretty decent job of holding down the increases via the sizable personal deductions.
But if we truly want to only see increases on the very wealthy, we need a true progressive tax (not attempts to reverse engineer a flat tax into a progressive one using the deductions).
Let’s do work on that, I’m all for it! And I speak as one who’d be affected.
In the meantime, however, we have that $1.5b structural deficit and the CONTINUING cuts that are negatively impacting the poor and middle-class disproportionately.
Not funding our services, transportation, education IS a tax on the poor and middle-class. We need to stop the austerity budgeting and re-invest. And we need to do it fairly.
I’d love to see a new $2B revenue proposal that shifts the impact upwards even further than the ATI and Gov’s. Where’s the leadership’s plan doing THAT?
And I’d be delighted to see a 3rd way that mitigates the increases in the middle. I’m waiting with bated breath!
There are many ways to fix the Gov’s plan. Many ways to improve the Act to Invest. But they are driven by solid goals and seeking unimpeachable outcomes:
Substantial revenue, progressively raised, invested in ALL of our needs, not just transportation.
fenway49 says
It’s not secret the Democratic Party has had a problem in the $60K-$105K income demographic. Too much income to qualify for various programs, not enough to really feel prosperous. As a matter of policy and politics I don’t see a solution to this in Massachusetts short of amending the infamous Article 44 to allow a progressive income tax structure.
rickterp says
I just sent a thank you message to my State Rep. Dave Rogers. As a brand new House member, it must not have been easy for him to vote No, but he did. Those of us in Belmont, Arlington, and Cambridge who worked hard to get Dave elected should be proud of Dave’s vote.
sabutai says
Standing up to the Speaker as a freshman is a good sign. I realize that his district is conservative, but many other reps betrayed their constituents on this vote. It’s pathetic that a Democrat serving his constituents and not the Speaker is laudable, but it is.
ward3dem says
About half those Dems who voted NO, did so not because they felt the tax bill was inadequate, because they thought it was too much!!!
harmonywho says
we need to vote in some more progressives. (and ones who’ll vote that way!)
ward3dem says
Progressives will not win in certain districts… I much rather have a big tent Dem caucus in the Legislature, than let Republicans pick up those seats.
I think this talk and threat of primary opponents is absurd and insulting.
fenway49 says
fewer Democrats if it means Democrats will act like Democrats. What I find absurd and insulting is that an 80% Democratic House and a 90% Democratic Senate can’t restore more than about 1 percent of the 26 percent in state tax revenue that has been cut since the late 1970s. The Governor’s “fantasy land” budget proposal would restore about one sixth of what has been cut in that time. Given the state of our state, that’s eminently reasonable.
Every day brings new stories about what Republican legislatures around the country are doing with much smaller majorities. What they stand for is sick, but they stand for it. Too many of our “Democrats” stand for nothing but themselves.
harmonywho says
I dislike policy favored by Republicans as much as the next guy. But I am motivated by policy, not Party, not by a long-shot. I am a happy worker Democrat because the Party is the organized means by which we advance policy and candidates.
When Democratic electeds vote and act like conservatives, I gotta ask the question: why are they better than Republicans?
It’s a question that I think has a good answer but it’s a question that MUST be asked if we have any core convictions. And if the answer is “they’re not much better than a Republican but they ARE,” ok, I’m with ya, vote Dem in the general! But for dog’s sake, let’s not clamp down even the DISCUSSION of how we get Democrats that better reflect our values. We MUST analyze the problem (we do have a legislature problem!) and discuss ways forward. Not doing so makes zero sense to me.
ward3dem says
Conservatives don’t vote for 1/2 Billion Dollars in taxes!
And its too simplistic to say that these Dems who didn’t vote for the Gov’s tax package are all DINOS.
harmonywho says
Good thing no one is saying that. Not me at least. Can you point to the place where ppl ARE saying “yes” voter are DINOs? Maybe you have misunderstood the critique.
Conservatives can indeed vote for tax increases as much as they can for spending increases. Reagan etc
fenway49 says
If they’re the Mass. Taxpayer Foundation, they’re for $800 million. Because even they realize that, after 5 years in a row with either cuts or no change in transportation funding, our infrastructure is in a shambles.
harmonywho says
I have no candidates to run. I’m looking at the problem and trying to talk out some solutions.
Elections are where we get electeds. Primaries are where we get candidates. It’s not a threat at all, but a description.
There are other avenues to find solutions to our Legislature Problem (and yes we do have a problem). Sure. You’ll find me not just THREATENING to call legislators and organizing communities and volunteers to get involved and do same …I’m also doing those things.
I see a forum like BMG as a place to explore and hash out theory and suggest practice and post in that vein. I’m not interested in threats but analysis. Hope that I’m less absurd, but it’s ok if I’m not. I’ve been thought of as worse! High-5.
fenway49 says
Everything’s fine. Let’s leave things just how they are. The legislature is doing great. There are huge Democratic majorities and we want all of them to keep their seats forever. That’s what matters, not what policy emerges.
