I was struck by the hostility of the Massachusetts Democratic Party faithful who responded to this recent jconway blog, in which he defended the United Independent Party's name, its practices, and existence.  (By the way, so far as the name … [Read more...]

“The policy outcomes are being derailed by the politics inside the building." That was state Senator Daniel Wolf's assessment when he spoke to the Boston Globe shortly after the 2015 legislative session ended last week.  That article … [Read more...]

I have copy-and-pasted the full version of a letter I sent to the editors of The Republican/masslive.com and The Eagle-Tribune below.  Freedom Massachusetts will hold a Lobby Day to rally public support for the bill on Thursday ... * * … [Read more...]

So much bad news. Question 1.  It's important to remember that we got to this place because Speaker DeLeo, Rep. Dempsey, et al. dictated the terms of the tax bill last year, carved out the gas tax increases from Patrick's ambitious $1.9 … [Read more...]

Back in April, I attended the Gubernatorial Forum hosted by Progressive Massachusetts during its Second Annual Policy Conference.  During the session with Coakley, the moderator (Jordan Berg-Powers) asked her how, especially in the … [Read more...]

On Tuesday morning, Don Berwick launched a petition to block the deal that would enable Partners to takeover South Shore Hospital and Hallmark Health System.  He shared it on this site, and a lot of people signed it. On Thursday, Steve … [Read more...]

During WBUR's Debate on Wednesday involving the three remaining Democratic candidates for Massachusetts governor, Steve Grossman attacked Don Berwick for his commitment to implementing a single payer health care system.  I found this very … [Read more...]

I was struck by the absurdity of this column by Hillary Chabot of the Boston Herald, published earlier this week (“In Mass., loyalty to Obamacare is no kryptonite”).  In it, Chabot rips into Don Berwick while also noting his momentum in the … [Read more...]

Just about all of us are scratching and clawing our way through these cruel mid-winter days.  But as we justifiably groan and moan about The Terribleness That Is This Winter, let's also remind ourselves that it's a much more serious … [Read more...]

Last week, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson's declaration of a War on Poverty, the New York Times published this column, calling the results of the effort a mixed bag.  It's a good, fairly concise read and … [Read more...]