Blue Mass Group

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Sen. Brown running for re-election; Says election unneccesary

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This guy really doesn’t want a competitive race:

“There’s no time for a learning curve for anybody. I think this is really a year for incumbents, because you don’t want to miss a beat. That’s my gut,” he said, explaining that it typically takes a freshman legislator up to a year to get acclimated.

Brown ran unopposed in 2006, and my thinking then, as it is now, is that if any credible Democrat runs against him it will be a competitive race.

2008 will be a bad year for incumbents, especially right-wing Don Quixotes like Brown. There will be a lot of Mass Dems in ’08 ‘fired up, and ready to go’ (C).

Any takers?

UPDATE PatrickA notes that the OCPF lists a newly-formed committee for Sara Orozco of Needham.

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  2. The obstructionist Republicans in the legislature must be defeated.  Everything will be better if there are more Democrats in the legislature.

    • that in the People’s Republik there is only one party.  The gall of those Republicans to run and win.  

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      p>I don’t share the Senator’s vision though. It is not the year of the incumbent.  After close to two years of the Deval Patrick Maladminstration the people will be looking for change.  I’m making my predictions now.  Republicans will pick up 10 house seats and 5 senate seats this cycle.  

      <

      p>We’ll pick up at least one of the three special elections on March 4th as well.

      • There hasn’t been a lot of polling, but the evidence I have seen suggests that the Governor has descent approval ratings and my sense is that most seats are safe.  I for one want more Democrats just to see if we can do it.  As a result of the 1854 elections the Know-Nothings ran the table: every Constitutional office, the entire Congressional delegation (one of whom became Speaker), the entire Governors Council, the entire state Senate, and all but three state House seats.  Ever since I learned this a few years ago it has been my fantasy that Democrats beat that record.  In case you hadn’t noticed there are two Democratic parties in this state anyway – liberal and conservative.

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        p>As for “maladministration”, on what grounds?  If you answer this I want policy issues, not silly stuff like office drapes and the Cadillac.

  3. to take Brown on.  He’s an equal marriage opponent who was so drunk on his own self-righteousness on the issue that he chose to launch a profanity-laced dressing-down in a high school assembly because some students had communicated their disapproval of his stance on Facebook.  

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    p>The legislature has been bleeding good and hardworking members.  Too bad jerks like Brown aren’t the ones who are stepping down.

    • I’d rather have a politician that swears at high schoolers than ones who have to take out over a billion dollars in loans to pay for all of his wonderful ideas.  

    • The students in question posted profanities aimed at his daughter. He read EXACTLY what was written publicly.  It was done to highlight how words have consequence.  After all they were “just words” weren’t they?

      • repubs: every kid in that auditorium deserved to be subjected to his tirade because a few kids wrote something rude about his daughter on a web site.

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        p>all others: nice way to set a good example, bub!  yeah, you really showed those kids how tanrtum-throwing two year olds responsible adults (and a legislator no less!) handle difficult social situations.

        • So they completely rip apart his daughter on facebook and it’s a “difficult social situation?”  

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          p>Oh those poor kids.  

    • When Angus ran the last time, a sign appeared on a telephone pole in my neighborhood in Wayland:

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      p>”Homosex Education in Public Schools – Angus for, Brown against”

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      p>This is the tone of the campaign that Brown ran – I guess that’s typical for a Republican; they have nothing positive to offer so their campaigns are based on appeals to bigotry and ignorance.

      <

      p>Yes, there have been Republicans who were exceptions, but they are no longer welcome in the GOP.

  7. friendly territory for a strong progressive, which isn’t to say one will win, but they’re going to have to have impeccable credentials, a great message and run a great campaign to beat Brown… but that guy has GOT TO GO, it’s really a race the entire mass blogosphere, netroots and grassroots should rally around to win.

  8. ….since having more Dems (after the failed Romney Republican attack machine went after MA  and they lost seats) and finally getting a Dem Governor (not beholden to inside 128 politics) has not reduced the burning tires smell of insider politics that still emanates from Beacon Hill. So what really is the solution to insider politics? (And my point here is having more Dems clearly isn’t).

    • the solution is having more progressive, publicly-funded candidates.

