Hub Politics Farewell Address

Five years ago today we launched Hub Politics. We joined the fold with a handful of other conservative blogs that were blogging about national and local issues. It was a conscience decision to set us apart from the rest by focusing exclusively on the issue regarding Massachusetts. For five years we have done just that. We launched two additional blogs, Deval Patrick Watch, to keep tabs on our Governor, and Save WRKO, which has been keeping an eye on the local media. It’s been a long and amazing journey.

On this fifth anniversary of the launch of this blog, we are writing to announce the retirement of Hub Politics.

This decision was both expected and unexpected, and many factors led to this end. From the start, it has always just been the two of us (with some occasional guest bloggers). As we saw our own schedules making blogging less and less frequent, our attempts to garner new writing talent to fill the void were never fruitful. Our commitments to our careers, education, and personal lives have made blogging at Hub Politics increasingly difficult. In the past year and half, Aaron has obtained his Master’s Degree in Architecture, and is currently taking his Architectural Registration Exams. Matt has moved to New York, gotten married, and bought a house.

Over the years, we met many political figures serving the Commonwealth, and covered (and attended) many political events. We witnessed political disappointments as we lost the corner office in 2006, and watched in dismay as the imbalance of Beacon Hill was exacerbated. This year, we had the great fortune to be at the epicenter of a Republican victory that astonished the nation. Still forthcoming, we have high hopes that the Republican Party will take back the Corner Office, and continue the trend of Republican victories in this state, and nationwide. While we originally expected to be actively blogging for this upcoming election, the unfortunate reality is we will not be taking part in blogging this year’s election.

We have had the pleasure of meeting many bloggers, politicians, candidates, enthusiasts, activists and media personalities over the years that will now call friends and we are grateful for having met them, but this is not goodbye. We will no longer be blogging here, but we are not gone.

We are grateful for the opportunities that came to us as a result of our efforts with Hub Politics. We have contributed our views as invited guests on local talk radio like WRKO 680 AM and 969 FM Talk, and local news show like Fox25 and CBS4. We’ve been profiled by the Boston Globe and been regularly quoted by the Boston Herald. There are even a few stories broken on Hub Politics. With all the competition, it is extremely rewarding to be one of those blogs that gets to make a difference.

Making this decision easier is knowing that there will still be a strong presence of conservative blogs in Massachusetts that wasn’t really here five years ago. To all of them we wish the best of luck and hope that they will be a force for continued prosperity of the conservative movement in the Commonwealth.

In closing, we would like to thank all the readers of Hub Politics who made this venture worthwhile. It was our pleasure to serve you.

Happy Fourth of July
____
More information about the future of the hubpolitics.com domain will be posted at a later date.

It’s Coakley’s Race To Lose

As the heir apparent in the Senate Special Election, this election is Martha Coakley’s to lose. How could a Democrat be fighting for votes in a Special Election for the seat once held by Senator Ted Kennedy? A mere month ago, Scott Brown was dubbed “long shot” and “underdog.” Today, we have a real election on our hands. Did anyone see this coming? Can you remember a time as exciting as now for Massachusetts politics?

How could Martha Coakley have botched this campaign so bad that rather than cruising through the last weeks and days of her allegedly predetermined, “formality” of an election, she is instead hanging by thread, about to fall victim to a profound upset? Did she underestimate Scott Brown? Was she just a horribly candidate? Did she run a horrible campaign? Did she, like most people in the Commonwealth, assume that by winning the primary she had already won the election? It’s not just one of those, it’s all of them.

No matter what happens on Tuesday, what Scott Brown has done is nothing short of miraculous. If his only goal was to gain widespread name recognition…well, who can doubt he’s done that quite successfully. A Republican in Massachusetts in a real race with a Democrat? That alone is a miracle.

Tuesday, January 19th, we go to the polls.

Tuesday, January 19th, we show the country that yet again, the fight for freedom will once again start in Massachusetts.

Let’s make Tuesday, January 19th the day of the Massachusetts Miracle.

Vote for Scott Brown for United States Senate.

The Republican Primary: It’s Not Over

A number of Republicans across the Commonwealth had been on the edge of their seats, hoping that Charlie Baker would announce his candidacy for governor.

