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

A New Generation of Women Will Change Beacon Hill

January 18, 2019 By Mark L. Bail

Beacon Hill: where the coffee is strong and so are the Women

Politicians are human. Occasional bad behavior should come as no surprise. What matters is what is done about it. And recently sworn-in Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Northampton) and Sen. Becca Rausch (D-Needham) are already sponsoring legislation to address it.

The problem is sexual misconduct. The most recent instance is the allegation that Rep. McMurtry grabbed the backside of an incoming state representative during an orientation cocktail party. The evidence, including an eyewitness, and two women the victim spoke to, is compelling.

The Globe spoke to three legislators, two of whom said the alleged victim told them that McMurtry grabbed her. A third said she witnessed it directly. The Globe generally does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault and misconduct, and the legislator McMurtry allegedly grabbed declined to comment through an attorney.

In response to the alleged events, Sabadosa and Sen. Becca Rausch (D-Needham) have sponsored a bill in their respective chambers creating ,“a commission on workplace harassment and sexual assault to investigate and report on complaints of sexual misconduct and intersectional, identity-based discrimination.”

Misconduct, sexual or otherwise, will always be with us. Individuals will always break norms and laws. However, we do have control over how we respond. Unfortunately, it’s not clear that House Speaker Robert DeLeo quite understands the how to respond:

“First of all, the House has a really comprehensive set of rules to handle, to deal with situations such as this. I can tell you from my perspective as speaker, I kept to those rules and acted accordingly,” said DeLeo, who has said he immediately referred several secondhand reports of “inappropriate conduct” from the orientation to House counsel.

Following the rules is all well and good when the rules are good enough. Sabadosa and Raucsch’s bill calls the status quo, which has yet to be enacted, into question.

The emerging McMurtry Scandal will play out. But the real story is that a younger, newer generation has joined the legislature, a generation that doesn’t tolerate sexual misconduct, a generation tired of the political status quo. It’s a generation with more women in power and more men who aren’t afraid of that fact. They are serious, intelligent, experienced, and professional. They are learning the ropes quickly and not afraid to offend the house speaker as they do their jobs.

Please share widely!
fb-share-icon
Tweet
+2
0

Filed Under: Editor, User

Comments

  1. petr says

    January 18, 2019 at 11:58 am

    Was just reading about this ‘tother day.

    • Mark L. Bail says

      January 18, 2019 at 1:21 pm

      I’ve enjoyed the right-wing’s ignorant floundering over AOC. She’s young, smart, progressive, and unapologetic. And they are already losing the battle.

      • petr says

        January 18, 2019 at 2:07 pm

        I’ve enjoyed the right-wing’s ignorant floundering

        Pleasure at another’s self inflicted pain: Would that be something like “Shaden-maso-freude-chism”?

        • Mark L. Bail says

          January 18, 2019 at 4:14 pm

          You excel at wordplay, my friend!

Recommended Posts

  • No posts liked yet.

Recent User Posts

Predictions Open Thread

December 22, 2022 By jconway

This is why I love Joe Biden

December 21, 2022 By fredrichlariccia

Garland’s Word

December 19, 2022 By terrymcginty

Some Parting Thoughts

December 19, 2022 By jconway

Beware the latest grift

December 16, 2022 By fredrichlariccia

Thank you, Blue Mass Group!

December 15, 2022 By methuenprogressive

Recent Comments

  • blueeyes on Beware the latest griftSo where to, then??
  • Christopher on Some Parting ThoughtsI've enjoyed our discussions as well (but we have yet to…
  • Christopher on Beware the latest griftI can't imagine anyone of our ilk not already on Twitter…
  • blueeyes on Beware the latest griftI will miss this site. Where are people going? Twitter?…
  • chrismatth on This site (will be disabled on) December 31, 2022I joined BMG late - 13 years ago next month and three da…
  • SomervilleTom on Geopolitics of FusionEVERY un-designed, un-built, and un-tested technology is…
  • Charley on the MTA on This site (will be disabled on) December 31, 2022That’s a great idea, and I’ll be there on Sunday. It’s a…

