Tuesday Roundup: Harrington's new idea

This week, sister publications Lowell Sun and Sentinel and Enterprise are profiling candidates for the First Middlesex House seat being vacated by Robert Hargraves (R-Groton). Two Republicans are vying for the nomination, and one of them, Sheila Harrington (R-Groton) is advancing a proposal that I've not seen before:

GROTON -- For many workers, landing a competitive job in Massachusetts means they may not be able to work in the same field, should they ever resign or get laid off.

That's because, says Sheila Harrington, many employers ask workers to sign a contract that prohibits them from seeking a similar job elsewhere or starting a business in which the skills and knowledge they acquired on the job might come in handy. The Bay State court is known for enforcing the contractual agreement -- so much so that skilled professionals are afraid to use their talents outside the corporate shadows, Harrington says.

Harrington believes limiting the scope the non-compete clause and the range of workers to whom such contracts may be applied is crucial to creating more jobs in Massachusetts.

"If you want to stimulate more jobs in Massachusetts, you have to be more creative" than simply rolling back the sales tax, Harrington says.

I'm skeptical that there are that many people still out of work because of non-compete clauses. Even so, it's refreshing to see a candidate talk about something different than taxes, casinos, and immigration for a change.

While I don't think reporter Hiroko Sato meant the profiles of Harrington and Connie Sullivan (R-Ayer) to be contrasting pieces, it looks like Harrington is taking a veiled shot at Sullivan when the profiles are read one after the other:

AYER -- Discouraging Massachusetts consumers from crossing the state border is one of Cornelius "Connie" Sullivan's economic stimulus strategies.

Lowering the sales tax would help create many more jobs in the state, and that's evident from how stores were hiring people for the tax-free weekend, Sullivan says....

He supports rolling back the sales tax to 5 percent -- or as low as 3 percent if voters are willing to. That would require the state to scale back on spending, but the state government has "plenty of fat" to trim anyway, he says...

Presumably, the Sun and Sentinel will be looking at the Democratic candidates on the days to come.

On to other things...

Second Franklin House District
The four candidates for the Democratic nomination will face off in a forum at 6:00 pm at the Greenfield Community Television studios. GCT is pretty good about posting their events online, and we will post a link on CMassPolitics.com once it becomes available.

Lee Chauvette (D-Athol) was interviewed by Athol author James Joseph Brown.

Second Congressional District
Jay Fleitman (R-Northampton) tells the Telegram that the federal stimulus was "a disaster," the Gulf oil spill was "handled horribly," and that Afghanistan is "an abject mess."
 
Fifth Congressional District
Sam Meas (R-Haverhill) gave a wide-ranging interview to the Haverhill Gazette. He said the number one reason he is running is:

First, there is a huge lack of choice in Massachusetts. There is one dominant party, and many are running unopposed. It is the antithesis to democracy. We've spent $1 trillion on two wars trying to give them the freedom of choice, but we do not have it here. To me, that's important. If Republicans were the dominant party, I'd say the same thing.

Third Congressional District
The Boston Globe reports that James McGovern (D-Worcester) co-authored a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking her to protect food stamp funding in a proposed child nutrition bill.

Weekend roundup: I've been everywhere, man

It's awfully difficult for a challenger to dominate the media cycle against an well-financed, high-ranking incumbent, but Tom Wesley (R-Hopedale) managed to do just that Friday in his Second Congressional District race against Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield). We'll start with the Telegram, where Wesley was the feature of Friday's candidate profile:

Mr. Wesley explained that these are tough economic times and that people have to be careful with their finances. He quickly added, however, that this election is about more than raising money.

“I see it as my patriotic duty,” he said when asked why he was running. “I'm fighting for unborn generations.” termed a lynchpin election, which means in his opinion the American way of life is at stake and people are angry with what has been happening on Capitol Hill.

In addition, Wesley was all over the radio, appearing on Springfield's WAQY-FM and WHYN-AM. He has also continued videotaping while driving.
 
