I’ve just returned from vacation and am catching up on all the local news I’ve missed over the past 8 days.
I just read about Governor Deval Patrick’s schedule change in regards to appearing and speaking at the GLBT Youth Pride Day in Boston on May 12. It appears that he was confirmed to speak on the Common but, after calls from “outraged” citizens, he backed down. If this is the case, I feel as though I really was mislead and fooled by this man.
He had been confirmed. And his office confirmed his attendance several times during the week leading up to the event. Then, towards the end of the week, his office apparently changed their answer to saying he was unconfirmed to attend. On Saturday, at the Youth Pride Day festivities, he was a no show. It was announced that he had a “prior engagement and was unable to attend”.
This isn’t the Governor I voted for. A man who would back down from supporting the youth of Massachusetts because a handful of people repeatedly called his office to protest his attendance. It just makes me feel like I was duped into believing in something that only existed to gain my vote.
Source? Citation? Link? Politicians change their schedules all the time. How do you know this was the reason?
Not that I want to send traffic their way, but if you head over to MassResistance they are claiming victory on this one.
BostonBud debunked this quite nicely.
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http://massresistanc…
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A more interesting question is why Barbara Anderson and Chip Faulkner of Citizens for Limited Taxation repeatedly appeared on the (now defunct) MassResistance Radio Show.
thanks for the link.
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i guess those people over at MR are really good at brainwashing. i promise to be more careful next time…
So credit goes to him. We both receive the Governor’s daily schedule, and here is mine posted as a second source for credibility:
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GOVERNOR PATRICK?S PUBLIC SCHEDULE
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Saturday, May 12, 2007
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Governor Patrick attends memorial service for Lt. Ryan Jones.
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p> Holy Spirit Parish
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50 Lovewell Street
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p> Gardner
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Here are my thoughts on the matter. The Governor is just one man, he can only be in so places at once. If we are to make this state what we want it to be, we must do it together. Let’s try to get behind whom we voted in for the next four years. If you truly want to judge Governor Patrick on where he stands for the GLBT community, the truth is not hard to find.
Since it shows that Deval wasn’t planning to attend long before MassResistance claims to have deluged him with calls.
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I know, I know, if you can’t trust an organization obsessed with denying people rights, who can you trust?
The BayWindows article was posted on 5/9. Also on 5/9, MassResistance posted that
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The Youth Pride page doesn’t say that he’s attending, but it doesn’t say that he won’t be attending either.
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Then on 5/10, MassResistance posts:
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You guys are making it seem now like he had been scheduled for the funeral long before MassResistance was concerned that he was attending the event. That doesn’t seem to be the case, it seems like you’re re-writing history.
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Matthew, where did you get your information that “He had been confirmed. And his office confirmed his attendance several times during the week leading up to the event.” I can’t find that on MassResistance, nor can I find any posts taking credit for the Gov backing out. Lt. Jones was killed by a roadside bomb on May 2nd, so his funeral was not something people could have been planning for very long. But I suspect that Gov. Patrick was glad it came up (politically, that is).
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Bay Windows generally has a Monday deadline for Thursday’s street date. SO, the article was written well before MassResistance sent their letter.
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I’d forgotten that Amy Contrada is a supporter of yours:
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http://massresistanc…
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http://massresistanc…
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Mass. Governor backs down – stays away from hardcore homosexual “youth pride” day after MassResistance flood of calls and emails from angry citizens.
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Your torrent of angry calls and emails did it!! Governor Deval Patrick, avowed “ally” of the homosexual movement, abruptly backed down and stayed away from the homosexual movement’s annual hardcore “Youth Pride” event. Do not underestimate the power of outraged citizens armed with a single purpose — even when things look bleak. Remember, this is the place where the American Revolution began.
So the gov misses your event and you can’t support him anymore. With friends like you…
lobbying people to call the Governor about his appearance with those “unsitely” trans-youth at Youth Pride, so we do know that there is a possibility that Deval’s people might have seen his appearance as “negative” press. But unless we get a confirmation from his office or someone willing to “go on record” to the fact, then it still is only conjecture.
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But Matthew, your concern is very very valid and if it is true, I am with you on that one.
I understand there is no way to prove this was the cause, but it all seems a bit fishy, especially when one looks at their site and reads their side of the event.
I just read about Governor Deval Patrick’s schedule change in regards to appearing and speaking at the GLBT Youth Pride Day in Boston on May 12.
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Do you mean June 12? Your post was dated May 27, which is after May 12.
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I hesitate to draw conclusions on things like this, before contacting the people in issue. If Patrick actually has a rational reason for reneging on his earlier commitment, I wouldn’t hold it against him. If he doesn’t, I would.
Missing this year’s convention for a funeral.
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I guess Patrick doesn’t support Democrats.
I was speaking about the event that occurred on May 12, 2007.
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Up until the Monday and Tuesday prior to the event, it was confirmed by his office that he would be appearing. Then towards the end of the week, after receiving calls from the above mentioned organization and their folks, the governor all of a sudden had another event he was supposed to be at and could not attend the Youth Pride Event. It just all seems a little suspect to me is all…
I have attended many conferences and events at which a high level politician has supposed to appear, but missed due to a schedule change. You can’t read much into it.
Patrick was in Western Mass at a soldier’s FUNERAL. To get there on time, he’d probably have to leave himself about 2 hours or more… which means, if he stayed at the funeral for even a half hour, the earliest he could get back to Boston would be well after Youth Pride left the Commons.
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Nice job reporting innuendo, based on such an authority as Mass Resistance – because we all know how reliable they are, right? Right?
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Errr, nope.
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An unexpected benefit to recieving all of Deval’s press releases is that I guess I get to debunk weird theories started on MassResistance and propogated by glbt allies based on that homophobic organization’s assertion.
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Have more faith in the Governor, next time.
Between the funeral of a citizen who died over seas in the armed services and ANY parade is no contest for me – Gov. Patricks did the right thing.
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In contrast, Gov. Romney did a sound bite about his former aide [Bacevich] dying in Irag – but was out glad handing and raising money the day of Bacevich’s funeral.