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I have an opinion.

This is an expression of my thoughts and feelings toward a given topic. It is a personal interpretation of a person, place, thing, or event. (more…)

Here we are with the final column before the US Senate special election on Tuesday!

This was actually supposed to be in this week’s print edition, but thanks to a mix-up stuff that appeared in last week’s online version saw print, which what you’ll read below is just for your eyes only, web-surfers. (more…)

I’m going to completely forgo the traditional year-end Best Of/Worst Of list and, to a degree, the annual New Year’s resolutions list — by which I mean, these aren’t my resolutions, these are resolutions I’m hoping other people adopt. Feel free to take a few.

IN THE YEAR 2010 I RESOLVE… (more…)

This week starts with an endorsement update and sort of spirals off into all sorts of fun directions.

Martha Coakley, Democratic candidate for US Senate, got the official thumb’s up last week from the Massachusetts chapter of the Sierra Club and the Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters.

The attached press release said AG Coakley had “the strongest record of promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy,” but I have to call a reality check. (more…)

We have our first official endorsement in the race for US Senate – Phase Two!

Don’t get too excited, because it’s an endorsement from Paul G. Kirk Jr., the guy keeping US Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s seat warm, for Martha Coakley, for whom he said he would stump hard. Gee, shock after shock here.

Just as it’s soooooooooooo surprising that AG Coakley’s rivals in the primary – Congressman Michael E. Capuano, Alan A. Khazei, and Stephen G. Pagliuca – immediately jumped on the Coakley Bandwagon. My favorite line from a Wednesday press conference, courtesy of the ever-tactful Rep. Capuano: “There is no way in hell we’re going to elect a Republican to Ted Kennedy’s seat. Period.”

I’m probably wasting my breath reminding him the seat belongs to whoever the voters decide it belongs to, huh?

If I were Coakley I’d distance myself from Capuano ASAP…the guy’s campaign poison.

***

The Republican candidate for the race, State Senator Scott P. Brown (R – Wrentham), received an endorsement as well, from Barbara Anderson, executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation. She called Sen. Brown “a solid friend to the taxpayer in his time on Beacon Hill. He represents our best opportunity to put a check on the spending excesses that inevitably fall on the taxpayers to fund.”

***

Speaking of Sen. Brown, he has now pulled out two classic Political Strategies That Don’t Really Work in the second leg of his campaign. Last week I mentioned he’d thrown down the “I challenge you not to accept special interest donations” gauntlet, and a few days later he tacked on the “I won’t raise taxes and I challenge you to do the same” gambit.

AG Coakley disregarded that latter challenge, calling it a “gimmick,” and you know what? She’s right; the promise to lower taxes is a tired and worn-out gimmick pushes voters’ buttons and provokes a gut response – though the only people who respond to it are generally people who are already supporting the candidate.

Sen. Brown definitely has more spark than AG Coakley and hopefully he’ll add some much-needed zing to the proceedings, but for the love of all creatures great and small I hope he stops speaking in cliché sound bites.

***

Now, as you may see in this week’s letters to the editor section (up front, page four), I apparently made a new friend with a lady in Sandwich who took me to task for listing several of the PACs from which Sen. Brown has accepted donations (see above remarks about his Special Interest Donation Challenge).

She thought it unfair for me to list off the PACs without doing the same for AG Coakley. Well, never be said I’m not up for giving Democrats as much grief as Republicans (because I am…oh, yes, I am).

For Sen. Scott I listed 12 PACs: one each representing political, auto industry, insurance industry, real estate industry, construction tradesmen, and health care industry interests; and three each representing banks or other financial institutions, and police/corrections/public safety officers.

For my apples-to-apples comparison, here are 12 PACs, listed in the same order by category, who have at some point thrown money at AG Coakley: the National Women’s Political Caucus, New Car Dealers, the Insurance Agents and Brokers of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the American Health Care Association; FMR LLC (Fidelity), Bank of America, Citizens Bank, the Professional Fire Fighters of MA People’s Committee, the New Bedford Police Union, and the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union.

Please notice that in my quick review, I found five PACs – the Insurance Agents and Brokers of Massachusetts, the Mass. Association of Realtors, FMR LLC, Bank of America, and the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union – who at some point donated to both AG Coakley and Sen. Brown.

That all said, I think my ardent Sen. Brown supporter missed my point: I chided the senator for challenging AG Coakley to refrain from accepting special interest donations when he has done the same, and accepted from some of the very same pots of money. If he wants to keep special interest money out of politics, Sen. Brown needs to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

***

Say, did you know there is a third-party candidate in this race? No? And you probably won’t hear much if anything about him, what with the Boston media’s penchant for ignoring anyone without a D or R following their name.

Well, I like to spread the love as best as I can, so here is the so-called fringe candidate who will occupy space on the January 19, 2010 special election ballot (and thanks to the folks at the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office, who always do bang-up work!).