For his part, Neal has received praise from the unlikeliest of sources. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has endorsed Neal's bill to provide for automatic enrollment in IRAs for employees of small businesses:

The Automatic IRA is a conservative, market-oriented solution to help address our retirement savings crisis. It would increase the proportion of Americans who can save for retirement at work from 50 percent to 90 percent, make it simple for small business owners to offer IRAs to their employees, and create low-cost accounts that an employee can understand and use without having to be a financial expert.

Neal's proposal has also been endorsed by the more liberal Brookings Institution.

Elsewhere...

Third Congressional District
Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) continues to keep the pressure on Congress and the Obama administration over the cut in food stamp aid that was part of the $26 billion jobs bill:

"President Obama pledged to end childhood hunger by 2015," McGovern pointed out. "It's hard to see how you do that while you're cutting food stamps.''

Fifth Congressional District
In the Sentinel, columnist Peter Lucas calls Tom Weaver (R-Westford) "the most qualified candidate you never heard of."

Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) was in Harvard to tout federal funding for a 220-kilowatt solar power facility at Carlson Orchards.

First Middlesex District
Tony Saboliauskas (D-Pepperell) is part of a group trying to get permission to erect a "Support our Troops" sign on town land in Pepperell.

Second Franklin House District
Earlier this week, David Roulston (D-Greenfield) became the latest candidate to criticize the proposed biomass plant in Greenfield.

Middlesex and Worcester Senate District
The communications director for Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) is taking time off during the fall recess to work for the campaign of Ninth District Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston).

Worcester County Sheriff
Lew Evangelidis (R-Holden) recently visited the Hampden County Sheriff to get some tips on programs for inmates.

Cross posted at CMassPolitics.com.
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Wednesday Roundup: Money is on its way

Topping the news today are the reports that Congress passed the jobs bill, meaning $655 million will be coming to Massachusetts. In the Telegram, John Monahan reports that the money will be used to fully fund Chapter 70 education aid and to restore funding to a number of social programs threatened in the FY2011 budget passed late last month. Third District Congressman James McGovern (D-Worcester) spoke in favor of the bill on the House floor:

“At a time when states like Massachusetts are starting to see unemployment rates decrease, now is not the time to pull the rug out from under them,” Mr. McGovern said. “If we were to fail our states and not enact this extension, 2,400 teaching, police and firefighter jobs in Massachusetts would be at risk.”

However, McGovern wasn't completely happy with the final bill. In order to make the $26 billion package deficit-neutral, the House offset some of the spending by including cuts to food stamp programs. According to The Hill, McGovern has pledged to restore the food stamp funds and find another way to offset the spending.

For his part, McGovern has been stimulating the local economy not with food stamps, but with food service. Shaun Sutner reports (second item) that McGovern has rolled up large tabs at a number of restaurants in the Third District. Among those listed in the report was a nearly $20,000 bill at a restaurant in Swansea.

Fifth Congressional District
The Lowell Sun gives Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) credit (or blame, if you prefer) for "push[ing] through an emergency $26 billion jobs bill." Tsongas outlined how the funding would help Massachusetts:

Tsongas explained that the Recovery Act included increased federal support to states to maintain the Medicaid program, due to the fact that as unemployment went up during the recession, more people were qualifying for the low-income health insurance program and states were facing a diminished tax base with which to meet that need.

"Those Medicaid funds are scheduled to run out at the end of this calendar year even though the economy is still on shaky ground and states have not started to see a significant increase in their revenues," Tsongas said.

In other news, Tsongas is also worried that plans to widen I-93 from Andover to New Hampshire may squash plans to build a new interchange that would service businesses in the area.

Tsongas is also touting the endorsement of Veterans and Military Families for Progress.

Sam Meas (R-Haverhill) continues to get national recognition for his compelling personal story, this time in a Richmond Times-Dispatch profile. Meas lived in Richmond for a time as a teenager.

In a column in the Billerica Townie News, Tom Weaver (R-Westford) outlines his plan to cut $596 billion from the federal budget.

