Left In Lowell

Democracy in Action

by Mimi at 12:18 pm.

As Kristin mentioned, both her and I were among the 2,500 delegates to the Democratic State Convention which took place yesterday at the Lowell’s Tsongas arena. If you want to read details both Matt Murphy at the Sun and Matt Viser at the Globe were there and their articles gives you a pretty good idea of what happened.

But the only news to come out of that Convention is that this fall, Senator John Kerry will have a challenger, Ed O’Reilley, in the Democratic primary; the first time in his 24 year career. How did this happened?

Well first and foremost O’Reilley worked very hard to get his name and message out there. Then there were some Hillary backers who are still angry at the Senator for backing Obama and wanted to punish him; although I do know of some Obama backers who rewarded him but there were not enough of those to offset the Hillary supporters. Then there were a few who just do to like Senator Kerry. But a lot of the votes O’Reilley received were from people like me who think that democracy means having choices.

If someone does all the work that is required to get his name on the ballot, should he be denied the opportunity because it is a nuisance or force Kerry to remain in Massachusetts this summer when he has more important work to do; like campaign for Obama?

If the Democratic Party is going to automatically anoint its incumbents, then let’s just have Conventions and Primaries when there is an open seat. Let’s not go through all of this. Yesterday, the Massachusetts Democratic Party won when about 575 voted to have O’Reilley’s name placed on the Democrat Primary ballot. A good debate never hurt anyone, on the contrary it reinforces the democratic institutions.

Let the voters decide based on the issues and each man’s capabilities. Now that is what I call an election!

[Filed under MA politics] [link]

6 Responses to “Democracy in Action”

Lynne Says:
June 9th, 2008 at 8:56 am
It’s going to be an interesting summer, to say the least!

Once my brother’s wedding is over, I’ll have to get back to doing the Friday radio show (had to take sabbatical during this very busy early summer). Wonder if I can get both candidates to come in to be interviewed…
Margaret Says:
June 9th, 2008 at 9:08 am
I was undecided, but ended up casting my vote for O’Reilly. He gave a funny,informed, passionate speech about why he should get on the ballot. I loved it when he agreed that his campaign ‘was a nuisance’ and said that King George thought the American Revolution was a nuisance. Democracy is a nuisance! He challenged Kerry on specific issues, which the incumbent did not deign to address (maybe he doesn’t have to, but his speech was less substantive than O’Reilly’s, plus it was a lot longer). Besides the Hillary issue, some people behind me were very upset that Kerry never spends any time in the State and seems to have no time for his constituents.
K-R-S Says:
June 9th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Margaret, Despite the fact that many agreed that Kerry perceptually spends little time on constituent service, they still voted for him.
I too liked O’Reilly’s speech, particularly the end about the Nuisance factor. Viva La Nuisance!
joe Says:
June 9th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I’m a big John Kerry fan, but I think the old boy could use a challenge. Put him through his paces, get him back in the state talking to us.
Fran McDougall Says:
June 9th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
John Kerry looked somewhat like a deer caught in the headlights this weekend. I don’t think he saw this coming, he should have. I vented to him on Friday concerning his rejection of the state primary results by his early endorsemet of Obama. Now we will have the honor of his presence all summer, so if you any pet projects you’d like acted on, he’ll be here for a change to listen. He’ll have to cut down on his wind surfing!
jay Says:
June 11th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
To the underdog, your 12 minutes was great.I agree with Lynne this summer is going down in the history.john it not over until the fat Lady sings.

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June 8, 2008

Democracy in Action

6 Responses to “Democracy in Action”

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