Healey: "Who You Calling Self-Funded?"

Kerry Healey tells the Boston Herald today that she will not be a self-funded candidate. Oh really? What about the $13 million her husband is ready to dump into her campaign coffers?
Another odd quote in the same story, "The people are not going to be taking a vote on the govenor. They are going to be taking a vote on their future governor."
Kerry Healey is in desperate need of a wake-up call. She has spent more than three years as half of this administration! Like it or not, she, too is responsible for the fact that this state is way behind the rest of the country in job creation and has forced people to look outside these borders in order to live.

Audio from Governor Candidates Forum

Thanks to the hardworking reporters and staff at MassLive and the Springfield Republican for posting the audio from tonight's forum with Chis Gabrieli, Deval Patrick, and Tom Reilly. Early photos and some audio is up now. It's still a bit early, but they promise the full audio will be up on their homepage tonight. Looking forward to listening to what I am told was a great forum.

Two Faces of Kerry Healey

Correct me if I am wrong, but hasn't Kerry Healey made fighting the Legislature the centerpiece of her campaign? Well, it appears that Healey is talking out both sides of her mouth. In an interview appearing in today's Globe, she says she will be able to work cooperatively with the legislature to get things done. You can't have it both ways, Ms. Healey. Falsely painting our state reps and senators as irresponsible and out of control will do nothing to endear yourself to them....or to voters. Being even more hypocrtiical, Healey defends Gov. Romney for his many out-of-state travels despite her calls for John Kerry to resign from the US Senate when he was running for President. Her lame excuse? ''The nature of an elected position to the Senate, or to the House, is to represent your district by voting on their behalf. And the senator at that time was missing key votes and missing the majority of votes," Healey said. ''Whereas, the nature of governor is that it is characterized by leadership and providing direction and oversight for the executive branch. And he and I, and our Cabinet members, and our commissioners and directors, together provide that stability, whether he is in the state, or whether he is traveling."
This is more of the same from Republicans who simply DON'T GET IT.

More of the same- Mr. Jobs is MIA

More residents lost jobs; More residents left the state; More denial from the Romney-Healey administration. The latest job numbers were released today, showing that 2,400 more Bay Staters were out of work in March. For the second month in a row, the state unemployment rate has surpassed that of the nation.
To add insult to injury, the Globe has a piece on the front page today in which the US Census Bureau finds that Massachusetts lost more residents than it attracted in the first four years of this century at an average rate of 42,402 people a year. We lost more people than any other state, with the exception of New York. To say this is unacceptable would be an understatment. How many more people will lose their jobs and head out of here before we install a Democratic governor who is really committed to making this state better?

Unity Event Press Release

Here is the press release from today's unity event. It was great to have all the candidates for governor join us as we kick off this campaign. Never before has the Democratic Party seen this type of solidarity so early in an election cycle!

Kids for Democracy Teens Get Honors

Kids for Democracy's Teen Leaders were honored in April for their political activism. Three of the teens received nominations to the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C. and four to the Junior Statesmen of America Summer Programs at Princeton University. Several of the teens also received invites to be teen summer interns for statewide candidates and to serve as convention runners during the Democratic State Convention in Worcester. For more information on Kids for Democracy, go to the kids' website, hosted by the Massachusetts Democrats, at http://www.kidsfordemocracy.org/.

Democratic Candidates for Governor Unite for Victory

That's right, folks, all three Democratic candidates for Governor will appear together in Boston tomorrow as we announce the Massachusetts Victory '06 Leadership team. For the first time, Chris Gabrieli, Deval Patrick, and Tom Reilly will join together with Chairman Phil Johnston and our coordinated campaign co-chairs at 10:30 am at the Omni Parker Hotel as we discuss the Democratic Party's plan for ending 16 years of failed Republican leadership. Democrats across Massachusetts are working together with a level of unprecendented cooperation to win back the governor's office, to re-elect Senator Ted Kennedy and our entire Congressional delegation, and to elect Democrats statewide!

Romney Guts Healthcare Bill with a Smile

Governor Romney, he who has run around the country proclaiming himself the savior of the Massachusetts healthcare system, vetoed the heart of the health insurance bill this morning. He struck the provision that would charge businesses who fail to provide insurance to their workers $295 per employee. That assessment was included as a way to fund other aspects of the bill that provide subsidized insurance to the state's poorest residents. It's completely hypocritical for Romney to claim credit for this monumental bill, while at the same time removing a key component. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO had THIS to say about the veto today. You can weigh in on Romney's actions on a Boston.com poll.

