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.

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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.

Challenger has a Tsong for Tsongas

Alright, this probably isn't the biggest story out there today, but it is destined to become a classic. Tom Weaver (R-Westford) has fired off this salvo against Fifth Congressional District Representative Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell):

"When will American's learn..." that politicians who can rewrite classic folk tunes and perform them are the next wave. I'm hoping that Tsongas comes back with a cover of a Joni Mitchell tune as a response.

Or maybe she'll just respond with a press release. That's what the National Republican Congressional Committee has done with Tsongas, attacking her for high unemployment. If you read the release closely, it's clear that it is a generic release and that the words "Niki Tsongas" "Tsongas" and "Massachusetts" can easily be swapped out for, say, "Carol Shea-Porter" "Porter" and "New Hampshire" or any number of other Democrats being targeted by the NRCC.

For her part, Tsongas is touting a $43 million loan guarantee for Beacon Power of Tyngsboro to build a "20 MW flywheel energy storage plant, now under construction in Stephentown, New York."

Earlier today, Jon Golnik (R-Carlisle) was a guest on the Callie Crossley Show on WGBH-FM radio.

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.

Tuesday roundup: Good day to spend in the hammock

Another sleepy August day came and went, with little election news to report around Central Mass. Here's what's new...

Worcester County Sheriff
Lew Evangelidis (R-Holden) spoke in support of James McKenna, a write-in candidate for Attorney General.

First Congressional District
Bill Gunn (R-Belchertown) appeared at a rally in Leominster. DaTechGuy has the video.

Ninth Worcester House District
Rep. George N. Peterson Jr. (R-Grafton) switched his vote on CORI reform from yes to no after a provision to allow for "dangerous hearings for defendants charged with felony firearm offenses" was added to the final bill.

Fifth Congressional District
Both Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) and challenger Jon Golnik (R-Carlisle) were profiled at Yes We Will Lawrence.

37th Middlesex House District
Sponsores of the bill to allow local communities to more easily set up their own local electrical utilities--including Rep. Jen Benson (D-Lunenburg) are lamenting the legislature's inablity to pass the legislation before the end of the session.

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.

Women for Coakley say woman for Coakley is not for Coakley because she's a woman

The irony meter started ringing early this morning. Kennedyseat.com linked to a charge from the organization Women for Coakley that a NECN report was sexist for implying that Congresswoman Niki Tsongas might have endorsed Martha Coakley for Senate because she is a woman.

From Women for Coakley:

Reporters assume that if one man is endorsing another man it’s because that man is competent. To then turn around and ask women such a question is insulting and biased because the question’s very existence carries the presumption that the candidate’s qualifications weren’t enough to merit the endorsement.

I have no doubt that Tsongas’s endorsement is based on merit and not gender. But it’s awfully rich for “a small team of women seeking big gains for women in politics,” which is hoping to unleash “the full potential of ‘the other half’ of the population’s unique perspective, talents and leadership” to criticize someone else for asking if gender is part of the decision-making process.

Times and Courier gets health care debate right

Gatehouse Media and its local papers--including the Times and Courier--have been doing a fantastic job the last week or so covering the local discussion on health care reform. Instead of concentrating on the heat of the battle between reform opponents and supporters, Gatehouse has written a couple of articles this week about the substance of the bill and the debate about the bill’s merits.

I realize that actually covering the issues instead of the emotional outbursts shouldn’t be worthy of praise, but the entire discussion about health care over the last three weeks or so has been about death panels and socialists and shouting and near-fist-fights. There has been very little about the actual words of the proposals themselves.

Against this backdrop, the coverage in the Gatehouse papers is refreshing. In their coverage of a town hall meeting held Saturday by Rep. Niki Tsongas, writer Chloe Gostis sets the scene by mentioning the tension in the hall, but then steps beyond the shouting and actually looks into the claims made in the meeting:

But some skeptics like Mary Crantz of Chelmsford, don’t think the government is responsible for helping people who can’t afford insurance or are unemployed.

“This is a land of opportunity,” said Crantz, an Air Force veteran. “Opportunity to work and serve. And the ability to choose. 250 million Americans have the privilege of insurance because they work to pay for it. Please Congresswoman Tsongas, represent the 250 million people who are willing to pay for their healthcare....”

Opponents of the bill have been disseminating information that says the Health Care Commission will decide a person’s plan and coverage. But according to Politifact.com, a nonpartisan fact-checking Web site run by the St. Petersburg Times, consumers can choose their plan and coverage.

Still, some forum attendees said the bill would rob them of their choices.

This is far, far better than what we’re getting from most media. The reporter here takes two sides of an argument and then goes to a source to actually find the truth. Most media organizations stop at presenting the two arguments. They have confused balance with objectivity. Reporting two views is balance. Reporting the underlying facts (in this case a congressional bill) is objectivity.

But that’s not all the Times and Courier has on the subject. On the day before the town hall, Tsongas sat down with the media for what appears to be a wide-ranging discussion of the issue. Yesterday, the T&C posted a long-form interview with Tsongas, complete with a glossary of health-care related terms, a listing of places to get further information, and the contact information for Rep. Tsongas and Senators John Kerry and Ted Kennedy.

Gatehouse media and the Times and Courier are doing an exemplary job covering the issue. Readers and other media outlets should take notice.