Jane Lane, Communications Director

It appears today that Gov. Mitt Romney is once again playing to his national neo-conservative Republican base as he unfurls a new initiative to reinstate the death penalty in this state. Support for the death penalty in Massachusetts has waned in recent years and there has been no public outcry for reinstatement. Yet, for some reason which has nothing to do with Massachusetts, Gov. Romney feels compelled to drag this subject into the public debate. The future ambitions of this governor become more transparent each day. His proposal to bring back the death penalty has everything to do with his fledgling campaign for president: It has nothing to do with improving the quality of life here in Massachusetts. I suspect that our Democratic legislators will quickly dispense with this so-called 'flawless' death penalty proposal and turn to more pressing issues that really affect the lives of families here in Massachusetts -- like funding for public education, local aid and health care initiatives.

Thank You and Congratulations!

Thanks so much to all of the volunteer help we had late last week and weekend helping us get the 5000 piece convention mailing out! We folded, stuffed and stamped in record time this year, and it couldn't have been done without you!

Next Opportunity: We need 125 volunteers for the State Convention on May 14 in Lowell (and also some for Friday night, May 13.) It will be a great way to meet and network with other Democrats from across the state, and both Sen. Edward Kennedy and DNC Chairman Howard Dean will be among the speakers. Delegates pay up to $75 but volunteers go FREE (and we'll provide you with FREE LUNCH!) Volunteers will be needed from 8am-2pm, and some from 8am-5pm.

For more info or to help out please call me (Brent) at 617-472-0637 or e-mail me at brent@massdems.org .

Thanks!

"Bush's Most Radical Plan"

This excellent Rolling Stone article was pointed out to us from a massdems.org user in Middleboro.

If you aren't aware of President Bush's 'Sunset commission' you absolutely should be.

From the article:
"The proposal, spelled out in three short sentences, would give the president the power to appoint an eight-member panel called the "Sunset Commission," which would systematically review federal programs every ten years and decide whether they should be eliminated. Any programs that are not "producing results," in the eyes of the commission, would "automatically terminate unless the Congress took action to continue them."

Any program? Scary stuff.

Thanks to our contributor!

Jane Lane, Communications Director

The Mass. Democratic Party held a press conference yesterday with Mayor Tim Murray and Sen. Harriette Chandler, to announce Worcester as the site of the 2006 Democratic 'nominating' convention.

(Sorry, the link to the news story we had up is currently down. We are working on getting a copy of the entire story from State House News)

Public Opinion on the Environment

Tomorrow is Earth Day and...

A new Gallup Poll states that 51% of Americans "rate the environment as "only fair" and getting worse -- or rate the environment as "poor" and say it is staying the same or worsening" A 22% increase since March of 2001.

With that said, Gallup goes on to write: "Despite a dimming view of the environment's future, there has been little change in Americans' level of worry about the quality of the environment. Only 35% of Americans -- identical to last year -- say they worry a great deal about the quality of the environment."

New calendar tool on massdems.org

Hey folks,

We just posted a new calendar tool on massdems.org. You can now post your own events directly into the massdems.org calendar--no emailing us required. So all you town chairs, campaigns, committee folk, and activist groups let the base now what you're up to.

Plus, soon an RSS feed will be coming for it. Post an event and anyone signed up for the RSS will know right away!

Go here to check it out.

Note: It is moderated, so your posting will appear when it is approved. Also, we just put it up so report any bugs to email@massdems.org. We might even post some of the events here on the blog.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED NOW!

With our huge (thousands of people) annual state convention fast approaching we need a lot of volunteers over the next few weeks.

We really need volunteers in the state headquarters in Quincy (easy to find and right on the T) to help us send mailings, assemble credentials, and complete various other projects. Also, WE NEED OVER 125 VOLUNTEERS TO WORK AT THE ACTUAL CONVENTION ON MAY 14 (delegates pay up to $75 to attend, but volunteers come FREE--and you'll get a free lunch!!) It will be fun and rewarding, and it's a great opportunity to network and celebrate with other democrats!

Please contact me (Brent) at brent@massdems.org or 617-472-0637 to let me know when you can come in and if you can help at the convention.

Thanks!

You wanna puff piece....

Here's an article from the Salt Lake City tribune on Romney's recent trip--yes, he left the state again.

Here's the more objective AP article.

Good for a good laugh in the articles: The two descriptions of the book signing. Also, you have to love that Romney now has to force people to buy his book TURNAROUND.

Good for a criticism: If Romney met with the high-ups in Microsoft, Chevron, etc. Why is he talking to them about national education policy? Shouldn't he be talking about what he told the voters of Massachusetts he'd be talking about: bringing business and jobs to the Commonwealth?

The question remains: Is Romney really going to run for reelection in Massachusetts?

Jane Lane, Communications Director

I found it interesting that last week, just as Gov. Romney began his $50,000-a-week radio ad campaign, entitled "Working Together" in which he lists all of his accomplishments made possible through the cooperation of the state Legislature, the Mass Republican Party declared war on the House budget. So much for cooperation by the Governor!

Rather than spend tens of thousands of campaign dollars on radio ads touting his new-found spirit of cooperation, for once why doesn't Romney just walk into a rep. or senator's office and talk to them? That would be an appropriate start -- most of them have never met the governor even though they've worked in the same building for the past two years.

Actions speak louder than words.

The Blog is Live

The blog for the Massachusetts Democratic Party is now live. We will have regular contributions from the people listed on the right, as well as the occasional guest blogger.

Spread the word, and be sure to sign up for the xml/RSS feed! Look for posts from our contributors.

What's XML/RSS? The New York Times has a good explanation and how to get started right here.

Hotels for the Convention

If you are planning on traveling to Lowell for the MA Democratic party convention on Saturday, May 14th and would like to stay over please check out any of these participating hotels:
http://www.massdems.org/convention05/accommodations.htm