Massachusetts Liberal

The 140-character campaign (II)

2012-01-30T05:10:00.004-05:00

The New York Times, the Gray Lady of Mainstream Journalism, has discovered what the rest of us have know for awhile: Twitter has shoved civil discourse in this nation into the gutter.

Once upon a time, in the heyday of Theodore White and Johnny Apple, political campaigns were lengthy narratives to be dispensed in thoughtful daily doses by the boys on the bus. With the rise of TV, that slowly began to fade into 40-second sound bites, then 10-second sound bites until we reached the point today of the 140-character instant attack.

Twitter has rightfully been hailed as a voice of democracy, a key component of the Arab Spring. But less attention has been paid to the corrosive downside -- on display in American politics today.

It's a perverse tribute to today's political operative to acknowledge the venom and misinformation that can be harnessed in such tight quarters. Combined with the explosion of attack ads financed by unfettered corporate cash, Twitter has contributed to a cheapening of already coarse campaign "discourse."

The solution? That's perhaps the most frightening thought of all. I'm open to suggestions.

I object!

2012-01-30T05:00:00.003-05:00

Hey Newt, I know Massachusetts liberals. and I am here to tell you Mitt Romney is not one of us.

The fast-and-loose-with the facts Republican primary season is grinding on and Newt Gingrich was paying a visit to Fantasy Land on Sunday, letting loose with a couple of whoppers that typify the unhinged basis of what passes for debate in 2012. First:

“I am, in fact, the legitimate heir to the Republican movement -- not some liberal from Massachusetts,” Gingrich told a sprawling crowd of hundreds at a strip mall parking lot in this enclave of senior communities.

We know Republicans have managed to turn the word liberal into a synonym for "devil incarnate." But seriously. Trying to apply it to a man almost universally scorned in the Massachusetts progressive community cries out for a visit from Politifact and consideration for its Lie of the Year.

Of greater relevance is this piece of unbridled hypocrisy:

“I have an opponent with money power, and we need people power to offset money power,” he said.

Perhaps you should read the "elite" media Newt. Or at least check your own campaign accounts.

Of Kevin and Mitt

2012-01-29T08:54:00.002-05:00

They were as stylistically different as night and day. The visionary Boston pol and the Michigan-born businessman. One had a passion, the other a checklist.

What they shared was an overwhelming political ambition and a desire to play on the national spotlight. And for one fleeting moment, they pass each other on the stage they both craved.

Kevin Hagan White and Willard Mitt Romney shared little politically other than having their ambitions thwarted (at least for a time) by Edward Moore Kennedy. White stood watch as Boston struggled to climb out of its parochial past -- sliding backward a bit over the busing nightmare that defined his epitaph outside Massachusetts.

The visible monuments to White are quite real: Quincy Market, Copley Place and the Back Bay. Yet he was a man who ironically led more in a style similar to Romney than to his own hands-on successors Ray Flynn and Tom Menino.

White nurtured a generation of politicians and functionaries -- Barney Frank, Fred Salvucci, Peter Meade to name three. Romney? Does Eric Fehrnstrom count? I guess so since White did bring us George Regan.

The world will little know nor long remember the direct impact Romney had on Massachusetts during his one term as governor. Many saw it for what it was at the time: a way station on the road to the White House he has trod since midway through that one term.

True, neither White nor Romney was afraid to take the reins in his hands directly when times demanded: White when anger in the aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination threatened to burn American cities; Romney when the roof of the Ted Williams Tunnel came crashing down.

It will not be their accomplishments that many will recall, but rather the intangibles that separate the men: White, the loner in love with his city; Romney, the man who strapped a dog carrier onto his car roof during a family trip to Canada.

Two men who grew up in political families and sought to follow in the family business -- whether they admit it or not. White has a clear legacy and a statue to mark that passage. It's doubtful we will be building monuments to Mitt.

But Romney may yet have the last laugh, a chance to fulfill the ultimate goal that eluded White.

Seriously?

2012-01-28T08:15:00.003-05:00

War. Foreclosures. Income inequality. And the political press thinks a staged campaign stunt by an Arizona governor is news.

Even when there's proof it was all hype.

Politico offers us a story about Barack Obama looking to redress a "months-old insult" in a book by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer confronting her on an Arizona tarmac.

Funny, but from my vantage point, the finger-wagging governor is doing the confronting. And a Republican Arizona mayor agrees.

But in our 24-7-365 conflict-obsessed media, everything gets blown up into scandals, especially when it involves Barack Obama. Look no farther than Bruins goalie Tim Thomas' decision to put the "i" in team and steal the thunder from his teammates White House honors.

No wonder the media is right down there with politicians on the public love list.

(Washington Post photo)

Hedging his bets

2012-01-27T05:34:00.002-05:00

Mitt Romney is the 0.0001 percent, as the outpouring of details from just two years of taxes show.

The latest look at the Romney investment portfolio show he is what the Globe calls an "aggressive" investor in hedge funds, funneling upwards of $100 million into those mysterious accounts must of the public know are available only to institutional investors and the super-rich. And whose manipulation or occasional collapses can trigger worldwide financial problems.

The tax returns have shattered the image Romney has tried to cultivate as a down-to-earth family guy who has been successful but not really different from average Americans. The give lie to his pathetic claims to being unemployed or fearing a pink slip.

The hedge fund investments point out the gap, as Joshua Dorner, an official with the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a Washington group that has been critical of Romney’s low tax rate, tells the Globe. Romney's investments are:

“a special loophole enjoyed only by private equity and hedge fund managers.’’

The Romney campaign correctly points out they pay all the taxes required by law and the investments are in a blind trust over which they have no control.

Not the point though. It's clear the Romneys just try to play average Americans on TV. The reality is Romney is among the very class of people who helped to dig America's financial hole and who have escaped responsibility for their actions.

Think things will change for the better under a Romney presidency? You may want to hedge that bet.

Messed up priorities

2012-01-26T05:00:00.002-05:00

Millionaires drop cash on candidates like candy, while elected officials look to tax candy to pay the bills. How did our priorities get so messed up?

While our nation slowly, slowly emerges from the depths of a Great Recession triggered by lax government oversight, governors are looking in every nook and cranny to find ways to pay for services that are necessary and/or expected -- without the resources to pay for them.

Patrick administration budget chief Jay Gonzalez told the Globe Massachusetts the state will never again be able to pay for the level of services it provided before the recession, citing long-term debts, including $40 billion in unfunded liability for current and future state and municipal retiree health benefits.

To close the gap, Deval Patrick is asking to extend the 6.25 percent sales tax to candy and soda, raise cigarette taxes again and make water bottles subject to the bottle law. In other words, nickle and dime people, many of whom are already stretched to the limit.

In part because it's a safe election year assumption have no stomach for a broader, fairer proposal. After all, this is a nation that steadfastly refuses to ask millionaires to pay their fair share toward the common good.

But millionaires have no compunction about dropping obscene amounts of cash to buy, er, support their favorite candidates.

Exactly what are Sheldon and Miriam Adelson getting in their $10 million purchase of, er, investment in Newt Gingrich? GOP critics may ask the same question about the $23.7 million George Soros dropped on Democrats in 2004.

Guesstimates are Barack Obama may raise upwards of $1 billion to defend the White House against the attack of plutocrats who have already bought and paid for Congress and are driving it ever farther away from dealing with the root causes of the recession -- the mortgage scandal, two credit card wars and massive tax cuts for their financial backers.

Meanwhile, kids are being asked to dig deeper in the pockets for a candy bar or a can of soda.

How did we go so far off the rails?

Game On

2012-01-25T05:00:00.004-05:00

If George Bush's budget director is the best person Republicans have to counter Barack Obama than the State of the GOP is awful.

I admit opting for sleep over the verbal showdown and by all accounts watching the DC extravaganza would simply have sped up the process. But after a less-than-exhaustive review of online resources, it's obvious to conclude Obama has stepped back into the ring to rebut the months-long assault on his record by Republicans -- and who have offered him ample targets of opportunity.

The timing of Obama's call for a minimum 30 percent tax on Americans earning more than $1 million annually is clearly not coincidental. Nor is his rhetoric:

“You can call this class warfare all you want. Most Americans would call that common sense.”

The whole SOTU process has become political theater where opponents issue prebuttals as well as rebuttals, neither of which can respond to real time proposals. It is long on theatrics and campaign lines, short on specifics.

But for incumbents, the speech offers a clear shot at stating their best case -- and for Obama that means picking up the income equality banner raised by the Occupy movement.

"We need to change our tax code so that people like me, and an awful lot of members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes. Washington should stop subsidizing millionaires. In fact, if you’re earning a million dollars a year, you shouldn’t get special tax subsidies or deductions.’’

It also calls for yet another lip-service acknowledgment that Americans are tired of the bickering and posturing that flows from Washington.

“What’s at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. And we have to reclaim them.’’

And it also requires a call to action for progressives who have complained Obama hasn't gone far enough to carry the fight:

“As long as I’m president, I will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum. But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place.’’

Obama was helped immeasurably -- even if it wasn't obvious to the average viewer -- by the squabbling GOP opting for Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels to deliver the formal rebuttal: the man who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget as George W. Bush squandered the surplus left by Bill Clinton and acceded to the mad policy of financing two wars on a credit card while cutting taxes on the 1 percent.

Ultimately, the speech was about Obama getting onto the field against the GOP assaults that have dragged down his favorability ratings. Whether it is salvaging the auto industry or starting the process of rationalizing our health care system -- not to mention the challenging prove the negative of preventing an even worse financial situation -- Obama has a solid record that he has failed miserably at trumpeting.

For a man who seems to be a better communicator as a candidate than as a leader, the stage is set for a two-sided battle. How Obama seizes this moment will go a long way to determine who takes the oath of office next January.

The bumbling GOP field has been heaven-sent, but it's time for Obama to state his own record clearly.

Great jobless benefits

2012-01-24T05:10:00.000-05:00

When Republicans berate unemployment benefits, they ought to remember Mitt Romney.

The man who told us he was "unemployed" in 2011, had pulled down a cool $45 million a year earlier, a year he spent getting ready to run for president. His income did suffer in 2011, down to a mere $20.9 million. Romney paid $6.2 million in taxes for 2010 and 2011, an effective tax rate that ranges from of 14 percent to 15.4 percent.

Great jobless benefits to help his efforts to extend his 17-year political career.

Romney correctly insists he was simply paying what the law requires and like all Americans, he isn't interested in paying a penny more than that.

But the reality is the tax laws are horribly skewed in favor of "job creators" and against men and women who work to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. And for his 15 percent rate, the only jobs Romney has created are for the people working to get him elected. With the assistance of people offering their time for free.

Congratulations Myth. You are now the poster boy for the myth of tax breaks for "job creators."

Taking it to the House

2012-01-24T05:01:00.003-05:00

The hundreds of people who rallied on the Statehouse steps angry over proposed MBTA fare hikes and service cuts knew exactly what they were doing.

Protests by MBTA officials notwithstanding, the Legislature is going to have to step in with another bailout of a transit agency onto which they dumped a portion of the Big Dig debt.

The outpouring of people -- and the stories they tell -- has been dramatic given that public hearings usually generate more dust bunnies than speakers. Last week's hearing in Newton no doubt saved bus Route 52 from elimination.

With the Legislature stirring from its midwinter nap, T Riders Union member Lee Matsueda spelled it out clearly:

It was easy for [state lawmakers] to drop the Big Dig debt on the backs of the T and its riders, so they really need to consider how important of a service this is for our region and for the state as a whole,’’ Matsueda said before leading the group in a march to the hearing.

The Draconian combination of higher fares and service cuts has never seemed sustainable. The state's fiscal situation -- and resistance from those who don't benefit from the T to prop it up -- complicate the task.

But only the Legislature can fix the problem it created in the first place -- and that includes asking for help from people who benefit from the roads and bridges and turnpike subsidized by T riders.

Silent treatment

2012-01-24T05:00:00.003-05:00

Who let the air out of the House Chamber last night?

After a rousing start touting how Massachusetts leads the nation on job growth and education, Deval Patrick got down to a short list of business for the second year of the two-year term -- and there were probably corners of the ornate chamber where you could hear a pin drop.

That's because lawmakers have other things on their mind beside overhauling, community colleges and reining in health costs. To be fair though, they are focused on crime -- within their ranks.

The looming indictments from the probation department patronage scandal is undoubtedly weighing heavily on House leadership in particular.

The result was a low-impact speech with few applause lines and little of the exuberant whoops and hollers that typically greet the speech.

And come to think of it, what do lawmakers have to cheer about?

Too little, too late?

2012-01-23T05:35:00.003-05:00

It took a voter slap in the face but Mitt Romney will now share a sliver of the details of his 15 percent taxable income. But the greeting in store for Newt Gingrich from the "elite media" he despises should be the tale of the next week.

It what may be too little, too late to stem the damage, Romney plans to release one year of tax returns along with his current year estimate. And he plans to do it tomorrow -- after a GOP debate tonight and the run-up to tomorrow's State of the Union Address. Making you once again wonder what he has to hide.

But the scrutiny of Myth's taxes will be far less intense than the review in store for South Carolina victor Newt Gingrich who threw down the gauntlet toward the media, forgetting the ancient proverb that once should never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.

Gingrich's anti-media stance certainly plays well with GOP primary voters who receive all their news and misinformation from Fox News. But a rehash of Gingrich's checkered personal and political past will serve as a rallying cry for the GOP establishment looking to buck up Romney.

And bucking up he will need as he tries to clean up following a week where he lost both a caucus and a primary, not to mention the aura of inevitability that has long been his major calling card.

The tax decision was a first-class bungle -- and despite trying to bury it in a busy news cycle -- it is unlikely to go away. Obama released eight years of returns when he ran in 2008 retrenchment compared to Bill Clinton's 12 years released in 1992.

Romney will try to turn the upcoming Gingrich rehash back onto the former House Speaker, but the question has always been how effective can an attack Myth be?

Stay tuned as we find out.

The new War Between the States

2012-01-22T05:25:00.006-05:00

George W. Bush talked about "soft bigotry." Newt Gingrich embraces the hard stuff.

It seems appropriate the state where the Civil War began handed a demoralizing loss to a "Massachusetts moderate." That's because Gingrich swept to victory on the wings of a campaign that pushed every conservative hot button, particularly the one we are squeamish to talk about except in code words like "Kenyan socialism."

The right's refusal to let go of the birth certificate issue, even after Barack Obama produced documentation of his Hawaiian origins, reflects how deeply the issue of the president's skin color resonates in the minds of conservatives and the people who vote for them.

It resonates even louder in exit polls that show people who identify themselves as evangelical Christians overwhelmingly supported Gingrich, despite his well-known disdain for traditional marriage that is allegedly revered on the right.

Gingrich, who is a key player in creating the polluted tone of today's politics, knows how to use words to sow discord. His attack on Obama as the" food stamp president" is thinly-veiled racism. In his victory speech, he dressed it up a bit to pull in others who still harbor grudges over losing The War of Northern Aggression:

The American people feel that they have elites who have been trying for a half-century to force us to quit being American and become some kind of other system.

Gingrich is the latest in a long line of "populists," who include Charles Coughlin, Joseph R. McCarthy and Pat Buchanan to prey on the fear of those who are "different" from "real Americans."

His victory no doubt sends shudders down what's left of the spines of "traditional" Republicans who encouraged the rise of the Tea Party as a tool to victory, only to see the hard right hijack the party.

Expect the next 10 days to be spent furiously bucking up Mitt Romney with a barrage of negative ads aimed at Florida voters who go to the polls on Jan. 31. Thanks to South Carolina, the soul of the party of Abraham Lincoln -- and the nation itself -- is on the line.

Myth-making

2012-01-21T08:57:00.004-05:00

I usually pull out the G section to read the Globe comics. Today, the funny papers are on Page One.

I'll give Globe editors a minor slap on the wrist for poor work by allowing this factually incorrect paragraph to appear before the jump:

A week ago, propelled by a narrow win in the Iowa caucuses and a convincing victory in the New Hampshire primary, he steamed into South Carolina with a double-digit lead over his rivals. He hoped that three successive victories in the first three states would swiftly seal the nomination for him and allow him to begin focusing on the general election.

It was only one paragraph later, to be sure, that editors noted the fact Romney had actually lost Iowa. Let's call it a literary device that ignores the fact the lies retold often enough overshadow the truth.

