Saturday, July 17, 2004
‘What if America were more like Massachusetts?’: Dread the thought, but it’s an interesting question when posed by Robert David Sullivan. It isn't as bad as you think. His CommonWealth magazine article (free reg. req.) is a mini-classic, written for the upcoming DNC and bound for top billing on Hub Blog’s DNC 2004 Media Guide, if I get around to posting one. ...
... A couple of quibbles/asides about Sullivan’s article: A.) Don’t forget the long-term impact on the body politic here of decades of Democrats’legislative and Congressional gerrymandering. B.) The number of Catholics here has had a profound impact on social policies over the decades (ask Shannon O’Brien, who paid the price of courting NOW at the expense of her aunts) C.) the blossoming of the mutual fund and high-tech sectors, alluded to in the article, has produced a huge professional class that’s challenged the academic community’s presumptions and policies that dominated state politics in the 1970s, the era when the Liberal Massachusetts reality/image firmly took hold. D.) I don’t like the French comparison. Doesn’t work for me.
Otherwise Sullivan is on target: Massachusetts is liberal, but please hold the silly stereotypes. ... Your turn for analyis, Reader No. 1.
FYI -- I've been having massive computer/blogger problems. If the link above doesn't work, here's where to go for Sullivan's article: http://www.massinc.org/handler.cfm?type=1&target=2004-3/bay_state_nation.htm
‘I think they need to understand the larger scope’: The problem is: Tom Nee understands all too well the larger scope. That’s precisely what he’s targeting. ... Sorry to rag on the Boston police union. Most of the members are good people. Very good people. But Thomas Nee is such a fanatical, demagogic leader. He’s given no indication about a desire for true compromise and given every indication he’s long planned and lusted for this confrontation. It bugs me. ... Good to see some Dems aren’t such saps. But where’s that ‘88 video? Never mind the cash the union is throwing around to local pols. That’s just insurance money in a one-party state.
... A couple of quibbles/asides about Sullivan’s article: A.) Don’t forget the long-term impact on the body politic here of decades of Democrats’legislative and Congressional gerrymandering. B.) The number of Catholics here has had a profound impact on social policies over the decades (ask Shannon O’Brien, who paid the price of courting NOW at the expense of her aunts) C.) the blossoming of the mutual fund and high-tech sectors, alluded to in the article, has produced a huge professional class that’s challenged the academic community’s presumptions and policies that dominated state politics in the 1970s, the era when the Liberal Massachusetts reality/image firmly took hold. D.) I don’t like the French comparison. Doesn’t work for me.
Otherwise Sullivan is on target: Massachusetts is liberal, but please hold the silly stereotypes. ... Your turn for analyis, Reader No. 1.
FYI -- I've been having massive computer/blogger problems. If the link above doesn't work, here's where to go for Sullivan's article: http://www.massinc.org/handler.cfm?type=1&target=2004-3/bay_state_nation.htm
‘I think they need to understand the larger scope’: The problem is: Tom Nee understands all too well the larger scope. That’s precisely what he’s targeting. ... Sorry to rag on the Boston police union. Most of the members are good people. Very good people. But Thomas Nee is such a fanatical, demagogic leader. He’s given no indication about a desire for true compromise and given every indication he’s long planned and lusted for this confrontation. It bugs me. ... Good to see some Dems aren’t such saps. But where’s that ‘88 video? Never mind the cash the union is throwing around to local pols. That’s just insurance money in a one-party state.
