November 26, 2008
One of my favorite episodes of Cheers includes a bit where Sam, desperately trying to prevent Norm from hearing something, loudly clangs the little bell that hangs over the bar -- when everyone stares, he fumblingly claims that it is 'Bell Day.' Later, Sam and Norm have a furious argument, and Coach finally steps in to break it up, barking at them: "You're making a mockery out of Bell Day!"
And so I say, with great personal offense and righteous indignation, that Adam of Universal Hub has made a mockery out of Ask Me Anything Day.
Which I can fully appreciate. I can do nothing else but concede my inability to answer the questions posed. (In fact, I don't even have any good answers to the serious questions posed by Mr. Saklad and Mr. Pahre.)
But don't worry, Ask Me Anything Day will return. Meanwhile, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And Happy Bell Day!
November 25, 2008
I realize that many people are probably already gone for the week, but let's give it a try anyway. Ask me anything you want -- Obama transition, national politics, state and local politics, next year's Boston city elections, anything I've written lately, public policy, criminal justice, rumor, gossip, anything you want.
Put your questions as comments to this post, or email them to me at dbernstein@phx.com, and I will answer in separate posts throughout the day.
I look forward to your questions!
November 24, 2008
I recently pointed out that Barack Obama named two high-level White House staffers who went to gals-only colleges in Massachusetts: Communications Director Ellen Moran (Wheaton) and Deputy Chief of Staff Mona Sutphen (Mount Holyoke).
We can now add Desiree Rogers, who will be White House Social Secretary -- and who graduated from Wellesley, before going on to get her MBA from Harvard.
Have to wonder if there's room somewhere for one of our favorite Smith College alums, Stephanie Cutter, who is currently serving as chief spokesperson for the Obama/Biden transition team.
November 24, 2008
Tomorrow, Barack Obama is expected to announce that (Boston-born) Peter R. Orszog will be his director of the Office of Management and Budget. This is a cabinet-level position, and, if I'm not mistaken, makes Orszog the first post-Baby Boom Cabinet member.
Interestingly, the current OMB director, Jim Nussle, was the first Cabinet director born in the 1960s, according to my rudimentary research. Nussle was born in June 1960. He's not quite the youngest ever, though -- Steven Preston, born August 1960, became HUD Secretary earlier this year.
Tim Geithner, the first actual, official, Cabinet post announcement, is already the youngest ever, at a spritely 47, born in 1961. Still well within Baby Boomer parameters.
But Orszog is by no means Boomer-aged. He was born in December 1968.
November 24, 2008
Chris Faraone reports from City Hall that council president Maureen Feeney has cancelled today's planned 3:00 meetingto discuss the Chuck Turner situation. The meeting may be held at some other time in the future.
Feeney was unclear about the reason for the change, at one point seeming to blame the media for overblowing the event, and at another point suggesting that the meeting was cancelled at Turner's request.
Feeney also announced that she will establish an ethics committee to handle this sort of problem in the future. She promised more details on that next week.
She also stood by her decision to strip Turner of his committee assignments, while also arguing that expulsion is not appropriate when the charges are still just allegations.
November 22, 2008
Bay State native Ellen Moran was named today as communications director for the Obama White House -- which we know is a very important job because we saw Toby Ziegler doing it on The West Wing. Moran was born in Amherst and went to Wheaton College; according to what I could dig up quickly, it appears that she graduated in Spring '88, and Wheaton began accepting boys (ick!) that Fall, so we can fairly say that she attended a Massachusetts all-women's college.
That makes her the second senior-level staffer who can make that claim: Mona Sutphen, Mount Holyoke '89, has been named deputy chief of staff. (That's Josh Lyman in The West Wing.)
Oh, yes, and it appears that Hillary Clinton nee Rodham, Wellesley '69, will be Secretary of State.
November 21, 2008
--If you haven't yet heard, Chuck Turner was reportedly arrested this morning in DianneScam. I suspect many of you had taken him in the office pool. But who's next?
--I want to make it perfectly clear that I have no inside information, have never heard a bad word about her, and am making no accusation or allegation; I'm just saying that if I was a gambling man, my money would be on Goria Fox.
--Just when you thought it was safe to ride the T.... My favorite line is where Grabauskas sez these are surely the only two employees breaking the rules: "As demonstrated in these cases, any employee that violates the MBTA's drug and alcohol policy will be fired." Actually, Danny, these cases demonstrate that any employee who gets into a smash-em-up accident while violating the policy will be fired. (Actually, will be threatened with firing; as with all public-sector union employees, we'll believe they're really fired when we see it.)
--Speaking of disgraceful public-sector union employees.... how's that fire department clean-up project going, Tom?
November 19, 2008
In this week's issue of the Boston Phoenix, I have a lengthy feature about the new mosque (technically the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center) being built in Lower Roxbury. It has finally opened for daily prayers, but that is not the end of the 20-year saga of getting it built; the facility is still far from complete.
Why has it been so impossible to accomplish? And what does its future look like?