Worcester and Middlesex Senate District
The jobs bill could have a trickle down effect on the state legislature. Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster) told the Sentinel and Enterprise that she doubts the legislature will be called back into session to debate the appropriations coming from Congress. If the legislature did reconvene in a special seesion, it could also choose to reconsider the casino bill, which Flanagan believes is dead.

11th Worcester House District
Sutner looks at the race between the seventysomething Kevin Byrne (D-Shrewsbury) and the thirtysomething Matthew Beaton (R-Shrewsbury), and explains how Byrne will make the November ballot despite being left off the primary slate (third item).

Sutner also looks at the unconventional approach of Daniel Dubrule (R-Ashburnham), who is refusing to speak to area rod and gun clubs despite being "a gun owner and professed Second Amendment supporter."

Second Congressional District
Rep. Richard Neal gave a wide-ranging interview with WAMC Northeast Public Radio. The interview ran in three parts earlier this week. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Governor's Council
Fran Ford (D-Paxton) took a populist tone against the propsed closing of courthouses in Leominster and Westborough, anguing in a Telegram op-ed that "it is past the time when we in Central and Western Massachusetts need to tell Boston that 'enough is enough.'"

Finally, look for a major announcement about the future of this site tomorrow.

Monday roundup: "No record of doing anything well"

The most interesting developments this weekend were in the Fifth Congressional District, where candidate/minstrel Tom Weaver (R-Westford) attacked Rep Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) with a song. But there were other developments as well...

Third Congressional District
The Telegram profiled Robert Chipman (R-Plainville) this morning. According to the profile, the mortgage consultant is against the Affordable Care Act, against financial regulation, against the portion of the 14th amendment that guarantees citizenship to U.S.-born children, and against pretty much everything else congress has done in the past 221 years:

“Congress has no record of doing anything well,” he said in a recent interview.

One other note on the profile...reporter Priyanka Dayal wrote "After quietly disapproving of President Barack Obama for years, the always-active voter has also decided to speak up."  While conservatives like Chipman might feel like they've been fighting the President for years, he's only been president for 19 months. Still between 29 and 77 months to go...

Dayal also took a brief look at the race between Rep. James McGovern, Chipman, and the other four Republican contenders.

Second Franklin House District
Candidates continue to weigh in on the biomass plant proposed for Greenfield. Denise Andrews (D-Orange) has made public her comments to the Department of Energy Resources:

...large scale wood burning electrical generating plants, like the 47 megawatt plant proposed in Greenfield, are not good investments or direction for our communities.

There are two fundamental reasons for this conclusion, first, the scientific analysis and second, the desires and will of the people have been made clear. Scientific perspectives and data shared from the Manomet study team, area health care professionals, forestry professionals, and area researchers were consistent, compelling and conclusive. As for the will and desires of the people, Lennie Weeks, from Greenfield, shared beautifully at this forum that the people have spoken and that the will of the people must be respected and supported. The recent Greenfield Biomass vote (8:2 vote) was compelling and clear that the people do not believe the proposed biomass plant or current direction is best for their community.

In a press release (no link available), Lee Chauvette (D-Athol) called on the town of Greenfield and the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs to conduct an enhanced review of the proposal:

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a strict policy entitled the Environmental Justice Policy which mandates enhanced public participation as well as enhanced review of such projects by the Executive Office for communities that fall under this particular program. Greenfield does in fact according to the policy website have a neighborhood that is an Environmental Justice Policy neighborhood....

The Environmental Justice Program is designed to give residents enhanced participation in projects that may cause harm to their neighborhoods...I urge local officials to review this issue.

Second Congressional District
Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield) is poised to introduce legislation requiring employers without a retirement plan to offer an IRA option.

Neal has also pledged to fight for federal funds to restore an historic house in Springfield.

Ninth Worcester House District
13th Worcester House District
Shaun Sutner of the Telegram looks at the explosion of candidates from Central Mass. Included are Timothy Dodd (D-Westboro) challenging George Peterson (R-Grafton) in the Ninth District and Paul Franco (R-Worcester) running for the open seat in the 13th District.

