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January 17th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Oh yeah lynne I really feel confident that Martha Fakely will hold the big pharma responsible and put pressure on them when she is in Washington at a fundraiser taking their money. You are right about one thing this election is vitally important. Apparently you do not believe in checks and balances because you feel they need the supermajority. We need Scott Brown to win. First of all he knows how to spell Massachusetts, important when writing a bill. More importantly we need to stop this health care bill which will further bankrupt an already broke country. Obama, Pelosi and Reid want to make us a quasi socialist country, if you don’t believe it you are not paying attention, he does not care about terrorism, sorry(man made disasters) witness his lukewarm response to Christmas day and headed back to the golf course. These are frightening times in Washington and we need a real person not a faker like Martha. I spoke to a prominant decmocrat Friday night. He has held high elective office and despises Coakley and said he will not vote for her and thankfully I have heard that from many democrats. Let me ask you is it Martha Coakley that you feel so strongly about or just the agenda and who will support it? If its the latter I feel sorry for you.
January 17th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Martha Coakley ran probably the worst campaign in this region since Kerry Healey. The trouble is, she wasen’t even running a campaign until Brown gained in the polls. Her arrogance thought that the election was over when she won the primary. She, and the Democratic Party for that matter, could care less about the people of Massachusetts. She never thought the election would be close, so she didn’t even bother asking for our votes. Or for our support. She was too busy having expensive dinners with her lobbyist friends down in Washington.
I still have yet to hear one argument why I should vote FOR Coakley. All we have heard is why we should not vote for Brown. The downright viciousness and nastiness that Coakley’s campaign has become has been very disapointing to the people, to say the least. This is what it has come down to for her, this is how she and the democratic machine do anything to win. Funny, becuase nobody seemed to care about the people until last week.
I respectfully disagree with most of what is said, above. It is nothing but a last, desperate attempt to save a sinking ship. This election goes beyond the issues. It brings up the point of the Senate seat itself. Does a Senate seat become someones seat for life? Or a political parties seat for life? Coakley never wanted, cared, or asked for my support. She has given us NO reason why we should vote for her. Brown, clearly being in the minority political party, will have to respresent the views of We The People, and who will vote based on our views, not the Democratic machines views.
Democrats have been running this state for years, and the population in this state continues to decline year after year. What we have now isn’t working, and the people know it.
Next Tuesday, vote for change against the machine and vote for the true independant who actually wants your support.
January 17th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Well, “openyoureyes,” (maybe you should change your nick?) she did plenty of holding those companies and others accountable as AG. Just saying.
No, she’s not my ideal populist Dem. So what? She’s still going to vote with my guys 90% of the time, INCLUDING against big PHarma or whoever else.
Robby, I don’t deny she should have worked it earlier. However, NO ONE was really campaigning during the holidays much, and no one was paying attention. The holidays, if you recall, were a scant couple of weeks ago. Should she have gotten more on the ball? Yes. Does that mean she won’t be a vaaaaaaastly better legislator than RepubliClone Brown? Hell no.
Brown is the machine, honey, you can’t deny that. It’s just a different machine - one that HAD the country in a lock grip for 8 years and f-ed it up bigtime. No thanks.
And, you wouldn’t vote for Coakley even if she HAD asked for your vote personally, by knocking on your door, so who are you kidding?
Coakley vicious? I thought we’re allowed to talk about Brown’s stances and his record. That’s nasty? Ha. Maybe you should have got yourself a more defensible candidate then.
And anyone who spouts the Republican’t line regarding terrorism isn’t a studier of HISTORY…or reality, for that matter.
January 17th, 2010 at 3:58 pm
how can anyone take you seriously when you are getting funding from the Obama stimulus package for your business. I don’t care how much it’s still a conflict! I was told that you reported this on your blog and I feel it ruins your credibility. As far as George Bush having his fingers in his ears, what about Bill clinton when he was told where Osama Bin Laden was hiding and did not get off the golf course, where were his finger probably trying to sexually molest Juanita Brokerick(accused him of rape) Paula Jones, Gennifer Flowers, Catherine Willy and the infamous Monica Lewinsky. You are always quick to judge the Bush family and republicans like Scott Brown, but seem to gloss over the shenanigans of the Democrats. Scott Brown served his country in the National Guard for numerous years, he is not an empty suit and I take exception to that remark. Anyone who served for nearly 30 years and is a Lt. Col with many commendations wears the most important suit of them all and it’s far from empty.
