He promised us 10 minutes. He gave us 30. Charley, Bob and I just got off a fascinating and wide-ranging conference call with Mass. Gov candidate Deval Patrick. We talked housing, health care, construction, political strategy, and more.
Each of us is going to write up our impressions of the call and post them separately. And, in a nod to iconic film director Akira Kurosawa and his masterpiece Rashomon, we will not review each other’s posts before putting them on the site. Leaving you, our readers, to figure out which was the REAL Deval Patrick conference call?
All of which is to say, stay tuned for more details.
Please share widely!
So that’s why he was late! Shame on you folks for hogging the candidate!I’ll have own my impressions up on .08 Acres later tonight.
Hey sco, there’s three of us here. And we’ve all got such terribly urgent and insightful questions. ;)Heck, we should have all done the same conference call — although with enough people that could turn into a press conference-type shoutfest…
“He is extremely articulate…”David, isn’t that another way to say he doesn’t alk likme a n%g$#r?”someone who truly believes that government can serve the people of this Commonwealth better than it’s been doing for the last bunch of years. I was impressed.”Why? Beause he was articulate. This line is not new, by any means.”..and making it unreasonably difficult for, say, single parents to get favorable loans.”I know this is an example, but it is not about single parents in low income neighborhoods getting loans. It is about them getting low end jobs that still alow them to feed there family and have affordable day care. – But i digress.SBIC – Big deal. There have alweays been state back programs to encourage private developemnt which is what venture funfds do. Not new!”..agenda to make Massachusetts the best place to live, work, and go to school.”Wow! Never heard that before. Reily was sujing the Big dig contractors but rhe gave it toi romney. nothing new there.My problem is not with Patrick. It is with you guys falling in love with him and yet he hasbn’t given details nor does he hacve arecord showing the ability to move legislation, which is what is going to be necessary to be a sucessful governor.Instead he is being sold like a bottle of coke and you guys are gobbling it up.He gave you an interview. Big DealYou sound more like a fan club then anythingh else
Okay, people do use single-payer in different ways, and they often get it wrong. It’s important to note that the UK has a nationalize health service where the government owns the hospitals. Canada has a single payer system where the provinces pay for medical care, but the doctors are independent. (They don’t necessarily cover everything. In some provinces abortion is not covered.)I am not a health care policy expert, but I have never heard of anyone use the term to describe “a single clearinghouse to which all providers would submit their bills.” I’m not even sure what that means in practice.
“My problem is not with Patrick. It is with you guys falling in love with him and yet he hasn’t given details nor does he have a record showing the ability to move legislation, which is what is going to be necessary to be a successful governor.”Troll, that is a fair point. Who among the current candidates has “the ability to move legislation”? Who has given details of what they plan to do? Romney? Reilly? Galvin? Gosh, at the convention, Galvin was so vague he made Patrick sound like an IRS form by comparison. Reilly was not exactly forthcoming either, and I haven’t seen anything in the press that indicates otherwise. And ol’ PowerPoint Mitt … well, we know about him and his allergy to details.(I confess I don’t know Galvin’s legislative record, and there’s not much from his bio:http://www.billgalvin.org/biography.htm)So you’ve got a fair challenge, and I think we all pushed him on that a little bit. But really, there’s nothing one can point to unless you’ve already governed something, or been a lawmaker. He’s got a record — it just doesn’t happen to be in the legislative sphere.I would ask the same kinds of questions of Reilly or Galvin: Which health care plan do you support? What about greater oversight for construction projects? They would have something to say about it, but I don’t know that it would be necessarily more “real world” or credible than Patrick.
Troll, I have neither the time nor the inclination (my favorite phrase today, apparently) to respond to each of your comments. Let me choose just a couple. First, as to whether Patrick is “extremely articulate”: he’s extremely articulate. I don’t care what fucking color he is. Second, as to the fact that he hasn’t given a bunch of details, aren’t you the one who has repeatedly said that candidates need not and should not post policy positions on their websites because it just lets opponents get out the artillery early? You had actually convinced me of that, but now you want details? I’m confused. Third, no record moving legislation? So what. Outsider candidates almost by definition never have records of moving legislation. If you want a candidate with a record of moving legislation, why not Tommy Finneran? Finally, does he have a couple of stock-sounding campaign sound-bite phrases? Sure. Show me a candidate who doesn’t.If Tom Reilly or Bill Galvin wants to have a conference call with us, we’ll be delighted. I’ve already sent Reilly an invitation.
