Well, mostly more of the same this time, with a lot more Hello Springfield!
Grace Ross makes a terrific case for progressive taxation and dealing with global warming. Hey Grace — if you’re not hearing this from anywhere else, let me invite you to be a Democrat. Seriously. We need folks like you. Check back in. Don’t just say that “the Dems are too this/too that”; the Dems are us — ordinary people, whoever we decide to be. John Carroll remarked that Mihos made Ross sound sane and measured (or some such words); John, Ross is sane and measured in everything except her self-marginalizing choice of party.
Healey sounds more and more snippy and snide — not gubernatorial. “I can tell you that we can do the tax rollback.” Well! I can tell you that we can’t. Saying so don’t make it so. Healey on one-party rule: “There will never be another public meeting again”. Riiight — there are only meetings now because of the massive pull of Romney and Healey? Hooey.
What’s her vision? What kind of place *ought* Massachusetts be after four years of Healey as Governor? Does she know? Does anyone care? She seems to imagine that it’s best to address Patrick’s hopefulness with her own soft-right pessimism. That doesn’t win elections.
Aesthetics: Seeing Ross and Healey right after one another in the health care section is a very striking visual — the rather humble-looking Ross talking about the gaps in the new health care law, a tanned, fit and well-pressed Healey hammering home “personal responsibility”. Maybe it’s sexist, or classist, or worse that I noticed. But I noticed. Deval is the only one that seems to be having fun. “OK you two.” Funny. Strange makeup, however. Healey sounds a little hoarse.
Mihos is just hard to follow — way too excitable. Please, Christy, take five or ten deep breaths and intone the sacred syllable OM before you walk on stage. “If you like the Big Dig, you’ll love Cape Wind”?? What? Non-sequitir or red herring? (Update: There is no moratorium on Cape Wind, contrary to what Mihos says.) That being said, I loved Mihos giving his attitude towards the legislature: “We’re all here because we love public service.” And I think I’m just now understanding the gist of “Christy’s Proposition 1”: Essentially, take away money from state legislators and give it to municipalities. Fine. Got it.
Overall: This debate showed Healey with a bit more polish but no more warmth. Why step on her own closing statement in order to snip at Mihos? Patrick is easy to take and disciplined as always; I don’t have much to say about him because mostly, we’ve heard it before. Same with Christy. I thought Ross did even better than last time — she’s a terrific voice to have in the debates, since she’s willing to challenge conventional wisdom that so often isn’t particularly wise.
Healey is still harping on the tax cut, despite all the polling that shows that people just don’t care about that like they do other issues. Patrick can turn an ineffective primary thrust of the Healey campaign into a campaign-defining liability for them with a very simple message:
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“Kerry Healey will say anything and make unrealistic promises to try to get elected. She knows her tax-cut plan is utterly unrealistic, but she keeps talking about it in hopes of fooling people into voting for her. She’ll promise you the moon if she thinks it will help her campaign. I respect the intelligence of the people of Massachusetts far too much to make unrealistic promises I won’t be able to keep.”
Every poll I’ve seen has support for the roll back. Do you have a link to polls that show otherwise?
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You said that polls show that people just don’t care about the tax issue like they do other issues.
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Then you link to a poll that shows that in February 2006, people who want the tax rate to stay at 5.3% slightly outnumber people in favor of a rollback, but didn’t ask about how important the issue was, never mind how important relative to other issues.
Sure, the origninal post was about the importance of the issue, but that’s not what FrankSkeffington asked.
I should have re-read his comment; I assumed that he was referring to the original point.
…any data on General election voters?
the only other one I know of was also dem primary where 15% wanted an immediate roll back, 40 something % wanted gradual roll back, 30% stay at 5.3 and 5or 6% no opinion
Didnt know about this one
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which says in part
It mentions o”Brien voters, which suggests that it may be 4 years old. Could still be useful, but that limits its utility a lot.
so thanks for giving a bump up to her profile and her smart, thoughtful and well stated positions on the issues that matter the most to the most voters.