Read the story here: Menino's Mosque: The bizarre story behind the construction of Boston's most controversial building
Or go here for a jumping-off point to the article and its various sidebars, including several exclusively on the web.
November 19, 2008
As I'm sure you know, this entire state is abuzz over one topic: the battle for new leadership of the state Republican Party. With state party chair Peter Torkildsen choosing not to seek another two years, and Lew Evangelidis trying to replace Brad Jones as House Minority Leader, you can just sense people all over the Bay State asking themselves: "Really? There's a state Republican Party?"
The Evangelidis-Jones duel will be worked out today, but the chairmanship battle goes on. So, for the public benefit, I offer the following list of questions for anyone seeking that office.
1) In 2004, party chair Darrell Crate put up a huge slate of candidates for legislative races. In 2008, Torkildsen touted a "quality over quantity" approach with fewer, targeted candidates. Both were equally successful. Do you favor the Crate strategy for losing seats, or the Torkildsen strategy for losing seats?
2) With a governor's race and perhaps a US Senate race coming up, what would you do as chairman to ensure that Kerry Healey does not get one of these high-profile GOP nominations?
3) How many people at AMG, Fidelity, and Bain Capital would personally return a phone call from you? If the number is below 40, what is your alternative plan to fund the state party?
4) In 2004, the state party said that its losses were due to a "Kerry wave." In 2006 it was an "anti-Iraq War wave," and in 2008 an "Obama wave." As chairman, what wave will you blame the 2010 election results on?
5) In your analysis, how many Democratic legislators must be actively under indictment or ethics investigation for the Republican Party to gain seats in an election?
6) Looking at the 2010 statewide elective offices other than governor, what are the MassGOP's chances of getting more votes than third-party candidates this time?
7) Mitt Romney moved the MassGOP offices into downtown Boston when he took office. Now that there is no Republican administration to be close to, and no vast sums of money to waste, should the party relocate its headquarters to a less expensive and more politically welcoming location? If so, what state do you have in mind?
8) Some local bloggers are suggesting the state GOP try to separate from the national Republican "brand" by changing its name. Which of the following would you choose? A) Remain "Republicans" and go down with the national ship. B) Change slightly, to something like "Independent Republicans." C) Change completely, to something like "The Fantasticks!" D) Change to "Demorcatic Party" in hopes of getting votes by accident. E) Close up shop completely for several years while the national GOP collapses, and then re-emerge with a "Retro-Republican" brand.
November 14, 2008
It now appears true that Fred Thompson really does want to be chair of the Republican National Committee; Thompson obviously doesn't expect to do any actual work, so the quickly-travelling rumor is that Thompson plans to run as a team with Chuck Yob, long-time political kingpin in Michigan, with Thompson taking a more ceremonial "general chair" title, and Yob actually running the operation.
I can only hope this rumor is true; this could turn the RNC chair battle into a very ugly -- and entertaining -- affair.
As you might imagine, 2012 GOP Presidential hopefuls have a significant interest in who gets picked to head up the party. I assume -- as do others here and there in the rumormongering biz -- that Mitt Romney is behind the candidacy of Michigan Chair Saul Anuzis. (Mike Huckabee has a horse in the race: his former campaign manager Chip Saltsman. Other potential nominees have surrogates in the mix as well.)
You can probably guess that Thompson is not a big fan of our former governor, because of the way reporters were talking about how all of the GOP candidates hated the Mittster. One particular sign was that, after it was clear that he was out of contention, Thompson remained in the Presidential race through the Florida primary in what seemed like a deliberate strategy to draw conservative votes from Romney and help his buddy McCain win that crucial state.
Oh, but that's nothing compared to the enmity between Romney and the aforementioned Yob. Yob headed up McCain's Michigan campaign in the primary against Romney. But that's just the latest. I highly recommend this account (in the second half of the article) of how Yob prevented Mitt's brother Scott from becoming the state's Attorney General in 1998. That was four years after Yob helped defeat Scott's wife Ronna Romney in the Republican primary for US Senate. Do you think Mitt remembers that kind of thing?
You'll also get a flavor from that 2006 story of how much love is not lost between Anuzis and Yob. Since then, Yob attempted to oust Anuzis as Michigan party chair -- Anuzis not only beat down the attempt, but then helped oust Yob from his post as Michigan's RNC National Committeeman, which he had held for eight years.
November 13, 2008
So far we have:
Rahm Emanuel, chief of staff;
David Axelrod, senior advisor;
Ronald Klain, VP chief of staff.
Maybe it's just because I'm Jewish, but am I the only one noticing that Obama and Biden are not so much assembling staff, as gathering a minian?
November 12, 2008
Continuing a trend I've been tracking and writing about for some time, women made slight gains in reaching elected office in the '08 election -- by virtue of more women elected as Democrats, but fewer as Republicans.
Here in Massachusetts, there will again be 12 women in the state senate (although not the exact same 12 as before) -- all Democrats. There will be 40 in the house, up from 38; 37 Democrats, up from 34, and just 3 Republicans, down from 4.