The gent is Joseph L. “No Relation” Kennedy of Dedham, who last Monday turned in more than 13,000 signatures to the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office, making him (so he says) “officially the first candidate on the final ballot.”

According to the secretary’s office, Mr. Kennedy has chosen the designation “Liberty” in the space that normally lists a party affiliation. Um…okay.

Interestingly, Mr. Kennedy has already had an impact on the race as an unwitting catalyst. Let me ‘splain: there are seven scheduled debates between December 22 and January 14, 2010, and Sen. Brown has agreed to appear at all seven (that’s good), but AG Coakley has not (that’s bad).

But the reason why she’s refusing is because Mr. Kennedy has not been invited to any of them.

Now, that is both good and bad. It’s good because she’s right: Kennedy may not have had a primary race, but A) that’s hardly his fault and B) he collected enough signatures to earn a spot on the ballot, so he is a legitimate candidate and should be involved in the debates.

It’s bad because I personally do not expect many if any of the debate sponsors (which include the likes of WBZ-TV, the Boston Globe, New England Cable News, and WCVB-TV) to accede to this request (see above comment about how the Boston media treats third-party candidates).

At first glance their political tunnel vision seems understandable; third-parties do very poorly in major elections in Massachusetts, so why waste resources on ballot fodder? But, I would argue, maybe some of these folks would fare better in elections if they received the same level of media attention as those in the Big Two Parties.

If everyone involved sticks to their guns, we’ll see seven debates in which Sen. Brown gets free airtime to promote his platform. That won’t hurt him any, but it could hurt AG Coakley; voters may see her as taking an admirable stand on principle, but they might also see someone who took advantage of a convenient excuse to duck a head-to-head with Sen. Brown.

If push comes to shove, I’d rather see AG Coakley acquiesce and appear at the debates.

***

Final note of the week: We also have one write-in candidate (hahahahahahaha! Good luck with THAT!) in John Howard, whose campaign cornerstone is based on – and I swear this is for real – “the three laws of The Egg and Sperm Civil Union Compromise.” Those laws are, in a nutshell (with the emphasis on “nut”): stop human cloning, gene modification to create “designer babies,” and “same-sex conception.”

Wait, that’s only the first law in three-part harmony. The second and third laws are: recognize same-sex civil unions at the federal level, and “stop marriage from losing the right to conceive children together using the marriage’s own genes.” Yeah, I don’t quite understand that last one either.

If you want to waste a few minutes reading his manifesto (and check out the photo that makes him look like he should be organizing weekend “Dungeons & Dragons” games in his parents’ basement), go to www.voteforjohnhoward.com.

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net

First of all: Tuesday is the primary special election for the US Senate race, so get out and vote! No excuses!

If you still have no idea who to vote for, check out my handy candidate guide in the Region section of this week’s paper and, if you still have questions, visit the candidates’ campaign websites (handy links on the left!).

***

Speaking of that race, here are a few last-minute endorsements, for those of you who care about such things (which you shouldn’t). Diane Patrick, wife of Governor Deval L. Patrick, has formally endorsed Congressman Michael E. Capuano for US Senate. “Mike’s experience in the House coupled with his passion to fight for what is best for Massachusetts makes him the very best candidate to send to the U.S. Senate,” Ms. Patrick said. “I am proud to endorse Mike today.”

What I have to wonder: was this endorsement in fact Gov. Patrick’s endorsement filtered through his wife?

Former Massachusetts governor Michael “Tank” Dukakis has endorsed Rep. Capuano as well, while the Boston Globe has put its support behind Alan A. Khazei.

***

Another of the less glamorous jobs in state government might have a race for next year.

Democrat Walter Moniz of Fairhaven filed his paperwork with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance last week as a candidate for governor’s councilor of the first district. That sets up a primary showdown with Carole A. Fiola, assuming she runs for another term.

***

It’s a slow week this week, so I’m going to take advantage of it to chat a bit about some of the possible questions for the November 2010 ballot. The deadline for organizers to file their signatures with their town and city clerks was last week, and no surprise, proposals pertaining to the state income tax made it to the next step in the process.

This past summer the Legislature hiked the state sales tax from five percent to 6.25 percent and repealed a sales tax exemption on alcohol. The Center for Small Government is backing multiple proposals the reverse course on that former point and reduce the sales tax (by 2.5 percent on the low end, by five percent on the high end). The Massachusetts Package Stores Association is behind a proposal to repeal the repeal and make booze sales tax-free once again.

Assuming these make it onto the ballot, the voter is then faced with a very tough question: to support or not to support? State revenues continue to tank, which has already led to one round of emergency budget cuts in Fiscal Year 2010 and more are almost certainly on their way. State programs will be further slashed, jobs eliminated, and local aid can only dodge so many bullets.