Saturday roundup: McGovern keeps up the pressure on Afghanistan

Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) continued his anti-war advocacy with a column in Friday's Telegram. The congressman explained his vote against the $33 billion war appropriations bill:

I voted in 2001 to go to war in Afghanistan — to hunt down al-Qaida and eliminate their threat. I would cast that same vote today — in a heartbeat. Al-Qaida remains a threat, and we must redouble our efforts to destroy them wherever they are — in Pakistan, in Yemen, in Somalia, and elsewhere around the world.

But what we are doing in Afghanistan today is far beyond that original authorization. We are engaged in extensive, expensive “nation-building” in a very complicated, dangerous part of the world.

And frankly, given the level of unemployment and the severe economic situation we face in the United States, I’d rather do a little more “nation-building” here at home.

Speaking to the Attleboro Sun-Chronicle, McGovern laid out his support for allowing the Bush-era tax cuts to expire on families making over $250,000. "I'm sorry, if Donald Trump doesn't get a tax break it's not the end of the world," he said.

Elsewhere in the Third Congressional District, Robert Delle (R-Westboro) is calling for a boycott of New York City over the planned mosque and Islamic Cutural Center a couple of blocks from the former site of the World Trade Center. I can think of a dozen or more reasons to stay away from New York, but that wouldn't be one of them.

Fifth Congressional District
Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) gave a detailed explanation of her vote against the Afghanistan military authorization.
 
Sam Meas (R-Haverhill) gets his second national profile in a week, as The Weekly Standard checks in on the campaign. Meas characterizes Tsongas as "so convoluted, she’s so out of touch."

13th Worcester House District
Margot Barnet (D-Worcester) introduces herself to the community at Blue Mass Group. She also revvealed that she is a longtime BMG member with a paper trail.

Ronal Madnick (U-Worcester) will be hosting a debate next week between the four candidates for sheriff. Shaun Sutner of the Telegram wonders if having a candidate in one race moderate a debate in another is a "possible election-season conflict of interest."
 
Second Franklin House District
For what it's worth, Madnick won't be the first rep candidate this cycle to moderate a debate for another office. David Roulston (D-Greenfield) hosted a debate between the Northwestern District Attorney candidates earlier this week.
 
First Middlesex House District
In his role as a member of Ayer's Finance Committee, Jesse Reich (D-Ayer) defended the agenda of the upcoming meeting of finance committees across the region.
 
Sheila Harrington (R-Groton) announced some upcoming events. She will be hosting a night of billiards in Ayer later this week, and giving away ice cream in Dunstable and Groton next month.

Thursday roundup: Looking for order in the courts

Wednesday brought the Court Relocation Committee to Worcester, where a hearing was held on proposals to close a handful of district courts, including facilities in Leominster and Westboro. Sen. Jennifer Flanagan (D-Leominster) testified in opposition to the plan:

"We don't have the rail, we don't have the subway, we don't have the trolleys and we don't have the short cab rides," she said. "This is going to hit hard in the city of Leominster."

The Telegram noted that "dozens of people" testified against the proposal, including a number of elected representatives. Congressman James McGovern (D-Worcester) and Rep. George Peterson (R-Grafton) were among those testifying.
Elsewhere...
 
Third Congressional District
McGovern has been busy in the district the last couple of days. In addition to appearing with Rep. Harold Naughton (D-Clinton) in announcing a $250,000 grant to repair a road in Clinton, McGovern also announced a series of visits to local businesses, and checked out another road in need of repair in Holliston.

First Worcester Senate District
Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester) explained her vote in favor of "racinos." Despite her claim last week that she would vote against any bill that included the slot machine facilities, Chandler voted in favor of the final bill, which included the possibility of two racinos. She said she believed that the licensing commission would refuse to issue slot licenses because the governor opposes them.
 
Second Worcester House District
Rich Bastien (R-Gardner) attended last weekend's rally with Congressional candidate Bill Gunn (R-Belchertown) and spoke with DaTechGuy.
 
Worcester County Sheriff
Shaun Sutner of the Telegram looks at the wardrobe choices of the candidates for Sheriff.