Besides, trail reporting by solid journalists like Matt Viser and Michael Levenson provided enough comic relief to make me want to forget about Pooch Cafe. For example:

Pointing to [Newt] Gingrich’s ethics violation, Representative Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican who is leading Romney’s efforts in Congress, noted that Romney had won 64 endorsements from current US House and Senate members, compared with only 13 for Gingrich.

Let me get this straight: the Romney campaign thinks endorsements by congressional Republicans is a good thing?

But that wasn't it for the belly laughs:

John Sununu, a former New Hampshire governor and Romney supporter, also sought to raise alarms about Gingrich’s character. “This is a guy who is a megalomaniac, whose own leadership kicked him out as speaker because they got tired of the megalomania,’’ he said.

Takes one to know one, eh governor?

The best news of the day, at least for progressive bloggers, is win or lose, we will have Newt to kick Myth around a little longer.

Oh, and great double entendre in the headline folks. Makes up for the editing lapse.

As the GOP Turns

2012-01-20T05:00:00.004-05:00

Who says the Republicans primaries are dull: Rick Perry dropped out; Marianne Gingrich dropped a dime on her ex. And Mitt Romney lost the Iowa caucuses -- 17 days late.

At least no one talked about Romney's taxes. Oh, wait a minute.

When last we left the GOP soap opera Our Man Myth was struggling to cope with a rising tide of stories about his tax-paying privileges and I opined the media was on the verge of devoting their full attention on the increasingly likely GOP nominee.

But that was before one of the wildest days in any primary I can recall. Let's start with the Gingrich squeeze play.

With polls suggesting the Newtster was closing in on Romney in South Carolina, Perry's withdrawal and Gingrich Wife #2's decision to open up about their "open marriage" threatened to change the equation.

After all, it's not easy to believe evangelicals will be comfortable with the revelation that the Speaker of the House was having an affair with an aide "in my bedroom in our apartment in Washington." While leading the witch hunt to impeach Bill Clinton over an affair.

OK, they'd be fine with the last part.

So with Gingrich is full mad dog mode, you would think it would be a red letter day for the Mittster, a break from the look at his 15 percent tax rate and offshore tax shelters.

Except for the part where Iowa's Republican Party decided to do a recount after all -- and award Rick Santorum with a 34-vote win. So much for Romney's historic sweep of the first two voting tests.

About the only thing that's clear is Romney's chances of delivering a knockout blow in South Carolina tomorrow have faded and Florida's Jan. 31 contest takes on added importance.

Including 10 more days to delve into the Romney tax question.

A tax add

2012-01-19T05:00:00.003-05:00

Just when Mitt Romney thought he'd weathered his tax problems, a major new issue is emerging as a possible feeding frenzy moment.

ABC News reports Romney has taken advantage of Cayman island tax shelters available through his Bain capital retirement package. While the Romney campaign adamantly denies the candidate is into tax avoidance, the steady drip of tax-related issues is threatening to become a torrent in the days before South Carolina votes.

And Romney has only compounded his problem by refusing to release his tax returns, as the New York Times cheekily notes:

"If there is one thing Mr. Romney has been consistent on over the years, however, it is taxes. In his campaigns for the United States Senate, governor of Massachusetts and president, he has never once released his tax returns — not even in 1994, when he made a major issue out of Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s refusal to release his own returns."

On successive days Romney has been forced to address questions about using offshore tax shelters and paying a 15 percent rate, one enjoyed either by lower-middle class couples or venture capitalists able to take advantage of the carried interest rule that treats management fees as capital gains rather than income.

The tax shelter question can be especially troubling from an image stand point. as does the fact the legal tax avoidance options available to higher income Americans amount to a $100 billion loss to the Treasury, as Rebecca J. Wilkins, a tax policy expert with Citizens for Tax Justice, told ABC.

Romney maybe hoping a win in South Carolina will make the issue go away, although it could also affect what appears to be a shrinking lead.

But it is clear he is approaching the blood in the water phase of a political crisis, with the media doing the type of reporting the frequently comes as one candidate emerges from the pack. The only way to stem that bleeding is through releasing his tax returns, not just for this year but for a substantial period in the past.

And no matter what he does, it's equally clear Barack Obama will remind voters about the larger $100 billion hole created by legal avoidance -- and the price less-well off citizens pay in higher taxes and reduced services to support the lifestyles of the rich and anonymous.

Multimillion Mitt's mess

2012-01-18T05:00:00.005-05:00

When Rupert Murdoch takes a swipe at you over taxes, you have a problem. And when Multimillion Mitt is paying a rate equal to someone earning $17,000 to $69,000, that problem is huge.

Mitt Romney's acknowledgment that he pays "closer to 15 percent" is sure to revive the income inequality debate that finally took flight during the Occupy Wall Street fall campaign. And for a man who has shown remarkable tone deafness to questions of privilege, this one may take the cake.

It's not as if Romney is doing something illegal, as his defenders are quick to point out. But the fact the "unemployed" man has been able to live comfortably off the proceeds of deals made up to two decades ago puts a very real face to the problem of the "carried interest."

That's the tax law provision that which allow venture capitalists a share of any profits that the general partners of private equity and hedge funds receive as compensation, despite not contributing any initial funds. And the 15 percent rate on dividends and capital gains they pay is well below the 35 percent top rate on income ordinary Americans face.

As Robert McIntyre, the director of Citizens for Tax Justice, says:

“The low taxes on capital gains and dividends are why people who make a ton of money, which is largely from investment income, do awfully well. The Warren Buffetts, the hedge fund managers — they pay really low tax rates.”

Romney only compounded his problem by dismissing the $375,000 earned from speaking fees in 2010 as "not very much."

Barack Obama, who paid an estimated 26 percent rate on his salary and book proceeds, was surely going to make the issue of income inequality a centerpiece of his fall campaign. That Republicans have started that argument for him has likely been met with unbounded glee in the Obama camp.

And I suspect Mitt would not want to bet $10,000 on that.

Couple inches of partly cloudy

2012-01-17T05:00:00.003-05:00

I didn't think they had to plow rain. So why are there snow plows making passes this morning with the French Toast Alert at low?

Despite sage predictions all day that the snow and sleet would stay far to the west, Bostonians are waking to the first white ground of the season. And like any good politician, meteorologists are cheerfully ignoring their earlier promises.

A quick shot of moderate to heavy snow moved through much of the area between 9pm and 1 am, depositing anywhere between 1/2" of snow all the way up to 2 1/2" of snow.

Which is a cautionary tale about taking seriously any November presidential match-up involving the presidential campaign. Lots of things can change, especially when only one side of the debate is being aired and pollsters are talking to people who don't have all the information they need to make an educated decision.

Of course the pollsters would never have French Toast alerts. Way too elitist.

Spin-out patrol

2012-01-16T07:07:00.002-05:00

The tale of Lt. Gov. Tim Murray and the overnight ride is now spinning as wildly out of control as the Crown Vic did on that fateful night.

The Globe reports that an independent investigator it hired to review the black box data supports Murray's original contention that he hit some black ice before careening across I-190 and into a some rocks early on the morning of Nov. 2.

State Police -- and Murray -- later changed the story to the former Worcester mayor falling asleep at the wheel around 5:26 a.m. But traffic safety researcher Jeffrey Muttart begs to differ:

“It is highly unlikely that anyone would be sleeping,’’ wrote Muttart along with coauthor Jon Northrup in their 10-page analysis. Muttart added that Murray could have been sleepy before the accident, though “only the Lieutenant Governor knows for sure.’’

That's because they say black box data suggests Murray tried to steer the vehicle twice during the 14 seconds it took for the accident to happen. And although he was clocked at a maximum of 108 mph, the experts say data suggests Murray's foot was not on the accelerator.

State Police are getting a bit testy over the back and forth:

“Since the day the lieutenant governor crashed, we have investigated 16 fatal crashes on state roads - two of them double fatalities,’’ said State Police spokesman David Procopio. “But it is the lieutenant governor’s crash that so dominates the public discourse. Something’s wrong about that.’’

Yes and no. While Murray immediately offered to take a Breathalyzer test and passed, his story has spun out of control, so much so that he has had to hire professional spin doctors. Let's review:

He said he was surveying damage from the freak October snowstorm. In the dead of night.
He said he clambered out of bed when his kids climbed in because he couldn't sleep.
He said he was out looking for a Herald and a cup of coffee.
He said he thinks better in solitary drives.

Murray has steadfastly refused to release his cell phone records, which would indicate if he were talking or texting at the time of the accident. While he says he is standing on what he perceives as principle, the stance suggests there is something to hide.

Like it or not, precedent or not, this crash will not go away until he releases the phone records. Elected officials know their lives become open books when they take an oath of office. If he was texting while driving -- against the law in Massachusetts -- he may just reinforce his image as a regular guy. If he was talking to someone with whom he has a secret relationship, he would joining a large fraternity of politicians.

And if he comes clean, voters may just forgive and forget. If he doesn't, they won't. Hopefully that was the first thing his high-priced crisis communications consultant told him.

Haley's hijinks

2012-01-15T07:05:00.003-05:00

Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is now the poster child of the hypocrisy of Republican politics.

The supposedly law and order Republican offered 193 full and unconditional pardons -- including 17 convicted murders -- on his way out the door and back to his lucrative lobbying business.

The right was inflamed when Bill Clinton issued pardons as he headed out of the door. As for Barbour, listen to GOP strategist Alex Castellanos, who ran Mitt Romney's 2008 campaign:

“Haley is so well respected in the party that he still remains a hugely powerful force. He built the party that we have today from Reagan on, so there isn’t a better fund-raiser, a better organizational leader in the Republican Party.”

Apparently not all sins are created equal in today's Republican Party. What a shock.

In his debt

2012-01-14T08:59:00.002-05:00

The rush to look at Mitt Romney's career at Bain Capital has prompted a quick lesson in modern capitalism -- one that can hold deeper political trouble for the likely GOP nominee.

The Globe's Beth Healy offers a simple primer on venture capital -- which Romney loves to tout with stories about Staples -- and leveraged buyouts, the focus of the searing King Of Bain video that is just beginning to makes its presence felt.

Romney has boasted about Staples for years -- how a small investment was turned into a thriving chain that has produced about 88,000 jobs, virtually all the 100,000 in job growth Romney claims to have fostered.

That's the bright side -- investing your money and those of other capitalists to make businesses grow.

There's also a dark side and that's leveraged buyouts, where the targeted company is purchased with a combination of capital and debt, which the new company is expected to pay off quickly, often by taking on additional debt.

And instead of building from the ground up, the firm bought by leverage is expected to slim down, shedding jobs and operations to get there. The investors take their profits quickly and move on, leaving those left behind to fend for themselves

Here's the pitfall ahead for Romney: he wants to run on a record of a businessman who used debt creatively to wield profit for investors -- and secondarily, if at all, for companies, their employees and communities.

But if leveraging debt to build is an accepted business practice, why is it so wrong on a governmental level when the goal is the same: to build an economy, communities and jobs?

Just one more flip-flop for Our Man Myth to negotiate.

First you say you will...

2012-01-14T06:43:00.003-05:00

Rick Perry now loves the Commerce Department.

The agency has been on the Texas governor's hit list of three (or was that four?) federal departments that he'd ax if we won the presidency. But here's betting on a change of mind, now that Barack Obama has that same department in his sights.

And expect the do-nothing Republican leadership to rush to praise the department and bemoan Obama's attack on small business and commerce.

To be honest, Obama's call to fold the Small Business Administration, United States Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Trade and Development Agency -- plus the business and trade functions of the Commerce Department -- into one agency is a campaign year ploy.

A Republican leadership that balks at extending payroll tax cuts for the middle class because Obama proposed it, certainly isn't about to get on board for a plan that would save $3 billion over 10 years and result in reductions of 1,000 to 2,000 jobs.

And that's the point about the mindless, knee-jerk opposition from a group that puts politics and party above the needs of he nation.

But it will be delicious watching Mitt Romney defending bureaucrats against the ruthless tide of Obama's attack on small business.

The joke's on us

2012-01-13T05:10:00.001-05:00

Stephen Colbert is trending in South Carolina -- and the favorite son is looking to capture the primary.

Our favorite Comedy Central blowhard is thinking about running for President of the United States of America of South Carolina, giving up control of his own Super PAC to launch the exploratory campaign. He's currently trailing Rick Perry, but has a leg up on Jon Huntsman.

He can't possibly be a bigger joke in a field that includes Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum as exemplars of rectitude and compassion.

Colbert and Jon Stewart have been skillfully skewering our dysfunctional political system for years. There's only one fear: a Colbert victory would certainly highlight what a joke our highest bidder democracy has become.

Unkind contribution

2012-01-13T05:00:00.008-05:00

I thought the Tea Party Newsletter was supposed to be the voice of the "little" people?

Yet here is the unfair and unbalanced voice of the Mitt Romney campaign bashing working people who lost their jobs thanks to the deals negotiated by Romney's Bain Capital.

Vengeful Mitt bashers laid off by Bain Capital nearly 20 years ago are dogging their old nemesis again as Mitt Romney faces a familiar old storyline — first trotted out in his 1994 campaign against U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy — that he is a heartless, predatory capitalist.

The Herald's schizophrenic coverage does allow the "displaced workers" featured in the "King of Bain" documentary promoted by Newt Gingrich to speak their piece.

But the paper also trots out "old rivals" like Rudy Giuliani and Rush Limbaugh to protest the attacks on the GOP nominee apparent.

At least you know which side of the aisle the Herald stands on.

Money talks...

2012-01-12T05:20:00.002-05:00

The double talk coming out of the Scott Brown campaign suggests the junior senator is definitely getting concerned about the challenge he faces from Elizabeth Warren.

Wall Street's favorite senator is in a tizzy that Warren apparently counts reformers from the financial sector among those who contributed $5.7 million to her campaign in the last quarter of 2011.

While the Warren campaign says the average contribution she received from 23,000 Massachusetts contributors was $64, the Brown campaign continued the Karl Rove-financed assault claiming she is a tool of the same Wall Street folks she has taken up arms against. Says Nate Hodson, a spokesman for American Crossroads:

“Professor Warren’s double-talk on Wall Street campaign funds is brazen hypocrisy — she decries campaign cash from Wall Street while simultaneously asking them to contribute to her campaign. Professor Warren’s Wall Street hypocrisy is stunning.”

And the candidate is not shying away from the fact there may be some Wall Street money in her coffers:

“There are people on Wall Street who actually believe we need better rules, fairer rules. That’s what I stand for. I’ve gone toe-to-toe with these financial institutions. A lot of people understand if you don’t have tough rules and a tough cop on the beat, the whole system is going to come down around us.”

While the actual list of contributors will tell the tale when it is released, the two-quarter Warren fund-raising numbers of $8.8 million are eye-popping, particularly since she has come out of virtually nowhere as a candidate to out raise Brown, who set his own fund-raising records thanks to Wall Street and out-of-state contributors two years ago.

Democrats are quick to offer their own spin. According to John Sasso, the man behind Michael Dukakis:

“This has to do with her embodiment of that message of standing up for the middle class and fairness. She says it in such a compelling and authentic way that she is getting an overwhelming response,’’ he said. “She doesn’t sound threatening or angry. She comes across as very committed and at a time when people are looking to somebody who embodies that commitment to fairness.’’

One interesting triviality. While the Brown campaign was unavailable to the Globe, offering up only blather from the state GOP about "extreme liberal special interests " from outside Massachusetts, they did find time to respond directly to the Herald, using the "professor" meme to raise latent Tea Party hackles about elites.

A case can be made that Warren is taking Brown to school right now in terms of fund-raising, even though the incumbent continues to hold a sizable lead not only in actual dollars but in the support of super PACs like Rove's, which ponied up $1.1 million alone last fall to attack Warren.

Holding service

2012-01-11T05:00:00.004-05:00

The Man from Winnipesaukee took one of his home states by a comfortable margin and appears ready to take on Barack Obama in November. Not so fast.

The road to the Republican nomination has been kind to Mitt Romney so far, with New Hampshire giving Landslide Mitt a more comfortable victory margin than Iowa. And GOP primary voters still feel inclined to support a non-starter like Ron Paul than a more viable challenger, whoever that may be.

But Romney's shift to Obama attack mode may be premature with two Southern states coming up in the next three weeks, starting with South Carolina, where politics, to quote Mitt "isn't beanbags."

Our Man Myth currently leads in the Palmetto State, birthplace of Lee Atwater and home to the nasty and brutish 2000 primary between George W. Bush and John McCain. And a newly refinanced Newt Gingrich may be ready to repeat history with a savage video campaign featuring Romney as corporate raider.

