Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

  • Shop
  • Subscribe to BMG
  • Contact
  • Log In
  • Front Page
  • All Posts
  • About
  • Rules
  • Events
  • Register on BMG

Live blogging the convention from Springfield…

September 19, 2015 By John Tehan 19 Comments

Have at it in the comments folks!

Please share widely!
fb-share-icon
Tweet
0
0

Filed Under: User

Comments

  1. John Tehan says

    September 19, 2015 at 10:48 am

    image

    Her speech is urging us to continue fighting for what we believe in

    Log in to Reply
  2. John Tehan says

    September 19, 2015 at 10:51 am

    image

    His theme was “we have more work to do”, and he’s right – we need to get Bernie Sanders elected!

    Log in to Reply
    • John Tehan says

      September 19, 2015 at 10:54 am

      image

      I should use the preview button!

      Log in to Reply
  3. Mark L. Bail says

    September 19, 2015 at 1:16 pm

    that they’re leaving. Nothing but speeches.

    Log in to Reply
    • John Tehan says

      September 19, 2015 at 2:17 pm

      Support for “We the people”, for pass Mass Amendment, for a carbon tax, and two others.

      Log in to Reply
    • SomervilleTom says

      September 19, 2015 at 3:08 pm

      I guess I always thought that speechifying was the main reason to have a convention. 🙂

      Log in to Reply
    • Christopher says

      September 19, 2015 at 4:51 pm

      …but I’ve said for years we should forego odd-year conventions in favor of Democratic Campaign Institutes.

      Log in to Reply
      • johntmay says

        September 20, 2015 at 9:03 am

        He ran the breakout session on wealth and equality. It should have been mandatory for all Democrats. Well done.

        Log in to Reply
        • williamstowndem says

          September 20, 2015 at 9:08 am

          … that he wasn’t is a loss for all of us (and of course the reason he wasn’t allowed to run was pure BS). He ran a great session. Three takeaways: If you want to reduce income inequality: 1) adopt a progressive income tax; 2) put more money into education, especially the early years; and 3) invest in infrastructure … not only would it create jobs and raise hourly wages across the board, it would make our economy more efficient, promoting growth, which then creates more jobs!

          Log in to Reply
        • ljtmalden says

          September 20, 2015 at 10:13 am

          It was standing room only, and I hope the materials will be distributed to those of us who signed up on the email list. All the presenters had good information, but Dan Wolf was inspiring–telling it like it is. (I’m paraphrasing the message here.) While many think Massachusetts is a blue state, it is actually only a blue state in some locations, we cannot just blame Reaganomics — we should blame ourselves (i.e. through our representatives who are Democrats in name only) for the increases in inequality in our state, and to solve this, we need to elect real Democrats that Wolf and other likeminded legislators can work with to turn the tide. (See also the post by williamstowndem for the three most important actions to take.)

          Log in to Reply
        • ljtmalden says

          September 20, 2015 at 10:16 am

          Whether he has cleared the way to run for governor in 2018 and whether he is interested in doing so?

          Log in to Reply
          • Christopher says

            September 20, 2015 at 1:10 pm

            having to give up Cape Air. I agree with those who say it should not have been an issue.

            Log in to Reply
  4. Christopher says

    September 19, 2015 at 4:49 pm

    …so my consolation prize was watching the presidential candidates address the NH convention on C-SPAN.

    Log in to Reply
  5. jotaemei says

    September 19, 2015 at 10:18 pm

    If I were able to attend, I’d have tried to get a vote of solidarity for the people who have been on hunger strike in the #FightForDyett.

    Did anyone mention it?

    Log in to Reply
  6. ljtmalden says

    September 20, 2015 at 10:42 am

    Overall, turnout was abysmal. Something needs to be done to make these conventions more useful — Lowell two years ago, it seemed to me, had a more effective schedule with some smaller workshop-style breakouts. Suggestion: The convention breakouts should be the first step in a process. Give people concrete, immediate ways to follow up these breakouts and learn more in greater depth.

    The morning session: some speeches are expected, but that’s a LOT of person-hours in which we were mostly told “thanks for all you do, you’re great, Massachusetts is great, we have big challenges ahead, please keep fighting.” Still, I’m glad I went and glad they said it.

    Kudos for being there: Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren, Marty Walsh
    Wish they’d been there: Bernie Sanders (his surrogate had a perfectly fine speech but the delivery was not great); more state representatives and senators; more of my city delegation
    Most interesting speech: Howard Dean (for Hillary, but also, emphatically, for Democrats whoever wins the nomination.) And Dan Wolf at the breakout.
    Other good speeches: the senators, Mayor Setti Warren, AFL/CIO President Steve Tolman, AG Maura Healey (as always), Mayor Marty Walsh
    Best visibility: AG Maura Healey
    Most awkward moment IMHO: Oddly, the benediction, by an otherwise probably fine Latina clergywoman who chose to be an over-the-top activist for her community in the wrong time and place and went on a bit too long doing it.
    Toughest job: Doing the text captions for the speeches in real time — but I thought they could have been better. In many cases the thrust of the message was lost.
    I’d be interested in others’ overall impressions.

