Author Archives: MassPoliticsProfs

Clash over the People’s Pledge

Professor U comments on the clash over the People’s Pledge in the Massachusetts Senate race.

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Politics in the Blogosphere, May 6, 2013 Edition

Before The GOP goes gonzo for Gomez as Gabrielle Gurley puts it in Commonwealth Magazine, they should read Jeff Jacoby’s realistic Sunday column in the Boston Globe. To Gomez’s refrain that he has always been a Republican, Jacoby writes: “He has yet to tell voters why — and why they should find that attractive.” But that is the problem here – Massachusetts voters do not find the Republican Party to be attractive, especially its national variant.

No one has studied Where the votes are in Boston longer or with more precision than Larry DiCara, so read his article in CommonWealth Magazine to prep for the mayoral race, with a field that may be larger than the entrants in the Kentucky Derby.

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It’s Gomez v. Markey

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Some Advice for the Herald from Thomas Jefferson

In 1807 Thomas Jefferson wrote to a friend who asked his opinion of newspapers and answered: “I will add, that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors.”

I thought of Jefferson’s words yesterday upon reading a column by Joe Battenfeld in the Boston Herald. According to Battenfeld, Ed Markey Needs to Step Up His Game . . . or Else.

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ProfessorU writes a letter to the editor

In response to the Globe’s series, Broken City, Professor Ubertaccio wrote the following letter to the editor that was published on Sunday:

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The profs chat MaSen

Professors Cunningham and Ubertaccio chat about the contours of the Democratic nomination fight in this year’s special Massachusetts Senate election.

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From the Academic Blogosphere

Ever think gee, I’d like to serve my country – - perhaps an ambassadorship or Cabinet post. Prepare yourself for one of the worst experiences of your life — the confirmation process, says former Ambassador Christopher Hill (confirmed five times) in America’s Unconfirmed Hostages.

So with the president re-elected he (and we) won’t have to endure any more campaigning from him, correct? Incorrect. The perpetual need for money is so great that President Obama can look forward to many fund-raising events in the next four years (Bill Clinton attended 471 second-term fund-raisers). Read about it in Professor Brendan J. Doherty’s New York Times piece, A Campaign Without End.

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ProfessorU on the newest members of the Mass. congressional delegation

Professor Ubertaccio joined Fox25 this morning to talk about the two newest members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation.

Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston

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Best of: Your Next Senator Will Be . . .

Unfortunately Prof. Cunningham is ill and will not be doing an original post today. He leaves us with this prior rumination on predicting who will succeed John Kerry. On Tuesday he will return to discuss the known-knowns, known-unknowns, and unknown-unknowns in the race to succeed Senator Kerry.

Your Next Senator Will Be . . .

Your next senator will surely be (your guess here) and that will set things up for (who knows?) to be your next governor. There is a lot of speculation about how the next two years of politics will play out and it is this sort of expert attention that boosted the successes of Governor Tom Reilly and Senator Martha Coakley, as well as the inevitable re-election of the unbeatable Senator Scott Brown.

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Other races we’re looking at tomorrow

With polls opening in one days time, we’ve some thoughts on the state of the race and some other races that have gotten a bit less attention.

Professor Cunningham:  As we await the traditional opening of the polls for Election Day tomorrow, some closing thoughts on campaigns we’ve discussed and some of the politics we’ve not examined as closely.

We’ve certainly talked about the Scott Brown-Elizabeth Warren race. Few US senate races are highly competitive in Massachusetts and not many have attracted the quality of candidates that this one has. I don’t put enormous stock in every TV advertisement that runs but I think the last ads by Senator Brown and Elizabeth Warren capture some of the essence of the choice each represents.

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