Then there's the matter of religion. As we saw in Iowa, fundamentalist Christians are less than enamored with Romney's choice of faith, opting for the bottom of the barrel in Rich Santorum.

Romney's recent gaffes has also provided fodder, if not for his GOP challengers, but also to Obama, who has made an effort to be visible if not dominant during the GOP campaign.

Despite his long time upon the national stage, Romney remains a man with many missing pieces in his personal story, allowing challengers to offer their own portraits. Expect that to step up dramatically in the next few weeks.

Romney has always been the GOP's likely nominee since the day he conceded to John McCain four years ago. But do not expect the upcoming stops on the campaign trail to be a victory lap. And don't expect his perfectly coiffed hair to remain perfectly in place.

Of primary concern

2012-01-10T05:35:00.002-05:00

Random thoughts while waiting for the exit polls:

Why was Mitt Romney channeling Donald Trump with his declaration that he likes to fire people? Romney again proved his inability to be spontaneous -- and the disastrous results that can emerge -- when he goes off the cuff because he his flustered or otherwise distracted. Want to bet $10,000 he'd like that comment back?

Anyone looking for a clue how far right the national Republican Party has lurched need look no farther than the new epithet -- Massachusetts Moderate. No longer content to vilify liberals, the hard right is now taking off against what they view as the squishy center. It could be damaging through the primaries, but helpful should Romney emerge the winner as expected. But then the Massachusetts part of the label will emerge as a problem.

Romney's emergence on the other side may well be decided after the reviews come in on the GOP's efforts to Swiftboat one of their own. The $5 million lifeline Dorchester-born casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is throwing to Newt Gingrich has the ability to sink the Romney campaign faster than John Kennedy's PT-109. The difference between this attack and the one that damaged John Kerry in 2004 is the Romney venture capital story doesn't need distortion. It's been playing continuously since 1994 for anyone willing to listen.

Dixville Notch is already in and it could be a harbinger of November. The three wings of the GOP split their vote, putting Jon Hunstman in a dead tie with Romney at two votes apiece, trailed by Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich. The winner in overall votes? Barack Obama.

Pious baloney

2012-01-09T05:00:00.004-05:00

Only Mitt Romney could make fellow Massachusetts millionaire John Kerry seems comfortable in his own skin.

Our Man Myth, who over the course of the campaign has said he is unemployed and lamented French plumbing, now tells us he feared losing his job during his days as a venture capitalist, putting people out of work.

“I know what it’s like to worry whether you’re gonna get fired,” Romney volunteered during a mid-day rally of several hundred inside an ornate opera house here. “There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip.”

Of course, Romney could offer no examples from his career at Bain Capital, a company he created and successfully ran, making millions for himself and his partners. The closest you might come is his decision not to seek reelection as governor in 2006, knowing that by losing interest in the job as he began eying the presidency, Bay State voters might toss him out.

The personal reinvention of a millionaire's son is akin to the political metamorphosis from running to the left of Ted Kennedy in 1994 to his current spot on the right edge of American politics.

And it only magnifies what Newt Gingrich has brilliantly labeled "pious baloney" from the man whose rare honest moment came after he thought about the immigration status of his lawn care team because "I'm running for office for Pete's sake."

I'll bet you $10,000 Romney wishes he had that back.

Grand Old Phollies

2012-01-08T09:34:00.004-05:00

For a party with only 11 percent of voters, the Massachusetts Republican Party sure has a way of keeping us amused. And the split among Bay State Republicans should serve as a clear marker for the perils that await presidential nominee-in-waiting Mitt Romney.

The Massachusetts Republican Assembly -- the "Republican wing" of the state GOP -- is calling for the ouster of newly installed state party boss Robert A. Maginn Jr. over the discovery that he donated cash to both Deval Patrick and New York Sen. Charles Shumer. A reasonable gripe to be sure, even though Maginn says he supported and voted for Charlie Baker in 2010.

But was really cheesed off the wingers is Maginn's open support for Willard Mitt Romney as the GOP nominee (No word yet if they are equally annoyed by Maginn's backing of Scott Brown). Says Assembly president David Kopacz:

“There’s very, very little grass-roots support for Romney at this point.’’

The dispute mirrors the split in the national party between the Tea Party and establishment wings. But if Romney's home state band of brothers and sisters are divided, what does it say about the Mittster's ability to weave the factions together in a general election?

Pundits are saying one of the biggest challenges Barack Obama faces in his reelection bid is the enthusiasm gap among new voters who rallied behind him in 2008.

But there appears to be a similar gap growing between pragmatists and true believers on the right, one that could only be exacerbated if the Tea Party opts for a third way -- or sits on its hands come November rather than support the "Massachusetts Moderate."

Lies, damn lies and Gingrich

2012-01-07T06:44:00.003-05:00

Newt Gingrich holds an important place in creating the hateful tone that has afflicted American politics for a generation. But why has the media been his biggest enabler?

Gingrich's latest outrage is a doozy:

"I'm prepared, if the NAACP invites me, I'll go to their convention and talk about why the African American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps," Gingrich said.

The problem, aside from the inherent racism? It's a gross distortion of reality:

About 40 million Americans (in 18.4 million households) receive food stamps, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released in September, using the latest (2010) data.

Among the food stamp recipients 33 percent (13.4 million) are white, 22 percent (8.9 million) are black, 16.7 percent (6.6 million) are Hispanic, and 2.8 percent (1.1 million) are Asian.

Almost half (47 percent) of all Americans who receive food stamps are children. Another 8 percent are elderly. About 20 percent are disabled.

And where did I find these facts? Certainly not on the mainstream media outlets like local television stations that played his soundbite without any of the fact checking they like to tout in their promotional ads.

The fact is politicians know how to play the media like a violin: polls, sound bites and ads drive coverage and smart consultants are the ones who know how to play to the media weaknesses.

This weekend, we are being buried with daily polls tracking phantom movements. We are getting ads making outrageous claims. And we are about to get network sponsored debates that will rehash the same sound bites we've been accosted by for weeks.

Every four years, the media big feet get together, lament how things did not go as they would have liked and promise change. They've become as reliable as the men and women they cover in failing to deliver on their promises.

And the tone of our discourse continues to sink deeper into the mud.

The People's Seat, redux

2012-01-06T05:00:00.006-05:00

The time was 1986. A congressional legend was retiring. An inexperienced man with a famous name decided to jump in, amid a chorus of jeers.

He won.

It's clear that 2012 is not those thrilling days of yesteryear, when Joseph P. Kennedy II moved from Marshfield to Brighton, took on a big field of Democratic hopefuls and won the right to succeed Tip O'Neill in the 8th District.

But decision by Joseph P. Kennedy III to follow in his father's footsteps, move from Cape Cod to Cambridge to the newly redrawn 4th District certainly has a familiar ring to it.

And despite the Herald's declaration that voters won't roll out the red carpet for the "dude" (did you see an actual voter quoted?), young Kennedy has set the real first marker in a field that has been slow to form since Barney Frank decided to step down.

The scorn directed at his father was far more intense. He had a somewhat checkered past at the time, both academically and with the family's driving talents. He challenged a field that included a well-known state representative in Mel King and an up and coming state senator in George Bachrach. That race also attracted a "scion" of a prominent political family, Jim Roosevelt.

Quick -- who's the best known political name living in the 4th District these days? Who exactly has announced for this seat so far, other than two Republicans mentioned by the Herald? Speculation has centered on Alan Khazei, who lost to Martha Coakley in one Senate primary and opted not to challenge Elizabeth Warren once she picked up a head of steam in the next one.

Scott Brown's mad dash to The People's Seat once held by Kennedy's grand-uncle changed the political face of Massachusetts -- at that moment in time. But it was a short race and featured a Democrat who didn't give it her best effort.

Brown's scramble back to the center suggests he may not have rewritten the rules as much as he thinks.

If Sean Bielat opts to return from Philadelphia to run for the seat he lost to Frank by 11 points in 2010, he starts with better name recognition -- as well as baggage from a race that was long on bravado and short on substance.

There are two familiar bromides to keep in mind as Kennedy lays down his marker: history does have a way of repeating. And those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it.

Anyone remember the name of the Republican to lost to Joe Kennedy by a 72-28 percent margin?

"Time for a U-turn"

2012-01-05T04:16:00.006-05:00

You can say this for the Tea Party Newsletter: there are no little minds afflicted by hobgoblins like consistency running the place.

One day after proclaiming a clear path ahead for Mitt Romney following his eight-vote landslide over Rick Santorum, the Herald scrambled off the Romney band wagon -- at least for a day -- to acknowledge serious unhappiness in the ranks for their favorite son.

But no one noticed the unintended graphic "oops" that resulted on the home page when Margery Eagan's column on the travails of our lead-footed lieutenant governor was slotted to the left of the box housing the Santorum mea culpa.

"Time-for-a U-turn."

The tabloid headline writers certainly had a better sense of place, teasing the column at the top of the page with "Tim's mess -- "come clean now."

Good advice for the Romney cheerleaders too.

Landslide Mitt

2012-01-04T05:10:00.002-05:00

The Mitt Romney Newsletter should really wait until the polls close before writing their stories.

Our Man Myth is a huge loser in the expectations game, edging out Rick Santorum by a mere eight votes in the Iowa caucuses. Yes, let that sink in: the conservatives who dominate the Iowa GOP dislike Romney so much they opted for someone who was washed up and left for dead by the political professionals months ago. In the words of the New York Times:

Mitt Romney's quest to swiftly lock down the Republican presidential nomination with a commanding finish in the Iowa caucuses was undercut on Tuesday night by the surging candidacy of Rick Santorum, who fought him to a draw on a shoestring budget by winning over conservatives who remain skeptical of Mr. Romney.

Romney once again failed to generate 25 percent support among the party faithful, who opted for Mike Huckabee over Romney four years ago.

But the stunning slap in the face to Romney certainly has failed to register with his boosters over at Herald Square, who offered up this rousing analysis:

A soaring Mitt Romney has the wind at his back as he hits the Granite State today following his strong finish in Iowa — and his double-digit lead in most New Hampshire polls means he could clinch the nomination early, say pundits.

Yes, Santorum and Paul have little to no chance to win the GOP nomination. But the humiliation of barely edging Santorum has to be giving the party elders heartburn. Just when they though they had beaten down that pesky Tea Party wing, the wing came back and slapped them across the face.

Romney may indeed eventually emerge with the nomination. But the race just became long, nasty and brutish.

Leadfoot Tim

2012-01-04T05:01:00.003-05:00

So who's the favorite for the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial nomination? I wouldn't put a lot of money down on Tim Murray.

Our lead-footed lieutenant governor appears to have been asleep at the wheel literally and figuratively when he smashed his state-owned Crown Vic on Nov.2. A story that already had holes -- he was surveying storm damage at 4 a.m. and returning home after buying a Herald when he hit black ice -- is now as wrecked as the car.

Murray complicated his own political fate by refusing to authorize the immediate release of the car's data recorder which yesterday offered up the new story of the high-speed crash. And by insisting he was only trying to spare the State Police undo political pressure by acceding to the Freedom of Information requests, he made their situation even worse.

Now the troopers need to explain why they bought into Murray's black ice defense.

The ever-helpful Herald finds an expert who casts doubt on the latest story too:

“The evidence would indicate he’s not sleeping at the time because he’s actively pressing the throttle,” said Bruce McNally of New Hampshire-based McNally & Associates and a former Maine police officer with 25 years of crash-reconstruction experience. “Just a couple seconds before losing control, he floors it. That’s not typical of a driver who falls asleep. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it occur. A typical driver who falls asleep, their foot would come off the pedal.”

Damage control this is not. Murray was lucky to escape the crash with his life. His political life, however, is in critical condition right now.

Death wish

2012-01-04T05:00:00.004-05:00

The MBTA has certainly figured out how to put an end to those overcrowded trains and buses they've been bragging about.

We've been warned that the fare hike proposals likely to emerge would be Draconian, leaving room for a new proposal that would be more palatable for commuters who have abandoned their cars in the face of high gasoline prices. Well that proposal can't come soon enough.

The powers-that-be at the T have have two plans, each worse than the other: a 35 percent fare hike that eliminates 101 weekday bus routes or a 43 percent hike that eliminates 23 weekday and 19 Saturday routes. Both plans eliminate all commuter ferry service and commuter rail service on weekends and after 10 p.m. on weeknights.

Would you like to be burned at the stake of have your head cut off?

It seems pretty obvious Transportation Secretary Richard Davey and his successors at the T really do have a third plan in mind: a legislative bailout, a reality acknowledged by board member Ferdinand Alvaro in referring to the now failed effort to shift the T to a "forward funding" system and give it 1 percent of the sales tax to prevent regular fare hikes.

“Until the forward funding formula is fixed, we are going to have financial problems,’’ Alvaro said. “So it’s like we keep putting Band-Aids on every hurt, but we never really deal with the root cause. The only folks who can fix that are the governor and the Legislature."

Davey says that bailout is unlikely in the state's current climate, which can mean only one thing: change the climate with a proposal that is so awful lawmakers will have to cave.

It's a scenario more reliable than the bus and subway schedules that stand to be blown up.

Great Expectations

2012-01-03T05:47:00.002-05:00

You can win for losing. That's the political reality to keep in mind as the Great Straw Poll known as the Iowa caucuses kicks off the 2012 election season in earnest.

The presidential run-ups are unique in the ability to make or break candidates who defy conventional wisdom (no pun intended). Remember Eugene McCarthy's 1968 New Hampshire primary win? I didn't think so. But McCarthy beat conventional wisdom and the real winner, Lyndon Johnson, eventually dropped out.

What's fascinating about today's caucuses is the growing optimism of Mitt Romney in a race that polls show is within the the grasp of several people, including Rick Santorum who has come out of nowhere to become the latest Anyone But Mitt.

Since caucuses are particularly creatures of organizational turnout, the Romney forces no doubt feel comfortable in their numbers and their ability to get them to the caucus sites tonight.

But with polls showing Ron Paul, another well-organized candidate, within the margin of error and headlines touting a Santorum surge, you can assume there are at least a few sweaty palms in the Romney camp.

And given the fact that Romney has flirted with 25 percent support throughout the campaign, let's just say his margin for error can be a lot more hazardous.

But, as Sherlock Holmes would say, the game is afoot and its time for about 100,000 to 150,000 white, evangelical Christian rural Iowans to tell us what America is thinking.

"Professor" Mitt Romney

2011-12-31T08:37:00.002-05:00

Oh we got trouble, right here in Mason City, that "historic" location where another traveling salesman tried to fleece the good folks of Iowa. And Mitt Romney's equation of fantasy with history accurately sums up this year's GOP presidential field.

Our Man Myth was in the Iowa river town, enthralled by a stop at Music Man Square, described by the Globe as "a faux 1912 streetscape inspired by the musical, with gaslights and a candy shop." He jumped upon a metal chair (he must have RomneyCare) and declared:

“What a thrill this is, at this historic spot today,’’ he gushed. “I feel like breaking into ‘Seventy-six Trombones.’ ’’

Only in today's GOP does Mason City, Iowa join Concord, NH as an historic site.

But Romney may have inadvertently stumbled on a scenario that mimics his own story of a salesman who will say and do anything to close a deal. Let's recall the plot of the Music Man, shall we:

Set in July 1912, a traveling salesman, "Professor" Harold Hill arrives in River City, Iowa, intrigued by the challenge of swindling the famously stubborn natives of Iowa. Masquerading as a traveling band instructor, Professor Hill plans to con the citizens of River City into paying him to create a boys' marching band, including instruments, uniforms, and music instruction. Once he has collected the money and the instruments and uniforms have arrived, he will hop the next train out of town leaving them without their money or a band.

Scary, ain't it?

Of course Hill ultimately failed because of Marian the Librarian, a scenario less likely to happen in modern-day Iowa which has undoubtedly closed a number of libraries because of struggling local budgets. And closed or cutback libraries lead to less access to history books, which leads to the equation of fiction to history. And that leads voters to make electoral choices based on personality and not policy.

Oh yes, we got trouble.

Tell me what democracy looks like

2011-12-30T08:11:00.006-05:00

Religious fundamentalists are fond of looking for signs foretelling the end of days. Is Rick Santorum surging in Iowa one of them?

Santorum, the two-term incumbent who polled just 41 percent in losing to moderate Democrat Bob Casey Jr. in the 2006 Pennsylvania Senate election, is now being seen as the last, best hope of fundamentalist Christians looking to derail Mitt (25 percent) Romney in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses.