Nationally, the total number of women state legislators will go up slightly, from 1749 to 1784 -- 24.2% of the total, according to the Rutgers Center for American Women in Politics. Again, it was an increase in Democrats (13 more in state senates, 48 more in houses/assemblies), but a decrease in Republicans (down for senators and 22 reps).
The number of women Democrats in statewide elected office will jump from 45 to 53; the number of Republicans drops from 27 to 25.
In Washington, the number of women in the US Senate sneaks up from 16 to 17 -- thanks to a +2 for Dems, to 13, and despite a -1 for Republicans, to just 4. (Thank goodness for Maine!)
74 women in the US House will also be an all-time high, and guess how that happened? Democrats went from 51 to 57, while Republicans went from 20 to 17.
By my count -- not knowing the final results of all races -- it appears that Republicans in Congress will be just over 90% male in the coming session. Yeesh.
November 12, 2008
Apparently you're nobody if you're not mentioned as a possible chair of the Republican National Committee. I've been talking a lot about SC party chair Katon Dawson, who I put on my "25 Scariest Conservatives" list, but there are about 800 other rumored candidates -- not to mention that the existing chair, Mike Duncan, wants to stay on. Dawson's chances might be fading, according to The Hill, because it turns out that at the country club he belonged to for years, the "whites-only" policy was referring to people. Who knew? I'm sure Dawson thought it meant shoes, but you know those Republican National Committeemen and -women, they're all PC about that kind of thing.
Just in the last few days Newt Gingrich and Michael Steele have gotten their names into the conversation, although Gingrich has since claimed disinterest. (So has Mitt Romney, in case anyone thinks to ask.) Steele has risen to prominence, as I have often chronicled, by virtue of his being one of the two black men willing to speak at Republican Party press conferences. Ex-congressman Jim Nussle of Iowa is another name being tossed around, along with several state party chairs. Mike Huckabee's campaign manager Chip Saltsman is running, presumably as the funny-name option.
Today it's Fred Thompson, who I can only wish for given how amusing his Presidential campaign was. Also Michigan party chair Saul Anuzis, who is the tech-savvy candidate, which you can tell because he -- really -- announced his candidacy for RNC chair today via Twitter.
The election doesn't happen until January, so there's plenty of time for everyone and his brother (Jeb Bush?) to go in and out of the rumor cycle. Plenty of lobbying will take place at the Republican Governors Association conference starting tomorrow -- another dwindling GOP group.
November 12, 2008
After two years as state party chair, Peter Torkildsen has looked around at the condition of the MassGOP and decided: My work here is done!
The former congressman seems to have decided that he cannot commit to two more years of this humiliating farce, and has thus announced that he will not seek re-election as party chair. From his press release:
I am optimistic that our Party will regain the
Governor’s office and increase seats in the legislature in 2010, as long as we
put recriminations behind us, and recruit, train and support our best possible
candidates. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve, and I look forward to
continuing to work to build two-party competition in Massachusetts.
By "two-party competition," I assume he means between the GOP and the Green Party. Because when you're being beaten 100%-0% in statewide offices; 100%-0% in US Senate and House seats; and 90%-10% in legislative seats -- that's not really a competition.
I don't mean to pick on Torkildsen, who has always struck me as a decent guy; besides, I'm hoping he runs for Senate if a seat opens, because I want all-out, multi-candidate scrums for both parties to keep me busy -- and lots of third party candidates too!
Jennifer Nassour of Boston has already declared herself a candidate to take over as chair, as PolitickerMA reported. I'm sure some of the candidates who lost to Torkildsen two years ago will try again. Frankly, I don't know why anyone would want the job.
November 12, 2008
I had been wondering whether any New England state might take the prize for highest-in-the-nation percentage vote for Obama (not including DC). In 2004, we swept the medals; Massachusetts had the highest percentage for John Kerry, followed by Rhode Island and Vermont -- but that was with home-field advantage. I thought maybe Rhode Island might take the prize this time, although I suspected heavy competition from Illinois, Hawaii, and Delaware -- 2004's #6 and #9 for Kerry respectively, but now with major Obama/Biden ties.
Here are the 2008 top ten in Obama vote percentage, by my unofficial calaculations:
1) Hawaii, 72%; 2) Vermont, 67%; 3) Rhode Island, 63.1%; 4) New York, 62.33%; 5) Massachusetts, 62.27%; 6) Maryland, 62.14%; 7) Delaware, 62.10%; 8) Illinois, 61.9%; 9) Connecticut, 61.6%; 10) California, 61.1%.
So, no gold medal, but a solid showing. John McCain won a single county in New England: Piscataquis County, Maine (home of Moosehead Lake!), where he got just under 51% and topped Obama by 355 votes. The top New England county for Obama was Boston's own Suffolk County, where he got 77.5%, followed by notoriously hippy-dippy Berkshire County, Mass.; the chardonay-sipping vineyarders in Dukes Count, Mass; and then Windham County, Vermont and Franklin County, Mass.
