- RIP Tony Snow. The former Fox News commentator and White House press secretary died at age 53 of colon cancer. News of Snow’s illness inspired conflicting emotions on previous occasions. Let us use this one first, to send our condolences to his friends and family; and second, to remind you that if you have never had a colonoscopy and are either age 50 or older, or are less than 10 years younger than the age at which someone in your family developed colon cancer, now is the time. Call your doctor tomorrow and set it up. Don’t put it off; don’t make excuses. Just do it.
- Vennochi calls for Marzilli to resign. In today’s column, she says:
From the jail cell where he was held after his arrest on charges that he accosted four women, state Senator James J. Marzilli Jr. asked his lawyer if he should resign.
Like any smart politician, Marzilli instinctively knew the right question. By now, he must also know the right answer: Yes….
Marzilli is entitled to a presumption of innocence and a vigorous defense, which [his lawyer Terrence] Kennedy is providing. His job is another matter.
He hasn’t been to Beacon Hill since his arrest and told voters that he will not return. His staff is running his Senate office and responding to constituents.
If Marzilli isn’t running for reelection, voting, or formulating policy, how does he justify staying in office? He can’t.
I have to agree. I am sorry to learn of Jim’s mental illness, but he clearly is incapable of doing his job between now and the end of his term. He apparently hasn’t been in his office in weeks, and there’s no indication that he will return before the legislative session ends at the end of July. After that, all legislators do is run for reelection, which he has already said he’s not doing. Plus, there’s the whole ongoing criminal trial thing. Marzilli should resign.
- Today is budget day. Today Governor Patrick will sign the state’s fiscal year 2009 budget, and will announce his line-item vetoes. Should be interesting to see what stays and what goes, and how the lege reacts. We’ll post links to the veto announcement when we see it.
UPDATE: The final GAA (General Appropriations Act) is available at this link, which includes line-by-line vetoes and the Governor’s explanations for them. Have at it!
- Soaring energy costs are impacting local services. The Herald has an interesting story about the steps small communities are taking to deal with high energy costs. Just wait until individuals, businesses, and government buildings start burning heating oil. Unless there’s a big shift in the markets between now and then, it’s going to be a wild ride.
- Cynthia McKinney for President? Finally, the Greens nominated ex-Rep. Cynthia McKinney for president. Let’s just say that this was perhaps not the best way for the Greens to portray themselves as a serious, viable third party. Grace Ross did the Greens a lot of credit here in 2006. Too bad the national party didn’t follow that example.
One does wonder, though, whether McKinney’s presence on the ballot might have the effect of blunting the advantage that Bob Barr’s candidacy was thought to give Obama in Georgia. Since both McKinney and Barr are from Georgia, it seems reasonable to think that Georgia will be the best state for both of them. I don’t see McKinney as a factor anywhere else, but it would be too bad if she pulled enough votes in GA to balance the Barr effect.
What would happen to Marzilli’s staff if he resigned? Would they be immediately terminated, or would they stay on the job until his successor is sworn in?
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p>Marzilli’s constituents are already at a disadvantage by having an absentee senator; if his staff disappeared, there’d be no one up there to take care of the nuts-and-bolts constituent service stuff that legislative aides deal with. If an arrangement can be made so that he can resign while his staff stays on until January, then by all means, the best thing would be for Marzilli to resign. Otherwise, maybe he should stay in office merely as a formality, but not take any pay, benefits, or even act as a Senator.
that the staff would stay in place. If anyone cares to clarify, please do so. If the staff would be terminated with him, then I’d agree that he should stay so that his constituents have someone to call.
If he resigns, how can the staff stay in place? For whom would they work? Who will give them policy direction? If they have no representative behind them, how could they help anyone with anything?
…Marty Meehan’s staff stayed on after he resigned to become Chancellor, but before Niki Tsongas was elected. I don’t know if there are equivalent procedures on Beacon Hill, but on Capitol Hill the Meehan staff came under the direct supervision of the Clerk of the House during the interregnum.
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p>Since, I doubt there would be a special election before November at this point I would favor Marzilli staying. He’s currently out of jail, right? I don’t think there’s a reason not to show up to vote.
I believe all legislative / district aides are employees of the Commonwealth and not the indivdual Senator or Rep. so that wouldn’t change upon a resignation.
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p>This sort of thing happens with some frequency – I know when Rep. Larkin resigned, his staff stayed on until close to the date of the special election, so Third Berkshire residents would have someone to call. And I believe referred to themselves as the aide for the district rather than from Larkin’s office. For that sort of constituent service work, there isn’t really a need for policy direction, it is more assisting people with various problems related to state agencies and departments.