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I just finished emailing Grace at grace4gov@green-rainbow.org to let her know how much I am inspired by her. And that I am very grateful to her for speaking for me, my family, and my community in the debate and throughout her campaign
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Since this post called out health care as a top issue, folks might want to check out The Nation article (look for link under “Priority Reform Items”} that accurately rips into the new MA health law. It’s a detailed, very readable article written by a health policy expert at Consumers Union.
was Deval calling out Mitt Romney for making his own Commonwealth the butt end of jokes while traveling the country trying to run for President. We all know it, nice to hear Deval say it.
The audience really seemed to appreciate that one, too.
You don’t actually think Grace Ross thinks she can win, do you? The roll of a Green Party candidate if not to win, is to bring issues to light that otherwise might not have been there in the general election. If she were a Dem she would have been knocked out of it by now and we wouldn’t be able to hear some of the so-called marginal issues that are important to the commonwealth. Who else was going to bring up global warming by characterizing it as one of the two biggest threats we’re facing? I can’t imagine that the other three would have framed the debate that way.
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You see this same phenomenon in primary races when lefter-leaning Dems don’t win their primary, but are successful at moving the debate/discussion in their direction just by their presence. I think Grace Ross is great just where she is.
One of Deval’s biggest issues is the environment. He’s been talking about Cape Wind for longer than I’ve supported him (and that’s a long time). If the environment isn’t one of his top two concerns, it certainly has to be in his top 5, and I think Cape Wind will be a huge priority for him while in office.
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But, Charley, which Democratic Party would she join? The wing of the party that killed off clean elections and is still having a hard time figuring out that civil unions are not quite the same thing as equal marriage, or the more progressive wing of the party that has itself been marginalized by the party leadership for years on end.
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Kristen’s right, in that Grace Ross would never have been given a fighting chance to be on the dais for the primaries, let alone the general election. Perhaps if more Dems like you, Charley, had the guts to actually praise someone based upon their viewpoints, rather than their “choice of party”, then perhaps we could work toward a blue-green collaboration that would not only benefit the commonwealth, but also bring some hope to the disenfranchised about whom Ross speaks.
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Deval Patrick has gotten as far as he has because of his personal wealth and an elite group of friends and connections that would be the envy of many a politician. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but as long as the Democratic Party is only looking for combinations like that, voices such as Grace’s will be left in the wilderness. The Party has shown no interest in supporting candidates like Grace, and the mainstream media won’t help overcome this handicap.
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If you really believe that the Democratic Party needs people like Grace, then use this forum to do two things:
(1) If Deval should be elected, strongly encourage him to hire folks like Grace for his administration (yes, even if they are not Dems), so that her thoughtfulness can be put into action.
(2) Encourage the reincarnation of clean elections, so that candidates with viewpoints such as Grace’s can have a realistic chance of challenging the well-heeled party establishment.
Better than Grace joining the Democratic Party would be for her to stay where she is and for all of us to advocate strongly for instant run-off voting. The technology is there and more importantly the time is right. Let’s end the stranglehold on the debate by the two major parties here in Massachusetts. What better way for our next governor, Deval Patrick, to open up government than to push for this reform.
In the meantime let’s put an initial chink in the armor of the two-party state by voting for Proposition 2, fusion voting or cross-party endorsements.
Completely on board with Clean Elections. Campaign finance is the issue behind every other issue.
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As for hiring non-Democrats as necessary, Patrick has said that he’d go beyond party to find the best people for the job. I don’t think that necessarily includes Ross. 😉 But we’ll hold him to that.
I remember a few months ago, on this very forum, when people were arguing that John Bonifaz wasn’t a legitmate DCemocrat because he’d backed Green Party candidates in the past. There were questions of whether he was or had been a Green Party member which took a nearly McCarthyite tone. Until the Dems get over that, I have trouble seeing Grace Ross–and many other progressives who think that third parties can play useful roles–wanting to join the Dems and submit themselves to such a headache.
her party’s statements relating to the existence of Israel? Are these Democratic Party values?
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Anne Butler, Greenn Rainbow State Committee Memember from Middlesex County:
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And Ron Francis, Mass Green Rainbow Party Co-Chair:
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By the way, Francis then states that suicide bombers are the moral equivalent of Nat Turner’s slave revolt.
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Or are these positions OK if one is in favor of the adoption of a progressive income tax and more urgent action on global warming? Ugh.
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Credit to the carpundit and solomonia for tracking and exposing this stuff.