We can have an 80% plus Democratic legislature, but we can’t have any progressive policies because Tea Party and Leah Cole and big tent.
ward3dem says
What is borthering me is this is all about one bill, not the many that legislatirs have voted on…. many of these pople have been leaders in the figt for marriage equality, health care refrom, women’s reproductive rights, local aid and community investment, green communities & energy reform, stem cell research and yes, tax increases! ($1B the past two sessions).
So to so that they now are not the model of good Democratic Party priniples is again absurd and insulting!
harmonywho says
One vote does not make a record.
And if I was talking about actually primarying a specific Democrat right now because of only this one vote, I’d agree that would be out of proportion and absurd (though insulting? not sure I can agree with that one).
But do you agree — just as a statement of fact, broadly applied, from state to national level— that if there ARE Democrats who are NOT upholding our best principles when they had the opportunity to do so, and choosing not to do so, again and again…
…that we should be looking for better Democrats?
Or do we take the Democrats we have, because, well, they’re Democrats, no matter what?
If a particular legislator is the model of good Democratic Party principles, but voted against this one vote for his/her reasons, I’d love to hear them, and I’d love to assess whether those reasons match up with the smell test or if they’re rationalizations.
I admit to being skeptical that there are “good” reasons to have voted wrong on this, but case by case, maybe there are (“a legislator is more liberal than his/her district”, say /shrug).
What I’m NOT interested in though is hearing about how the Satan-sandwich is really apple pie. Because it’s not. It stinks.
If you voted for JWM plan “as a true Democrat,” I don’t think I can personally stomach hearing how NOT Investing in Education and Funding Human Services and Building a Foundation for a Stronger Future is a GOOD DEMOCRATIC IDEA.
You might convince me it was an “impossible vote,” politically,… but that it’s actually a good plan worth voting for?
Nah.
I can’t wait to hear the rationalizations, but I’m pretty sure I’d find it BS.
SomervilleTom says
You’re joking, right? This state has been spiraling down since the anti-tax anti-government fervor of the Proposition 2 1/2 era. Where were all those “good Democratic Party principles” when we replaced broad-based progressive tax revenues with, for example, predatory gambling that explicitly and intentionally exploits our most vulnerable (and least affluent) residents?
The transportation infrastructure crisis didn’t just spring into existence last week. “Good Democratic Party principles” demand that it be addressed in a forward-looking way. this legislature has failed miserably to do that — this vote is only the latest in a long string of similar failures.
No, sorry. Some votes are more important than others. We face a historic crisis, and far too many of our legislators demonstrated a profound lack of courage in making this vote.
This bill DOES, in fact, make a record.
harmonywho says
I personally don’t know a lot of these names, even by reputation. Help appreciated.
Which “NO’s” — from the Not-in-the-Progressive-Caucus-Democrats-Who-Voted-No list — were from the Right (“Taxachusetts!”) and which from the Left (“Invest in growth”)?
Arciero, James
Ashe, Brian
Ayers, Bruce
Cantwell, James
Collins, Nick
Cutler, Josh
DiNatale, Stephen
DiZoglio, Diana
Dwyer, James
Fresolo, John
Garry, Colleen
Gregoire, Danielle
Heroux, Paul
Miceli, James
Petrolati, Thomas
Rosa, Dennis
Timilty, Walter
Zlotnik, Jonathan
Christopher says
…I suspect DiZoglio, Garry, and Miceli. From the left, Gregoire.
fenway49 says
I imagine is from the right. The district (Scituate, Marshfield) is trending rightward in recent years.
opusedge says
I’ve called her to express my displeasure. This reminds me of the time she refused to stand up to Tom Finneran…
opusedge says
When I called her last week to urge her not to vote.
jeremybthompson says
According to the roll call Sanchez, my rep, abstained. I had a long and thoughtful talk with his aide late last week, when I was told that Sanchez was leaning more toward the governor’s proposal, albeit not necessarily for the full revenue package. This abstention is surprising, but I hope it at least means he won’t be an override vote. (I did neglect to ask specifically what he’d do in the event of a veto.)
Other thoughts on the abstainers?
harmonywho says
Did he go to the bathroom and miss the vote? Have a kidney stone? Did he need to get his kid from the babysitter?
Or did he take a principled abstention for some reason…if so, what principle was that? And dude, why didnt you vote NO?
cos says
Seems to be a broken link to an image. Doesn’t load for me.
Could someone include the roll call as text? It’d be so much more useful that way, even if the image did load.
harmonywho says
It’s broken down by yes and no votes as text
http://progma.us/JWMHouseVote
bcal92 says
– my local rep – was MIA on this one. She voted for every amendment that stripped taxes and then against the entire plan. She said it was not a choice between the Governor’s plan and the Leadership plan – it was her own.
I called her office and sent emails – no response.
harmonywho says
per my question a couple posts up.
bcal92 says
And a Democrat to boot.