We thought our April 6 Conference in Worcester was a great day, due in large measure to the focus and commitment of progressive activists from across the state (many of whom are BMG regulars. Hi!).
Summaries of the day have been written up on Blue Mass Group by DrBoerl, and there are member-authored summaries on our blog, too. Check ’em out, and if you were there, please leave some feedback on our post-conference survey!
In addition to panels with policy experts, the last part of the day turned to electoral politics. To a still impressively crowded room, candidates Steve Grossman, Juliette Kayyem, Martha Coakley and Don Berwick joined us, one by one, and responded at length and in depth to tough, focused questions –and persistent follow-up ones– by our moderator, Jordan Berg Powers. Jordan’s inquiries were derived from candidates’ responses to our Endorsement Questionnaires, which go deep on structural and policy roots of economic inequality (as outlined in our Shared Prosperity agenda).
We have heard over and over again from members that the Forum was invaluable. Indeed, even at the very last minutes of a long day, the room was still packed and the audience’s attention still rapt and focused.
We now have up on our site video of the forum, and combined with the Endorsement Questionnaire responses, we think it’s a great resource for the progressive voter, volunteer and delegate. They are available to all, here:
- Gov. Forum Video: progressivemass.com/govforumvideo
- Gov. Endorsement Questionnaire Responses: progressivemass.com/2014govmain
- you can print out the whole thing and bring it to candidate events, too: PDF here.
The video for the entire forum spans 1 hour and 40 minutes, but we have carved it up in a couple of different ways, to make it easier to watch in shorter bursts. You can watch by topic, by candidate, all at once; pick your preferred format at the main page, /govforumvideo.
View a sample: the 4 candidates (24 minutes, one after the next, in the order they appeared before the audience) on questions about revenue, taxation and working with a legislature to pass “tough” legislation. Watch, share, and let’s keep pushing the candidates on the issues we care about as progressives!
VIEW VIDEOS BY TOPIC
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View, in a single 1-hour-40-minute playlist, all segments, arranged by topic
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View shorter segments, grouped by topic
- Introductions (14 minutes)
- Revenue, Taxation (24 minutes)
- Jobs, The Economy, Inequality (18 minutes)
- Education (16 minutes)
- Leadership, Movement Building (6 minutes)
- Path to Victory, Viability (6 minutes)
- Health Care, Communities of Color (8 minutes)
- Final Comments (10 minutes)
VIEW VIDEOS BY CANDIDATE
- All Candidates in one playlist (in order they appear) (1 hour, 40 minutes)
- Berwick (22 minutes)
- Coakley (22 minutes)
- Grossman (24 minutes)
- Kayyem (29 minutes)
OTHER RESOURCES:
- Our Shared Prosperity agenda
- Endorsement Questionnaire Responses (by topic)
- print out the whole thing and bring it to candidate events: PDF here
I’m glad I went! … For this day and so much else, the folks running things at ProgressiveMass deserve a lot of credit. It’s one thing to talk and write about progressive ideals, but these folks are actually putting up the fight through their grassroots organizing and advocacy leg-work to realize them.
Jordan Berg Powers really did a fantastic job asking the tough questions that the candidates never want to answer. It was the best forum I have ever seen.
^to steal a phrase from a friend on the Faceplace.
I agree with Max that this was a truly great forum, and combined with the questionnaires, it’s really clarified for me where the candidates are on important, but not headline-sexy, issues (eg, revenue. eg, how would you handle a recalcitrant legislature who takes its orders from a Speaker who doesn’t believe in progressive policies?).
Can we bring the magic of the follow-up question back to mainstream journalism?