Today’s story in the Boston Globe reminded me that despite our tremendous victory in MA, we still have so much work to do around in the country in support of marriage equality. Whether in California or in DC, we need to keep up the pressure to secure equal rights for all citizens.
As some of you know, I am working with Steve Pagliuca. Today, he issued a statement in response to the Globe article and the court case taking place in Boston. The statemet is below – I look forward to your comments.
Statement by Steve Pagliuca on the Defense of Marriage Act:
“As the case currently before the U.S. District Court in Boston demonstrates, the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and should be overturned. This ill-conceived law discriminates against couples that have been legally-married and are constitutionally entitled to federal rights and benefits. It is simply unacceptable that we have on our books a law that permits same-sex couples to be treated as second-class citizens, and it is unfortunate that the Obama Administration has chosen to defend this law. If I’m elected to the Senate, one of my first acts will be to support legislation to repeal this harmful law.”
DOMA should go, but all of the Democrats in this Senate race have the same position. In fact, Capuano and Coakley have each already taken concrete action to repeal DOMA.
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p>So what has Mr. Pagliuca actually done on gay rights issues to date?
here we go…Doug Rubin trying to turn a Romney Republican into a progressive Democrat before our very eyes…no wonder mega-wealthy Mr. Pagliuca is paying him a small fortune to accomplish such an incredible feat! (The fact that Doug is taking it says more about him than his newly minted client…so much for his concern for Deval)
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p>Pagliuca’s 20 years serving Romney at Bain Company (and the unabashed treatment of dispensable workers at one take over after another to jack up personal gain) and his support of Romney (against Ted Kennedy) and George Bush campaigns poses quite a challenge for Doug…what sleight of hand and twist of phrase can Doug come up with that will make us buy this campaign’s disingenuous nonsense?
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p>Words don’t matter much when money talks so loud.
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p>Joan Vennochi’s column in today’s Globe sums it up rather well.
I am supporting Steve Pagliuca because I believe we are facing historic challenges in our economy and our health care system, and he brings a unique set of skills and experiences to help meet those challenges. In addition, I believe that he comes to this race with a core belief in the Democratic values that I care about. But the voters will decide that for themselves, after they get a chance to know him. I am only asking people to keep an open mind as Steve introduces himself and presents his views on the issues. That should be what a political campaign is all about.
supporting Steve Pagliuca because he is paying you the most. Stop the nonsense. You are shilling for a Romneyite because of the payday. You can say that this is what a campaign is for until you are blue in the face.
Deval and Steve Grossman should ask for refunds.
If you don’t see how harmful this is to your other clients who really are progressive Democrats, then you are being blinded by the gold.
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p>It’s honestly sad to witness. But, it illustrates why so many people have turned off to the whole process.
PS…I forgot the disclaimer: I am supporting Coakley for US Senate…why should I consider voting for a “just posing progressive” when I can vote for the real thing?
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Do you think that posting a press releases here is really the best way to get voters to know him?
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p>Lets get specific. You say he has “unique skills and experiences” that will help us meet challenges in the economy and health care system. What exactly are those skills and why are they relevant to the position he is seeking?
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p>My own experience with VCs is that they confuse power and financial success with intelligence and almost to a man have overinflated sense of self worth.
You have to at least mention that.
Doug Rubin has long recognized the importance of the netroots community, listening to us and engaging with us when many other politicians and staff either view us with contempt or complete ignorance.
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p>Pagliuca’s record is absolutely fair game, but I don’t see the point in attacking the messenger, especially one who’s been around in this community for a while. Pag is running for Senate, not Rubin.
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p>In terms of movement building, it’s better for politicians to hear what we have to say and address it than decide it’s not worth bothering with us by biting off the hand that feeds us. The latter attitude leads toward a movement with less influence, or perhaps no influence, on a politician or candidate’s policy. Should Pag pull off a huge upset, I’d rather he view BMG as a community where he can come to and people will listen and engage, even if they’re skeptical, instead of one where there’s no point in showing up at all.
If he actually wants to engage here, fine, this post is not a very good example of that. It is just a press release on one issue. I really don’t want to have to read a new Pag press release here every day. If I want that I can just go visit his web site.
Yes, part of the post was from a press release. However, it also served to let people know he was on the campaign. Furthermore, he stuck around and chatted in the comments, where the real value and communication is at.
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p>I just prefer constructive comments and critiques when we have an opportunity to learn more and engage with potential politicians. “What specifically has Pagliuci done for glbt rights?” may have been a question Rubin could answer and yielded interesting results.
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p>There’s no way for Pag to compete with Capuano and Coakley on the issue in terms of who’s done the most for gay rights, but maybe the companies Pag is associated with, including Bain, have strong records on equality issues. Maybe they don’t. Maybe the Celtics is an equal-opportunity employer and has several high ranking glbt employees in its administrative offices. Maybe it doesn’t. Those are answers I’d be interested in hearing, and I’d like to know to which degree Pag influenced any of those decisions, but if we don’t ask those questions, we’re not going to get those answers.
Doug didn’t really say much of anything.
Rubin’s posting strikes me as an attempt to give Pag cover among progressives in the state — “he can’t be that bad..Rubin’s backing him”. Rubin is choosing to make himself part of the conversation.
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p>PS: If Pag pulls off a huge upset, he’s more likely to view BMG an annoying forum of his critics.
I am not skeptical. I am fairly certain that “Pag” is trying to buy an election. I am fairly certain he supported Republicans over Democrats because of loyalty to friends. I am also fairly certain that if Doug wanted too he could have worked for a true progressive in the race (honestly, any Dem other than Pags) and done just fine. Just a guess. That fact that he is pushing a VC, Romney pal from Bain is, well, just wrong.
In the mid-90s a campaign such as this may have worked. It almost did work, for Mitt Romney — and aside from the word “Democrat” briefly appearing, Pagliuca’s introductory video could have been the same as Mitt Romney’s back then.
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p>But this is 2009. We had an MBA president and a governor who campaign on the basis of “business experience” and “creating jobs”. Both were a disaster. Both were dependable supporters of the Republican Party, and thus far I have no reaso nto think that Pagliuca is any different.
Here’s the quote of the day:
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p>Explain this away first, then we can talk about his current stated views.
as a wedge issue for decades. Interesting to see them trying to use it now from the other side.
Okay, I can buy that Pagliuca is a secret Republican, or at least a secret guy who didn’t think deeply about politics until very recently.
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p>That said, you can’t accuse Doug Rubin and Tad Devine of being Republican campaign advisers. Hired guns, maybe, but not Republicans.