It’s been prety quiet around these parts for ol’ Hoss. Real world time pressures have kept me from posting as much as I could over the summer.
But this morning’s Globe profile of Green-Rainbow Lieutenant Governor Candidate Martina Robinson has prompted me to stir. She is truly an inspirational figure and we as Democrats ought to be ashamed of ourselves for letting her go.
Before I go on, let me state this: I support Deval Patrick and Tim Murray completely. I will vote for them in 4 weeks, I will continue to support them with my time and money. But I hope all of us take a look at Ms. Robinson when we think about how much we really have to complain about in life.
Martina has cerebral palsy, yet she is a three-time candidate for Belchertown Selectman. I, for one, hope she runs again so that we netroots-ers can propel her to victory. I hope she runs for Rtate Representative or Senator someday. She is someone who we need in the political realm in Massachusetts. Senator Berry has been a leader on disability issues, but he’s as much of an insider up on Becaon Hill as anyone else.
Martina also has what could be the line of the race thus far and does a good job summing up what the LG actually does:
Compared with some of her greater challenges, Robinson said, the job she seeks looks pretty easy.
“I’ve chaired lots of meetings,” she said. “I can do that in my sleep.”
I know, I know, there’s more to the job than that. But it’s pretty funny, dontcha think?
As far as the LG debate goes, here’s what should happen: it should be extended to 90 minutes, Ms. Robinson should be invited and given the opportunity to have an aide repeat her answers if she wants, and Tim Murray ought to be the first person advocating for her to be there. Let’s face it: no one is going to watch the LG debate, so it doesn’t matter if it’s 30 minutes longer. And I would also hope that the broadcast networks wouldn’t balk at adding 30 minutes. It’s the right thing to do if it’s what is necessary to allow Ms. Robinson the time she needs to answer the questions facing our state.
I strongly urge the Patrick/Murray campaign to advocate for this or a similar measure if it is not already doing so.
I agree she’s personally inspiring. I enjoyed reading the Globe article about her. BUT…
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(xposted from my LJ)
The summary is that she’s a smart and experienced activitist; she has cerebral palsy, a disability that confines her to a wheel chair, makes her speech hard to understand, and requires 16 hours a day of a home attendent to allow her to live independently; she’s never held any elected office, though she ran three times (and was defeated in a landslide all three times) for selectman in her town.
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So. This tells me that the Green Party is deeply commited to diversity and disability rights, but that they do not have a serious goal of winning the gubernatorial election in November. That’s fine; I’m sure there are many valid reasons for running a campaign other than a real expectation of winning. It is also realistic as of course they really do have no chance of winning. But still. I think it would fabulous for a person with disabilities to win a major office in MA, but it might be best to start with someone whose disability does not limit their ability to communicate. (Ms. Robinson has an aide to repeat her words during speeches so she can be understood.) It also might be best to start with someone with some relevent experience. Or a demonstrated history of being able to win elections or at least run strong campaigns. Or strong ties with a major voting bloc/community. (Hey, she’s from western Mass, an area often neglected by Beacon Hill and the corner office. Great! But…um, no one there has ever heard of her.) Or some other asset to help offset the handicap and her party’s underdog status.
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So as I said before, Grace Ross rocks my socks. I’ll be interested in seeing how Martina Robinson does in the “tenatively scheduled” Oct 17 debate. I’ll vote for Grace and Martina in November if Deval and Tim look like they have the election locked up. But I do wish the Green Party could come up with a Lt. Gov candidate that made their bid look at least a little serious. :-4a7d3d609129a9296bf7ac0608c2097
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Not sure how we would categorize “major office” but the current Senate majority leader, Fred Berry of Peabody, has CP. He is the Senate’s longest serving member and he is an inspiration.