Republican Jim Ogonowski, after touring UMass Lowell last week and seeing some of the research being done on renewable energy, came out in favor of the Cape Wind project.
He challenged his Democratic opponent Niki Tsongas to join him in asking Sen. Edward Kennedy to give up his opposition to the project.
Tsongas has stated throughout her campaign, when asked about Cape Wind, that she supports the project.
John Kerry and Jeff Beatty have not taken concrete positions on the issue. I’ve tried to find an updated Beatty position on the issue since 2006 but all I can find are articles stating he hasn’t taken a position.
Ed O’Reilly takes the Ted Kennedy hypocrite approach to the issue. He is against Cape Wind.
That’s it. Next time it’s Rising Tide’s Day of Action & the carbon trading scam along with a special call-in from the NEXT junior senator from our illustrous Commonwealth, Ed O’Reilly (so long,John!). Check him out here. O, did we mention Ed is oppossed to Cape Wind? Save the Commons! Vote for O’Reilly!!
and will be taking a lease out on Vroooom vrooom vrooooooom
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p>You would think that’s as clear a signal as can be.
I feel like if I really want to get the state gov’ts attention you need to put a message on a blinking light and stick it in random places in boston.
45.3 < 86, even for large instances of 45.3
is the number from 2002 on the initiative to completely repeal the income tax.
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p>You’re looking for question 4 of the ballot from 2000, which won with 56.4%. Not quite 86, but a majority call that was IGNORED by the lege.
Still, 56.4% is substantially less than 86%.
I meant to hang this comment on the “You would think” post.
But the survey questions were certainly simple enough:
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p>1. Are you familiar with the proposed wind farm project called Cape Wind?
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p>2. Do you support? Or oppose? The Cape Wind Project?
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p>3. In general, do you think wind turbines are a good way? Or a bad way to produce energy?
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p>And it was sponsored by WBZ, so my bias-o-meter isn’t flashing very brightly.
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p>I think question #3 is kind of a dumb question (forced simplification), but as it comes after question #2 (the important one), no big deal.
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p>I also think it’s weird how there are multiple ? marks in each sentence, but whatever.
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p>I’m no huge Ogo fan, but he is smart and right to needle the other candidates on this issue.
Not sure why I screwed up the parent’s title…
Does the “sub-lede”
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p>have any actual facts behind it?
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p>You admitted that you couldn’t find a concrete position by Jeff Beatty, and your Ed O’Reilly claim is justified by a blog which doesn’t seem to cite a source. As for John Kerry, while he hasn’t exactly been a cheerleader for the project, Kerry did argue fiercely against the Young amendment which would have banned wind turbines from within 1.5 miles of shipping lanes.
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p>Surely your journalism standards are better than that. In the mean time, is there an “anti-recommend” button?
Can’t find concrete evidence with Kerry and Beatty.
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p>The fact remains that only one candidate has forcefully come out in favor of Cape Wind. Hemming and hawing does not forcefully make.
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p>John Kerry had the chance to lead, but he was afraid the “Scaramouche” might have to take a detour.
I’m sure Ogonowski is going to do lots to improve our environment, by adding in yet another Republican to the mix in D.C., who would vote for Republican chairs, etc. That’s a great way to do things – to make sure absolutely nothing is done to solve Global Warming, that is. No thanks.
that would be building all these wind towers and investing in solar and other alternative energies if it wasn’t for that damned 12% (R) in the lege blocking everything!
The Commonweath Solar initiative is a good step forward.
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p>CA and NJ are ahead of us, though for sure. Though CA botched their initiative enough that I wouldn’t recommend them as a model.
rejoining our environmental agreements that Romney kicked aside, etc.
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p>I followed the 5th CD race very closely: Ogonowski isn’t exactly qualified for the US senate, in my view, never mind his positions on most issues. Furthermore, you know as well as I do that many Democrats on Beacon Hill are DINOs. There’s many of those on DC too, but with the Republican-Democratic breakdowns being so close, at least they’re voting for Democratic chairs for the committees. Many of those chairs have been doing great things, too, just not getting a lot of credit – going after constitutional abuse, etc. We’ve had over a decade of Republican control that’s left this country in disastrous shape; I think it’s fair to say Democrats need a few years in charge so we can fix the deficit, get everyone health care, obliterate DOMA, end this war and improve the economy.
We’re both big tent parties, if someone isn’t a full fledged “progressive” like you, that doesn’t make them a dino.
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p>Also, you can edit you political views on facebook to whatever you want now…like mine…haha…
is a term reserved for special people, not just people I disagree with. Lieberman was a DINO, for example. And now he isn’t even that!
we have a special people caucus in our lege?
they’re democrats who aren’t proud of being democrats. I’m sure the are plenty of moderate to conservative-leaning democrats who are at least proud of being a democrat, there are plenty of people who think it either an ends to a means or no big thing. I want proud democrats in office – I like it when they agree with most of my principals, but at base they just need to be proud to be democrats.
are, with all due respect to them, not exactly favored to be in the general election. Kerry’s view is the one deserving of attention, and he, as you say, “hasn’t exactly been a cheerleader for the project.” Seems to me this is a fair contrast to draw between Kerry and Ogo, and it does challenge Kerry to take a stronger position.