Santorum is jockeying with Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul for the dead end vote among the 150,000 or so registered Republicans who will schlep out Tuesday night to cast non-binding votes on who they would like to see named GOP convention delegates later this year.

Nevertheless, the eyes of the media will be focused on this New Year's tourism exercise, ignoring the context of the caucuses and results that have included George H.W. Bush in 1980, Bob Dole in 1988 and Mike Huckabee four years ago.

For the cynics who questioned the efficacy of the Occupy movement: this is what democracy looks like?

This just in...

2011-12-29T07:03:00.004-05:00

We learned something new from Scott Brown today: he likes his hot chocolate with whipped cream.

The state's junior senator emerged from his cocoon long enough to sip hot cocoa with the Globe and Herald at a Southie diner, lament the media softballs thrown at Elizabeth Warren and complain about the terrible treatment he receives from the media he dodges at every turn.

Brown, who at last count held a 5-1 advantage in campaign funds (not counting the freebie ads he receives from Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS) told the Globe's Frank Phillips he was the underdog in the race even though, as Phillips noted, "[Brown] has been drawing on a national fund-raising base that has given him one of the largest campaign accounts among US senators."

In an interview with the Herald's Hilary Chabot, Brown must have mistaken his drink topping for the campaign to date, declaring that the questions aimed at Warren are "... all fluff. It’s all fluff."

Maybe he missed the time the almost-as-absent Warren was hurled hard questions like when did the Red Sox win the World Series.

Brown did take a semi-stand on tax reform, one that GOP demi-god Grover Norquist admits won't keep him up at night: he's willing to consider dropping his allegiance to Norquist's pledge if Congress "can show that it will manage taxpayers’ hard-earned money responsibly."

Scotto also upped the ante on the class war theme, declaring people that the Herald would consider payroll patriots or overtime gougers would be harmed by Democratic efforts to levy a small surtax on those making more than $1,000,000 annually.

“Remember those are the policemen and teachers and nurses who are working overtime to pay the bills and have the mortgages and the two cars and two tuitions, in Massachusetts especially...’’

Now it's undoubtedly back into the cocoon for Brown, who continues to avoid public forums where voters can ask him the tough questions he apparently thinks he gets from the media everyday.

You know, the ones answered in writing by his designated spokespeople.

Rolling snake eyes

2011-12-28T07:16:00.003-05:00

Casino gambling proponents seemed to have forgotten one of the key features of locating "destination" resorts: the ability to divide and antagonize the destination.

It's instructive how divided and angry the Town of Foxboro already is before the first blueprint is even laid out -- let along the first scoop of dirt turned. The community can't even agree on whether it is appropriate the listen to Robert Kraft and Steve Wynn before sending them straight out of town.

Not that the unhappiness failed to register on the Casino Cousins, who have bankrolled their own PR operation, labeled Jobs for Foxboro -- to compete against the spontaneous grassroots opposition that sprang up after Kraft and Wynn unveiled their idea of a "bucolic" destination resort where the gambling is hidden behind dancing waters and erupting volcanoes.

It's only going to get uglier from here.

Hold the trail mix

2011-12-28T06:54:00.004-05:00

Gosh, I hope those urban pioneers can handle a Whole Foods without a fresh trail mix bar.

The folks at Whole Foods, Wegmans and Walmart are offering their stories of hardship and accommodation as they try to cram big boxes into spaces that cannot accommodate 138,000 square feet and cafes seating 300 people.

But at least Whole Foods and Walmart seem to have come closer to the mark of "urban" by offering outposts in Jamaica Plain and Somerville. Wegmans seems to believe Chestnut Hill -- with an average household income of $109,043, and a Bloomingdale's across the street -- is a daunting new urban environment.

Has anyone introduced these urban pioneers to Roxbury and Dorchester, where Stop & Shop seems to have a monopoly?

This isn't an effort to reopen the JP Whole Foods imbroglio. Nor is it a swipe at Walmart's big box mentality. But let's not equate the inability to serve 300 patrons "chef-driven meals" or forcing people to forgo picking the own trail mix as somehow making accommodations to the needs of city dwellers.

Opening an affordable supermarket in Dudley Station would be more along the lines most people are thinking. But as Wegmans' media relations director told the Globe, in an obviously different context:

"We haven't quite figured that out yet."

A very Pogo Christmas

2011-12-27T07:22:00.002-05:00

The MBTA should not reprimand a dispatcher for running Deck the Halls lyrics on a message board. But they may want to do some education on the proper lyrics.

The earnest dispatcher may have been too young to appreciate the proper lyrics that should accompany that tune at Park Street Under:

Deck us all with Boston Charlie, Walla Walla, Wash., an' Kalamazoo!

Nora's freezin' on the trolley, Swaller dollar cauliflower alley-garoo.

Then again, the powers-that-be at the T may not want Nora, or anyone else, freezin' on the trolley.

Inmates run the asylum

2011-12-23T05:00:00.002-05:00

The kamikaze wing of the Republican Party may not be ready to accept defeat, even after humiliating Speaker John Boehner. And that raises questions about whether our gridlocked government is capable of accomplishing anything in 2012.

Boehner's glum concession to putting a two-month payroll tax and unemployment benefit extension on the House floor was a huge blow to what was left of his credibility as leader. Let's review:

Boehner asks Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to negotiate a temporary extension with Majority Leader Harry Reid that cut put the issue on hold for two months. The Senate approves the compromise 89-10;
The Tea Party Caucus forces Boehner to walk back the agreement, setting off a week of political chaos in a Washington where senators had already spread to the four winds;
Boehner is forced to change direction again -- by fellow Republicans like McConnell -- and put the measure before the full House today.

Still required is unanimous consent to end his nightmare -- and as of this writing Boehner is not sure he has that.

Much has been made of Barack Obama's leadership, or lack thereof. But what has finally become crystal clear is that it is Boehner who has failed to exercise leadership, allowing party politics to trump the national interest. That leaves Obama alone as the only adult in the room looking out for the greater good.

Yeah, it's tough to compromise when only one side is willing, but someone has to make the hard choices. And we are far better off than we were when Republicans and their Wall Street puppet masters drove the economy over a cliff.

There's still a long way to go until November and predictions are foolish, if not downright dangerous. But it is clear the Tea Party has offered their opposition a treasure trove for political commercials by opposing a tax cut and jobless benefit extension aimed at the people hurting the most from the Bush Recession.

Naughty cuss returns

2011-12-22T05:00:00.003-05:00

Old talk show hosts don't die or fade away. They become state political party officials.

Yes, Peter Blute, a one-time congressman whose career as Massport director was shipwrecked after an encounter with his own Ginger aboard the Nauticus following a Boston Harbor booze cruise, is back as No. 2 in the state Republican Party.

What, Greg Hyatt or Royall Switzler wasn't available? I guess Republicans do believe in selective unemployment benefits.

It's been more than a dozen years since Blute took his own infamous three-hour tour of Boston Harbor, shattering his political career and launching his radio gigs. By all accounts he was a hard-working type, but his rebirth this holiday season points up the lack of depth up on the GOP bench.

Blute is doing a volunteer gig as a booster for Scott Brown in what is expected to be a hard-fought battle with Elizabeth Warren. And he is certainly earnest about the task ahead.

“I am a committed Republican and want to see Republicans succeed - including Scott Brown.’’

Never mind that "committed" may be the wrong term to use in discussing a party that favors tax cuts for the rich but blocks them for working people. And a question for new GOP boss Robert Maginn: do you really want someone Howie loves to poke jokes at? Oh I forgot, he's a Republican. He's off-limits.

So in that spirit, and the spirit of season, let me thank the state GOP for a gift that keeps on giving.

The unseen hand

2011-12-21T07:21:00.002-05:00

Flinty New Englanders, we are told, like to berate the federal government for too much spending intruding on their lives -- even when that government is shoveling money in their direction.

The Globe's Sarah Schweitzer shines a spotlight on that contradiction today in a story where we learn that even town mothers and fathers of Ashland, New Hampshire, have no idea of how federal tax dollars fill local coffers.

The tiny town of 2,076 receives approximately $11.7 million in federal dollars -- for Medicare, Social Security, education, home heating assistance and food assistance under the WIC program. The Globe breaks that down 0.51 percent of the $2.3 billion the state receives from Washington, even though it comprises only 0.16 percent of the state's population.

“I am just shocked,’’ said Jeanette Stewart, chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, when told of the federal figures. “I didn’t figure the federal government was paying that much for all those programs for Ashland. That’s a lot of money.’’

Indeed it is, particularly in a state that doesn't like to tax its own, preferring sin taxes on cigarettes and alcohol -- gladly paid by border state residents -- and sky-high property taxes to assessing a fair share.

And it's also significant in a state that likes to claim it is a proper first test for presidential candidates, despite its small size and non-diverse population, one that believes in so-called conservative values and independence.

In one sense, New Hampshire is a microcosm for the harmful state of politics today, where candidates blithely throw around lies and distortions and fail to level with us about who caused our problems and how we all need to share in the solutions.

If New Hampshire takes its responsibility as a bellwether as seriously as it claims, that would require a vote for "None of the Above" on Jan. 10.

Brownie points

2011-12-20T05:00:00.003-05:00

Memo to House Republicans: When you lose Scott Brown, you've lost the war.

Sen. Brown (R-Triangulating for Reelection) has blasted as "irresponsible and wrong" the latest move by House Republicans to declare war on the middle class by torpedoing a vote on a payroll tax cut that would largely bypass their rich clients.

“I appreciate their effort to extend these measures for a full year, but a two-month extension is a good deal when it means we avoid jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions of American families,” Brown said.

As some wags have noted, it's amazing what having Elizabeth Warren breathing down your neck will do for latent Tea Party sympathies.

The Self-Righteous Right is insisting the Senate, which did the nation a favor by leaving Washington for the holidays, come back to re-negotiate a compromise between Democrats and Republicans reached at the behest of their figurehead leader, John Boehner.

Boehner, who lost control of his own caucus months ago, appears ready to bend to their whims and force yet another political showdown that holds millions of hard-working Americans hostage with the threat of a $1,000 pay cut as the holiday shopping bills start to roll in.

And speaking of leadership -- where are the GOP's presidential candidates, those exemplars of looking out for the little guy and gal?

The saddest thing about these theatrics is the desire by the GOP to place partisan gain ahead of the best interests of all Americans.

Moonbat alert

2011-12-19T18:10:00.002-05:00

Just when it appeared the Republicans had cornered the market on primary wackiness, the loony left awakened. Or has it?

Imagine my surprise to come home to a robocall from an outfit called Run Hillary 2012, urging our Secretary of State to cast her hat into the 2012 race. The text, transcribed by Politico so I don't have to, declares:

America would be better off today if Hillary Clinton was our president. The Wall Street robber barons would be jailed, young people could afford college and find jobs and six million homeowners wouldn't face foreclosure. We need to change our course. Please sign our petition to draft Hillary Clinton for president.

No word who they are or where the came from other than a declaration it is a "project of the 99 percent."

Shades of Nixon dirty tricksters?

Early Christmas present

2011-12-19T05:41:00.002-05:00

Are House Republicans really going to croak a middle class tax cut the week before Christmas?

There certainly is truth to Speaker John Boehner's assertion that the two-month extension of payroll taxes is "kicking the can down the road." That has been the GOP strategy since Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the GOP's No. 1 is making sure Barack Obama is a one-term president.

But to allow taxes to go up on New Year's Day for the millions of Americans who do not benefit from the GOP's largess to the rich?

Somewhere in Chicago, David Axelrod is grinning brightly, like a Hanukkah menorah on the eighth day.

The decision by Boehner to cave to his unruly mob of a caucus and allow them to reject a short-term bipartisan solution, will be electoral disaster for his party, which is why I suspect rogue Tea Party Caucus members may yet be using their nice congressional health insurance to pay for straightening out their twisted arms.

And Boehner will need to see his doc about the knife twisted into him by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

“When we met last week, Speaker Boehner requested that Senator McConnell and I work out a compromise. Neither side got everything they wanted, but we forged a middle ground that passed the Senate by an overwhelming bipartisan majority.”

But faced with a mob rule mentality, it appears even McConnell is caving.

“The House and the president both want a full-year extension,” Don Stewart, a spokesman for Mr. McConnell, said in an e-mail to reporters. “The best way to resolve the difference between the two-month extension and the full-year bill, and provide certainty for job creators, employees and the long-term unemployed, is through regular order, as the speaker suggested.”

Boy does the GOP have egg nog on its face now.

Is it possible for congressional approval to shrink any lower? How do you think a Christmas Eve tax hike for working people will play?

Season's bleatings

2011-12-16T05:00:00.005-05:00

I bet people on the receiving end of cuts as a result of the dip in the Massachusetts income tax rate won't be snarking about its size.

Yes, the Applebee's tax cut, as the Globe sniffed, is microscopic -- 0.5 percent. Yes, it is a long delayed delivery on a vote to roll the income tax rate back to 5 percent. And oh yeah, since Massachusetts has a flat tax, the 1 percent will benefit more than the 99 percent. The Department of Revenue estimates:

... an average family of four people that owns a home and makes a combined $100,000 would see a reduction of $39 a year. A single parent with two children living in a rented home would get about $9 in relief.

The tax cut will take $114 million out of state coffers, also chump change in a $30.6 billion budget. But the expected growth in the coming fiscal year is probably not enough to keep up demand for services required as a result of the Great Recession.

“We are concerned that this move could end up hurting the 1 in 10 individuals who receive vital human services from our state,’’ Michael Weekes, president and chief executive officer of the Providers’ Council, said in a statement. “But we must not mislead taxpayers that we have more than enough revenue in a sector where nearly 60 percent of organizations have had cumulative deficits on their state activities since 1993.’’

So to sum up: better for the 1 percent than the 99 percent. Likely to mean cuts in social services. Citizens for Limited Taxation director Barbara Anderson in grudging acceptance mode.

What's next? Jeering over the drop in unemployment?

Distrust and verify

2011-12-15T05:00:00.003-05:00

The lure of casinos is the thought of riches beyond belief. Apparently developers believe the same message works to locate them.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn are dangling a $10 million annual sugar plum over the heads of Foxboro residents -- many of whom are so dead set against the plan they barely allowed selectmen to even hear Wynn's proposal for a "bucolic" $1 billion casino.

The money is simply the next phase in a proposal designed to deliberately downplay the life-changing impact a "destination" casino will have on a town already home to a massive stadium. And the steady stream of enticements should serve as fair warning.

Let's review:

Wynn promises "dancing waters and fountains and volcanoes that erupt." The casino will unobtrusive and out of sight. There will be free day care for employees. Kraft says the leasing the land is no different than a transaction he would have with Staples.

State officials estimate three resort casinos would generate 15,000 jobs, including 6,000 in construction and $300 million in revenue to the state, cities and towns. Wynn says his plan alone is good for 10,000 jobs.

Of course no mention of the cost of crime and traffic mitigation that comes with a project of this size.

It's been a tough couple of years for many people because of the damage done by the Great Recession and the thought of lower property taxes thanks to Steve Wynn is an appealing Christmas present. But the sheer size of the enticements being dangled by Wynn recall the words of that GOP philosopher Ronald Reagan: Trust but verify.

Actually in this case, the better suggestion is distrust and verify.

There they go again

2011-12-14T05:00:00.003-05:00

Congressional Tea Partiers have a message for Americans this holiday season: let them eat cake.

Doing their best impression of Marie Antoinette, House Republicans loaded down a bill to cut payroll taxes and extend long-term unemployment benefits for the 99 percent by adding a Christmas tree of ideological special interest goodies for the 1 percent they know will doom the measure.

What exactly will the Keystone XL pipeline or dirtier air do to help people struggling to work their way out of the Bush Recession?

At the root of the problem, as always, is the GOP's insistence that tax cuts for the 99 percent be paid for, unlike those they rammed through Congress during the Bush years. Why? Because the Democrats propose a surtax on the 1 percent, those making $1 million a year.

House Speaker John Boehner undoubtedly prompted some of his members to use their congressional health insurance coverage to pay to repair their twisted arms -- getting members who opposes the very idea of a payroll tax cut to vote for the goodies grab bag. That's what passes for compromise in today's GOP.

To do that, the Boehner grab bag would reduce the maximum number of weeks of jobless benefits that a worker could receive; block certain air pollution rules for industrial boilers and incinerators; freeze the pay of many federal employees through 2013; increase Medicare premiums for affluent beneficiaries while preventing a deep cut in Medicare payments to doctors; and eliminate more than $20 billion of spending planned under the health care law.