Archive

@bluemassgroup on Twitter

#mapoli

legislataapp Legislata @legislataapp ·
2h

Tweet summary for MA State House for 2023-03-23: 155 tweets from 55 legislators. Top words: local, ramadan, month, housing, breakfast, plymouth, health, holy, legislative, students. #mapoli

Reply on Twitter 1639161945415897088 Retweet on Twitter 1639161945415897088 Like on Twitter 1639161945415897088 Twitter 1639161945415897088
mszafranski413 Matt Szafranski @mszafranski413 ·
3h

Blink and you may have missed it, but Domenic @SarnoforMayor is tiptoeing into actual campaigning. #mapoli #spfldpoli https://www.wmasspi.com/2023/03/once-obscured-sarno-reelection-campaign-begins-to-bloom-openly.html

Reply on Twitter 1639145611663405056 Retweet on Twitter 1639145611663405056 1 Like on Twitter 1639145611663405056 Twitter 1639145611663405056
activate_media Activate Media @activate_media ·
5h

Latenight on Activate Radio M-F
12- Democracy Now
1- Nuclear Hotseat
2- Occupied Nation
3- Economic Update
4- 51%
http://activatemedia.org
#boston #cambridge #worcester #lowell #nyc #manchester #providence #portland #bospoli #mapoli #overnight #radio

Reply on Twitter 1639111799227416577 Retweet on Twitter 1639111799227416577 Like on Twitter 1639111799227416577 Twitter 1639111799227416577
lexseeher LexSeeHer Team @lexseeher ·
6h

Follow @lexseeher for all updates on the 1st monument to recognize women's political, economic, intellectual, social & cultural contributions in #Lexington #mapoli

Lexington Historical Society @LexHistSoc

Exciting news from our partners at @LexSeeHer2! #lexseeher #womenshistory #HERstory #boldwomen #History #women #suffrage #revolutionarywar #modernhistory #art #publicart #publichistory #monument #memorial #statue

https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/lexington-minuteman/2021/06/22/site-chosen-new-monument-honoring-lexington-women/5296708001/ (@WickedLocalLex)

Reply on Twitter 1639109004000411649 Retweet on Twitter 1639109004000411649 Like on Twitter 1639109004000411649 Twitter 1639109004000411649
occupied_nation Occupied Nation @occupied_nation ·
7h

My Son's Hair is Part of a Thousand-Year-Old Tribal Culture. His School Called it a 'Fad.' | ACLU https://buff.ly/3JNxNZo
#boston #cambridge #worcester #lowell #nyc #manchester #providence #portland #bospoli #mapoli #IndigenousPeoples #Leland #SouthCarolina #CharterSchool

Reply on Twitter 1639095014528806912 Retweet on Twitter 1639095014528806912 Like on Twitter 1639095014528806912 1 Twitter 1639095014528806912
rwwatchma Trump's election fraud hoax undermines democracy @rwwatchma ·
7h

TN legislated against drag, not against drag for kids who don't have parental consent.

FL legislated against AP African-American history and banned Anne Frank's Diary in public schools, for all not just kids whose parents oppose it.

Parental rights are a lie #mapoli #nhpolitics

The Recount @therecount

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) goes off on House GOP proposing a “Parents Bill of Rights”:

“They wanna ban books about Black and brown people ... about LGBTQI+ people. It is sick. It is hateful … You don’t get to tell the rest of us parents what our kids should be allowed to read.”

Reply on Twitter 1639094583689719808 Retweet on Twitter 1639094583689719808 Like on Twitter 1639094583689719808 Twitter 1639094583689719808
Load More

From our sponsors




Google Calendar







Search

Archives

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter




Copyright © 2023 Owned and operated by BMG Media Empire LLC. Read the terms of use. Some rights reserved.