Your Vote Does Matter Tomorrow (…Well, Some of Them)

Massachusetts is written off by presidential candidates. It’s a sure thing.

But there are a series of state elections that your vote does matter…and can have a huge impact on state politics.

Here is my take on the three questions:

Question 1, to eliminate the income tax. Truthfully, how you vote on this is really about sending a message to Beacon Hill. If the citizens do vote to end the income tax, and I believe they will, the Democratic Legislature will just ignore the will of the people, as they have done many times in the recent past.

Question 2, decriminalizing pot possession of 1 oz. or less. Anyone caught with said amount will have to “give up pot” and pay a $100 civil fine. Does anyone think telling someone they have to give up pot is going to work? It’s already an illegal substance. $100 fine is beans. This question sucks. A vote yes sends the wrong message, and it paves the way for the complete decriminalization of marijuana. I predict it will be close, but will pass, even though it shouldn’t.

Question 3, seeks to ban dog racing and betting. The pro-Question 3 effort is spearheaded by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. I have not been able to pay attention to the ad campaign to see who make the most compelling argument. That said, I don’t lose any sleep at night if a greyhound gets hurt on a racetrack. Racetrack owners who are leading the opposition argue the animals are well cared for, and that 1,000 jobs would be lost if this question wins. Sorry, but people are more important than animals. Vote no.

Where your votes can make the most difference is Beacon Hill.

Beacon Hill is nearly 90% democrats. This is absurd. The reason why your vote on Question 1 is meaningless is because of the state legislature has shown time and time again your vote is bupkis–totally meaningless. The “party of choice” takes that choice away from you. You vote for change, and they take it away. Party of the people? Not quite. It’s only natural that we disapprove of the whole government body, but like our particular elected official…but people, please, look at the record of your elected officials. If they are not on your side, don’t give them the privilege of your vote. The only way to reign them in is to bring something resembling balance to Beacon Hill, and yes, that means electing some Republicans. Here is a list of candidates running for election and reelection:

State Senate

Jon Rockwood – Bristol and Norfolk
Brion Cangiamila – Fourth Middlesex
Keith McCormic – Hampshire and Franklin
Sandra “Sandi” Martinez – Third Middlesex
Richard Tisei – Middlesex and Essex
Steve Levy – Middlesex and Worcester
Scott Brown – Norfolk, Bristol and Plymouth
Robert Hedlund – Plymouth and Norfolk
John Lebeaux – 2^nd Worcester
Bruce Tarr – 1^st Essex and Middlesex
Mike Knapik – 2^nd Hampden and Hampshire

State Representative

Don Howell – Barnstable 4
Jeff Perry – Barnstable 5
Fred Barrows – Bristol 1
George Ross – Bristol 2
C.J. Ferry – Bristol 7
Elizabeth Poirier – Bristol 14
Brad Hill – Essex 4
John Blaisdell – Essex 8
Lawrence Brennan – Essex 18
Robert Parks – Franklin 2
William Scibelli – Hampden 2
George Vazquez – Hampden 10
Paul Avella – Middlesex 2
Sonny Parente – Middlesex 3
Arthur Vigeant – Middlesex 4
Dan Haley – Middlesex 8
Susan Pope – Middlesex 13
Brad Jones – Middlesex 20
Anthony Lucacio – Middlesex 22
Jeffrey Bilezikian – Middlesex 29
Brian O’Connor – Middlesex 31
Kurt Hayes – Middlesex 37
Bob Thomas – Norfolk 4
Richard Ross – Norfolk 9
Vinny DeMacedo – Plymouth 1
Susan Gifford – Plymouth 2
Dan Webster – Plymouth 6
Lewis Evangelidis – Worcester 1
Stephen Comtois – Worcester 5
Ronald Chernisky – Worcester 6
Paul Frost – Worcester 7
Kevin Kuros – Worcester 8
George Peterson – Worcester 9
Karyn Polito – Worcester 11

Capitol Hill suffers from a similar problem… but our delegation is 100% Democrats.

US Senate
Jeff Beatty

US Congress
Nathan Bech – 1^st District
Earl Sholley – 4^th District
Richard Baker – 6^th District
John Cunningham – 7^th District

Bottom line, electing mostly or all Democrats is failing this state. If you want change, the answer is clear: send the Democrats packing. If you choose to accept the current state of Massachusetts politics as it is, don’t be surprise if at the next national election we’ll have end up sending a few less congressional representatives to sit in the Capitol.

MA-01: Nathan Bech Holding Town Hall Meetings

Nathan Bech, the Iraq war veteran running for seat currently held by Rep. John Olver (D-Amherst), will be holding a Town Hall Meeting tonight at his campaign headquarters in West Springfield, MA. The event is open to the public and the media.

Bech will be holding many more town hall meetings in the month of August. the schedule is posted in the extended entry. (more…)

Olver Goes Double-Dipping

U.S. Representative John Olver (D-Amherst) has it made. He collects a nice congressional salary and he’s collecting a modest state pension. Life is good for Rep. Olver.

In these days of government penny-pinching, nonstop override requests and an overall sagging economy, nothing really angers the masses like a good, old-fashioned double-dipping hack.

And it turns out that a member of the Bay State congressional delegation is doing exactly that.

Not only is U.S. Rep. John Olver (D-Amherst) raking in a $165,000-a-year salary in Congress, he also takes home a $27,000 annual state pension, records show.

Olver, who has been in Congress since 1991, is a former state representative and senator who served 22 years on Beacon Hill. Before that he was a chemistry professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. His wife, Rose, is a professor at Amherst College.

State GOP spokesman Barney Keller said of Olver: “It’s fine if Congressman Olver wants to Double-Dip with a waffle cone, but it shouldn’t be O.K. for him to do it with taxpayer dollars.”

Olver, 72, did not return calls.

Nathan Bech, candidate for Congress running against Olver, said “if Olver wants to collect his pension, he should at least have the common decency to retire.”

From now, just take one dip and end it.

Rep. Olver Confuses Winston Churchill and Vito Corleone

Congressional candidate Nathan Bech reports that Congressman John Olver (MA-01) incorrectly attributed the quote “keep your friends close but your enemies closer” to Winston Churchill in a speech on Iran back in February.

U.S. Representative John W. Olver (D-Amherst) misidentified the author of the famous phrase “you keep your friends close but your enemies closer” in a February speech on Iran.  Olver attributed the quote to the late British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill.  The saying actually originated with fictional movie character Vito Coreleone, the mobster patriarch of Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather” series.  Puzo did not publish his first book until 1969, four years after Churchill’s death.  The film that made the saying famous was not produced until 1972.  Puzo has said in interviews that the quote was loosely inspired by the writings of Chinese warrior Tsun Tzu.  Olver’s statement was captured on a video obtained by his opponent’s campaign. 

Olver’s statement elicited a strong response from challenger Nathan Bech (R-West Springfield).  “It seems John Olver owes Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro some credit for his foreign policy position. As someone who has fought alongside our Afghan and Iraqi allies, I have a problem with keeping our terrorist enemies closer than our real friends — the Iranian people.  Iran has a brutal regime that suppresses women, minorities and the press while killing American troops. Iranian-backed militias have killed religious leaders, peace activists, and Iraqi soldiers on Iraqi soil. Not only that, but their religious intolerance leads them to question the Holocaust and finance terrorism around the world.  To describe that at the level of a movie quote is beneath a member of the U.S. Congress”, said Bech.

…and yet, it’s such a common attitude of Democrats in congress.