Weekend roundup: Senate stays on 15, dares Governor to take hit

As the State Legislature wound down the session Saturday, the big news was not that the House and Senate both passed the compromise Casino bill, but that the margin in the Senate was again 25-15, two votes shy of a veto-proof majority. So, if the Governor vetoes the bill as he has promised and if Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth) calls a special session to consider the veto, gambling supporters need to get two opposing senators to switch their votes.

Locally, it appears that each of the representatives and senators up for reelection voted the same way they did when the issue came up earlier this session. Interestingly, that included Sen. Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester) who voted for the three casino, two racino proposal despite her insistance last week that she would not vote for a bill that included slot parlors for racetracks. As of this evening, Chandler has not publicly discussed her change of heart.

Elsewhere...

Third Congressional District
Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) was vocal in his support for the House bill that strengthens oversight of offshore dirlling. "If you want to apologize for Big Oil, go right ahead, but the American people are not on your side on this one," he said.

Martin Lamb (R-Holliston) unveiled an economic package of tax cuts, including "putting a six-month moratorium on payroll taxes such as Social Security." He could not tell the Attleboro Sun-Chronicle how he would pay for the tax cuts.

Lamb claims he is winning the Facebook primary. According to statistics provided by Lamb and published in the Telegram, Lamb has nearly triple the number of Facebook friends as Brian Herr (D-Hopkinton), his closest competition for the Republican nomination. That and $1.99 will get him a coffee an Dunks.

First Congressional District
The House of Representatives is apparently so upset with HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan that it refused to fund his travel budget. While John Olver (D-Amherst) opposed the measure, he did so tepidly and did not block it from coming out of his committee.

Fifth Congressional District
Jon Golnik (R-Carlisle) has no use for the legal decision striking down parts of Arizona's immigration law.

Sam Meas (R-Haverhill)  took a spin on syndicated radio's The Roger Hedgecock show.

Second Congressional District
Barron's has dubbed the provision Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield) has proposed to close tax loopholes for foreign insurance comanies "Hurricane Neal" for it's potential impact on the re-insurance industry.

Middlesex and Worcester Senate District
Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) was criticized by Glenn Beck, of all people, for his leadership on the bill to apportion Massachusetts's electoral votes based on the winner of the popular vote.

18th Worcester House District
Shaun Sutner of the Telegram suggests that Rep. Jennifer Callahan (D-Sutton) is operating under a double standard when it comes to lobbying and campaign finance issues.

11th Worcester House District
Matthew Beaton (R-Shrewsbury) was photographed on a golf course with President Geroge H. W. Bush and a Beaton for Representative bumper sticker. This earned a "President Bush throws support behind Beaton" headline from Daily Westborough.

Worcester County Sheriff
The Telegram looks at the four candidates for Sheriff.

Thursday roundup: Tsongas tried to keep Schilling's company in Mass.?

Wednesday was slow with a capital "S", so in keeping with the media's tradition of headlining a Red Sox story when nothing else is going on, we start with former Red Sox hero and current businessman/blowhard Curt Schilling. In a discussion with WEEI Radio about Rhode Island's decision to offer Schilling's video game company 38 Studios a $75 million guarantee to move the business to the Ocean State, Schilling mentioned that he'd only received help from one Massachusetts politician:

Although Schilling “absolutely” wished Massachusetts had offered incentives to keep 38 Studios in the Bay State, only U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., made a significant effort to explore the possibility, he said.

“We made every effort to make that happen, and it was not going to happen,” he said. Officials in Massachusetts have said the state would never provide as large a guarantee as $75 million to a single company.

I'm not sure what pull Tsongas (D-Lowell) would have since the state would have made the decision, but Schilling's company is located in Maynard for the time being and Maynard is in her Fifth Congressional district, so perhaps she just saw it as good constituent relations.

In a completely unrelated item, challenger Jon Golnik (R-Carlisle) got the Lowell Sun to publish a story about his call for Tsongas to call for House Ways and Means Committee chairman Charlie Rangel to step down:

"Instead of supporting partisan friendships, Nancy Pelosi, Niki Tsongas and the rest of our elected officials in Washington need to stand up for what is right and demand for their colleague's resignation. People are cynical because once again, members of Congress are above the law," Golnik said in a statement....