In other words, the rich get richer and the sick get sicker.

Ho, ho, no.

The gift of the GOP

2011-12-13T06:54:00.002-05:00

David Axelrod must be chuckling in his Chicago campaign headquarters, thankful for the gifts coming his way from Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

The Final Two spent yesterday creating campaign commercials for Barack Obama, violating the Republican 11th Commandment with zinger upon zinger. It started when Our Man Myth lobbed a shell at Gingrich for taking $1.6 million from Freddie Mac. Newt responded with a fury:

“If Governor Romney would like to give back all the money he’s earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees over his years at Bain, then I would be glad to then listen to him,’’ Gingrich said, referring to Bain Capital, Romney’s private equity firm.

Axelrod must have turned cartwheels after hearing that sound bite. But Gingrich wasn't through:

“I would bet you $10, not $10,000, that he won’t take the offer,’’ Gingrich added. The challenge echoed Saturday night’s debate, where Romney proposed a $10,000 bet with Governor Rick Perry of Texas.

At long last the GOP field is settling in, and things do not look great for Romney at the moment. Iowa Republicans appear to prefer Gingrich's hypocrisy over Romney's apostasy.

And with New Hampshire voting one month from today, Romney's lead has shrunk to single digits in some polls, bringing to mind the old truism that winning New Hampshire by less than expected is tantamount to a loss.

Ironically, Romney's worst nightmare is also his greatest weapon: Newt's mouth. That grandiose braggart is back in full flower after his near-death experience last summer, and he is reacting true to form, picking up on Romney's generous offer of front-runner status:

“I’m now, by a big margin, the front-runner,’’ Gingrich said in Londonderry, citing two new polls that show him ahead in Florida and South Carolina.

While Axelrod and the Obama brain trust are no doubt thanking their lucky stars, what passes for wise men in the GOP are no doubt sweating bullets:

In a University of New Hampshire poll of likely Republican primary voters released on Nov. 23, 57 percent said Romney could beat Obama; only 10 percent said Gingrich could.

That means a redoubling of the supposed New Hampshire firewall in the coming month in the form of a barrage of negative ads from both sides.

For Axelrod, it's the gift that keeps on giving.

Mitt 3.0

2011-12-12T05:00:00.003-05:00

A day after making a sucker's bet, Our Man Myth is trying to clean up the damage and "humanize" himself and his campaign.

The once aloof venture capitalist was out in New Hampshire yesterday, regaling potential voters with the hygiene challenges attendant to his Mormon mission in France, as if that would somehow take minds off of his privileged childhood and monumental gaffe in wagering $10,000 in Saturday night's GOP debate.

Most of the apartments I lived in had no refrigerators,” Romney told a crowd of 300 at a VFW hall here Sunday afternoon, launching into a long anecdote about life as a Mormon missionary in France that touched on the difficulties of shopping before every meal and living in buildings without a shower.

“If we were lucky, we actually bought a hose and we stuck it on the sink and we’d hold there with the hose and the big bucket underneath us in the kitchen and wash ourselves that way,” Romney said. “And so, I lived in a way that people of lower middle income in France lived and said to myself, ‘Wow, I sure am lucky to have been born in the United States of America.’”

TMI. And the temporary experience in another country is somehow supposed to give him insight into the lives of Americans living in poverty, many not so far from his boyhood home of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan?

With just about three weeks to go until Iowa, things are getting sticky for the man ho was running what amounted to a Rose Garden strategy as one opponent after another flared like a Roman candle only to flicker and die.

The depth of the unhappiness with Romney -- who has flirted with 25 percent support throughout the campaign -- has only come into sharp relief with the surge of New Gingrich, a candidate with as many if not more flaws.

But a looser Mitt, even a scripted one, is dangerous thing as handlers found out with the $10,000 bet, a mistake that, depending on where things go form here, could be seen as the beginning of the end of the Mittster.

You betcha!

2011-12-11T05:46:00.005-05:00

Not to inject religion into the 2012 GOP presidential primary, but I thought Mormons did not gamble? So why did Mitt Romney wager $10,000 for Rick Perry to prove edits to a Romney book that can be found here?

That wager appears to be the sound bite moment in yet another of the endless GOP debates, this one taking on a bit more importance because we're less that a month from the Iowa caucuses with a narrowing field.

The Romney gambit was foolish on so many levels, despite the protests of Eric Fehrnstrom. It's a change from the usually cool, collected and rational businessman. It seems jarring coming from a strait-laced Mormon. And it reflects how out of touch Romney is with the 99 percent, for whom $10,000 is not an insubstantial sum of money to be frittered away on a wager.

Democrats were quick to pounce on Romney, but there's so much more fodder here: Newt Gingrich reigniting flames in the Middle East; Ron Paul raising the obvious questions about Gingrich's personal and political hypocrisy; Michele Bachmann's catchy but desperate effort to create "Newt Romney" (isn't that Obamaney?).

But back to the $10,000. The wager is in sharp contrast to the image painted of Romney by the The New York Times in a feature outlining the thrifty businessman who drove beat-up cars. And that in turn reflects Romney's desperation in the face of a lifelong political problem of plummeting polls numbers as people get to know him.

There's one safe wager here: Romney is feeling the heat and shifting out of his automaton mode. That can make the weeks leading up to the caucus entertaining -- but potentially devastating to Our Man Myth.

Pants on fire

2011-12-09T05:26:00.002-05:00

Wall Street has made beating Elizabeth Warren Job #1 in 2012. So why should we believe she is actually bankers' best friend?

But that's exactly what Karl "Bush's Brain" Rove wants you to believe with a Crossroads GPS ad that makes the deception behind Mitt Romney's twisting of Barack Obama's words seem like true facts.

The latest piece of fiction aimed at Warren portrays her as Wall Street's best friend on Capitol Hill, directing the TARP bailout.

“Congress had Warren oversee how your tax dollars were spent, bailing out the same banks that helped cause the financial meltdown, bailouts that helped pay big bonuses to bank executives while middle class Americans lost out."

Huh? It was Congress and Rove's very own George W. Bush who approved the bank bailout that rewarded banks that misbehaved.

Warren was on the outside looking in in 2008, getting involved to lead an oversight committee that put the bailout under a microscope, a task that led to the creation of a consumer financial protection agency that the GOP kept Warren from leading (and which they continue to obstruct).

Truth in advertising is among the foundations of consumer protection. But that same basic foundation does not apply to political advertising, allowing for whoppers by candidates and the independent political action committees that have flooded the airwaves.

Political advertising has always been a cesspool and both parties have been guilty of sensationalism. And campaigns have often used the trick of "previewing" the ad for journalists -- insuring free exposure -- without ever paying a dime to air them.

But the level of fraud this early in an election cycle is unprecedented. And there's little we can do except raise our own voices against this corruption of the political system and hope it is heard above the din of the lies.

Tea for Who?

2011-12-08T05:00:00.002-05:00

The Party may be coming to an end, if you take a look at two polls suggesting the Mad Hatters have finally arrived on the political scene.

On the left hand, there's the Boston Herald-University of Massachusetts-Lowell poll showing Elizabeth Warren opening up a seven-point lead on Scott Brown in the race for "the people's seat" Brown snatched last year.

The Tea Party started to sour on Brown last year despite his work for Wall Street and bankers. And it's still quite early in the 2012 Massachusetts tussle, with millions in Karl Rove-financed attack ads yet to be launched at Warren, who has yet to truly emerge from her protective cocoon.

But it's the surging support by the Tea Party for Newt Gingrich, the ultimate Washington insider, that makes you realize the movement may be losing its coherence -- and (in)sanity.

Gingrich is obviously the last man (and woman) standing in the Anybody but Mitt sweepstakes that passes for a GOP presidential preference primary. The fact that Gingrich's flip-flops are as easy to catalog as Our Man Myth's doesn't appear to be relevant to voters who claim to be not only wary of Romney's flexibility but also skeptical if not downright hostile to anyone who has held elective office.

Speaker of the House of Representatives is chopped liver? Pollsters try to explain the Gingrich boom:

“Obviously, he’s really kind of taken over among that group,’’ said Jeff Jones, the Gallup Poll’s managing editor. “They’ve been casting about, looking for someone who is a better fit for them than Romney is. It looks like everyone’s had their chance and basically squandered it, so that leaves Gingrich.’’

Newt's rise comes at the same time the GOP establishment is trying to reassert control over the party, the Tea Party has lost faith in the GOP and the movement itself is faltering in the minds of the broad cross-section of American voters.

The result is the political schizophrenia we are seeing in Iowa -- and the first glimpse that sanity may be returning to the state that hosted the first, real Tea Party. And while it may be too early for Warren, it's almost showtime in Iowa.

Prince of Darkness feeling at home

2011-12-07T05:00:00.004-05:00

The automatic deletion of records from the cabinet secretaries of the last three governors may not be illegal, but it's sure not right.

The Globe tells us today that state computer systems automatically purged the e-mails generated during the Cellucci, Swift and Romney administrations and because no one thought to back them up, the public no longer has access to the process used to reach decisions affecting them.

Like the apparently legal but dubious process of allowing departing staff to purchase individual hard drives, the vanishing public records reflect a very callous disregard to the rights of people who elect officials who appoint others to conduct the people's business -- ostensibly in the open.

The root of that disregard rests with Secretary of State Bill Galvin, the official keeper of public records, and the Massachusetts Legislature, which manages to exempt itself from every law requiring openness, whether in meetings or in record-keeping.

As a result, we have no records on the machinations that led to the making of significant milestones (and political millstones) like RomneyCare.

No one came over to me and said, ‘Do this, do this, do this, do this,’ ’’ said Tim Murphy, who as secretary of Health and Human Services helped formulate the state’s landmark health care law. “I just turned my computer off and went home. That’s the end of it.’’

Galvin tries to slough off blame on the Romney record debacle onto the Patrick administration, questioning why the incoming team didn't ask about the electronic records.

“The premise seems to be no transition with electronic records,’’ Galvin said. “I find that impossible to believe. Of course you’d ask.’’

Sorry, but most rational people buried in a jungle of transition details, would presume that the Supervisor of Public Records, whose face is plastered all over his website and on TV, would establish policies, backed up by force of law if necessary, to ensure there is an orderly transition of records about the people's business.

Then again, he's not known as the Prince of Darkness for nothing.

Hide and seek

2011-12-06T05:00:00.002-05:00

Whether it's the promise that children "can't see the equipment" or interviews taped in the Patriots studio for local airing, there's a sense team owner Robert Kraft is worried about losing control of his casino land-lease deal.

Rep. Dan Winslow, the local state lawmaker, certainly thinks so:

“We have to be very careful to ensure an open, transparent, public process and to avoid even the appearance of undue coziness between casino advocates and public officials.”

The carefully controlled interviews involving Kraft and casino mogul Steve Wynn may well be the tip of the iceberg of the lobbying efforts designed to enable Kraft to lease land across the street from Gillette Stadium to enable Wynn to build a casino that “fits in the woods’’ of Foxboro.

Kraft and Wynn triggered a firestorm with the announcement of their idea for a destination casino across the street from the stadium and Kraft's shopping mall. The idea has floated like a lead balloon in the town that finds itself battling traffic gridlock on game days and fears what would happen in a 24-7-365 scenario.

Wynn, who has made his career based on glitz, glamor and grandeur, appears to be channeling a new personality in saying its really about the experience, not the slot machines:

"The casino helps pay for it,’’ he said “That’s really what casinos have meant to me for the past 40 years, a chance to build dancing waters and fountains and volcanoes that erupt, tigers and sharks that swim behind the front desk.’’

How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm, after they've seen Foxboro, eh Steve?

Kraft is equally disingenuous, banking on his 25-year relationship with town officials and residents in proclaiming the land lease is just business and the project would create 10,000 construction jobs -- double that of the Big Dig at its peak :

“It’s just like Staples coming in and renting space from us,’’ said Kraft, who is chief executive of The Kraft Group, which owns businesses in real estate, sports, paper and packaging, philanthropy, and other sectors.

Staples with sharks that swim behind the front desk?

Residents of Foxboro and neighboring towns are understandably furious about this sneak attack and what would be a dramatic and traumatic overhaul of their town. The scenario proves all the concerns raised by casino foes in the relentless march to enabling legislation.

Deval Patrick and the lawmakers who supported the concept as a jobs and revenue program can't shrink to the sidelines now as the chaotic process to site casinos begins. They owe it to communities to ensure that dreams don't turn into nightmares with sharks swimming wherever they want.

Occupy High Ground

2011-12-05T05:00:00.002-05:00

With the City of Boston ready to bring the hammer down, it may be time for Occupy Boston to declare victory and move to the next phase.

The Tent City in Dewey Square is now one of the last encampments left from the movement that began on Wall Street this fall. Despite critics who question the motives or seeming lack of goals, the Occupy movement has succeeded in raising the issue of income equality to a level unseen in the US and around the world during the run up to Great Recession.

Even the confrontations with police have silver linings, whether from pepper-spraying showdowns or the mumbled words of encouragement from cops doing their jobs.

With public opinion divided, largely over the ramshackle nature of the tent cities and the bad actions of the few, it may be time to get out of the cold and build a new strategy on the very real sentiments they have tapped.

And while it goes against the almost anarchic form of democracy the Occupiers practice, that strategy should take the form of working with the political system many distrust.

It would not be selling out. Rather it would be a sign of maturity to a movement that has come a long way in a short time and has the potential to become the force for change it strives to be.

Occupy the Statehouse, Congress and White House with elected leaders who understand your goals and can work to bring them to fruition. The base is already there to work with you.

The many faces of Mitt

2011-12-04T08:52:00.004-05:00

Mitt Romney's handlers like to call him the anti-Michael Vick, but they may need to slap down comparisons to another Michael -- Dukakis.

Robert Draper's New York Times profile of one former Massachusetts governor draws memories of an earlier version who ran for the presidency under the tag line it's not about ideology, it's about competence.

It's not a new theme, as a quick Google search will attest. Both former governors are cool managers, more into the nuts and bolts of deal-making rather than the white-hot rhetoric of campaigns.

The profile is but one of three about Our Man Myth this weekend: the gauzy soft-focus look of the softer aide of Mitt, and the nastier (and password-protected) look at the campaign offered by Time Magazine's Joe Klein.

While not deliberately timed to the demise of Herman Cain's campaign or Newt Gingrich's surge, the blitz does seem to represent the mainstream media's belief that Romney is the GOP's The One, this time around and we better get ready.

The contrast between the Times' Romney and the one in Parade is about as stark as you would expect from the difference in publications. The Parade profile seems to be an effort by the campaign to win the hearts and minds of Iowa voters a month out from the caucuses -- while the Times profile is the one that will likely have more staying power in its portrayal of Romney as the rational, cool technocrat who can get the job done.

Which brings us back to Michael, Dukakis that is. (I suspect the campaign wishes it had the Vick reference back, poor Seamus and all).

The Dukakis message played well for a few weeks until the Lee Atwater-Roger Ailes attack squad hit its stride with a kitchen sink full of negative ads aided and abetted by Citizens United co-founder Floyd Brown's infamous Willie Horton ad. It hardly mattered that George H.W. Bush wasn't a gifted orator.

This time around, the Democrats have a skilled speaker (when he tries) in Barack Obama and what is likely to be a billion-dollar war chest from which to launch "comparative" ads at Romney. It won't be hard -- look at what Jon Huntsman did this week.

How will the cool technocratic Romney respond in the face of this onslaught? Given his prickly response to an interview with GOP-friendly Fox News, not well.

In the end, Mitt may need to be more like the old Michael Vick. The one with pit bulls.

Cain's not able

2011-12-04T06:18:00.004-05:00

Let me get this straight: Herman Cain suspended his campaign not because he's not a fighter but because the big, bad media keeps hurting his family by reporting his bimbo eruptions? Or that he is tanking in Iowa?

I thought conservatives believe in personal responsibility?

So this bizarre "Anyone But Mitt" primary season continues with Newt Gingrich now secure with the serial philanderer vote in Iowa, where religion is the supposedly the foundation for all GOP caucus-goers. So why is the monogamous Romney do despised?

The rise and fall of Herman Cain may well be a centerpiece when historians write the history of the Tea Party. The Georgia pizza magnate symbolizes the movement: a huckster who used targeted rhetoric to tap into the inchoate anger for his own benefit. In his case, it was books. For the Koch brothers, it's been preferred tax treatment.