Hey Gov, It's Still About Jobs

From the State House News Service today:

FDIC: STATE JOB GROWTH FIFTH-WORST IN COUNTRY: Only five states posted slower job growth in the fourth quarter of 2005 than Massachusetts, which gained 0.5 percent between fourth quarter 2004 and the end of last year, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said yesterday. As a region, New England trailed the rest of the nation. The construction sector led the Bay State’s 2005 growth with a 2.6 percent gain, followed by professional and business services, according to the report. Manufacturing employment continued to lag, tumbling 2.1 percent last year. The FDIC confirmed trends that have been vexing policymakers, including the flight of the “young adult cohort” to “exurbs, alternate cities, and other states.” While New England saw the nation’s fifth-highest rate of home price increases during 2005 at 9.9 percent, the Commonwealth saw the region’s lowest, an 8.2 percent.

Then, this anecdote from the Globe's Business Section.

The Romney-Healey administration ran its 2002 campaign on jobs. Almost four years later, we are at the bottom of the pack in job growth. This is unexcusable. And I see no policy coming from this administration that even remotely begins to address this issue. The time has come for a Governor Lieutenant Governor who will keep their promises and be accountable for their actions.

Celebrating Massachusetts' groundbreaking healthcare plan

America: are you paying attention?

"This is probably about as close as you can get to universal," said Paul B. Ginsburg, president of the nonpartisan Center for Studying Health System Change in Washington. "It's definitely going to be inspiring to other states about how there was this compromise. They found a way to get to a major expansion of coverage that people could agree on. For a conservative Republican, this is individual responsibility. For a Democrat, this is government helping those that need help."

~ The New York Times

The solution in a nutshell? Make health insurance coverage a legal requirement. Simple. Takes away citizens' incentive to mooch health care at the government's expense. The academic community loves it:

"Massachusetts is the first state in America to reach full adulthood," said Uwe E. Reinhardt, a professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University, noting that the new measure is a move toward personal responsibility. "The rest of America is still in adolescence."

~ Washington Post

"Now, wait a second," you might be saying, "isn't the Massachusetts legislature 85% Democrat? So far, this seems like it puts a burden on the poor!" Au contraire, mon frere! Those living below the federal poverty line will only be responsible for their co-pays. Those in the next economic bracket up (up to 300% of the federal poverty line) get reduced premiums subsidized by the government.

The medical community loves it, the business community loves it, and the religious community loves it... as they ALL had their voices heard during the process of forming this legislation! What's more, the government community loves it as it will only require $175 million of new money over the next three years and then be paid for using existing/continuing federal and state funds!

A BIG thank you goes out to all the players that made this plan happen, beginning with Democratic leadership in the legislature, Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi and Senate President Robert Travaglini. Also, thank you to Governor Mitt Romney, Senator Ted Kennedy, the ACT! Coalition, and the many medical, business, and religious professionals who provided their input.

Well done, Massachusetts! I'm proud to call you home even though it is snowing today, almost a week into April...

Life Imitating Art? Republicans take cue from ‘The Simpsons'

Check out this piece from our very own Joe Samet. He talks about the striking parallel between the current immigration debate in Washington and...well..."The Simpsons"!

Republicans continue to hemorrhage support

It's bad news all around for Republicans, according to the latest 7NEWS/Suffolk poll. The survey finds that, thanks to shoddy GOP leadership, voters believed Massachusetts and the United States are heading on the wrong track. When asked, do you think Massachusetts is heading in the right direction or is on the wrong track, 29% said "right direction," while 44% indicated "wrong track," with 27% undecided. Even worse, when asked, do you think the United States is heading in the right direction or is on the wrong track, 21% said "right direction," while 65% indicated "wrong track," with 14% undecided.
The poll also takes the temperature on the Iraq war, with 58 percent of respondents indicating that they were not very supportive, while 21% indicated they were supportive, with only 18% saying they were very supportive. When asked to grade President Bush, 54% graded him a "D" or "F," while just 26% graded him an "A" or a "B."

Boston Ward 19 Dems Take Trolley to Hear Tingle's Political Comedy

Ward 19 Democrats ready to board Trolley in Jamaica Plain, and Jimmy Tingle
Members of Boston's Ward 19 Democrats met up Saturday (April 1) for a trip to hear political satirist Jimmy Tingle's new show, 'American Dream.' Some of the Democrats decided to carpool up to Tingle's OFF-Broadway Comedy Theater in Davis Square, Somerville. They met at the Curtis Hall in Jamaica Plain and rode up in an City View Trolley! The Ward 19 Democrats hope to bring Tingle's show to JP for a fundraiser later this spring. Keep your eye on this blog for more details. The Boston Ward 19 Democrats meet the first Monday of each month, with the next meeting scheduled for tonight at the Curtis Hall, 20 South Street, JP, at 7 p.m.