And the Patrick/Murray inaugural ball is being held at the new South Boston Convention Center. From what I understand, anyone who wants to get in can, the place is that big. And the $50 ball ticket price? I was told that it’s usually much higher than that for past inaugurals.
This article’s opening is rather presumptuous: “After criticism about the expense of his five-day inauguration, Governor-elect Deval Patrick asked partygoers in Worcester and Boston yesterday to bring new socks and new or “gently used” shoes and boots for needy children.” Um, from what I can tell, the ideas for how to create the “people” part of the people-power have been coming from these community meetings on the ground. Not to mention, some of the plans for the inauguration leaked before all the final details were even thought about, never mind finalized. How the hell does someone make the supposition that as a result of criticism, Patrick changed his mind? Wishful thinking?
And then people wonder why we’re angry when fellow bloggers are slandered by the mainstream media. Yikes.
Eileen McNamara is a little fairer: “The movers and shakers planning Patrick’s inaugural events across the state are not Democratic swells; they are the same citizen-volunteers who helped orchestrate his historic victory at the polls last month.” And she also mentions some of the questions surrounding the events:
It was a mistake, quickly corrected, for incoming Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray to accept an invitation to a closed-door forum at one of the city’s most prominent lobbying firms. More problematic, and less likely to be reversed, is the decision to solicit corporate donations of as much as $50,000 for the privately financed inaugural gala.
Collecting small donations from people of modest means was at the heart of the Patrick campaign, a real and symbolic refutation of the big money contributors who have come to dominate American politics.
If tapping corporate donors for the inaugural looks like a contradiction, Patrick says he understands that perception, ” but no one is buying access to me. I wanted the people who made this victory possible to be able to celebrate it and to do that takes money.”
At least she allows the attacked person (Patrick) to make a statement regarding the substance of the issue – that of too many corporate donors for the inaugural.
Hey, we all worked really hard for Patrick (still are). I think we deserve a little celebration. And Patrick, once upon a time, got a big paycheck from places such as Coke and Ameriquest. If we grassroots have made our peace with his involvement with those companies, why would we suddenly not give the new Governor a little breathing room on his inaugural? Evidence is better than assumptions, so when Patrick has a record as governor we will examine it. Until then, I am looking forward to my big ol’grassroots-driven party.
No one is saying there should not be a party. The concern about big donations from corporations to the inauguration is the same concern that progressives supposedly have when we talk about campaign finance reform. The influence of money on politics. I am a little surprised that someone who calls herself a leftest thinks it is not important in this case. If this was Romney we were talking about, people on BMG would be all over it.
<
p>
BTW, the money Deval Patrick received from Coke and Ameriquist was because he worked for them. Surely you are not equating that situation with the present one.
<
p>
Patrick won the campaign. Any money he gets at this point is not the life-or-death money he needed in September.
<
p>
No matter how much money anyone gives him at this point, he’ll still be governor on January fourth. Previous to the election, that wasn’t the case.
only “because you disagree”
rationalize |?ra sh ?nl??z; ?ra sh n??l?z| verb [ trans. ]
1. attempt to explain or justify (one’s own or another’s behavior or attitude) with logical, plausible reasons, even if these are not true or appropriate: she couldn’t rationalize her urge to return to the cottage. See note at lie.
<
p>
2 make (a company, process, or industry) more efficient by reorganizing it in such a way as to dispense with unnecessary personnel or equipment : his success was due primarily to his ability to rationalize production.
<
p>
3 Mathematics convert (a function or expression) to a rational form.
<
p>
DERIVATIVES rationalization |?ra sh ?nl-??z? sh ?n; ?ra sh n?l?-| noun rationalizer noun.
<
p>
Source: Oxford American Dictionary. Now that is settled, we can resume the normal programming.
contributions from lobbyists and contractors are banned by law. So, the Governor has to find funds from some where else or plan accordingly.
Didn’t their previous governor just get out of prison? Let’s not use them as a shining example of political ethics.
What does the fact that their former governor just got out of prison have to do with it? Isn’t that a reason for having such a law?
How naive am I. If I wanted a party I’d either foot the bill or charge admission equal to the cost.
<
p>
Can’t the Democratic party foot the bill? Is there a legal problem with that?
