Blue Mass Group

A message I sent to my students about the significance of Juneteenth I have reposted here:

 

Happy Juneteenth!

This new federal holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. President Biden said that it is the sign of a healthy nation that acknowledges its mistakes and works to correct them. Vice President Harris reminded the audience at the signing that the White House was itself built by enslaved African American and now she is the first woman and first person of color to be Vice President.

It’s been a tough year for everyone for a lot of reasons that can weigh us down and make us feel powerless, but the history of Juneteenth teaches us that we can overcome when people organize and work for change.

Unlike other federal holidays that acknowledge an important person or acknowledge our military, this holiday honors the millions of unknown people who built this nation on the backs of their bondage and were liberated by their collective resistance to slavery.

Let us honor their memory and learn from their example.

Have a great summer y’all and see you in the fall!

From WGBH:

While Allen has never held elected office,she brings an impressive resume to the campaign. She directs Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, and has written extensively on both ancient political philosophy and contemporary U.S. society, including how to respond to the manifold challenges posed by COVID-19.

Danielle Allen is a great scholar of the American founding and has a lot of appreciation for the radicalism of the American Revolution that’s getting lost with some of the excesses of the era. In some ways, she’s following the Warren playbook by trying to transition from academia to public office. That said, there are some key differences as the article brings up:

unlike U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who successfully moved from academia to electoral politics in 2012, Allen has not been an active participant in the partisan fray.

I think that’s going to be the rub with this candidate. At this stage of the race it’s all about winning over delegates to get on the ballot and she has yet to show up and do the work to help local Democrats get elected or even be highly involved as a Democrat in some high profile fights. Her COVID work was largely apolitical and academic, even though she did help author the Smith-Cassidy relief bill, it’s behind the scenes tinkering and not the full throated bully pulpit that Warren enjoyed back in 2012.

The question she didn’t answer in her remarks is why Charlie Baker, who enjoyed a 60% approval rating from her fellow Democrats, needs to go and why she’s the one to beat him. All the candidates need an answer to that, and fast. Although perhaps it’s an open race after all since Baker isn’t raising any money and his own party is at war with him…

 

 

I retired and move to the Cape this past winter. “Help Wanted” signs began to pop up a few weeks ago to the point where it’s odd to see a business without one on their door or on a road side sign.  From what I gather, part of the problem is so-called “affordable housing”.   Well, yes, if employers are not offering wages that will sustain the living costs of employees, specifically due to the high cost of housing, blaming a lack of “affordable housing” is one way to approach this.  The other is to expect the employers to offer higher wages that will sustain an employee who is paying fair market prices for lodging.

Government intervention into the labor market to fix market flaws, specifically the employers refusal to offer fair market wages, is something that right wingers and conservatives should be against.  If I can’t find anyone to wash dishes at my restaurant for $18 an hour, any believer in “free markets” would tell me to offer $20, or $25, or $35 until the market dictated the cost of a dish washer.  Somehow, those on the right are silent about this government meddling in the free market, but there are more than enough on the left who reach the same conclusion from a different angle.  If the market will pay a non-college graduate $35 an hour, then it must be that a college educated worker merits deserve more, the market be damned.   Only college educated or those with unique skills deserve $75,000 a year!  After all, anyone walk walk off the street and wash dishes, so it cannot pay well, according to their paradigm.

From my perspective, the rich are the ones who benefit from “Affordable Housing”. It allows them the luxury of externalizing the true costs of the labor that supports their service dependent lifestyle.

I suggest that instead of “Affordable Housing”, local towns and municipalities enact wage laws that tie the minimum wage to local housing costs.  A dishwasher in Orleans should cost the restaurant owner and its patrons a hell of a lot more than a dishwasher in Holyoke.

Moving the 60 vote threshold down to 55 would empower moderates in both parties to cut bipartisan deals rather than the present system which empowers the Minority party to endless obstruct the will of the majority. It also ensures future 51 vote majorities can’t ram major policy changes or appointments through, something to consider in case we got stuck with another Republican trifecta down the line.

Ross Douthat makes the case that Joe Manchin should pursue this change and perhaps save the Senate from itself.

Overturning Roe will exacerbate a public health tragedy for poor women and women of color. This group was consistently let down by hip white kids living in swing states too cool to vote for Gore or Hillary, by an aloof lame duck president unwilling to go to bat for Merrick Garland, and by the seven men who decided Roe in the first place on  flimsier legal foundation than the firmer one feminist lawyers like Ruth Bader Ginsburg wanted to place it upon.

My hope is that when Roe is overturned it will revive the nascent grassroots movement to legalize abortion state by state that was prematurely cut off by the Pyrrhic victory of the 1973 decision. The anti-choice movement once had majority rule and democratic legitimacy on its side, but that is no longer the case today. People should be ready to vote up and down the ballot to protect these rights which were hard fought and are likely to be lost in many states within the next few years.

 

The Herald lists the following potential candidates for these two open seats on the Democratic side.

 

Auditor:

Sen. Diana DiZoglio

Gov. Councilor Eileen Duff

Transit Advocate Chris Dempsey

 

LG:

Rep. Tami Gouveia

Brett Bero, entrepreneur

 

Handicapping these races will be difficult, Dempsey is well known within urban progressive circles, but a large unknown across the state. Duff and DiZoglio seem to be competing for the moderate lane and the North of Boston vote. Sen. Pacheco might also get in, he has represented the South Coast for some time and is a solid ally of organized labor. DiZoglio is more of a maverick willing to take on the former Speaker on term limits and sexual harassment. It’s unclear if she’s known outside of her district though. Could be a real crowded barnburner where the first to 25% wins.

 

The LG race sees a relatively recent progressive rep taking the plunge. I like Tami, I’m not sure this LG nomination is worth giving up her seat as Bakers popularity has rebounded and people are moving on from the pandemic. The Soldiers Home scandal could be an opening for a well known candidate like Healey to get in, otherwise you can’t beat a popular somebody with an unknown nobody. Downing is a good dude, but he seems like another Jay Gonzalez or Mark Roosevelt in waiting. Bero is a millionaire with startup experience, which to me, is a refreshing change, but is probably anathema to the left wing base of the party.

As Kate or Christopher would contend, working the delegates is just as important as big money or name recognition at this point. Will the state convention be dominated by leftists like last time or will electability minded voters have their say? Time will tell.

I also have it on good authority Galvin could get a challenger this year, although I admit he’s done a much better job this term and seems even harder to beat, but he’s also my dads age and could be the next retirement coming down the Pike. Stay tuned!