Obama served only 4 terms before he became President of the United States, so I feel Scott Brown is highly qualified to be a US Senator. He has served 3 terms as a State Senator
I haven’t seen you comment on the deal made with the uions that they will not have to pay taxes on their health insurance”cadillac plans” until 2018, but anyone else who has a plan that costs over $25,000 will have to pay a whopping 40% tax. What happened to the Obama pledge ” no taxes on anyone making under $250,000″? You call this change? I am sure there are lots of family plans that run over $25,000 and are carried by people making a lot less than $25,000. Talk about a sweetheart deal. We have to keep that support from the unions no matter what it takes. What about the latest “junket” to Copenhagen that cost $9900.00 per hour for each military jet and may run over $250,00 and there were 3 or 4 jets, 315 rooms in a 5 star hotel, meals, and seats filled for free on these jets by friends and family members of congress, all led by Nancy Pelosi(dems and rep). and you think this President really is implementing change at the highest level? This is business as usual from the top down.
Even if Scott Brown does not win on Tuesday and I think he will, he got 14 votes in my family alone, we have to let the Democrats know that they are moving too far to the left and we the people are going to rein them in and let them know we are watching and we vote.
Martha Coakley is the incredible shrinking woman, no time to press the flesh at Fenway with Joe sixpack, but lots of time to fly to Washington DC to attend a fundraiser held by lobbists from the pharmacutical companies among others who want this over the top spending health care bill. She certainly is showing us all how she has embraced the “change” in Washington.
I wish someone would begin the process for term limits on a national level and maybe, just maybe we may get a government truly for and by the people.
January 17th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Sorry but you cant stop the tidal wave of good feelings people get with Scott Brown, say what you want to hes his own man, owes nobody nothing in wash. d.c. and i have nothing against martha, but im tired of this one party state when we have a chance to put a republican in office i jump at the chance, and im a union guy, im an independent voter and most of the people i know are also voting for Scott Brown this is really an easy choice.
January 17th, 2010 at 7:25 pm
You claim Martha is smart. How do you define smart? Judging by the way she ran her campaign, I don’t think she’s smart enough to run an ice cream stand, never mind write legislation.
January 17th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
I think it’s important not to get caught up in the relatively small issues of the campaign and really think about where you want our country to go in the future. If Martha didn’t come to your door, that is unfortunate but that really shouldn’t have a bearing on your vote. If Scott Brown was a male model that doesn’t mean he’s not qualified to be a Senator.
If you are for health care reform, pro choice, pro evolution and making less than $100K a year you should vote for Martha Coakley.
If you are against the health care bill, anti choice, anti regulation and making $100,001 or more, vote for Scott Brown.
So many elections seem to get decided on issues like small personality quirks of the candidates or perceived slights during the campaigns. We only hurt ourselves when we get caught up in these things and then cast an emotional vote that we regret later.
January 17th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
lowellgal, are you intentionally trying to be funny? I mean, seriously. This is pretty damn silly:
A) so not reporting this on my blog would be better? You want less transparency?? Awesome. So I shouldn’t practice what I preach? Really. You need think these things through before you post.
B) Half of American businesses are probably in “conflict of interest” regarding the stimulus. Know why? Because the stimulus was meant to stimulate spending of businesses. So whether you are a restaurant or a construction company or whatever else, chances are stimulus money has flowed through your shop, either directly or indirectly. People who got paid via businesses who hired because they were ramping up projects under the stimulus go and buy lunch with the money they earned. Give me a break.
Are you saying, for instance, Jackie should stop blogging about schools and the federal government because the schools got stimulus? Are you saying that a teacher cannot blog? You are just a peach of comedy today.
As to the rest it’s not even worth answering because it’s tripe.
—
Actually, RE the campaign, I think the wrong people were hired, notwithstanding the fact that NO one really knows how to run a special election race, which is a very truncated timeline. It’s not a good thing, but you’re going to sit there and tell me you think Martha Coakley isn’t smart? Riiiight. She was only the state’s AG, prosecuting cases for years and years, managed to become a lawyer, and ran for statewide office, but she must be a complete moron…yeesh.
Good feelings about Brown…LMFAO. Once they know his background and voting record, those good feelings stop quick enough. Stop talking smack, you might well be eating crow. I know some of the numbers of phone calls that were made on behalf of Martha Coakley this weekend. Trust me, turnout may not well be an issue. If that’s the case, then Brown doesn’t really have much of a chance. He’s way too conservative.