On the other hand, isn’t there someplace within state government our lawmakers haven’t looked for waste, inefficiency, and/or overspending? Maybe, say, legislator salaries?

I don’t for a moment begrudge lawmakers the need to cover expenses, and yeah, they have to make livings too (a claim that is more justifiable for those legislators who actually behave like it’s their full-time job), but they all ostensibly got into this gig in the name of serving the public and making life better for their fellow citizens. I don’t think it unreasonable for these public servants to voluntarily take a cut in their $61,439 base pay – a paycheck we all foot the bill for through our taxes.

Share the pain a little, guys, or else maybe the voting people will finally say “Enough!” and toss more than a few of you out of the State House come November…and I for one don’t think the job market is going to be much better in a year.

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net

Things are starting to get interesting for the Cape’s Legislative delegation.

The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance reported last week that Republican Patrick Foran of South Yarmouth had filed his paperwork and plans to challenge State Representative Cleon H. Turner (D – Dennis) in 2010.

That makes two Cape-area incumbents with possible races next year – State Representative Sarah K. Peake (D – Provincetown) is the other, with Republican David Dunford of Orleans eyeing her seat. That leaves two state senators and four state reps as yet unchallenged.

***

Charles D. Baker Jr., Republican candidate for governor, is really getting a jump on the 2010 election cycle by announcing he has selected a running mate in State Senator Richard R. Tisei (R – Wakefield), the Senate minority leader.

Mr. Baker’s official campaign website on Monday posted this on its main page, along with a banner featuring Sen. Tisei: “Richard has years of experience fighting for the taxpayer on Beacon Hill and I’m thrilled to have him on the team.”

Of course, whether Sen. Tisei actually becomes Baker’s formal running mate is up to the voters, who will make their choice in the September 2010 primaries.

***

Jack E. Robinson, Republican candidate for US Senate, has launched his campaign website.

Actually, it may have been up for some time before I found it, but it’s somehow sliding under Google’s mighty radar. Neat trick, that.

Go to www.jackerobinson.com to learn more about State Senator Scott P. Brown’s (R – Wrentham) surprise challenger in the primaries, which is only 11 days away!

***

Speaking of Sen. Brown, who I had the pleasure of meeting while he was on the Cape last Friday, he’s got an interesting fundraising thing going on at his website. He’s asking that visitors support two radio ads with donations that’ll go directly to keep those ads running on Boston-area radio stations. Check ‘em out:

***

New York City’s mayor Michael Bloomberg has endorsed Alan A. Khazei for US Senate.

Let me rephrase that: Michael Bloomberg, who supported term limits on the office of mayor until he reached the end of what would have been his own last term and then pushed to have the term limits revoked, has endorsed Alan Khazei.

Yeah, that’s a glowing recommendation.

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net

When a politician changes his mind about a particular topic, especially if it’s a radical departure from a previously held opinion, it is called by that politician’s opponents and critics “flip-flopping.” The pol him- or herself calls it “keeping my position flexible to account for any new information I may receive.”

So, is Congressman Michael E. Capuano a flip-flopper or flexible?

Rep. Capuano stated last week that, should he win the US Senate special election and be seated in time to participate in a vote on federal health care reform legislation, he would oppose any bill that limited federal funding for abortion procedures. He made this statement after, as a member of the US House of Representatives, voting for a health care reform bill that limited federal funding for abortion.

He also gave Democratic rival Martha Coakley a ration of grief for espousing the exact same position: she would oppose a bill that restricted federal abortion funding.

In review: Rep. Capuano voted for a bill containing a provision that, as US Senator Capuano, he said he would oppose. I call flip-flopper.

Not that that had any influence on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to formally endorse Rep. Capuano’s candidacy. Speaker Pelosi issued her endorsement last Friday, stating her colleague had a “proven record of accomplishment in the House is clear evidence that he will be an outstanding advocate for the people of Massachusetts in the tradition of the late Senator Kennedy.”

Because, of course, what all Massachusetts voters want is Ted Kennedy Lite.

***

Now we move onto some contrariness (or perhaps outright hypocrisy) on the part of Steven G. Pagliuca. This week the Boston Globe pointed out that Bain Capital, in which Steve “I won’t take special interest money” Pagliuca is a senior managing partner, has coughed up some serious coin to get some juicy tax breaks for the company.

Pagliuca’s mouthpieces said that the candidate may have been aware of this activity, but wasn’t directly involved in it, so everything is kosher. Yuh-huh.

This news broke a few days after a candidates’ forum at Harvard University last week, at which Democratic rival Alan A. Khazei took “Pags” to task for calling for limits on how much a candidate can self-finance his campaign. The burr under Khazei’s saddle: Pagliuca is sinking crazy amounts of his own scratch into his US Senate run. His TV ad campaign alone is running about $5.5 million.