This is a fair criticism. I would have promoted the post but you beat me to it!
Kerry in June 2007, right here on BMG.
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p>A nuanced position, but less convenient as Cape Wind’s bills of health continue to roll on in.
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p>But Kerry does get credit for slamming the Young Amendment (Kennedy does not).
with an EaBo comment too.
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p>I think Kerry has been consistent here, he does say that he’s fine with creating a wind farm, he has voted for wind power but wanted this particular wind farm process to be complete including the environmental study. But wants the process to continue while the study is on going.
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p>Representative Young tries to sneak in a 1 1/2 mile ban on wind turbines that could effectively kill Cape Wind. Kerry calls him out on it as it will impact all wind farms projects. Am I being naive on the environment study? Is it legit?
So here goes:
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There was a day on BMG, perhaps around the time that Ed O’Reilly started pooping up, it which it became clear that I, a moderate/right-of-center independent, didn’t like Kerry, and a true-blue progressive (KBusch? Ryan? Laurel?) also did not like Kerry, which led me to ask that progressive person:
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p>If neither moderates nor liberals like Kerry, then how does he keep winning elections?
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p>I still don’t have a satisfactory answer.
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p>Anyway, the non-answer answer on Cape Wind, plus your excellent zinger, neatly illustrates why I am simply not a fan of the guy.
If moderates and liberals don’t like him, maybe its just this massive wave of conservatives that keep him in power so he can run for President and make an ass of himself and by default people from Massachusetts who are liberal. Maybe they like having an easy punching bag who makes their talking points for them.
As good a theory as any.
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p>I think it is a sign of the poor health of politics in Massachusetts. If you are nominated as a Democrat, you will be elected. Period. If you don’t rock the boat you will be re-elected until you die, and will generally run unopposed both in primaries and in the general. The only thing that can eff you up is boat rocking, so that isn’t done, except by the occasional flash in the pan who is then put down. Unless you pull a Spitzer, I suppose.
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p>I happen to think that the best thing for Mass Democrats would be a horrific election day, in which they lose control of evrything statewide for awhile, and then have to fight back.
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p>Right now, elected officials get nominated based on seniority. It is like being governed by the AFL/CIO.
Ted Kennedys car quickly became a poor boat that got rocked about and sank and he STILL got re-elected. That might have as much to do with his last name as the D next to it on the ballot though.
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p>Also Kennedy unlike Kerry rebounded from that scandal to become a fairly influential and important Senator who consistently delivers for his state (except on Cape Wind) whereas Kerry outside of running for President has maybe six laws to his name that have ever passed, has done nothing for this state but make it a late night punchline, and is never really visible or present in the state when we need him.
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p>Its truly time for a change we need a real fighter, man of the people in the Senate, and maybe six years under a crappy GOPer like Beatty or a mediocre one like Ogo can get a really talented Democrat like Capuano, McGovern, or Gabrielli into the Senate.
so it probably wasn’t me.
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p>That said, I neither love nor dislike Senator Kerry. He’s done some good and he’s done some bad. I don’t think he’s done anything that suggests to me I should vote for Ed O’Reilly as opposed to Senator Kerry; it would take a lot for me to ever reach that far, especially since I’m not high on O’Reilly at all (and I’ve met him in person a few times).
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p>I think a lot of people are angry at him in this state because he lost the race for POTUS, and they want to take it out on him. It’s true that he didn’t run a good campaign and that’s in great part why he lost to Bush, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he should suddenly no longer be our Senator. He’s often the type of guy that needs a little nudge to do the right thing, but when he is nudged, he usually does that right thing. And, honestly, isn’t that how politics is supposed to work? Keep nudging him on Cape Wind, and he’ll support it.
Let’s get our numbers straight, mmkay… You could start by reading those urls to which you link.
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p>And if Ted Kennedy, for whatever reasons, opposes the Cape Wind project, it’s incumbent (not to mention obvious) that the Junior Senator might not want to make too much hay on the issue just yet. I would expect the exact same behaviour if the Junior Senator was named Ogonowski, O’Reilly or Tinkie-Winkie….
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I thought he was voted in to be a Senator, not a coffee table.
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p>I could understand the “junior” thing for one term, maybe.. but after this long he is not known for anything of consequence and won’t even take a stand on this small issue?
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p>I think a similar WBZ poll should be done “Has Kerry proved his uselessness?” should be asked of the 30% who know who Kerry is.
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p>So I guess, when I said;
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p>I was really just insulting Kerrry. Thanks, ever so much, for setting me straight on that…
that you actually have to take positions on issues to win elections! Who’d a thunk it?