January 17th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Sure, she definitely has had success as an AG, but this campaign has been shocking. I’ve never seen so many gaffes in such a short time. Feisty blog, I like it.
January 17th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
To anyone posting comments: I am not interested in letting through whole screeds in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
So tone it down, figure out how to use paragraphs, maybe, and then we can talk. Til then, you won’t get through.
January 17th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
LMFAO you can spin Scott Brown anyway you like, but many democrats are in panick mode, including you, and the president i voted for, but its too late, enough of the smack talk, people know who they are voting for at this point, lets talk again tuesday night and we will see who is right about this election.
January 17th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
omG, Lynne it’s been a while since I lasted checked in and like I never left! i must admist i miss the crazi-talk.
I’m thinking when the tree falls in this forest… EVERYONE’S gonna hear it!
January 18th, 2010 at 12:18 am
Wow thank you Lowell gal for letting us know that all those comments about stimulus money not trickling down to small businesses is not true! Congrats Lynne, I am glad to hear some money going to a small Lowell business owner. I also think that Lowell Gals comments about how unions fought to not have their insurance plans taxed until 2018 are a perfect example of why this tax is needed. Union employers as well as private employers have paid higher health benefits instead of higher wages to avoid being taxed. A wage is a wage whether it is cash or not! The union is just asking for a grace period to make up for false promises of tax free income in their collective bargaining(their higher benefits in leau of wages). I do however agree that the ceiling should be raised as to not hurt middle class employees. I calculated that my employer pays $21,688 on my family plan and it is not stellar. As a parent of a child with medical issues I have seen exclusions in my plan that would not have been excluded with Mass Health. I wish this was a true universal health plan.
January 18th, 2010 at 12:30 am
I could not be more fed up with both parties at this point.
I hate to say it, but the person who made the most sense to me in the last debate by far was Kennedy. At some point during the debate he said - “Scott will spend money on war, Martha will spend money on healthcare” As someone who is deeply concerned about the financial stability of our nation, there was almost no talk about how the current spending path we are on is not sustainable.
I don’t know the voting records or stances of either candidate in detail, but have a pretty good idea how they will vote when it comes to the big issues.
Watching the ads on TV has been painful…
Martha Coakley’s ad regarding rape victims is a harsh scare tactic that twists Brown’s position to a point that borders on slander.
Another Coakley ad states that “Scott Brown voted with Republicans 96% of the time” I don’t get it - he’s a Republican.
In a more recent ad, Coakley is now talking about tax cuts for the middle class. I see this clearly as a move to pander to the voters. How do people not see through this? At the national level taxes have dropped, and dropped, and dropped some more over the past decade. Given that we are up to our eyeballs in debt what responisble person would cut taxes?
On the Brown side the same thing - He also talks about cutting taxes. What the hell are these people thinking? If you’re married filing jointly and making under $68k AGI (that’s a lot of people in Lowell), your federal tax rate is just 15%.
If there’s a tax issue in Massachusetts it’s at the state level - something a US Senator would not be involved with…
Brown also tries to show that he is taking the high road - saying this campaign should be about the issues - yet watching his ads he could not be more vague, and probably for good reason in a state that votes in Democrats 90% of the time.
January 18th, 2010 at 7:57 am
Nobody knows how to run a special election campaign?
Scott Brown does. And pretty effectively I might say.
On point, with perfect ads, out there campaigning with the people with blue collar support and federal issues that are just giving him everything he needed.
health care, terrorism, corruption
Its fascinating to watch.
January 18th, 2010 at 10:24 am
Effective in bringing out of state teabaggers in to pad his rally numbers…hilarious.
January 18th, 2010 at 10:40 am
As for Martha’s success as AG ask yourself when has she ever gone after a prominent politician. DiMasi, Finneran, Flaherty all taken down by the feds. She had the chance and refused. She loves to blame Wall st. for our financial problems, it was lead by forced bad loans on behalf of freddie mac and fannie mae all to help Barney Frank and his crusade (his boyfriend was an executive with fannie mae, but I know its not P.C. to bring that up.) As for getting direct money from the stimulus I can’t believe that is true. If it is and it appears you are not denying it I am appalled. You are now completely compromised and your motives will be constantly questioned. As a taxpayer I am even more outraged because I would love to know how this stimulates anything other than your own pocket. Just another example of the unmitigated joke the stimulus was and how it has been misspent. Obamanomics, reach in your pocket and pass the money to the LEFT!
January 18th, 2010 at 11:25 am
If you want to accuse me of something then do it. Stop slinking around.