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p>Folks are already feeling the pinch. Many folks are on monthly payment plans to ease the sticker shock. Some heating oil companies are moving from 8 month payment plans to 10 month plans, and in the case of my neighbor, their monthly rate went from $360ish to $730ish per month.
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p>Do check out Citizen’s Energy, Joe Kennedy’s energy assistance program. For folks who are eligible, it can make a big difference.
that I can’t stand the Green Party, Rainbow or otherwise? They do everything in their power to make sure Republicans win. They’ve allowed and encouraged Republicans to do their ballot collections for them, knowing that the Republicans only wanted the Greens on the ballot to deflate a dem’s chance of winning… and that’s the least of it! Of course, there was that sleeze-ball Nader they threw on this country, which gave us 8 years of Bush. (Thanks Greens!)
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p>I highly doubt it’s coincidence that they picked McKinney. I wouldn’t be shocked if there were Republicans manipulating that party from the inside… and the rank and file green were too politically naive and lazy to realize it. It would be hard to ever prove, but at the very least Green leaders have proven that they’ll take Republican help early and often in any election the Republicans are willing to give it.
As I said, at the very least the Greens have become more than accustomed to getting help from Republicans and accepting it. Republicans, for their part, benefit from the relationship. Conspiracy? Or something else? Probably the latter, but either way, what little respect I would have for the Green Party evaporates with each time I see the Green Party doing something to help Republicans, intentional or not. They’re either willing to accept the help, or too stupid to realize they mainly exist to help Republicans. Given the people I know who have frequently voted green in the past, or consider themselves a member of the party, I’m inclined to suspect the latter.
Anti-equality cowards: good. The Iraq war: good. The FISA sell out: good. The Green-Rainbows: bad! bad! bad!
I don’t know, Ryan.
…Gore was.
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p>But Nader is a reason why Democrats now moved way to the left. See the story:
http://www.politico.com/news/s…
the most objectionable thing about Cynthia McKinney? Too pissed for prime time? All I remember about her is a problem with a security guard and her indignation about black disenfranchisement during the disastrous 2000 election. What were some of her more significant offenses, which may have warranted your prompt dismissal of her candidacy?
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p>Just the simple fact that she’s running a useless campaign for a laughable party raises enough questions.
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p>Based upon the 0.1% the Greens garnered in the 2004 election, however, luckily for the sake of our nation it appears that the vast majority of those who voted Green in the past (especially after 2000) have come to realize the counter-productive nature of their vote and decided that throwing away their vote wasn’t worth it.
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p>Those who remain, I’m convinced, are irreconcilable dimwits who can be safely ignored. McKinney’s presence will have little effect, even in Georgia.
who maintaines that the 9/11 attackes were orchestrated by the Bush administration?
Link.
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p>That, along with oddly picking fights with the Capitol Police, is part of why I wonder whether she’s really presidential material. But maybe that’s just me.
Right-wingers, even the far-right, got much of what they wanted by voting for Bush, so it wasn’t dimwitted at all. Most Republicans and conservatives were intelligent enough to realize that voting for, say, Pat Buchanan, was throwing away their vote and giving it to Bush was far more productive.
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p>What IS dimwitted is claiming that one favors a particular political agenda and then wasting one’s vote in a first-past-the-post system when, alternatively, one has a chance to move policy closer to their preferred position by voting for the Democrat.
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p>Hello, Greens.
McKinney is an unknown quantity outside of her district which she lost twice-first in 2002 in a primary and then in 2006 in another primary. That time she lost in a surprise upset to an unknown county clerk who simply was the other name on the ballot. I would argue she isn’t popular in her own district and definitely too unknown statewide to get the percentages (3-6%) we are seeing for Barr in the same state.
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p>Also I feel that most Democrats and especially African American voters will vote in full force for Obama especially seeing he is the best shot this cycle for a President of color and that GA could be carried if enough evangelicals stay home, Barr takes away a good number of GOP votes, and 2008 is just that good for the Dems.
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p>Also my mock trial coaches uncle Jim Martin is running for Senate down there. Saxby Chambliss was the douchebag who compared a paralyzed war hero Max Cleland to Osama bin Laden. Also he has voted with Bush 99% of the time his first term showing that he does not deserve to be a Senator. Jim Martin has already ran a statewide campaign and nearly became Lt. Gov last cycle, he has the most name recognition and is the most electable candidate in the Dem primary. So Ive made my pitch and so send him some money.
…I feel that if Georgia is so close that McKinney costs us the state, I’ll be too busy celebrating victories in Nevada, Colorado, Indiana…