ON JUNE 1 the Fiscal Alliance Foundation announced that a lawsuit to overturn Gov. Charlie Baker’s coronavirus public safety orders would be brought on behalf of a few Massachusetts businesses and ministers. The groups’ attorney, Michael DeGrandis of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, wrote about it in CommonWealth in an op-ed entitled “Baker usurping the […]
Maurice Cunningham
Posted inPolitics
Mass. Fiscal social justice claims ring hollow
BACK IN 1932 James Michael Curley arrived at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago without a seat in the Massachusetts delegation. Curley dexterously engineered himself into becoming the chairman of the Puerto Rican delegation – “Alcalde Jaime Miguel Curleo.” With the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance’s recent claim to be a crusader for social justice, Curleo’s triumph […]
Posted inOpinion
Mass. Fiscal Alliance’s hollow defense of dark money
THE DARK MONEY political operation Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance has been mounting a campaign against regulatory changes proposed by the Office of Campaign and Political Finance to enhance disclosure of money in politics. OCPF’s proposals are moderate and reasonable and should be implemented. MassFiscal’s Paul Craney complained earlier this week in CommonWealth that that OCPF “has […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
The crimes and punishment of Michael McLaughlin
IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE the sort of rebel who commits multiple felonies, be a rebel with a pol to trade. That’s the lesson of the deal Michael McLaughlin cut with the office of United States Attorney Carmen Ortiz on charges that he hid his inflated salary as head of the Chelsea Housing Authority from […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Debating the American Dream
Massachusetts and the nation are no longer teetering on the abyss as we were in 2008, but a deep sense of discomfort has settled in among us. Again and again we hear anxiety about the American Dream and whether it is within reach of us and our children. So I suggest that a debate between […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
The dangerous (and dumb) Scott Brown
Scott Brown is a dangerous man: dangerous to the world view of Massachusetts Democrats. The way things are supposed to work around here is we have a Democratic Party primary and then a short while later the swearing-in. During the primary season, a field of cookie-cutter liberals raises money and contends for the backing of […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
The Real Romney
The Boston Globe reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman have provided a genuine service with the publication of The Real Romney. After reading through the book I have only one question left for the authors: who is the real Mitt Romney? This is not a critique of Kranish and Helman’s reporting but a commentary on […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Checking the elephant for a pulse
Here in Massachusetts we have a sort-of democracy in which the Democratic Party wins most of the elections and the Republican Party contends only for the governorship or the rare open US Senate seat. But competitive elections are essential to democratic accountability, and we can’t have that without some life from the Massachusetts Republican Party. […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
It’s cozy inside
In this world of harsh economic conditions and political divisiveness we all need some coziness. Fortunately, the worlds of politics and business provide us with many suitable examples of how, as Rodney King once implored us, we can all just get along. Let’s take, for example, the heart-warming tale of a young man with limited […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Piling on
Since the conviction of former House speaker Sal DiMasi almost no political story is complete without a solemn intonation about “the third speaker in a row guilty of federal charges.” I’ve fallen into it myself. But maybe we’ve been a little too hard on these men (well, two of them anyway) and not hard enough […]