That hope has become a reality.

Scores of Republicans are now energized in a way we have not seen in a while. It should be great to see such energy amongst the party, but since Charlie Baker announced that he is joining the race for governor, we have gone from mildly annoyed, to all out ashamed by the behavior of some Republicans.

Clearly, they have a short attention span. We at Hub Politics do not.

In 2006, Massachusetts Republicans begged Christy Mihos to run as a Republican “for the good of the party.” Much to the dismay of many and the delight of our opposition, Mihos changed his enrollment to ‘unenrolled,’ and all of sudden it was a three way race for governor. We all know what happened next. Today, Mihos is back with the Republican Party, and even though we have said it many times, it deserves to be repeated: let’s put the past in the past.

It had been months that the only declared Republican candidate for governor was none other than Christy Mihos. Still, during that time, the rank-and-file Republicans were not afraid to show their bitterness, and when Charlie Baker walked in the room at Republican events and fundraisers, it was like a celebrity had just graced the room. Baker was moot on his potential candidacy, but he was fawned over like royalty; our only chance to take back the Corner Office from Deval Patrick and the democrats.

Oh, really? Not quite the case says a recent Rasmussen Report poll that suggests Christy Mihos would beat Deval Patrick, while Charlie Baker would fall short. With the better part of 15 months to go, plenty can happen before Election Day, so it’s not time to get ahead of ourselves over one poll, but you can’t discredit it either.

Despite the positive response to Christy Mihos’ candidacy, you would be hard pressed to see Republicans excited about a Republican primary (like the one they hoped for in 2006) since Baker’s announcement. If you look around various social networking websites, or even right-leaning local blogs, the outpouring of blind support for Baker is astonishing, almost as if before his announcement there was no Republican candidate for governor and we were doomed for another term of Deval Patrick.

Republicans are now treating Mihos’ candidacy like an insignificant footnote in this election, when four years ago, they were begging him—nearly on their hands and knees—to be a part of the Republican primary. There is even a small contingent of Republicans using Facebook who are showing their support for drafting Mihos to run for State Treasurer.

Excuse us, but like it or not there are two Republican candidates for governor, not just one.

Charlie Baker has assumed the role of the Republican heir apparent to the Corner Office; but by who, and why? We don’t doubt that the Massachusetts Republican Party, while not officially endorsing either candidate, has very likely anointed Baker behind the scenes as their guy… for quite some time now.

Sorry, but just because the Republicans on Merrimac Street say he’s the guy doesn’t mean they are right. We don’t mean to cast a harsh shadow on the Republican Party, but, it is the opinions of the editors of Hub Politics that our fellow party members should think twice before giving too much credence to a party that can be credited with a downward spiral that has left barely a whisper of Republicans on Beacon Hill. They don’t deserve the privilege of telling us who they think is best to lead our party out of the dungeons.

What happened to the voice of the people? Republicans wanted the people to vote on gay marriage rather than it being forced upon us by an unelected group of judges; yet, the Old Boy Network of the party that gave us Kerry Healey is effectively telling us who we should support rather than giving it a fair shot at a vote.

We at Hub Politics have nothing against Charlie Baker, and have no allegiance to Christy Mihos; but there is something to be said about Christy Mihos’ tagline, “an Independent Republican.” It’s time we all became independent Republicans and start thinking for ourselves, and stop acting like mindless sheep. Hub Politics will objectively cover both candidates, but we believe the Republicans of Massachusetts need to give both candidates a fair chance to earn their vote. Whatever the outcome of the Primary, Hub Politics will accept the Party’s chosen candidate. Until then, we will do our best to objectively cover both campaigns and be equal opportunity critics.

You may still be bitter about 2006, but let’s keep in mind that we are all working towards the same goal. If Republicans want to take back the Corner Office, it’s time we stop infighting and get excited for a spirited primary race. Anything can happen; it’s no time for sour grapes. You wanted a Republican Primary, now you got one.

The Republican Primary has only just begun; it’s not over.

It’s not over.

Interesting

What is Gov. Patrick up to now?