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      p>And it it’s interesting that the Red Mass people are coming in here to rally around this guy. They really want him to survive so he can run for governor.

      • Nice try. Scott’s a friend. I volunteered on his campaign in 2004 and he has been helpful to organizations I help run.  He got a bum rap on F-Bombgate and I’ll defend him on that till my dying day.  Reading what students wrote back to them is not in any way shape or form abhorrent.

        • Reading what students wrote back to them is not in any way shape or form abhorrent.

          <

          p>…is in part false and in part disingenuous.

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          p>It is false to the extent that he was not only “reading back” to the students he alleged wrote unsavory things about his daughter.  It is my understanding that the majority of his audience has nothing to do with the web postings.

          <

          p>It is disingenuous to the extent that it casts the criticism of Sen. Brown as harsher than it actually is.  Abhorrent?  No, angrily cursing in front of high school students, the majority of whom had done nothing wrong, and doing so as you appear in an official capacity (remember, he wanted to discuss his gay marriage stance with his young constituents, or so he said)is not abhorrent.  It is just plain rude and, frankly, dumb.

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          p>Interesting how you have to bend and twist to defend him.

          <

          p>

          • The students were in attendance at the session. The letters were read to point out that there should be civility in discourse.  His reading of the letters was a shock technique to show how discourse could be poisoned.  There is no twisting.  

            • …students who allegedly wrote objectionable things on the web were not the only students in attendance (which they weren’t) then you are twisting and making false statements.

              <

              p>And were you there?  The offending material was simply “read”?  Most news reports I read indicated he was angry and confrontational.  I saw him on the news that night and he was fuming.

              <

              p>He blasted a handful of kids in the presence of a lot of other kids and did so when he was supposed to be there to discuss his political position on same sex marriage.

              <

              p>If you think that’s okay, fine.  You think that’s okay.  A lot of people don’t.  But let’s not pretend that his appearance was civil.

                • …at your words then….

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                  p>

                  Reading what students wrote back to them…

                  <

                  p>That is what you said.  Problem is of course, it wasn’t just “them” he “read” it back to.  No twisting going on.  That is what you said..and that is not what he did.  It is a false statement.

                  <

                  p>  He “read” those words at a lot of students who had nothing to do with it, who thought they were going to hear and elected official talking about his positions, literaly in a civil forum, that was anything but civil, not because of any of the students in attendance, but because Brown chose the wrong forum to deal with his personal business.

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                  p>Is there something wrong with calling a bunch of guiltless kids to an assembly and then angrily cursing at them?  That is what he did, isn’t it?  Even if he was trying to “teach” the bad kids a lesson, was there any value in it for the others?  

                  <

                  p>You ignore the actual context and imply a level of civility to defend Brown.  Spin, pure and simple.

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                  p>I’m sure the next time you make a mistake at work you won’t mind if your boss calls a staff meeting with a different agenda but then proceeds to freely criticize you and your errors while the rest of your colleagues sit there quietly wondering why they are bearing witness to an embarrasing situation instead of talking about next quarters goals.  After all, it will just be to teach you a lesson.

            • So you can say anything you’d like to students as long as you call it an example of how discourse could be poisoned?

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              p>I hope we don’t start seeing GOP pols quoting VP Dick Cheney’s “Go F- Yourself” to students as a shock technique or an example of poisoned discourse.

      • …here in the commonwealth (and I always check the box on my tax returns) is you have Jamie Eldridge, who ran a stellar, ethical campaign using that source but on the other hand you had Warren Tolman who used public financing to run attack adds. I believe that soured most voters from supporting it,

        <

        p>Also there are moderate Republicans who support progressive social issues  but want the purse strings tightened (it is a traditional conservative principle not to dictate to people  on their personal lives as opposed to the religious conservatives that have dominated the right wing.) Not a bad thing when you consider Bolgers outrageous retirement  compensation package from the state.

        <

        p>My point being that we need more diversity and less one party rule given the current climate.

  9. but what a pathetic plea.  what he really “feels in his gut” is dread at facing another review by the voters i’ll wager.  such a delicate creature who can’t face the system with the best (and the rest) of them!

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