Khazei challenged Pagliuca to practice what he preached, to which Pagliuca replied: “I can’t live by that now…I need to get my message out.”

I think your message is getting out, sir: “Rules are fine as long as they don’t apply to me.” Hey Steve! You sure you’ve never been in Congress before?

***

State Senator Scott P. Brown (R – Wrentham) was the top dog among Plymouth County Republicans in last week’s Plymouth County GOP candidate’s forum and straw poll. He was the preferred Republican candidate for US Senate, with 88 percent support going to him and the remainder going toward Jack E. Robinson.

An aside: at this same event, Robinson challenged Sen. Brown to a debate, a challenge Brown allegedly ignored. Robinson’s response the next day, via a press release: “Scott Brown is afraid to debate me one-on-one.”

Either that or Sen. Brown simply doesn’t view him as a serious challenger (Robinson has gone down to flaming defeat in major races three times in the past nine years) and would rather concentrate on building a support base for the January 2010 special election.

Over in the still-young gubernatorial race, Charles D. Baker Jr. received 78 percent of the 325 votes cast in the straw poll, while the remaining 22 percent went to rival Christy P. Mihos.

Now, granted, a straw poll at a party committee get-together held a full year before the election is hardly a bellwether of the election to come, but despite a rather lethargic start to his campaign, Baker has gained considerable steam while the Mihos campaign has lost its early momentum. I expect we’ll see the numbers swing back and forth for a while yet.

***

Side note the first: Sen. Brown was on the Cape last weekend for a fundraiser, and to open up a local campaign office at 645 Main Street in Hyannis. It’s open weekdays 9 AM to 8 PM, and will remain open at least through the December primary election (and, I’m willing to bet, up until the January 2010 special election).

I have to say, I really dig this. Candidates for the loftier offices generally don’t bother establishing a presence on the Cape – hell, most of them pretty much ignore the region altogether and stick to campaigning in the big urban communities – so it’s nice to see someone bothering to remember people down here vote too.

***

Side note the second, on the Baker campaign: the Boston Globe reported last week that one of Baker’s people called one of Timothy P. Cahill’s people to see if the state treasurer-slash-independent candidate for governor would be interested in quitting his campaign to become Baker’s lieutenant governor pick.

He wouldn’t, and the Baker camp later backpedaled and said that no formal offer had been extended.

***

Now that we’ve waded through all that, let’s see what the polls are saying about both of these races.

The latest Suffolk University/WHDH-TV poll is a case study in contradiction. In the US Senate race, AG Coakley is in the lead at 44 percent support, more than her three Democratic rivals combined, and yet, voters surveyed said Pagliuca was running a superior campaign (he and Capuano are at a virtual tie for second place in the Democratic primary).

The poll also did not paint an optimistic picture for Sen. Brown; in theoretical races against all four Democrats, he lost to everyone but Khazei.

Over in the governor’s race, despite approval numbers that continue to sink, incumbent Deval L. Patrick won his theoretical races against independent candidate Cahill and a Republican challenger. In both scenarios, Cahill came in second and the Republican hopeful finished third.

Mihos fared better than Baker in these theoretical races, losing to Cahill by a smaller margin, and had more overall support among registered Republicans, but Baker was more popular among “Republican-leaning independent” voters.

This could prove valuable down the road since half of Massachusetts’ registered voters are unenrolled (according to the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s Office).

***

It looks like our state auditor, A. Joseph DeNucci, will not be running for re-election after all. Mr. DeNucci, who has held the post for 23 years, announced last week he would not seek re-election and would step down at the end of his current term.

So far two Republicans have announced their candidacy for the post: Mary Z. Connaughton of Framingham and Earle Stroll of Bolton.

***

Joe Connolly has re-launched his campaign website. It was last used for his 2008 re-election campaign for Norfolk County treasurer, but it’s been repurposed to support his 2010 campaign for state treasurer.

***

This week’s column ends on a bit of madness that might actually be brilliance (or brilliance that might actually be madness): the Khazei camp is attempting to elevate the profile of the US Senate race (and their candidate) by challenging faux-TV pundit Stephen Colbert of “The Colbert Report” to come to Massachusetts and moderate a debate between the four Democratic hopefuls.

Go to here to view Khazei’s YouTube video challenging Colbert to moderate the debate, and sign an online petition.

I doubt this will happen, but if it does? I am SO there, baby.

Political news and announcements may be sent to Michael Bailey, Region editor and senior political reporter, at bailey@capenews.net

As we head into the festive (and stressful) holiday season, we here at Snark-Infested Waters would like to offer the following advice:

It really doesn’t matter if people wish you a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. As long as they’re not telling you to go to hell, accept the sentiment in the spirit in which it was offered.

I mean, seriously: What would Jesus do? My bet is that he wouldn’t act like a jerk because someone said something nice to him.