A LITTLE bit of democracy died at Saturday’s state Republican convention in Worcester, right alongside the gubernatorial hopes of businessman Christy Mihos. GOP insiders snuffed out both, when they made sure that Mihos fell short of the 15 percent needed to make the primary ballot.Not likely.
So, my understanding of what the Globe editorial writer was trying to say was that the rank and file wanted Christy Mihos, but some Party Apparatchiks snuffed out his chances.
This shows a terrible lack of understanding of the State Republican Party on the part of the staff at The Globe. And, what might be called willful ignorance about businessman Christy Mihos. Mr Mihos left the Republican Party for the last Gubernatorial Race. Why should he be welcomed back with open arms? Quick answer is there is no reason and he thus needs to spend some more time doing penance for his action back then.
But, more strange is the fact that The Globe actually thinks that there is this strong center in the Republican Party, making the delegates toe the line. For my part, while I find our own State Committee Woman, Susan Slade, interested in educating us about what the Party wants, I also don't find her driving the agenda of the Lowell Republican City Committee or Ward 1. I checked with my boss at work, who lives in a different county and has a different State Committee Woman. He too believes that the views of the local people outweighed the opinions of the Party Apparatchiks.
The other thing that interested me was the last paragraph.
Perhaps, but [Democratic Party State Chairman John] Walsh and his Republican counterparts should make that sentiment the rule, and do away with the requirement that candidates need 15 percent to make the ballot.So, it is to be a free-for-all and there will be no criteria for putting people on the ballot? That seems to be the Globe way.
I offer a different approach. Let us get the State Government out of primaries and have the parties pay for primary elections. Primaries are about the parties. Allowing others to vote in the Party Primary dilutes the value of being part of the Party. If they can't afford it, and I suspect that the Republican Party cannot, then we can go with caucuses and conventions.
Maybe, if The Globe actually knew something about the Republican Party in the Commonwealth, and not just the State Committee, it could write better editorials.
Regards — Cliff
9 comments:
Gee, another example of yellow journalism at work. After a lifetime of media worship of the Democrat party in MA, it is little surprise that the Gob is unable to see any of the actual forest.
Sadly, it is this sort of media bias masquerading as truth and fact that leaves Americans with no truly reliable source of information. The messenger lies.
On the positive side, the intellectual bankruptcy of the media can actually validate Tip ONeil's axiom that all politics is local. If you want to know what is REALLY happening, get involved in your local party of choice ("Yes"....that includes "Tea") and learn the facts in the first person. It still may be a lie, but at least you have a fighting chance of seeing the eyes shift.
Someone from Chelmsford wrote and said:
"Where does it say that the Globe is unbiased or even has that as a goal?
"I've always known that I should read the Globe if I want the liberal-progressive point of view."
Regards — Cliff
It seems odd that you would choose to blog on something you didn't attend and make it sound like you are an insider. Have you talked to people that were there? Done any research? Or are you relying on your memory, like you memory of how the highway used to be?
And as to the "no holds barred" I would think you would support that. It is the Tea Party way.
Not sure I get your points Lance. First, "no holds barred" isn't a point that I got from Cliff's review, and I reject your assertion that it is the tea party way. That sort of generalization is as pointless and invalid as an outright fabrication. The "tea party" is in fact not much of a national party per se...or a party at all. It is a grass roots reaction, and as such, being grass roots and all, very much local in its goals and rhetoric. Just as the basis for the tea party metaphor was rooted in something completely irrelevant today, it remains a valid metaphor that reflects local exasperation with a system that is wholly unsatisfactory and becoming worse with each passing day. "Spinning out of control" hardly seems adequate to describe the sense of being in free fall. We have yet to absorb the implications of the disasterous health reform shennigans and we are already halfway home in financial reform with cap and trade in hot pursuit. Those issues aside, this morning all of the MSM talking heads have "reported" that now the WH is thinking along the lines of a 10 - 15 percent VAT. Talk about Obamao's "redistribution of wealth" philosophy.....I can't think of anything more efficient in moving money from the grass roots to the District of Criminals.
As to Cliff's "road less traveled," your analogy sticks like wet Jello. He has been on that road before, and thus, knows what it was, and now, has an appreciation for what it is. Same with the GOP gathering. I really didn't see much of a report of dramatic change.
But, a good "progressive" always condemns anything remotely conservative.....it's almost reflexive.
See that is part of the problem with understanding what the Tea Party "is." I thought it was a movement of like minded people who are not satisfied with what is going on in DC and the states, but that they jealously defend their freedoms and other than the Constitution are not really comfortable with rules and the extrapolations from the Constitution. So if I am wrong, where is it that I have gone astray?
I am not sure what progessive and conservative mean any more, but "knee jerk" is usually a term reserved for the conservative and now the Tea Party affiliates.
The entire "notion" of the "Tea Party" has as its genesis the wildly extravagant spending spree launched by Mr. Obama shortly after taking the throne. He of course blamed(s) it all on George. Curiously, the orginal Tea Party held in Boston Harbor was directed toward another George.
Of course, the MSM latched onto the concept first as some nefarious vast right wing conspiracy inspired by pissed off Christian radicals with guns who wanted to simply discredit Obama and invalidate his messianic agenda. Thus, the whole notion HAD to morph to a "movement," otherwise, how could it possibly be anything to demonize.
The problem is with the word "movement" as it may mean many things, among which is "A series of actions and events taking place over a period of time and working to foster a principle or policy." I would submit that this Webster's definition is the most precise when it comes to the current anti-big government sentiment.
Frankly, the whole moniker is a tiresome journalistic convenience that has very little to do with the reality of the growing dissatisfaction with the District of Corruption. And of course, now much more negative baggage is being heaped on "it" by those who figure if they can say enough bad things about "it" they can counter "it."
As for the Constitution and rights, I don't think it is a valid conclusion that somehow these people in their grassroots rebellion are somehow clinging to singularly defined and reserved rights while rejecting "rules and extrapolations from the Constitution." If anything, most of the "rebels" that I know are offended by the idea that a omnicient and omnipotent central government is free to "extrapolate" from the Constitution and somehow magically codify rules that are markedly divergent to what the founding rathers said.
But then, if one studies Toynbee, et al, the US is in the final, chaotic phase of suicide as a society and nation-state. I am beginning to believe that for this once mighty power, the end is quite near.
Sad, but historically predictable.
Lance
I was involved right up to the date of the Convention, getting phone calls and EMails from people. As for talking to someone who was there, I talked to my boss at work, who noted he was sitting right behind the delegation with eventual gubernatorial nominee's father as a member. So, I have my own experience up to this convention and in a previous convention and my boss' experience. The Republican Party in Massachusetts is as organized as brownian motion.
As for "knee jerk", that is like use of the term "fellow traveller".
As for "no holds barred", I was thinking that we should NOT go that way and not let non-Republicans vote in primaries.
Neal said that Tea Parties are about President Obama's spending. I think the Tea Parties are also about the President George W Bush spending—and in fact that includes the US Congress at the time.
Regards — Cliff
I think you are correct Cliff.....the ire is about Federal over spending....and it just finally boiled over with Obama. In the end, it's all about too much central government....and the states do not have clean hands on this one.
In New Hamster folks are about to lynch Lynch....and what in the world is Deval thinking????
Lynch is rock solid. Flinty NH Indies aren't easily distracted by posers in Tricorn head gear.
John Stephens couldn't run his own dept. He's got nothing.
Karen Testerman? No.
The radical neo-con Jack Kimball? No!
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