Governor Deval Patrick, who once headed the Civil Rights Division of the US Justice Department, plans to appeal a federal court ruling that allows minority police officers to pursue a civil rights lawsuit challenging the state’s promotional exam.

The Patrick administration filed notice Monday that it will appeal an April 7 ruling by US District Court Judge Joseph L. Tauro to the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Tauro rejected the Patrick administration’s motion to dismiss the suit by 44 black and Hispanic patrol officers from seven departments who contend that the written civil service exam for sergeant is discriminatory.

“We are shocked that Deval Patrick is continuing to defend these exams and opposing our efforts to reform this discriminatory promotional system,” said Shannon Liss-Riordan of Boston, the lawyer for the officers. “With Deval Patrick as the governor, you’d think he’d be trying to fix this problem, rather than throw away the state’s money litigating it.”

Kyle Sullivan, a spokesman for Patrick, said in a statement that the governor “believes that all citizens in the Commonwealth should be afforded the same opportunities for employment.” Nonetheless, the administration, represented by Attorney General Martha Coakley, is seeking dismissal of the claims because the officers are employees of cities and towns, not the state, Sullivan said. Tauro rejected that position.

The lawsuit, which the officers unsuccessfully asked the judge to certify as a class action claim, is scheduled to go to trial next month.

At issue is a multiple-choice promotional exam prepared by the state Human Resources Division and used by about 200 police departments across the state, said Liss-Riordan. The 44 plaintiffs are patrol officers who took the exam since 2005 but have not received promotions. They work in police departments in Boston, Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen, Springfield, Worcester, and the MBTA Transit Police.

The officers say that the exam, which relies heavily on rote memorization of facts about law enforcement, discriminates against members of minority groups and has prevented advancement within the ranks. As a result, they said, supervisors in departments do not reflect the diversity of their communities.

In Lawrence, where minority groups make up three-quarters of the population, only two of the 39 police supervisors were members of minority groups, the officers said when filing the suit in September 2007. Methuen, which is more than 10 percent minority, had no minority members among its 25 supervisors, the suit said.

UPDATE: More from the Herald and Globe.

SECOND UPDATE: From Michael Graham.

THIRD UPDATE: More from Holly Robichaud, Mass. News Platoon, the Seattle Examiner, Somerville News, New Hampshire Business Review, the Herald and the Globe.

FOURTH UPDATE: From the Globe and Herald.

Public Enemies

Michele McPhee vs. Gov. Patrick.

So, Deval Patrick wants lawmakers on Beacon Hill to “speak the truth” about the Bay State’s grim financial outlook.

Okay, Governor, let’s speak the truth. The truth is that within days of taking office, Patrick attempted to appoint a campaign fundraiser to the $75,000-a-year job of working as a personal secretary for his wife Diane.

That ill thought out plan was barely scuttled when he picked out a fancy Cadillac, and told the press that he was forced to upgrade the governor’s ride because Ford no longer made the Crown Vic — which of course was not even close to the truth.

Then there was the $55,000 upgrade to his office, courtesy of the taxpayer, and the unrelenting junkets, including one to China that cost us $250,000. While he was in the Orient, Patrick picked out an office in Beijing. That’s right. Beijing.

Right now, we are paying rent on office space in China, and you will be happy to hear that, “in addition to the state’s Beijing office, Massachusetts will maintain a satellite contact office in Shanghai,’’ according to the state’s own press release. What a relief.

We also pay for an office for Patrick in Washington D.C. — just in case he decides to go on an interview for a shot at a seat on the Supreme Court.

Then, of course, there are the patronage appointments that do not end. First his neighbor landed a $120,000-a-year job that never existed before. Then there was the Marian Walsh debacle. Between those two incidents — which I would argue are bordering Mafia-like corruption — there were other campaign contributors and Patrick supporters rewarded with contracts and jobs.

UPDATE: More from Holly Robichaud, the Globe, Herald and USA Today.

SECOND UPDATE: From Jon Keller, the Globe and the Herald.

THIRD UPDATE: More from the Globe, WBZ and the Herald.

FOURTH UPDATE: From the Herald and Holly Robichaud.