The Green-Rainbow Party elected new leadership at its annual convention a couple of weeks ago. While I certainly will not put words in the mouths of the new leadership team – they can speak for themselves (neither Ms. Butler nor Mr. Francis was elected, BTW) – it is my understanding that the new team does not share the viewpoints you quote.
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You are certainly free to ask Grace Ross about her opinions on any issue. But please be aware that the GRP has taken recent action that may, in fact, be a response to comments such as the ones above.
That is good to know, and I hope you are right.
Hello,
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You requested a position on Israel from Grace Ross. Here is a statement that Grace released earlier this year during the war with Lebanon.
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Please forward and additional questions if you have any.
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Sincerely,
Colby Peterson, Media Coordinator for Grace Ross and Communications Director for the Green-Rainbow Party
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Grace Ross statement on Lebanon, Gaza
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I and the Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts join people across the world in horror at the apparently purposeful attack against civilians by the Israeli government. We join their almost universal call for an immediate cessation of Israeli attacks of all kinds on Lebanon and Gaza, widely recognized as war crimes.
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And we call on our own government to withdraw not only the illegal supply of fuel for Israeli jets and other direct military assistance in these attacks but all other forms of assistance. As Americans we demand that our government not make us culpable in the massacring of innocent people.
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Credible sources, which neither Israel nor the US government deny, say that Israeli attacks are in response to the capture of soldiers in a military action. The Israeli government has refused to negotiate for release of their soldiers or to seek other peaceful resolutions. Instead, they have used their vastly superior military power against defenseless Palestinians in Gaza, and to bomb the roads leaving Lebanon and then bomb civilian targets after having trapped non-combatants in kill-zones.
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This is purposive massacring of civilians, and we call on all people of conscience to join us in demanding immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces, cessation of military action and of all US support.
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We especially call on the political leaders in Massachusetts, both elected and aspiring, to check their facts and recall their humanity. Remove your support for war crimes you expressed by signing the July 20 statement We Stand With Israel. If you cannot stand against crimes against humanity, how can you lead this Commonwealth? How can you stand for us against huge monied interests when tunnels collapse or global warming impacts the lives of the people of Massachusetts?
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We know that most batterers were battered themselves and we know that the young killers in Columbine High School were emotionally abused and socially ostracized. That does not and cannot excuse battering and massacring their schoolmates. Likewise, we recognize the long history of oppression of Jewish people across the worldincluding U.S. exclusion of refugees from Nazi Germany.
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That does not and cannot excuse violent acts of aggression against other innocent people. Massive bombing of civilians is not defense of Israeli people.
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Our obligation as true friends of the people, everywhere in the world, is to never blindly condone aggression. Like with a batterer, our obligation is to face and honestly speak the reality, put our bodies on line to defend the innocent, and refuse to support the continued violence.
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Green-Rainbow Party Statement on Palestine
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The Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts, in consonance with its adherence to its Ten Key Values, has the following position on the issue of Palestine. This statement will be submitted to the national party through the International Committee:
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p> 1. The Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts calls for the end of all American military and economic aid to Israel. Additionally, the Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts supports the following means to bring pressure to bear on Israel: Divestment initiatives that seek to withdraw institutional investments from Israel state bonds and corporations that do business with Israel; academic boycotts of Israeli academics and academic institutions. 2. The Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts calls for an ecologically sound commitment to equitably sharing and conserving all water and other natural resources among all peoples of the region. 3. The Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts supports full implementation of the Right of Return for each Palestinian refugee, which means each Palestinian has the right to choose to return to his or her home and lands. This right is a fundamental human right and is enshrined in international law for all peoples of the world. 4. The Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts rejects all apartheid-based governmental systems and calls for a secular, democratic governing entity for all people in the geographic region of historic Palestine (today referred to by some people as Israel, the West Bank and Gaza). We support a democratic system with equal rights for all in which the peoples of the region democratically decide their future. 5. The Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts recognizes the right of Palestinians to self-defense as well as nonviolent resistance to Israeli occupation and the Israeli project of forced displacement of the indigenous Palestinian population which has been ongoing since 1948. The right to resist occupation is guaranteed to all peoples of the world by international law.
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Good gravy.
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I only just saw this posting. Thank you very much for posting it.