Cain's record is astounding: a tax policy that calls for raising rates for those at the bottom; the outright denial of charges from women who gave up their privacy to tell stories of his infidelity; and ultimately, a slickly packaged withdrawal in which he not only denies responsibility but opts for a "solution" that allows him to continue to collect taxpayers' dollars to promote his own website crusade.

This certainly is the land of opportunity --for those who know how to bend the rules. And that is the central tenet of today's Republican Party.

High rollers

2011-12-03T05:34:00.004-05:00

Who would you put your money on? Only Roger Goodell knows for sure.

The commissioner of the National Football League holds the winning hand as Patriots owner Robert Kraft injects himself into the battle to site a casino in eastern Massachusetts. Against no less a pair of heavyweight contenders than Boston Mayor Tom Menino and House Speaker Robert DeLeo.

Given the NFL's seeming aversion to anything that smacks of gambling associated with its teams or league, it's hard to believe Kraft did not at least consult with Goodell and fellow owners about how they would view his plan to lease land across from Gillette Stadium to Las Vegas high roller Steve Wynn

Officially both sides are mum about the donnybrook that lies ahead.

“More competition is better for our state," DeLeo said in a prepared statement.“

"Nothing has been presented to us concerning the specifics of any arrangement. If and when that occurs, we will evaluate the transaction under our policies," league spokesman Greg Aiello told the Globe in an e-mail.

You can only imagine what's going on behind the scenes.

Although the Globe notes there are casinos located near NFL stadiums in New Orleans, Pittsburgh and St. Louis, the league forced members of the Rooney family -- the equally powerful family that owns the Steelers -- to divest from the team because they owned race tracks. Can such a fate await the Kraft family?

Meanwhile there's the inside-outside tandem of DeLeo and Menino, with an incredible arsenal of political and legal tools at its disposal. That's why Menino's taunts about the traffic problems around Foxboro on game days sounds like nothing more than a pre-game warm-up.

Lost in all of this is the view of residents of East Boston, Winthrop and Foxboro, to name just three. But we expected that, didn't we?

Scotto's problem

2011-12-02T05:00:00.001-05:00

You thought the chill in the air was winter coming in? It may be the collective chill of the banking industry looking at a poll showing Elizabeth Warren already in a dead heat with Scott Brown.

The UMass Amherst online poll suffers from the same problems any voter survey has at this point in the electoral cycle -- there's way too much time to go. But what is significant here is time in the other direction: how quickly Warren has come from virtual anonymity to a very serious challenger in just a few months.

Brown and the GOP have certainly been aware of the potential and have been working to seed the debate with doubts. Just look at the words used by respondents to describe her:

Among 296 people who described Warren, the top four responses were liberal (36 people, 12 percent), intelligent (23 people, 8 percent), socialist (18 people, 6 percent), and smart (17 people, 6 percent).

The Brown is doing its best to work on the "socialist" epithet while trying to minimize the damage of Brown's support for the 1 percent's opposition to Barack Obama's call for an extension of payroll tax cuts.

Brown is clearly beholden to the financial services industry, just as Warren is its worst enemy. There will be millions in cash flowing into Massachusetts between now and next November as the showdown draws nearer.

Polls are always snapshots in time, But if bankers have any doubt about the appeal of Warren's message about her differences with Brown this rapid rise from obscurity to dead heat should eliminate them.

Battle of the shape shifters

2011-12-01T05:00:00.004-05:00

As the calendar flips closer to the start of the primary season, Republican presidential hopefuls are starting to behave like Democrats, rejecting Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment.

Regular readers know I have tried to catalog the twists and turns of Myth Romney, the man who has more positions than the Kama Sutra. But now comes the Ron Paul campaign with documentation of the flexible positions of the last man standing against the Mittster -- Newt Gingrich.

Is this really the best the once Grand Old Party has to offer the American people?

As we enter December -- with the Iowa caucus five weeks away and New Hampshire's primary immediately following -- GOP field is starting to solidify. Or maybe just melt down. As improbable as it once seemed, Gingrich has emerged as the anti-Romney.

And as we all know, Newt is not shy about speaking his mind, even on topics where his own position is not wrapped in glory:

"I wouldn't lie to the American people. I wouldn't switch my position for political reasons ... I don't claim to be the perfect candidate. I just claim to be a lot more conservative than Mitt Romney and a lot more electable than anybody else."

While the Paul video gives lie to Gingrich assertion of honesty, there is a basic truth in his statement. He is a lot more conservative than Multiple Choice Mitt and his basic fault is hypocrisy rather than inconsistency.

And to the true believers who drive the Iowa caucuses -- and make up the GOP's Tea Party wing -- it's better to be a hypocrite than a liar, which is how they view the core-less Romney.

So while Michele Bachmann closes non-existent embassies and Rick Perry struggles with the difference between the voting age and drinking age, those true believers may well decide to suck it up and go with the devil they know rather than the shape shifter they think they know, today.

Dynasty revisited

2011-11-30T05:00:00.006-05:00

He's 31, a prosecutor who earns somewhere just north of $50,000 and splits his time living with his divorced parents in Brighton and Cambridge. And he's being considered prime congressional material for a district that just chased a 16-term Democrat into retirement?

Oh I forgot one thing: his father was a member of the House and his grandfather held a seat in the United States Senate. And there's a library commemorating his grand uncle's presidency that sits along Boston Harbor.

Joseph P. Kennedy III has been here before. His name was bandied about when Bill Delahunt announced his retirement. Kennedy was a Barnstable assistant district attorney then, so he at least lived in the district. Moving out from under his folks' roof would not be that blatant.

And changing addresses to run for Congress is nothing new. Bill Keating did it to replace Delahunt and is doing it again to avoid a showdown with Steve Lynch. His father moved from Marshfield to Brighton and his grandfather moved to New York.

In a race with a dearth of names, the surfacing of a Kennedy is inevitable.

“I think virtually everyone I know assumes at some point he’s going to be a candidate,” said Democratic strategist Michael Goldman. “No question he’s incredibly articulate. His entrance in the race would change the dynamic dramatically. He’d be the only candidate with a significant name recognition. ... The real question is: Is this the race that is a good place to run?”

But 2012 is not 1986, when his father won the seat vacated by a retiring Tip O'Neill, a campaign that also drew a Roosevelt into the fray labeled by some as the Duel of the Dynasties. Sen. Scott Brown, R-People's Seat, shattered the notion of history of Kennedy inevitability.

And no less an authority than the retiring Frank acknowledges the district has changed with the addition of towns from Scott Brown country. Speaking of delegation dean Ed Markey and his sway with the legislative redistricting committee, Frank says:

‘I talked to Ed Markey, and frankly I was a little disappointed there. I think Ed had some influence with them, but it was spent mostly on his own district ... There was stuff that Eddie got that, if I could have shared some with Eddie, it would have been a better district.’’

We knew Frank's announcement would set ambitions soaring and tongues wagging. Let those games begin!

Try it. You won't like it.

2011-11-29T06:39:00.002-05:00

The 1 Percent who run the Republican Party are taking aim at the 99 percent again: those people who would rather collect unemployment benefits than take a job.

Yep, the no-longer compassionate conservatives are turning their wrath at the long-term unemployed, placing them in the same category as Ronald Reagan's infamous "welfare queens."

According to James Sherk, a labor economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation, benefits have grown too generous and should be cut back to encourage people to take jobs they would have otherwise shunned because they were unfamiliar, paid less, or were below their qualifications.

“Workers have in mind the certain job they’re looking for, the location, the kind of work,’’ Sherk said. “As you have longer and more generous benefits, workers are more selective.’’

What economy is he looking at? The mythical one where the GOP's "job creators" have created a cornucopia of positions to sift through?

Or the real one where the unemployed need not apply?

Perhaps a better way to generate more federal revenue is to stimulate the economy so people can find jobs and pay taxes rather than cripple it by reducing buying and spending power even more than it has been already.

Who's next?

2011-11-29T05:00:00.000-05:00

How do you replace someone larger than life?

As a young pup covering the race that sent Joe Kennedy to Congress in 1986, I joked I didn't want him as my congressman so I up and moved from the 8th District to the 4th because Barney Frank was more my taste. At that point Barney had already been in office for three terms, having replaced a legend, Father Robert Drinan, then ousting Republican Margaret Heckler in a classic redistricting face-off between incumbents.

Now the scramble is on to replace Frank, whose retirement announcement set off shock waves here and in Washington. And at first blush, the potential field is incredibly unimpressive.

For Democrats, the problem is a short bench, much as it was after the passing of Ted Kennedy. Whoever gets the nod in the new 4th District won't carry the burden of needing to run statewide, like the field that trickled to the starting line until Elizabeth Warren emerged to face Scott Brown.

But as a longtime district resident, I'm hard pressed to name anyone, except perhaps for Alan Khazei who has name recognition in the northern end. Setti Warren has wisely opted out and there are several less than inspiring local office holders and wannabees who may opt to see if lightning can strike.

And as for the newly reconstituted southern end, there's even less to chose from at first blush aside from Republican Rep. Dan Winslow, who has already issued a Shermanesque demurral.

Sean Bielat, who produced more wind than votes in losing to Frank in 2010, would also represent the southern end, having moved to Philadelphia while appearing to keep his options open.

It's rare for a state to have one nationally important election and Massachusetts already has the preeminent Senate race between Brown and Warren. With the House likely to be a battleground in a nation fed up with a do-damage Congress, we can add the 4th District to that list, no matter who emerges in either party.

The departure of liberal legends has a tendency to focus attention.

For what it's worth

2011-11-27T08:41:00.002-05:00

Can't wait to see what kind of ad Mitt Romney creates to mark the Union-Leader's endorsement of Newt Gingrich.

Our Man Myth has been doing a pretty good job twisting people's words, but it will require spinmeister Eric Fehrnstrom's best efforts to make something out of this rebuke.

While the Union-Leader's history of picking winners is spotty at best, the newspaper remains a clarion of conservative thought, such as it is. And their words should hardly comfort either man:

"We don’t have to agree with them on every issue. We would rather back someone with whom we may sometimes disagree than one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear."

Ouch.

Let's reflect here. The U-L is backing the serial philanderer who called Paul Ryan's budget "right-wing social engineering" and made his fortune as the ultimate insider over the Lake Winnipesaukee homeowner and ever-earnest next door governor who courted them assiduously, both this year and in 2007 when they went with John McCain instead.

Pundits are of course correct the New Hampshire endorsement holds little sway over Iowa caucus goers -- except perhaps for the shrill tone the U-L could adopt toward Myth. But the endorsement does point out, once again, that Romney, barely able to crack the 25 percent mark, is unloved in his own party.

Forecasters are suggesting a warmer than usual winter for New England. That doesn't seem to be Romney's fate in his own backyard.

Oops, he did it again

2011-11-26T05:41:00.002-05:00

Our Man Myth Romney is out with a new Medicare plan that is long on rhetoric and short on specifics. And this should surprise us how?

Romney, trying to ignore polls that show only a quarter of Republican primary voters support him, hopes to look and sound presidential and take direct aim at Barack Obama. He apparently thinks tired, rejected Republican ideas are the way to go.

The solution to the high cost of Medicare, he says, is to privatize the system and let market competition rule.

Excuse me, but isn't the market's failure the reason why our health care costs are higher than anywhere else in the world?

RomneyCare II is a voucher plan straight out of the Paul Ryan playbook. Well, it appears to be even though Myth decided to put forth a plan without details. Perhaps so he can change his mind if things get too hot?

Even more telling than the lack of details is the lack of availability to talk about it:

Romney’s campaign did not respond to multiple requests for details and comment. A Nov. 4 press release issued about his plan said that the candidate “continues to work on refining the details of his plan.’’ In a fiscal policy speech that day, Romney said seniors on Medicare and those close to retirement would not be affected by his proposal.

The Mittser always has his painted side to the audience.

JFK Remembered

2011-11-26T05:12:00.004-05:00

Out-of-town guests, a beautiful day and an historic date added up to one thing yesterday: a trip to the John F. Kennedy Library. And it ended with a question: how did it all go so wrong?

Roam the exhibit halls and you are reminded of heady times, a young, dynamic Massachusetts politician with an appealing message of social justice and uncertain foreign policy credentials taking the reins. Toss in an attractive wife and a couple of kids and well, you get the picture.

Kennedy was tests the foreign policy arena were many: the misguided Bay of Pigs invasion; Khrushchev in Vienna and again in Cuba. For anyone who recalls the 13 days of October in 1962, terror has a second meaning from the one we have today.

Then there was the domestic front, with the battles in the South over the integration of the universities of Mississippi and Alabama and the bold, appalling declaration of that generation's Tea Party leader, George Corley Wallace:

"Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."

The overwhelming emotion I carried out of that library was anger. How could we have regressed to the point where we are today, where birthers won't quit, where a call for humanity toward immigrants is met with disdain and derision? Where the forces opposed to growth are calling for a rollback of a law that took millions of seniors out of poverty?

To many, it all started on Nov. 22, 1963.

Yes Kennedy and his brothers were far from perfect. But what they stood for and what they tried to accomplish for this nation are worthy of remembrance -- and praise.

Buried lead

2011-11-25T05:10:00.002-05:00

The Tea Party Newsletter offers up a "exclusive" today about RomneyCare, complete with blaring headlines and scary graphics. But you need to get to the 10th paragraph of the 13-graf story to see the real "scam."

The Beacon Hill Institute, that staunch defender of voodoo economics, in a report "obtained" by the Herald, is in high dudgeon over a loophole in the state's health care law that allowed people to get insurance right before a major operation, then drop it afterward,.

Screaming about "dumpers and jumpers," the TPN warns about the perils ahead for the nation.

Only problem with the dire warnings? Ancient history. The loophole was spotted and closed in 2010. Not before causing some extra spending, to be sure, but not the money pit the folks at BHI stay awake at night worrying about.

When confronted by that reality by Amy Whitcomb Slemmer of Health Care For All, the Herald triumphantly notes she "acknowledges" it is too soon to tell whether it has worked, and offers up this gloomy assessment:

And the study raises serious doubts. “It is unclear if these changes will discourage individuals from skirting the mandates in the face of surging insurance premiums,” the report says. “This is especially true for individuals seeking non-emergency treatment, who can register during the open enrollment period and still cancel their plans after receiving treatment.”

File under: Chicken Little journalism.

Slow news day

2011-11-25T05:00:00.002-05:00

Really New York Times: Mitt Romney's hair? And it took two reporters?

I guess that's what Howell Raines meant about flooding the zone.

File under: news I can't use.

Giving thanks

2011-11-24T05:00:00.005-05:00

As we celebrate the kindness shown by Native Americans to the original immigrants, it seems a good time to reflect on what has happened to the generosity of the Pilgrims' descendants.

The nativist instincts of the current Republican presidential candidates is a far cry from the sentiments on which this nation was founded -- and rather hypocritical from a group whose ancestors arrived in the new land on a variety of modes of transportation, including a slave ship.

But it is of a piece with the search for scapegoats that marks the campaigns of the party whose candidates profess divine intervention as a reason for their entry into the race.

I find myself in a strange position of sympathizing with Newt Gingrich over the outrage he has generated among his fellow candidates by using the word "humane" as a goal for immigration policy.

Humanity is at the core of a nation founded on the ideals of liberty and justice for all. It's true our slave-owning founders didn't put those concepts into practice on a regular basis, but they laid down noble goals for those who followed them and helped to build a great nation on the sweat and labor of Africans, Europeans and Asians.

When Gingrich becomes the voice of compassion for the Party of the 1 Percent, it suggests just how far the party founded by Abraham Lincoln has fallen.

So as we enjoy family, friends and a feast today, perhaps we should all reflect on where our families came from, how we have enjoyed freedom on which this nation was founded and give thanks we are not in the sights of the mean-spirited crew whose rhetoric stands in sharp contrast to those ideals.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tax hikes loom

2011-11-23T06:01:00.003-05:00

Don't look now, but while Republicans defend against tax hikes for millionaires, they have a nasty surprise in store for working folks.

Our Do Damage Congress is poised to do (not do?) just that in its continued ignoring of the Obama jobs bill filed last fall -- and broken down in little pieces since then. At issue is a measure that would extend payroll tax cuts for 160 million who work for a living.

It's the great under-covered story in Washington. While Republican presidential candidates opine on immigration and being God's chosen one, the "leaders" in Washington are studiously avoiding action on anything that might be seen as a victory for Barack Obama.

