Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Afternoon update

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A couple of attention-worthy items:

  • US Senate candidate Alan Khazei has come out strongly against casino gambling in Massachusetts.  So far, anyway, he’s the only one — the others are staying away from the issue.

    In comments following the meeting, US Representative Michael Capuano said he was not actively involved in the casino gambling issue because it is not a matter that will be addressed by the US Senate.

    Attorney General Martha Coakley said that in her position as the state’s top lawyer she has been advising lawmakers and Governor Deval Patrick on how to properly enforce and regulate any gaming industry the state eventually embraces.

    Steven Pagliuca, co-owner of the Boston Celtics and a successful businessman, said he is skeptical casino gambling will help the state’s economy, but could be convinced to support the concept if advocates show there will be permanent job creation.

    Technically, of course Capuano is right — it’s a state issue, not a federal one.  But it’s certainly one we can expect a US Senator to weigh in on.  Here’s hoping it comes up at tonight’s debate.

  • And speaking of debates — don’t forget to watch!  It’s tonight at 7 pm, carried I believe by most local TV and radio stations.  I’m planning to live-blog, for added entertainment value.  Feel free to chime in.

  • A recent(ish) poll taken last week showed Martha Coakley holding a solid lead: 37%, followed by Steve Pagliuca (whose TV blitz is obviously having some effect) at 14%, Mike Capuano at 13%, and Alan Khazei at 4%; 26% are undecided.  But caution is in order: the poll surveyed “registered voters,” not likely Democratic primary voters; and of course, the poll is pre-debate.

  • Jon Keller offered a helping hand to Barbara Anderson and Citizens for Limited Taxation, which has been experiencing well-publicized financial difficulties.  His lead-in:

    Over the past three decades, Massachusetts taxpayers have relied on the group Citizens for Limited Taxation to be a vocal counterweight to a political establishment that often indulges in tax-and-spend behavior.

    Are you a Massachusetts taxpayer?  Do you “rely” on CLT?  And at the end of the 7-minute-plus piece:

    KELLER: If people want to help CLT financially, or in other ways, how can they do it?

    ANDERSON: They can go to our website, cltg.org, www.cltg.org, or just Google Citizens for Limited Taxation.  And they can join us, or they can come to our brunch.

    Jeff Jacoby also urged readers to chip in.  I’m trying to think of another instance in which local mainstream media folks have used their platforms to try to help raise money for an organization like this, but I’m not coming up with anything.

    Speaking of which, what kind of organization exactly is Citizens for Limited Taxation?  And what’s its relation to the Citizens Economic Research Foundation, of which Barbara Anderson is the president?  CLT is not registered with the Secretary of State, OCPF, or the IRS, as far as I can tell, but CERF is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.  However, CLT’s membership form makes clear that the two are distinct entities: “CLT can accept all contributions, including corporate, but they are not tax deductible.  Contributions to CERF (Citizens Economic Research Foundation), CLT’s non-profit educational organization, are tax deductible.”  This is not meant to be a “gotcha” – I’m genuinely curious.

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Comments

  1. it would be a story.  The Boston.com placement as a predominant headline is rather odd.  What’s Khazei’s opinion on the Fells anyway?  Maybe he can speak out for or against something that he would be doing in the Senate.

    <

    p>Something tells me that CLT is going to be around for a long time.  I can’t count how many times I’ve seen mailings from Carla Howell saying that they are out of cash and need money or they can’t get enough signatures for so and so.

  2. I’ve thought for a while that Citizens for Limited Taxation & Government really ought to call themselves Citizens for NO Taxation and Government.

  4. Carla Howell is head of the Center for Small Government.  While it is also cash strapped, it isn’t CLT.

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    p>CSG could be called ‘NO Government’; CLT has alwasy been more mainstream, more interested in adapting present system than eliminating it.

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    p>Two seperate organzations, with some overlap in membership (like myself).

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    p>No clue about legal structure.

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    p>Also – re gambling – New Senator will have to vote on bill to allow Native American land trusts for gaming, important in MA.  So it WILL be addressed – or is Capuano unaware of the legislation?

    • Yes, Carla Howell does seem to cry for money weekly.  Barbara Anderson hasn’t really approached it in the degree as Howell.  Crying bankruptcy is an art form for Cloud and Howell.

  5. It is not unusual for political organizations to have tax-exempt affiliates or subsidiaries.

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    p>Money given to the latter is not supposed to subsidize non-exempt activities of the former.

  6. The Jacoby fund raising letter suggests an answer to a question that the Mass media never showed any interest in: who was actually paying for the anti-tax campaigns.  It always seemed likely that Richard Egan was the big donor behind the scenes–Jacoby in a bit of unintentional reporting seems to have confirmed this.

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