    Log in to Reply
    • sabutai says

      September 20, 2015 at 11:35 am

      Not worth $100, to begin with. I don’t know why we need such a large venue in these off-year conventions.
      I guess we have to give every statewide officeholder a spot, I guess. Only time all year I’m glad by governor isn’t a Democrat, because that would be two more speeches to sit through.
      Aside from resolutions that will be ignored, and speeches that will largely be forgotten, what happened? The breakout sessions were good, and we need more of that, not less.
      Maybe this helped build the party, but if everyone in that hall had spent those two hours knocking on doors in Springfield, it would have been a better use of our time.

      Log in to Reply
      • ljtmalden says

        September 20, 2015 at 2:59 pm

        I was not suggesting fewer breakouts — rather, more breakouts that are therefore able to have fewer people and be better educational experiences — more workshop style rather than just one-way presentations with Q&A. And also follow ups from the breakouts — more ways for people to learn more about the topic.

        Log in to Reply
        • johntmay says

          September 20, 2015 at 5:11 pm

          That would have been constructive. They really need to limit the speeches to five minutes. If you can’t say it in five minutes, you either don’t understand it or you can’t explain it. I used to do amateur comedy. We had five minutes. At four and a half minutes, the red light would blink. At five minutes, it would stay red. At five minutes and ten seconds, they cut off the mike. I did enjoy some of the speeches but after arriving at 8:00 AM, I was toast by 11:00. As expected, Elizabeth and Maura were superb. The rest were either predictably boring or a snooze fest. I was most disappointed by the woman who spoke on behalf of the Sanders campaign. I’m a Bernie Backer. Give me that mike and I would have had the house rocking. Oh well….You need to be a performer at these events (even The Donald knows that).

          I would have preferred that the speeches were done by 10:00 and then followed by four hours of smaller and more numerous workshops.

          Log in to Reply
  7. markbernstein says

    September 20, 2015 at 12:38 pm

    a) Friday evening could be more fun *and* more useful if we had more opportunities to meet and hear interesting people. Readings for significant new books would give academic writers valuable exposure. Organizations like Blue Mass Group would have an opportunity for a meetup that need not be a terrific investment or expense.

    b) Additional breakout sessions — both more tracks and more slots — would give people more options. In particular, the evergreen “Dem Tech” session is always nearly useless because it never knows its audience. Since half of the audience is made up of tech professionals and half are looking for a hand in setting up a Facebook page, that incoherence is natural. This problem happens over and over.

    c) Support the exhibit hall with breakout sessions, meeting spaces. Give exhibitors more support; you want them to succeed because (a) you’ll get more exhibitors, and (b) they’re Democrats working for Democratic causes.

    d) All-star breakout sessions. My pick: Amanda Palmer and Jimmy Tingle, “The Art Of Asking”. You can imagine your own. Publicize the panelists, too; it helps people decide what to see, it benefits the panelists, it makes people feel better about their registration fee.

    e) Another evergreen event for Friday PM/evening: welcome to first-time delegates. They’re new, they haven’t done this before, they aren’t from here. Onboarding is a good thing.

    f) Kaffeklatsches: organized 20-minute meeting, eight people (sign up in advance) and one expert. A chance to meet people or ask a question. We have lots of experience in the hall, and lots of skills; give people some access. Old hands know who to call with their questions, but not everyone is an old hand.

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recommended Posts

  • Progressive Mass Shouldn’t Back Stupid Primaries (3)
  • There Is Not A Chance the White House is Happy With This Timing (3)
  • Promises made, promises kept (1)
  • Real “Center” is Economically Nationalist/Culturally Moderate (1)

Recent User Posts

Progressive Mass Shouldn’t Back Stupid Primaries

August 12, 2022 By jconway 7 Comments

There Is Not A Chance the White House is Happy With This Timing

August 10, 2022 By terrymcginty 8 Comments

Site issue: Unable to reply to comments

August 10, 2022 By SomervilleTom 2 Comments

Why do PUKES oppose $35 insulin for diabetics with private insurance?

