Jen is running in a mixed district…while it has been represented by progressive Eldridge for some time, it’s not a guarantee, even in this tough year for Republicans, that a Democrat will take it. And what’s worse, her opponent none other than Kurt Hayes, former “independent” candidate for the MA 5th District US Rep race, who found his inner Republican somehow (their money at least). He is funded by hateful anti-gay forces. (I love how he doesn’t even admit to being a Republican until the very bottom in small text on his website. He might love their money, but he doesn’t seem to want to be associated otherwise.) He’s happy to say he’s gonna deliver lots of local aid to the district but is for rolling back the income tax to 5%. (He does say he’s against Question 1, so at least that’s something…but if the voters pass it, he would support abolishing the income tax entirely, come hell or high water! And it certainly would be hell. Or suicide.)
This is a target open seat for the dwindling state Republican party, and they are pouring in their all. Let’s keep that pathetic shell of a party dwindling, starting in this district. (At least until they figure out they can’t keep running with hate-filled extremist funders and candidates in a state which at a minimum requires a moderate conservative.)
Jen is a really smart, practical progressive. I had the pleasure of interviewing her on WUML (audio here) and also chatted with her afterward. She’s articulate and understands the issues, both of her district, and those we as a state face. I can’t say enough good things about her.
If you’ve been watching the campaign season from the sidelines and feel a little guilty, here’s your chance. I will be going down to her offices to make phone calls on Saturday regardless, but I would love to bring other activists with me and make a bigger impact. Think of just how much Kurt Hayes made you cringe in the MA-05 election with his pro-war stance, and imagine him taking over Jamie Eldridge’s seat in the legislature. How would you feel then, if you didn’t give it your all now? So email me, let’s carpool! It’ll be fun! (My email is lynne (at) leftinlowell.com, replace the (at) and spaces with a @.)
If you can’t come on Saturday, you should feel a twinge of terrible crushing guilt, which you can alleviate a little by donating to her campaign.
For the people you are bringing to canvass for Jen Benson, there will be just as many, if not more, for Kurt Hayes. But, of course, you already knew that. đŸ˜€
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p>Kurt Hayes is running on a good government platform. Two of his big three points are, “restor[ing] trust in Beacon Hill”, and “eliminat[ing] wasteful spending and inefficiency.” I don’t see any mention of any wars, and I also don’t see how support of or opposition to any war has relevance in an election for a state office.
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p>He supports the income tax because the voters approved it in a 2000 referendum, and eight years later, it has not been implemented. He does not support Question One at the moment, but he will support it if approved because he believes that representatives should reflect the desires of their constituents. In fact, he makes that clear in the article to which you linked:
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p>I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the nanny-esque concept of “I know what’s best for you,” basically ignoring the will of the people. đŸ˜‰
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p>So MIPAC-WF and some of its supporters have donated to his campaign. BFD. If you are trying to get elected to political office, and individuals and/or groups contribute to your campaign enabling you to disseminate your message better than you would have without that funding, then what are you going to do? Tell them, “No, thank you, I want to lose”? Of course not! Just because a candidate accepts campaign contributions does not necessarily mean that the candidate will then implement the donors’ agenda and/or make it a priority.
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p>I personally disagree with the activities of MIPAC-WF and other related groups. At the same time, I see the benefits of electing Republican candidates to Beacon Hill, because as it currently stands, Mistah Speakah and the President of the Senate have carte blanche to do whatever they want, since they have overwhelming veto-proof majorities. Somebody needs to hold them accountable, which is not going to happen from within the party, since they all want lucrative committee chairmanships.
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p>Furthermore, opposition legislators are likely to be on more committees since there are fewer of them, and they also will possess more depth of knowledge on prominent policy issues because they have to.
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p>Thus, while I do not support the principles of the SoCons, I share their goals, and I am willing to put my differences with them aside. Why? Because there will not be another vote on the marriage amendment. That ship has sailed. Candidates may tell them, whether publicly or privately, that they support a marriage amendment (I don’t know if Kurt Hayes has done this), but they will not act on it. Dubya said that he supported a Federal Marriage Amendment in 2004, but as his final term ends, I have not seen a marriage amendment arrive in Congress. He only used that issue as red meat for the base in order to get elected. And that’s all this is.
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p>Bottom line, if you are so concerned that his donors will force him to push for a marriage amendment and get it on the ballot: It. Just. Ain’t. Gonna. Happen.
But if I were about to drive off a cliff, I’d sure as hell want my husband to pull on the steering wheel and save me from myself.
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p>That’s all the argument I need. People are stupid sometimes, they make short-term feel-good choices, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to let them do this.
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p>This is why I hate ballot initiatives, and believe the law should be changed such that the laws passed by ballot initiatives should be restricted to issues of voter processes, redistricting, or other things that are a direct conflict of interest for incumbents of both parties to be making laws on. Other than that, kill the ballot initiative. It’s government by mob, and micromanagement.
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p>Why the hell do we bother with representative democracy if we’re so enamored of so-called “direct democracy”? In past elections, I spent as much time as any blogger (probably 100 times the average voter) studying the requisite ballot initiatives, only to come to the conclusion that I don’t know enough about them to vote yes OR no. I left them blank. (In this election, there’s less ambiguity, because 1 = suicide, 3 = sanity, and I’m wavering on 2 but will likely vote yes because I believe in the general principle – our drug laws are stupid. Mandatory minimums for pot are stupid. And a big waste of money.)
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p>I send people to the state house with my vote because I expect them to spend most of their time (when not campaigning ~sigh~ – why do state Senate terms only go two years??) on their respective committees studying issues much more carefully than I. If I want to get surgery done, I don’t want to do it myself, just because I think I might have a steady enough hand. That would be stupid. I wouldn’t want to represent myself in a court of law just because I watched Law and Order every week. The same holds true for governing. As much as I know about government and issues (again, far far more than the average voter, because of all the reading and blogging), I’m still not qualified to make a lot of these decisions. Neither are most voters. We have, I dunno, LIVES and JOBS to worry about.
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p>You’re a fool if you think the voters always make the best choices. People shoot themselves in the foot all the time in real life. Voters as a group are no different. And we’d all pay the price for that if Q#1 passes.
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p>Anyway, Hayes is a Bush Republican, he said he’d have supported Bush policies if elected to Congress. No thanks.
That ballot initiatives are also government-by-money. Because money can greatly influence the outcome of a ballot initiative process.
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p>Take Q8 over in CA. The polls completely changed after antigay forces (like the Mormons) put millions into support Q8. Before that, it was highly unlikely to pass, not even close. Then the scary “teh gays are ebil” ads sprung up, all over the place.
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p>No, I’d rather have sane campaign finance reform to keep representative democracy as honest as possible, and screw the ballot initiative.
I reviewed that thing twice and still couldn’t find it! Ugh. đŸ˜€