"If his colleagues feel he is too unethical too keep his money, then he is too unethical to spend ours," Golnik said.

Tsongas probably has less pull with Rangel than she does with some state development authority, but at least Golnik got an article out of it.

Sam Meas (R-Haverhill) came out against the expiration of last decade's deficit-building tax cuts.

Elsewhere....

Middlesex and Worcester Senate District
Rep. Jamie Eldridge told the Lowell Sun that Schilling never asked him for any help. Maynard is part of the Middlesex and Worcester District.

Third Congressional District
Not only has Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) been all over the news as a leader of the anti-war effort, he has also drafted a letter (along with Democratic Rep. Jan Schankowsky of Illinois) urging Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to call for investigations of war crimes in Sri Lanka.

Wednesday Roundup: McGovern continues anti-war crusade

Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) continues to lead the anti-war effort in the wake of the leak of classified Pentagon documents relating to the war in Afghanistan. The congressman from the Third District explained his vote against yesterday's war appropriations bill to the New York Times:

“All of the puzzle has been put together and it is not a pretty picture; things are really ugly over there,” Representative James P. McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, said. “I think the White House continues to underestimate the depth of anti-war sentiment here.”

Locally, McGovern is sponsoring a poster contest. He'd like someone to create a poster for his campaign. "This contest will allow me to showcase some of the best artists in the 3rd Congressional District,” McGovern said. Apparently all of the best artists in the Third District are Democrats.

The Attleboro Sun-Chronicle reports on a couple of endorsements. Marty Lamb (R-Holliston) has picked up the support of former state GOP Chairman Jim Rappaport. Brian Herr (R-Hopkinton) picked up the endorsement of Robbi Blute, wife of former congressman and current WCRN radio host Peter Blute.

In other news...

Middlesex and Worcester Senate District
Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) supported the Senate bill to apportion all of the states electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote. According to the Boston Globe, he said:

What we are submitting is the idea that the president should be selected by the majority of people in the United States of America...Every vote will be of the same weight across the country.

The bill now awaits Governor Patrick's signature.

Second Congressional District
Rep Richard Neal (D-Springfield) announced that the renovation of Springfield's Union Station can go forward as the federal government has lifted it's funding freeze.

The Springfield Reminder profiled challenger Tom Wesley (R-Hopedale).

Fifth Congressional District
The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune announced that it is sponsoring a debate between the four Republican candidates for Rep. Niki Tsongas's seat. The debate will be August 30 in Haverhill.

First Congressional District
Channlenger Bill Gunn (R-Belchertown) appeared in Leominster yesterday. The Sentinel and Enterprise reports that he jumped into the race because he was upset about the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Worcester County Sheriff
All four candidates appeared in Leominster Monday night at a forum sponsored by the Twin City Tea Party. DaTechGuy has the video of each candidate's presentation.

11th Worcester House District
Shrewsbury.net sat down for an interview with new candidate Kevin Byrne (D-Shrewsbury).

Second Franklin House District
In yesterday's post, I noted that Lee Chauvette (D-Athol) issued a statement opposing a biomass plant being developed in Greenfield. I wrote: "The developers of the plant, Co-op Power, defended their proposed plant (they call it biodiesel, not biomass) in a post at Blue Mass. Group." I received an email from the Chauvette campaign explaining that his opposition is to "a 'biomass' plant being proposed in Greenfield by Madera Power under the name of Pioneer Power," not the biodiesel plant being developed by Co-op Power. I regret the error.

Tuesday Roundup: McGuane out of Second Franklin race, Chauvette opposes "biomass plant"

Lots of news coming out of the Second Franklin District today. The most important (and most inevitable) of which is the news that Martin McGuane (D-Greenfield) who pled to a DUI charge last week has pulled out of the race. Michael Henry of Montague Matters read between the lines of the former candidate's announcement:

In a simple press statement, e-mailed Thursday at 7:31 p.m., the 53-year-old candidate was quoted as saying, ‘Due to health issues and personal reasons, I am withdrawing from the race, effective immediately.’