It so happens I was able to hire someone because of the project (which, by the way, is a really awesome project for the community which will help people). Was that not the whole point of the stimulus bill? I’m not the only one who was able to, either. As to being compromised…I will *repeat* myself…again…OK, so you’d rather I not talk about it?
If I didn’t talk about it and it got out (or eventually when the project goes live and people know I worked on it) I get accused of being all secretive and hiding something. But that I speak of it openly so READERS can make their minds up regarding what I write about and why, THAT is wrong too, so you tell me, how the fuck do to win with you people?
I am so tired of being questioned for wanting transparency. I try to practice what I preach and I get shit for it. You know what? I’d be happy to stop blogging tomorrow, if it comes right down to it. I know that’s what you are obviously aiming for, however, so I will not give you the satisfaction. If you don’t like this blog, then go the hell away. I won’t miss you.
January 18th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Get real Scott Brown peeps! He may be a guy that I’d have a beer at Charlie’s Pub on Cabot st. with, but he’s not a man I want representing me in the Senate! I’m with Lynne…Coakley isn’t the ideal candidate, but she’s intelligent enough to do the job…and no I’m not suggesting Brown’s not…I’m saying that Coakley’s closer to my way of thinking! Problem with Brown is that he’s cheerleading for less taxes etc, but we all no that ain’t gonna happen. As for the policy on health reform, putting fear into people never works either…it simply dilutes the truth! Remember this…no matter who wins…WE LOSE!
As for the stimulus package, at least it was an attempt to right the ship…I didn’t see the Republicans offering a single thing UNTIL Obama got elected and put his plans forward.
And as for Lowell Gal’s diatribe, the Bin Laden issue go’s farther back than Clinton…hmmm who was that..oh yea BUSH 1…they ALL failed us….so get those facts straight before launching your scud missles.
January 18th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
I think the problem is that people are so against this health plan that they have forget everything else Brown has voted for or against and that we will be stuck with him after the health vote!
January 19th, 2010 at 12:03 am
I’m not sure how openyoureyes thinks the stimulus was supposed to work or who it was supposed to go to. I guess not to people who disagree with him/her.
As for tomorrow, to quote a friend of mine: if it’s yellow let it mellow, if it’s Brown flush it down.
January 19th, 2010 at 11:41 am
To Mill Girl (comment #7). Scott Brown is a heck of a lot more than a “male model”. He is a State Senator, Attorney, and most important a member of our country’s military. Just because he did a photo shoot for Cosmo when he was in his 20’s in college does not disqualify him for this job. Who hasn’t made a decision in their 20’s that they wouldn’t in their 50’s? And this one is a minor one when it comes to life mistakes.
Let’s look at Barack Obama for example. Did the fact that Barack Obama partook in the illegeal cocaine in college stop him from becoming PRESIDENT? And I think that is a far bigger gaffe. What President Obama did helped finance overseas drug cartels and all the horrors that go along with drug use in this and other countries. I highly doubt Scott’s college photo shoot helped finance the illegel overseas male model trade. Who really cares about it anyway? If the voters didn’t care about illegal drug use this is nothing.
And more important I don’t want to lose my health care plan. And that is what is going to happen. You can take that to the bank. Just like the President promising no tax increase on people making under $250k. This health care tax is going to hit those people. Unless you’re a union member and you got a deal or you live in Nebraska or Louisiana and your senator made a deal to keep your state out of this mess. Calculate that direct tax folks ($23,000 x 40% =$9,200.00) DIRECT TAX YOU’RE GOING TO PAY
I thought the left were the champions of the poor, elderly, and downtrodden. Not with this bill you’re not. Huge Cuts to medicare to Seniors, eliminiation to all home health aids for the elderly and homebound. Jesus, who in their right mind wants this? No changes proposed for the drug companies like buying in bulk and importing less costly drugs from overseas. They get off scott free (no pun intended).
If you have to buy off this many people to get a piece of legislation to pass you have to know someone is getting screwed. And its us. Don’t fall for it folks. Scott Brown is not the right wing radical they’d have you believe. He’s an average guy like us that understands working class people.
The other issue is our National Security. If Coakley believes there are no Al-Queda left in Afghanistan that is really, really, scary. Who the heck are we fighting then? That was just a clueless blunder.
No-one knows what will happen today. But I hope we stop this boondoggle of a health care bill before its too late. All the Democrats are capable of offering are the same failed tax and spend policies of the past.