Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Gauntlets thrown down in advance of Dem Convention

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The road was littered with metal gloves, there were so many gauntlets thrown … calls to Governor Baker to lead on climate, and Dan Wolf calling out Robert DeLeo as “tone deaf” and calling for a primary challenger.

If you want attention, start a fight.

It was small comfort to see the pro- and social media explode yesterday in reaction to Trump’s pulling out of Paris. It’s good to see jes’ folks and politicians challenging Governor Baker to lead on climate:

There were others …

And there seems to be movement afoot to bring support for ambitious climate action to the floor of the convention — S.1849, which would commit Massachusetts to 100% renewable energy by 2050:

That would be tremendous. Governor Baker has given support to the Paris agreement, and hasn’t engaged in outright policy vandalism. But he’s not leading the pack, expending any political capital on climate/energy issues, either. He needs to be prodded, poked, challenged. Massachusetts’ leadership on energy is more important than ever. We can get a start on this, this weekend.

… and yes, Dan Wolf is quoted as calling for a primary of Bob DeLeo if he doesn’t wise up to the demands of his caucus:

In a Facebook post, Rodrigues Lorenzo quoted Wolf as saying, “It is time for someone to say to Bob DeLeo: We are the Democratic Party. We have a platform that was democratically created by Democrats across the Commonwealth. If you call yourself a Democrat, stand up for our platform and the Democratic values we hold dear or we will primary you.”

… “He thought that the only thing that would make a difference is if somebody ran against the speaker from his district in a primary,” said Rep. Denise Provost, who attended the forum with fellow Somerville Democrat Rep. Christine Barber.

She said, “I think that what the senator said put Rep. Barber and myself in a very uncomfortable and awkward position.”

Well you don’t say. But I would suggest that it’s not Wolf who puts progressive Reps in an awkward position; it’s DeLeo himself. Our esteem for the “good guys” in the House decays when we see DeLeo block, slow-roll or generally poo-pooh their priorities. The progressives look like chumps for voting for him — even as the alternative is to cross him and lose status, chairs, the scraps that do get tossed their way.

This tension has been building for a while. Back in 2014, John Walsh took legislative-branch Dems to task for timidity as one of his last acts as state chair. Progressive Mass’s Jonathan Cohn notes that the House routinely ignores the Democratic platform. Now Wolf.

The natives are restless …

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Comments

  1. That’s not the even what’s likely to cause the most consternation since Dems are probably just about unanimous for the Paris agreement. I’m hearing DeLeo is skipping convention, but Our Revolution is proposing a resolution calling for the state party to really use the platform to determine who gets party support (as in resources since primaries still determine nominees). The Chair does not have unilateral authority to decide if something is essential business, but a resolution needs 50 signatures and 2/3 to suspend the rules. A resolution tabled by the DSC objecting to Israeli settlements could raise the temperature in the room, Charter amendments committee has endorsed tweaks to the add-on delegate selection and opposes Our Revolution amendments to change the DSC composition.

    • Excellent. Now he can follow through will all the other actions necessary for leadership on the issue. Like the Paris agreement itself, that’s a floor, not a ceiling.

      • And the MA Democratic Party and our Republican Governor can also show leadership by endorsing Sen. Barrett’s carbon tax. It’s revenue neutral and utilizes market forces to reduce emissions-there is no ideological reason for a Republican to oppose this.

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