...He might have done a good job if his “health issues” (read: alcoholism) and his personal reasons (read: piss-poor liar) didn’t force him to withdraw.

McGuane is the second candidate to withdraw from the contest this month. Genieveve Fraser (U-Orange) announced on July 7 that she was pulling out because she had "developed photosensitivity and must avoid direct sunlight." In her announcement, Fraser endorsed Roxanne Wedegartner (D-Greenfield).

In policy news, Lee Chauvette (D-Athol) is opposing the construction of what he calls a "biomass plant" in Greenfield. In a strongly worded statement, he wrote:

“People aren’t just worried about the quality of the air, or the 'eyesore'--such as the stack height of such a project; they’re concerned about their health and the health of their kids and community. These concerns have been voiced to me frequently, and not from just Greenfield residents, but residents from Gill, Erving and even Montague and beyond. It’s not enough to say the issue of Biomass in Greenfield is a 'Greenfield' issue, especially when as a candidate to represent the entire District I have an incumbent responsibility to protect the interests of all citizens.”*

In other election news...

Third Congressional District
Rep. James McGovern (D-Worcester) has been making the media rounds in response to the leaking of classified documents related to the war in Afghanistan. He told Chris Matthews on MSNBC:

"...The documents that were released paint a very grim picture and our men and women who are fighting the battle are doing an incredible job,” said Mr. McGovern. “It’s clear they have no reliable partners. They can’t trust the government of Afghanistan because Karzai is corrupt. They can’t trust the Afghan police or the Afghan military because they’re corrupt. Now we have news that the Pakistani intelligence are working to undercut the American men and women we’re putting in harm’s way. This is an outrage.”

Second Congressional District
Rep. Richard Neal (D-Springfield) continues to come under fire from European governments and the reinsurance industry for his proposal to do away with tax deductions for reinsurers based overseas.

Challenger Tom Wesley (R-Hopedale) has posted a new web ad criticizing Neal for...just about everything.

* -- Update 9:40 pm: In the original version of this post, I noted that "The developers of the plant, Co-op Power, defended their proposed plant (they call it biodiesel, not biomass) in a post at Blue Mass. Group." I received an email from the Chauvette campaign explaining that his opposition is to "a 'biomass' plant being proposed in Greenfield by Madera Power under the name of Pioneer Power." I regret the error.

Anti-healthcare mob comes to Worcester

There are a few things that I have absolutely no use for. I can't stand bullies who shout and intimidate instead of carrying on with a discussion. I have no use for people who won't listen to an argument. And I have no use at all for someone who resorts to calling people Nazis.

So you can imagine what I think of this:

WORCESTER — U.S. Reps. James P. McGovern and Richard E. Neal were heckled and booed after trying to rally support today for President Barack Obama's plan for a comprehensive national health insurance program.

The two Worcester-area Democratic lawmakers were shouted down several times by people attending a packed “town hall” meeting at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

UMass officials threatened several times to end the gathering because of the raucous behavior, which occurred despite a heavy police presence.

At one point, Mr. McGovern was likened by an attendee to Josef Mengele, the Nazi officer who performed experiments on concentration camp survivors.

Look, if people want to oppose the bill, go right ahead. Ask tough questions, be skeptical, let people know what you think.

But why yell? Why attempt to intimidate? Why suggest that our congressmen are no different than Nazi criminals? Because the opponents know they cannot win this fight on the merits.

They know that if the question is whether or not all Americans deserve health care, a universal health care system will win.

They know that if the discussion is about banning insurance companies from discriminating against people with preexisting conditions, the health care reformers will win.

They know that once the American people understand that competition from a public plan will force private companies to cut their costs to compete, a public plan will win.

So instead of arguing otherwise, they attempt to intimidate.

Earlier tonight, Rachel Maddow had a report exposing the medical industry lobbyists behind the "hooliganism."

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Tags: Massachusetts Worcester Health Care James McGovern Richard Neal