Which brings us the the payroll tax cut that was part of the stimulus bill and is set to expire at the end of the year. Economists suggest the cuts, which cost about $111.7 billion, are worth about 1.2 percentage points to the gross domestic product.

Obama, speaking yesterday in New Hampshire, put it in more user-friendly terms:

If Republicans reject the measure, “a typical family’s taxes will go up $1,000 next year. If they vote ‘yes,’ the typical working family will get a $1,500 tax cut. All right?’’ Obama said. “So I just wanted to be clear for everybody: ‘No’ — your taxes go up. ‘Yes’ — you get a tax cut.’’

Republicans who supposedly have never seen a tax cut they couldn't love, apparently have problems with this one:

Republicans including House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp of Michigan, who typically support tax cuts, have raised concerns about the cost of extending the payroll provision. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Finance Committee, and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin have said the tax holiday is a bad idea.

Why? I haven't heard a good answer. Maybe because it wouldn't benefit 160 million people and not only the 1 percent?

Banana Republicans

2011-11-22T05:00:00.004-05:00

Apparently failure is an option when it comes to Congress.

The best damn Congress money can buy has once again proven even the most hardened cynic wrong when he or she questions whether our political system can get even more screwed up. The results are not going to be pretty, particularly in Massachusetts.

And please, no "on the one hand, on the other hand" sugar-coating of the supercommittee's failure to reach a grand bargain to cut the deficit by $1.2 trillion through program cuts and tax increases. The record is Washington is pretty clear: Democrats pledge allegiance to the flag; Republicans offer their allegiance to Grover Norquist.

Time and time again, the Republican members of Congress, offered plans heavy on cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and discretionary spending, while eschewing any notion of tax increases -- even the elimination of the windfall Bush tax cuts that helped propel us into this mess.

Time and time again, Democrats offered to give away too much of the store in terms of Medicare and Social Security, only to have the Republican side ask for more while in the end offering a $300 billion package whose idea of revenue was elimination of the home mortgage interest deduction.

The "liberal" media has played a key role in this charade by failing to adequately report the facts and expose the ultimate GOP game plan so ably announced by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

There has also been a distinct failure to adequately spell out how we got here: the Bush tax cuts alone amount to $1.5 trillion, more than the total the supercommittee was asked to trim. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost $4 trillion, wars George Bush never thought about paying for.

It's a sad but true fact that our political system is broken, a government of the lobbyist, by the lobbyist and for the lobbyist representing the people with the campaign cash to get what they want.

What a bunch of turkeys.

Ready, aim, finger point

2011-11-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

The failure predicted last August is upon on and elected officials and wannabees are in full blame mode over the congressional supercommittee.

While Democrats have not been shy about aiming a few fingers across the aisle, it strikes me that the GOP is in higher dudgeon, perhaps because they know in their heart of hearts that their Pledge of Allegiance to Grover is in direct opposition to the view of a majority of Americans who think higher taxes should be part of any plan.

The Tea Party Newsletter naturally takes aim at John Kerry, the only local representative on the panel. In a typical story that fails to back up the headline, the TPN postulates how Kerry's clout could be diminished by the failure -- even though his constituency would applaud him for holding the line against a GOP cut-only solution.

Meanwhile, Our Man Myth takes aim at the one who wasn't there -- blasting Barack Obama for not immersing himself in congressional negotiations. The Mittster says Obama should have taken personal charge of the talks and forced the committee to act.

Or what? He'd send them to bed without vegetables from Michelle's garden? Romney conveniently offers no answers of his own, other than rejecting both higher taxes and defense cuts -- a daily double of ineffectiveness from the GOP talking points.

The stalemate was a foregone conclusion when lawmakers set Thanksgiving as a deadline to resolve issues that Republicans have refused to move on. Anyone who thought differently should take an extra helping of crow to go with this turkey of a Congress.

Premature demise

2011-11-20T05:35:00.004-05:00

You can't open a paper or turn on a TV and not see a story proclaiming polls show Barack Obama is doomed in his quest for a second term.

So why is he mopping the floor with his GOP rivals in small donations, even outpacing his own 2008 efforts?

The Political Reporters Holy Trinity are polls, gaffes and, oops, give a me a second, oh yeah, cash. All reporting stems from that foundation, issues coverage be damned. And for all the Chicken Little coverage out there today highlighting Obama's flirtations in the 40 percent range, a couple of salient facts are overlooked.

Pollsters frequently avoid calling cell phones, which are rapidly becoming the only phone for many people. As a result, numbers invariably get skewed. It's also worth noting the tried and true adage that polls are merely snapshots in time and there's a long way to to next November.

Yet there is some validity to aggregating results over a near term. And when you do, it becomes extremely clear that Mitt Romney is having a very hard time getting more than 25 percent of the committed GOP electorate. But a Google search for stories highlighting that trend is sparse indeed.

And while cash has corrupted our political system, it is a benchmark. Corporations have taken advantage of Citizens United and have flooded campaign coffers -- mostly Republican -- with millions.

But the real grassroots -- the men and women who eventually turn out at the polls are apparently voting now with their checkbooks, regularly writing small checks to Obama.

It would be nice if the political press corps actually lives up to its quadrennial promise to change its ways and focus on real people and real issues and not continue the superficial stories about trends that don't exist.

Picking Newt's nits

2011-11-20T05:17:00.002-05:00

OK, so Newt Gingrich wasn't quite as cold and calculating a former husband as often portrayed. He was only 32 degrees instead of below zero.

That in essence is the effort in setting the record straight about his divorce from his first wife. She wasn't dying of cancer when he entered her hospital room -- she was recovering from cancer surgery -- and the divorce they discussed was no surprise because she wanted one.

I feel better now about Gingrich's family and interpersonal skills don't you?

But what about cheating on his second wife while leading the effort to impeach Bill Clinton? That's almost as hypocritical as taking $1.6 to $1.8 million from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as an historian while urging jail time for Barney Frank because he spoke to a agency lobbyist.

Just how many angels are dancing on the head of Newt's pin?

The bankers' seat

2011-11-19T05:00:00.003-05:00

Wall Street appears ready for its next major acquisition: the Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat occupied by Scott Brown.

The New York Times points out the important role Sen. Barn Coat plays in the 2012 election strategy of the financial services industry:

“It’s not even about Scott Brown,” said one Wall Street executive, who asked for anonymity to discuss private discussions with his colleagues about the race. “It’s about: Do you want Elizabeth Warren in the Senate?”

Not exactly an overwhelming endorsement. But good enough to be on the receiving end of their financial largess.

As has been chronicled in this space, Brown has been amply rewarded for carrying the financial services industry's water on Capitol Hill. The Times estimates the haul at more than $1 million since his election.

While Brown may have occasionally strayed from the industry reservation during this time, the Wall Street movers and shakers are clearly fearful of the alternative, Elizabeth Warren, offering rhetoric that could heat the tents of Occupy protesters for the rest of the winter:

“We are working very hard for Scott,” said Anthony Scaramucci, the managing partner of Skybridge Capital and a major Wall Street fund-raiser. “Herman Cain is all about 9-9-9, Elizabeth is about 99-1-99. She thinks the 99 percent want to tax the 1 percent 99 percent. It is failed strategy.”

The People's Seat? Or Wall Street's Seat? Time will tell.

Control ... delete

2011-11-18T05:10:00.002-05:00

If the best defense is a good offense the Mitt Romney campaign appears to be making a furious goal line stand.

Myth's minions demanded Deval Patrick turn over all communications with the White House in the wake of the Globe's revelation the outgoing administration purchased their computer hard drives as they walked out the door in 2006. Deval's doing Barack's dirty work, they claim.

No problem, says Patrick’s chief legal counsel, Mark Reilly:

“We have fulfilled over 250 public records requests in our five years in office, and we will be happy to fulfill this one.’’

In the meantime, the "everyone did it" story crumbled like a Romney policy paper.

“I don’t remember anybody buying their hard drives. I don’t remember anybody buying anything,’’ said Stephen P. Crosby, who worked for Romney’s two predecessors and handled the transition between Jane Swift’s outgoing administration and Romney’s incoming one, and who was also co-chairman of Governor Deval Patrick’s budget and finance transition team. “I can’t even remember anybody discussing it. It certainly wasn’t [standard operating procedure] in any way. That’s almost unthinkable. It seems inherently a bad idea. You almost think you’d want to have a record of everything going on for the public.’’

Ouch. When it takes just one phone call to demolish a myth, what does that mean for Our Man Myth?

Secretary of State Bill Galvin helped fill in some of the context, noting that while technically the governor’s aides do not have to release e-mails to the public, they do have to preserve them for the state archives.

I expect Globe reporters are beginning a conga line across Morrissey Boulevard from their offices to the State Archives to see what the public doesn't know (and when they didn't know it) about the Romney years under the Golden Dome.

Anyone who thinks this won't make its way to the presidential campaign is in serious denial. Romney has been having trouble reaching 25 percent support among conservatives who have embraced just about everyone except Ron Paul and Rick Santorum (yet) in their zeal to find a Myth alternative.

This looks like an very interesting chapter in the the public life of a candidate who until this point had a squeaky clean reputation to fall back on.

The 2014 race starts early

2011-11-18T05:00:00.005-05:00

So much for Tim Murray's sweep to the 2014 Democratic nomination for governor.

It's way to soon to tell what the fallout will be from revelations that he was cell phone buddies with former Chelsea Housing Authority boss Michael McLaughlin. No word if he even knew how much McLaughlin was pulling down -- and not admitting to -- as the highest paid public employee in the state.

His relationship certain did not affect how Deval Patrick lowered the ax on McLaughlin or the Chelsea Housing Authority. But take this story along with the L-G's early morning ride in search of coffee and a newspaper and you can be sure Murray's name recognition is a lot higher than it is today.

CORRECTION: Thanks to the anonymous commenter who pointed out that I delayed the next governor's race by two years. Obviously it is in 2014, not 2016 as I initially wrote.

C-Drivegate

2011-11-17T05:00:00.003-05:00

It's a comment that should make voters skin crawl:

“I’m confident that we complied with the letter and the spirit of the law.’’

The Boston Globe reports that aides to Mitt Romney wiped e-mails from the state servers and purchased their hard drives effectively eliminating the e-mail trail of actions during their four years as governor.

The Romney administration apparently took advantage of a loophole in the Massachusetts Public Records Law that does not explicitly include the governor's work product. So Mark Nielsen, Romney's chief legal counsel, may indeed be correct about the letter of the law.

But spirit? Eliminating an electronic record of four years as the state's chief executive officer leaves any rational person with the question: what have you got to hide?

The Romney camp is obviously touchy about document elimination and private purchase of hard drives, going into full attack mode. Says campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul:

“In leaving office, the governor’s staff complied with the law and longtime executive branch practice. Some employees exercised the option to purchase computer equipment when they left. They did so openly with personal checks.’’

But to highlight just how unseemly the practice looks to the average person, she accused Deval Patrick of “doing the Obama campaign’s dirty work’’ and called it one in a series of “political attacks to distract from Obama’s horrible record on jobs.’’

Way to misdirect attention away from a blatant slap at the notion of transparency. There are legitimate reasons built into the law to protect certain work product from public disclosure. But to eliminate information wholesale suggests either of two things: a blatant disregard of the public trust or a deep need to hide.

Unless of course the Romney staffers are enjoying the hard drives as unique jewelry items or framed works of art.

Decamping Zuccotti

2011-11-16T05:00:00.002-05:00

The Occupy movement may not know it, but New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg did them a big favor.

New York's $20 billion man became the ultimate symbol of the 1 percent by ordering the middle-of-the-night raid that emptied Zuccotti Park, much to the delight of the financial industry that has occupied the area for decades.

Instead of dealing with the problems caused by their own 1 percent of unruly campers, the Occupy movement now has another rallying cry in their quest to show the double standard that exists for Americans based on income.

Foes had seized on the bad elements that infiltrated the fringes and lumped them together with the collective governance style to proclaim Occupy a rudderless fringe element. So much for those issues in New York.

Instead, the movement now has multiple outposts sharing a sense of solidarity and outrage and the issue of income inequality is now openly discussed around the world.

The biggest challenge facing the movement has been and will continue to be finding a voice -- and perhaps a spokesman or woman who can articulate the values that brought campers to Zuccotti Park and Dewey Square and other outposts.

But even that is not insurmountable. Quick: Who speaks for the Tea Party?

And while that search goes on, part of the maturation of a two-month-old movement that has spread around the world, campers won't face the prospect of a cold winter being tarred by the misdeeds of their own fringes.

But if they still insist on an encampment, how about Occupy Gracie Mansion? Bloomberg has a few other options at his disposal.

Conspiracy theory

2011-11-16T04:45:00.002-05:00

Sal DiMasi may be going to prison quietly, but someone never got that message to his wife.

Deborah DiMasi offers the foolish charge that the former House speaker was set up by the casino industry and is innocent of the crimes on which he was convicted earlier this year.

"He was the only man standing in the way of the casino industry, and they wanted him out! If he had passed casinos, I don't think this would have happened."

The Good Wife was upset over what happened in the federal courthouse over the course of months.

"So much of what I heard (in court) was just so insanely outrageous! And it's very frustrating not to be able to get up and stand up and scream,” she said.

Funny, the one thing I don't recall hearing is DiMasi taking the stand in his own defense against the charges. It might have been more effective than screaming.

Ka-ching!

2011-11-15T05:00:00.003-05:00

It appears casino gambling in Massachusetts after four years of often contentious debate is about to become a reality. Now comes the hard part.

The measure approved by the House-Senate conference committee calls for three "resort" casinos and one slots parlor. Happy hour across Massachusetts is out, a one-year cooling off period for elected officials working for the industry is in.

Also is in the DeLeo Amendment, a provision that will limit a voter referendum on casinos to East Boston, home to Suffolk Downs and a likely casino location.

And House Speaker Robert DeLeo also succeeded in carrying the oats of the moribund horse racing industry that employed his father -- winning a provision that would divert an additional 5 percent of the money from the one-time casino license fees and 5 percent of annual taxes from casinos to the horse racing fund.

That money would come from the pot intended for local aid to all cities and towns to preserve an industry that has been dying on the vine for decades.

Patrick and lawmakers have been dreaming of their own jackpot of jobs and revenue since the governor first proposed destination casinos four years ago. Their cause was strengthened when the casinos' biggest foe, Sal DiMasi, turned out to be a crook.

The inevitability of this bill was apparent from the beginning of the current session Patrick, DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray negotiated the broad parameters behind closed doors and lawmakers held limited open debate until the measure had a symbolic lengthy airing in the Senate.

So with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads -- and industry dollars filling their campaign coffers -- it's time for Patrick and lawmakers to get to the very important next steps: making sure making sure that gambling's promised gold gets into the hands of cities and towns and not the folks with outstretched hands.

Attorney General Martha Coakley has suggested the state's anti-corruption and racketeering laws are not up to the task of policing the free flow of cash from this new industry. It would be good policy to beef that up.

But given the history of this bill, I'm not betting on that happening -- until someone's well-manicured hands are found in the till.

Saving Paul Ryan

2011-11-14T05:00:00.002-05:00

If you believe the latest congressional supercommittee idea I've got a bridge in need of repair I can sell you.

With the clock ticking down on a deadline to come up with a deficit reduction plan, our "leaders" are mulling a variation on "check is in the mail" theme: Do the spending cuts now and leave the revenue decisions to the House and Senate tax-writing committees.

“There could be a two-step process that would hopefully give us pro-growth tax reform,” Representative Jeb Hensarling of Texas, the top Republican on the panel, said Sunday on the CNN program “State of the Union.”

Leave aside the idea of a Texas two-step and consider the bargain being offered by Republicans: we'll do what we want now and then do what you want next year.

All you need to know about the sincerity of the proposal is the reaction from Grover Norquist, the man to whom the GOP pledges allegiance to over the flag:

"I am not losing any sleep” over the Republicans’ latest proposal ... “at the end of the day, the Republican House will not pass a tax increase.”

He's undoubtedly correct that the House which brought you Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's slash-and-burn plan -- the one that lowered taxes on the wealthy -- is unlikely to do anything to burden the 1 percent.

The GOP proposal allegedly on the table is a token, a political gesture designed to make it look as if Democrats are the ones unwilling to compromise. And why do I fear that the Donkey Party will fall for it?

He is the 1 percent

2011-11-13T05:40:00.002-05:00

It reads like a classic American horror story: buy on borrowed money, wring out the profit by tossing workers and borrowing even more. And when there's nothing left to squeeze, toss it away, damn the consequences.