“Who among the current candidates has “the ability to move legislation”? Who has given details of what they plan to do? Romney? Reilly? Galvin? Gosh, at the convention, Galvin was so vague he made Patrick sound like an IRS form by comparison. Reilly was not exactly forthcoming either, and I haven’t seen anything in the press that indicates otherwise. And ol’ PowerPoint Mitt … well, we know about him and his allergy to detail.”Exactly Charley. So you agree. Show me the details or something special about Patrick. You haven’t. Instead this blog becomes “TigerBeat” Magazine and Patrick is the cover boy. I may stary calling him David Cassidy.And Charley, it is a bad argument to make me defend his opponnents. By pointing out my problems with Patrick and more specifically the love-in you are having with Patrick does not mean I support the other candidates. That is closed minded thinking.By the way, Galvin is one to watch. he will make announcement in fall when people pay attention, til then he is only const. officer doing his job with not huge fanfare. Financial institution prosecution, and n ow Gillette. And he is most politically astute candidate mentiuoned so far. Has baggage thoughDavid, my point is not patrick, it is your immediate embrace of him. You are a lawyer, don’t you want to take a wait and see attitude. What makes this guy so great? What makes him head and shoulders above the others? I don’t see it. I am not saying he may be the best candidate or the greatest governor, I am giving him a chance, but I don’t hop in bed on the first date and you guys have definetly married this guy.And David, it is well know among any blacks and people who, oh I don’t know, have a little street smarts, that when a white person describes a black person as being “articulate” that is code for ‘he doesn’t talk like a fuckin’ n****r.’ I was just surprised you said that.
Well, I guess I don’t speak the code. Pardon me for actually saying what I meant. And I have never claimed to have “street smarts” (whatever they may be) in this area. My point (since I apparently need to explain it to those better versed in the “code” than I am) was this: there are some successful politicians who are NOT articulate. Like the President. Like the Mayor of Boston. And there are some who are. Like Bill Clinton. Like John Kerry. Deval Patrick falls into the latter category, and sits pretty close to the top of the list, in my admittedly limited experience. I mean, have you actually heard the guy speak?Happy?
Don’t apologise david,no need to. But that phrase has been used against people to label them racist. Serously.And I agree with you, and know why you said it, no need to explain. You sound like a wussy liberal instead of a strong progressive by explaining.smiles
Hey, what ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Yeesh. Can we stop accusing people of being or sounding racist just for saying something nice about a minority candidate finally? I mean, come on.To my mind, no one is married to anyone at this point. And all of us will back the Democratic candidate who wins the nod (so long as he is worthy – not, you know, like Delay on the other side). It sounds to me like people now are cautiously optimistic that for now, this guys sounds sincere, wants to run an inclusive campaign, and has answers to questions insofar as they have been asked. If Reilly or Galvin called up, my guess is they’d get the same treatment. I don’t see unnecessary reverence here – I see that people are impressed, and waiting. No one here yet has endorsed or called on people to donate to any particular candidate. I think that Patrick gave his time, and a message, and answered questions, and the bloggers have conveyed that message as honestly as they could with some commentary. We all know that the best-sounding or even the best candidate isn’t always the one who can win. But at least for now, Patrick is the only candidate reaching out to non-conventional outlets to get his message to the people. To me, that sounds less like we’re being used and more like being included. I think it’s hip that he even thought to talk to bloggers. If Galvin or Reilly do the same, they’ll be a little late to the party, but given credit too.Let’s all relax people…we’re on the same side.
well put lynne.however, a general problem I have with Mass. progressives is that in soime regards they no different then far right nuts. That is, we say inclusive, but inclusive really means as long as you agree 1005 with me on litmus test issues.So I do not buy this inclusive junk.sorry.p.s.i am just having fun with david, relax. But if a conservative called him well spoken or articulate there would be a grumbling somewhere. and that conservative was as innocent as David.
You sound like a wussy liberal instead of a strong progressive by explaining.sigh. There’s no pleasing some people. đŸ™‚
Well, that’s why he’s The Troll. Don’t say you weren’t forewarned… đŸ™‚
Whoever said I was a “he”Well I never!I can’t believe how racist and sexist this blog is.
Hey, why am i having trouble for the past week geeting into comments section of Blue Mass Group? Is it my computer. Only page that i have probelmes.It takes long time for page to appear. And it doesn’t save my info. If it is your problem, good. If it is my problem, bad.Thanks
Hmm. I will look into it. I’ve found that TypePad is generally pretty slow, and I’ve noticed several double-posts in the comments, so others may be having problems too.