August 8, 2022 By fredrichlariccia 3 Comments

Promises made, promises kept

August 8, 2022 By fredrichlariccia Leave a Comment

Schedule F

August 7, 2022 By johntmay 4 Comments

Recent Comments

  • SomervilleTom on Progressive Mass Shouldn’t Back Stupid PrimariesTommy Vitolo was directly responsible for the Brookline…
  • SomervilleTom on Progressive Mass Shouldn’t Back Stupid PrimariesThis comment exemplifies why I'm done with "Progressive…
  • Keith Bernard on Progressive Mass Shouldn’t Back Stupid PrimariesDon't get mad at Progressive Mass because Tommy Vitolo i…
  • fredrichlariccia on Progressive Mass Shouldn’t Back Stupid PrimariesThe other half of Wakefield (Precincts 4 - 6) is in the…
  • fredrichlariccia on Progressive Mass Shouldn’t Back Stupid PrimariesThe 9th Essex district James and I share as fellow Wakef…
  • fredrichlariccia on Progressive Mass Shouldn’t Back Stupid PrimariesYou hit the nail on the head here. Namely: Holier than T…
  • SomervilleTom on Progressive Mass Shouldn’t Back Stupid PrimariesI appreciate you writing this diary. This primary seems…

Archive

@bluemassgroup on Twitter

#mapoli

massauditor Suzanne M. Bump @massauditor ·
19m

You can help us make government work better. Tell us where you see waste and abuse by government agencies or contractors. https://www.mass.gov/how-to/report-waste-and-abuse #MAPoli

Reply on Twitter 1559249866194313218 Retweet on Twitter 1559249866194313218 Like on Twitter 1559249866194313218 Twitter 1559249866194313218
repsmitty34 Smitty Pignatelli @repsmitty34 ·
20m

AG and candidate for Governor @maura_healey is my guest on this week's episode of 'Let's Talk with Smitty.' She has taken on the biggest fights as the people's lawyer and will be a Governor for ALL of us. Visit https://linktr.ee/repsmitty to listen.
#mapoli

Reply on Twitter 1559249722644258821 Retweet on Twitter 1559249722644258821 Like on Twitter 1559249722644258821 1 Twitter 1559249722644258821
strat4youth Strategies for Youth @strat4youth ·
25m

Be an informed voter for youth justice! Join the voter education forum in-person or virtually on August 16 from 1:30-3 PM. Learn more and register today: https://lnkd.in/ejEaKtXB #mapoli

Reply on Twitter 1559248429624266756 Retweet on Twitter 1559248429624266756 Like on Twitter 1559248429624266756 Twitter 1559248429624266756
darraghcmurphy Darragh Murphy @darraghcmurphy ·
25m

I hope every voter in Suffolk Co reads and rereads this comment until they understand the implications of having a DA Arroyo so inexperienced that he is not qualified to sit as SECOND chair on a Suffolk Co murder trial as prosecutor or public defender. #BosPoli #MaPoli #NoArroyos

Jessamyn Jones @jessamynejones

@orennimni This comment is woefully ignorant & verifiably false. Hayden spent 2x as many years as a defense attorney than Arroyo. Arroyo has so little experience that he does not meet the reqs to lead a jury trial, or even sit 2nd chair on a murder trial, as a public defender or ADA.

Reply on Twitter 1559248399660195842 Retweet on Twitter 1559248399660195842 Like on Twitter 1559248399660195842 Twitter 1559248399660195842
darraghcmurphy Darragh Murphy @darraghcmurphy ·
32m

Substantive question for @RicardoNArroyo that would help voters differentiate his #SuffolkDA candidacy from DA Hayden’s. Will Ricardo answer? Go after illegal guns or nah, Ricardo? #BosPoli & #MaPoli

Jessamyn Jones @jessamynejones

This account also loves to criticize @dakevinhayden for enforcing gun laws in communities most grievously impacted by gun violence. Does @ricardonarroyo agree w/ @CourtWatchMA that DA should deemphasize illegal gun possession? Will it be on his expanded #DNPlist? #bospoli #mapoli https://twitter.com/CourtWatchMA/status/1559220406371995648

Reply on Twitter 1559246767107047425 Retweet on Twitter 1559246767107047425 Like on Twitter 1559246767107047425 Twitter 1559246767107047425
scmurnane Steven Murnane Jr @scmurnane ·
32m

Voting to tank the #NoCostCalls bill, and now endorsing DA Hayden over @RicardoNArroyo? I think its time for her to go. #mapoli

Lydia Edwards @LydiaMEdwards

Happy to endorse @DAKevinHayden for DA! https://twitter.com/dakevinhayden/status/1559176032732811267

Reply on Twitter 1559246757724315649 Retweet on Twitter 1559246757724315649 1 Like on Twitter 1559246757724315649 1 Twitter 1559246757724315649
Load More

From our sponsors




Google Calendar







Search

Archives

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter




Copyright © 2022 Owned and operated by BMG Media Empire LLC. Read the terms of use. Some rights reserved.