The New York Time account of the corporate rape of Dade International should have a familiar ring to it: it parallels the fate of Ampad, the paper company that also fell victim to Mitt Romney's slash-and-burn venture capital tactics.

Here's the nut graf of the Times account:

Bain and a small group of investors bought Dade in 1994 with mostly borrowed money, limiting their risk. They extracted cash from the company at almost every turn — paying themselves nearly $100 million in fees, first for buying the company and then for helping to run it. Later, just after Mr. Romney stepped down from his role, Bain took $242 million out of the business in a transaction that, according to bankruptcy documents and several former Dade officials, weakened the company.

Romney stepped down from Bain in midstream -- to challenge Ted Kennedy for the US Senate seat. But the story was similar several years earlier at Ampad, a Marion, IN company.

As MIT professor Howard Anderson told the Globe in 2008, the business philosophy was also similar:

"It's not that employment grows, it's that their investment grows. Sometimes its expansion, and sometimes it's shutting things down."

To listen to Romney on the stump and to read the tweets of his staff, you would think Our Man Myth is the best friend of the working man and woman, possessing the right tools to get America working again. Why? Because he's a businessman whop knows how to create jobs.

The Romney team is always ready to point to his role in creating Staples, the office supply giant But for every Staples, where jobs are created, there appears to be at least one Dade or Ampad, where jobs and companies are destroyed while the folks who used borrowed money to invest walk away with tidy profits.

Sounds like the 1 percent to me. Maybe we should Occupy Mitt. Of course that would require figuring out whether he's at his home in Massachusetts. Or New Hampshire. Or Utah. Or California.

Powerless

2011-11-12T17:20:00.004-05:00

We've heard a lot recently about utilities not up to the task of dealing with the havoc caused by Tropical Storm Irene or the Halloween nor'easter. This is is not in that league, only about 16 hours in the cold.

But NSTAR's failure to have any human beings available when their planned "equipment upgrade" went south, and 11:30 a.m. turned into 12:30 and so on until 4:50 p.m. is inexcusable.

Let's be direct: everything was working until NSTAR took it down. I'm not an expert but 10 hours seems like a long time for planned maintenance. Maybe more regular upkeep would have allowed shorter turnaround?

The automated voices that kept spewing out worthless time estimates was infuriating enough. Not having anyone to explain what was really going on pushed it over the top.

Again, I count my blessings the outage was hours, not days. But regulators really need to take a look at the lax practices of the electric utilities, whether it's the failure to trim trees or the failure to keep its paying customers informed.

Epic fail NSTAR.

UPDATE: Still waiting for the promised call that everything is working again, NSTAR. Caller ID shows you called, but you could have left a message.

Knight in tarnished armor

2011-11-12T17:09:00.002-05:00

Once upon a time Luther Scott Harshbarger was the man they turned to right wrongs. He stood up against the back room deals that have long characterized government, particularly in Massachusetts.

Yet here he is, calling Deval Patrick on his cell phone to try and engineer a face-saving out for former Chelsea Housing Authority boss Michael McLaughlin, who was paid a king’s ransom to run the authority and tried to snag all his unused vacation and sick time as he headed out the door.

The anti-casino crowd has been fairly quick to say it’s pay back by Patrick for Harshbarger’s visible role in opposing legalized gambling. And maybe it is. But the larger question is: so what?

Harshbarger, according to accounts obviously leaked by the Patrick camp, failed to address the fact he was acting as McLaughlin’s counsel when he dialed up Deval, a fact he also initially didn’t tell the Globe. The former attorney general, a champion of open government was trying to cut a quiet backroom deal for a man caught with his hands deep in the public till and Patrick exposed him.

“The fact someone would try to cut a backroom deal over this pension is infuriating,’’ said one official briefed on the conversations between Harshbarger and the governor’s office.

Score one for Deval.

I’m no great fan of the casino culture that is about to ensnare Massachusetts and make life busier for Martha Coakley, Harshbarger’s successor once removed. Coakley has said the state’s current statutes are not up to the task of effectively prosecuting the problems likely to emerge – including the backdoor deals involving elected officials.

Harshbarger has seriously damaged his reputation for knowing right from wrong – and apologists who see only his anti-casino stance ought to think twice about their own priorities if they condone this tacky backroom maneuver.

POINT OF PERSONAL PRIVILEGE: This post was delayed for hours by Nstar's planned power outage that was supposed to end at 11:30 a.m., but came in closer to 5 p.m. More coming.

Warr-en Peace

2011-11-11T05:00:00.002-05:00

Call it the Television Profit Act of 2012 And call it a potential problem for Elizabeth Warren.

The first wave of what John Carroll calls the the $4 Billion Rumpus is lapping up on our shores with attack ads against both Scott Brown and his likely Democratic foe. The League of Conservation Voters offers a takedown of the truck-driving Sen. Barn Coat and his stance on energy-related issues while Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS offers a classic dark attack on Warren's claim to laying an "intellectual foundation" to Occupy Wall Street.

The Brown ad delivers its message with humor, largely because Brown's visibility and popularity makes a hard assault risky business a year out from the election.

Not so the Warren ad, which has all the subtlety of a Rove production. And there in lies the problem for a candidate who has yet to really introduce herself to a broad swath of Massachusetts voters.

Warren has demonstrated an easy-going nature, taking some sarcastic jabs at Brown and herself. Some verbal miscues have failed to draw blood because of the rapid ebb and flow of the news cycle.

But Warren is clearly on thin ice when it comes to attacks like the Rove jihad. Repeating an attack creates a context where none exists if voters are not familiar or comfortable with a candidate.

It can happen to some as seemingly familiar to voters as Tim Cahill, who was a twice-elected state treasurer when the Republican Governors Association launched a blitz against him in 2010. As Democratic consultant Dan Payne told the Globe:

He never got up after that ... because people had no opinion of Tim Cahill at that moment. He didn’t bother to introduce himself.’’

Warren managed to chase her credible foes out of Democratic primary thanks to a massive third-quarter fund-raising total. It might behoove her campaign brain trust to spend some of that right now on an effort to introduce her to Massachusetts voters before Karl Rove does.

Is that all there is?

2011-11-10T04:14:00.002-05:00

Rick Perry trips over his tongue. Herman Cain trips over his libido. Mitt Romney changes his positions as frequently as some people change their clothes. Is this really the best the Republican Party has to offer as leaders?

Perry's appalling performance in last night's GOP debate, where he couldn't even remember his own well-rehearsed talking points, is the latest affront to the intelligence of Americans serious about tackling our nation's financial woes.

But it's not terribly surprising in the sense that the entire GOP effort is designed to make Americans forget who got us into this mess in the first place through credit card spending on two wars and lax-to-nonexistent regulation of the Wall Street 1 percent.

Perry's blunder helped take the heat off Cain and the serial accusations of sexual harassment being leveled at him by women who entered his orbit while he led the National Restaurant Association. For one night at least, Cain was allowed to avoid having to engage in a he said, she said, she said, she said, she said discussion.

Just as well because he has been as clear as Perry and has offered as many stories as Romney.

Add to this cast of characters Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, Rich Santorum and Newt Gingrich and you have to ask yourself how the GOP could once actually tout itself as the party of ideas. All they have offered are discredited leftovers like tax cuts for the rich and electrified fences on the Mexican border.

Unless or until both political parties engage in a serious discussion of how we got here and what we must do to get moving, there is no real possible improvement in our situation or the toxic mood.

And as long as the Republican Party offers the fourth string, we won't have that discussion. Is the GOP really this devoid of dynamic, fresh leaders with courage and new ideas?

Building a new wave?

2011-11-09T05:00:00.002-05:00

The voters have spoken -- again -- and it appears they are tired of Republican overreach.

It's not just that Ohio voters rejected an anti-collective bargaining law or that Mississippi voters turned back a "personhood"amendment that was antithetical to the conservative concept of ejecting government influence.

What was significant was the margins -- more than 60 percent no in Ohio and 58 percent no in Mississippi. Loud, strong voices against excess in both states.

Pundits will be quick to say the votes should not be seen as support for Democrats or progressive values, surprisingly wise analysis from talking heads who are often quick to flatly declare the next big thing.

But it is hard to ignore the votes are a resounding repudiation of those Republicans who took last year's midterm elections as an excuse to move ahead with ideological dogma that was far more controversial than the health care reforms that had been debated nationally for decades.

And it will be interesting to see if congressional Republicans will be chastened to back off their Defeat Obama agenda in the face of polls showing Americans want action against income inequality.

Some GOP lawmakers appear ready to toss off their allegiance to Grover Norquist and think about the people over their party. But it is an infinitesimal move and one not supported by leadership, so far.

Best analysis of yesterday's vote? Something's happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear...

Packing his bags

2011-11-08T05:00:00.001-05:00

Does Bill Keating have frequent mover miles? With a second relocation in the works just to qualify for a job in Washington, you have to hope so.

In the end, the legislative redistricting committee did the right thing, making the first-term Keating the odd man out. After a move from Sharon to Quincy to qualify for the seat vacated by Bill Delahunt, Keating will need to move full time to his summer home in Bourne if he wants to keep representing the southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod district.

And move he will, to avoid going up against fellow incumbent Steve Lynch, who swallows up party of Keating's current stomping grounds.

Not that the move is a sure thing for Keating. His new district includes New Bedford, stripped from the serpentine monster that now constitutes Barney Frank's district. And a community that, while quite happy with Frank, is more than ready to assert its own identity, which doesn't always match that of the Cape and islands.

Things could also get interesting for John Tierney, whose cozy world was rocked with the addition of a few Republican-leaning communities that might look askance on the misdeeds of his wife Patrice. A credible Republican candidate, like former state Sen. Richard Tisei, could mount a far stronger candidate than Bill Hudak.

In the end, the results are far better than what the Globe insinuated could be result of an effort where one of the co-chairs has long had his eyes on a seat. Instead of heading to congress based on his handiwork, Amherst Democrat Stan Rosenberg bid adieu or at least delayed his quest to follow his mentor, John Olver.

And a whole heck of a lot better than the legislative map drawn 10 years ago by former House Speaker Tom Finneran, a plan than placed him firmly in the Indicted Speakers Club.

Plane speaking

2011-11-07T05:00:00.004-05:00

Let's face it: Mitt Romney makes Richard Nixon seem warm and fuzzy. And that's why Herman Cain, Rick Perry and even Newt Gingrich remain viable candidates for the GOP nomination.

Romney simply fails the nice guy test (so important to the George Bush victory) as the Times reports in a dispatch about candidate's aloofness on a recent Delta flight. Glad-handing everyone on board would be a no-no, but sticking on head phones when your seat mate wants to discuss health care reform is rude too. A polite declination would have been far more courteous.

That snapshot clears shows why Romney remains virtually unloved in a GOP primary, hovering around 25 percent in a campaign with outsize personalities. Republican voters may rightly recognize Romney is electable, but they have no clear idea what he stands for and find him wooden and standoffish.

And that's also why no one should write Barack Obama off one year before America votes. Polls may change but people's attitudes often do not. Obama may frustrate friend and foe with his Spock-like coolness, but he has shown passion on the stump and has a solid record of accomplishment.

Recall too that Romney not only has to battle Obama, he has to account for John Boehner and company, a group that makes Our Man Myth seem wildly popular.

Time out

2011-11-06T06:53:00.002-05:00

Apparently someone forgot to tell the Boston Globe and New York Times about the time change.

Neither newspaper was on the doorstep this morning. The Times' automated system hiccuped to a start and informed me a "production problem" will delay delivery until 9:15 a.m.

Um, did no one remember to change the clocks?

The Globe was even worse. Their automated system hasn't even woken up yet, requiring me to leave a message so they can call back.

Message to Globe: remind me again why I pay a premium price, in advance, for "service" like this?

And you wonder why Tim Murray drove out to find a copy of the Herald the other day.

Change I can't believe in

2011-11-06T05:55:00.004-05:00

The folks who have agita at the thought of change apparently have a big one in mind for all Americans -- the kind that weighs down pockets and purses.

Conservatives who call phasing out of the incandescent light bulb a Communist plot, are hatching their own plot to eliminate the dollar bill and replace it with a coin.

The fact the idea is as popular as Rush Limbaugh at an Occupy rally is only of marginal interest to the Tea Party-backed lawmaker who wants to phase out the paper dollar.

Arizona Rep. David Schweikert is attracted to a Government Accountability Office report that says replacing paper with metal could save about $5.5 billion over 30 years. That is chump change in comparison to the waste that can be found in the defense budget, to name just one source of bloat. No problem, says Schweikert:

“It fits the mantra of why we got elected — to save money...”

No matter that the public finds dollar coins as popular as, um, taxes. Three-quarters of the American people responding to a poll around the 2007 introduction of a series of dollars paying tribute to American presidents rejected the idea. Frankly I haven't even seen a presidential dollar and have a couple of Sacagawea bucks I would like to unload if it didn't annoy the merchants who would have to take them.

Then there's the odd-sided Susan B. Anthony dollar that even gave vending machines fits.

A friendly suggestion to my Tea Party friends: let's try to solve the problems we currently have before heading out to deal with issues that no one else considers an issue.

That would be change I can believe in.

UPDATE: H/T to Mrs. OL for a link to a story on how much we are wasting on a dollar coin program. Maybe ending that would save as much as getting rid of the paper bills we prefer?

One-legged stool

2011-11-05T06:10:00.002-04:00

Pore over stories about Mitt Romney's budget proposal and one thing becomes very clear: no shared sacrifice. Search for the words "defense" and "taxes" and you will fail.

The Pander Man was in high dudgeon appearing before the Koch brothers Americans for Prosperity conference, proclaiming his allegiance to future generations of Americans who should not be saddled with crushing debt -- by trimming Medicare and Medicaid.

“There are some who are going to argue that fiscal responsibility is heartless and immoral,’’ Romney said. “No, what’s heartless is to imperil our children, and what’s immoral is to imperil the strength of a nation that was founded under God and preserved by his hand.’"

No sane person will argue the nation's current financial path is a sound one. Yet Romney's moralistic call for sacrifice conveniently overlooks two other important pieces of the stool on which reform must be built so it can last.

With troops leaving Iraq by year's end and scaling back in Afghanistan -- wars paid for by credit card with the bills left for future generations -- why do we need to spend $680 billion (as in $680,000,000,000) on the tools of war?

And why do those prosperous Americans get a pass on participating in the form of a share of the tax bills assessed against the 1 Percent who earn 23.5 percent of the nation's income.

With Americans living longer, there is a case for sensible Medicare and Social Security reform that acknowledges 65 is no longer a universal age when men and women can or want to hang 'em up and head off for what could be another 25 years of life.

But by focusing only on this one leg of the stool, Republicans like Romney fail to acknowledge the broader ills facing our nation caused by unchecked weapons spending and a free pass offered to the Top 1 percent.

We need leaders who care about all citizens, not just the ones with the resources to buy the attention and affection of elected officials through campaign cash.

One way to reduce delays

2011-11-04T06:56:00.003-04:00

Those wise heads at the MBTA have come up with a novel solution to the problem of stranding passengers in bad weather. Cancel service before the storm.

While it's true many school systems have taken to making decisions based on Harvey Leonard's best guesses, the T's plan to call in sick before the storm could create all sort of new possibilities in the world of novel excuses. I invite you to share some.

File this under "we had to destroy the village to save it."

Next time, skip the Herald

2011-11-04T05:00:00.000-04:00

Thank heaven the Tea Party Newsletter is there to guard the taxpayer wallets from that noted spendthrift Lt. Gov. Tim Murray. At least that's better than snickering about his sobriety.

While State Police said icy roads were to blame for the early morning rollover in central Massachusetts, the Herald's resident ethicist questioned the results of a Breathalyzer test that Murray requested at the scene.

Few can say the story is run-of-the-mill. The state's No.2 is out for coffee and a Herald in the wee hours and decides to head up from his Worcester home to survey storm damage in Sterling along a pitch dark road. He hit black ice and totaled the Crown Vic he had been assigned from the state motor pool.

Wise enough a politician in today's age, he asked for a field sobriety test which came out 0.0.

Bizarre? No doubt. Backed up by a state police report (that noted an arriving trooper almost wiped out on the black ice), the normal reaction of most human beings would be to say thank goodness he didn't get hurt or worse.

Trying to stick Murray being wasteful of taxpayer cash? Priceless.

My own advice to Murray: it's never worth getting into a car to try to buy a Herald. Next times, stick with coffee.