Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Together we got conned.

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In the Boston Globe this morning an article revels how the Governor has found a way to skirt the campaign finance laws

http://www.boston.com/news/loc…

This Quote kind of says it all

Under the unique arrangement, Patrick, who ran for election sharply criticizing the “politics of money and connections,” is raising contributions far in excess of the individual limit of $500 for a political candidate. Now, in many cases he is getting as much as $5,500 from individual lobbyists, corporate executives, developers, and other supporters.

The party then uses most of the receipts to pay off the Patrick’s campaign committee’s bills; in 2007, the party paid $339,000 of governor’s expenses, including bills for his media consultant, banquet halls, a ball room and buffets, website development, and more.

As I keep hearing the same sound bites of hope in Obamas campaign (the same Obama who seemed to have a problem with Hillary being a corporate lawyer for Wal-Mart but is not bothered by his friend Deval’s time in the same role at Texaco or Coke a Cola)  that inspired us to close our eyes and vote for Deval, I am with Bill Clinton on this one. Just what is this fairy tale we are being told because in Massachusetts, Prince Charming is turning into the emperor who forgot to put on some clothes. Problem being it was those of us who supported Deval that didn’t see it coming.

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Comments

  1. Lesson Learned …
    Stick with the cranky old codgers that have decades of transparant public records to examine.
    Talk is way too cheap and with the writers guild strike dragging onward, wage inflation in this field is purely fantasy.

  2. Just another Frank Phillips hatchet job.
    Big deal. Deval’s using campaign finance regs and the Democratic Party to strengthen his political operation. Nothing wrong or illegal about it. Even Common Cause has no problem with it.
    All Phillips can do is find some group nobody’s ever heard of (Mass Voters for Fair Elections?) to gripe about it and then get a quote from the often-wrong Jeff Berry.

    • I was reading the article this morning with a grain of salt due to the author, but seeing Common Cause shrug their shoulders at it (a group who has never been shy of criticizing the governor on these issues).

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      p>If anything, I think it’s great that the governor is fundraising for the party, though I think the state party made a mistake in giving as much as they did to the governor’s campaign, but the examples that were given in the article seemed sensible.

      • Using all legal, discoverable, manipulable interpretations or loopholes and dodges to leverage financial advantage, that is.

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        p>Legal isn’t the same thing as attractive, at times.

  3. As much as I like to attack Governor Patrick.  There is no there here.

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    p>This is all legal, there is no loophole.  It is how the system has been set up to work.

  4. First I’ll say that Deval Patrick’s “71st Club” stinks and it just may be the final nail in the coffin for my trust and my confidence in DP…

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    p>RE: “All Phillips can do is find some group nobody’s ever heard of (Mass Voters for Fair Elections?) to gripe about it”

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    p>This statement indicates there’s a need for BMG readers to be informed about the group Mass Voters for Fair Elections. It’s a great group that had a slight name change (used to be called Mass Voters for Clean Elections) but has been around for many years, over 15 I think, and has done some very good important work.

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    p>Their work includes running a statewide ballot campaign from 1994-96, I think it was, for campaign finance reform that was passed by the voters with 67% of the vote. I volunteered on the campaign.

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    p>Infuriatingly, and shocking to political newcomers but not so much to old-timers, House Speaker Finneran and Co. at the State House refused to implement the law.  Rank and file legislators weren’t all that eager to have more challengers for their seats so they didn’t protest Finneran and Co. too much.

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    p>The legislative “leadership” finally won out using years of sleazy tactics to obstruct the will of the voters. Ultimately they rescinded the law when most folks had stopped paying attention, as so often is the case with our pathetic state of politics.

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    p>I hope BMG readers will check out Mass Voters for Fair Elections. And if you were disturbed about Common Cause’s Exec Director’s quote that dismissed the Gov’s “71st Club” with $5,500 donations as no big deal, I hope you’ll consider contacing Pam Wilmot, the Exec Director of
    MA Common Cause to let her know: Phone 617.426.9600, email ccma@commoncause.org

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    p>  

  5. I thought about this on the way into work and respond now at the end of the day ( as a side note I get the feeling a lot of BMGrs don’t have day jobs)

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    p>

    “This program is just one of the ways we’re establishing a strong Democratic infrastructure in every precinct across Massachusetts,” she said in the statement.

    John Walsh, the Democratic Party chairman, disputed any suggestion that using the Seventy-First Fund in this manner contradicts Patrick’s promise to dispense with special-interest politics on Beacon Hill or circumvent individual campaign limits of $500.

    “Those donors are people that the governor has asked to support the party, and the party is carrying out its mission of building its grassroots and supporting its elected officials,” Walsh said. “We are doing it within the rules, and the rules in fact are designed to give the party that role.”

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    p>It’s okay because it builds and strengthens the MA DEM???  Deval got all that grass roots support because he was going to change the system not become it.

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