<
p>
But if you ask [insert corporate name here] to pay for my party, you can bet that [evil corporation] is going to ask what’s in it for them.
<
p>
Here’s an alternative, sell ad space on the back of the tux jackets.
<
p>
Can’t you imagine a “CHRISTY’s CONVENIENCE” logo on a few invitees?
<
p>
How many Charter schools would pay to post on Pablo’s tux? A big BLUE CROSS/SHIELD on Senator Moore’s tux? Ted Kennedy will probably attend; he’s probably got the square footage of a billboard. Party paid for!
<
p>
CAPE WIND? You listening?
<
p>
Maybe “VICTORIA SECRET” for Deb Goldburg’s black dress derriere … ok, forget that image. But, you get the drift.
Pablo won’t be attending the events.
<
p>
I don’t want to go to an inaugural party and hang in a crowd. I already have reservations at a Boston restaurant. My wife and I, along with another couple, will celebrate the good things in our lives. It will be more meaningful than haning out in a room full of strangers wearing tuxes.
<
p>
I didn’t ring doorbells in the rain to go to an inaugural party, though I will certainly raise a glass to celebrate the demise of Republicans in the corner office. All I want is to see good people in positions of leadership in state government, and the ability to reach out when I have a problem or something to say.
I read these arguments as follows:
<
p>
Well, of course money isn’t a corrupting influence in politics if it comes to us! Its those other guys that are corrupt when they accept large sums of money from entities that exist in order to make a profit.
<
p>
Us: pure
Them: corrupt
Wow, so not the point.
<
p>
I’m just trying to make it plain that Deval is as in debt to the holy-hell amount of work of those people who’ve volunteered to pull this off as he might be to any donors. Not to mention, either he has an exclusive cheap party, or an expensive inclusive one. You can bet your ass off I prefer inclusive.
<
p>
Ours is gonna be real cool, too. I recommend anyone who likes art and culture will love ours.
“Deval is as in debt to the holy-hell amount of work of those people who’ve volunteered to pull this off as he might be to any donors.”
<
p>
So you worked hard for him so you could have a big party? I figured he’d repay his debt by being a good governor.
<
p>
Listen, have a huge inclusive party. Reunite the remaining Beatles for a show if you want. Bring back MC Hammer, I don’t care. But when it’s corporate-funded (and it doesn’t matter who’s serving punch if the money is from State Street), one of two things are happening: corporate Mass. is getting on the ground floor with Deval, or Deval’s playing corporate Mass. for a bunch of suckers.
<
p>
Nancy Pelosi is soon to be the first female Speaker of the House, the most powerful woman in American history, and she’s not blowing $1 mill on her thing. She’s not having a thing. She’s going to work.
Reading Senator Mitch McConnell’s opposition to campaign finance reform, you learn that he does not regard financial influence as bad at all. Conservatives have this view that to be financially successful, you must be self-disciplined, and, by being self-disciplined, you are good. We regard it as unconscionable to roll back OSHA standards or clean air standards. Those other-winged guys have a very different view and identify with the owners of the regulated business much more than we do. Everyone can be corrupted, but not everyone sees his or her job the same way.
<
p>
It took the Republicans in the House only ten years to reach the same level of corrpution that the Democrats had achieved after forty years of controlling the House. There’s a reason for this. It’s ideological. The media will not spell it out for you.
<
p>
I’m certainly not saying, “He’s a liberal; he must be good.” I think every progressive on this blog is a bit suspicious about $50,000 contributions. I know I am, but that’s why it took forty years.
<
p>
Let’s think about what do we do with that suspicion rather than use up all our exclamation points at once. Why don’t we keep quiet about it for now? Let professional cynics like Joan Vennochi, professional Patrick opponents like the Herald, and amateur Patrick opponents from the GOP handle it. Let us wait for Deval Patrick to do some actual governing. If he is unduly influenced by some contributor or even if things get more suspicious, please, let’s raise some noise.
<
p>
In the meantime, could we reschedule the circular firing squad after the inauguration?
I did not join Common Cause, which has been around for more than 30 years fighting the good fight, to be quiet about one of its core issues; the effect of money on politics.
<
p>
As Pablo puts in his diaries: Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
<
p>