Everyday people–and not just advocates deep in the trenches–are seeing that things need to change.
Jonathan Cohn
Posted inOpinion
Some hopeful signs, but still a long way to go on legislative transparency
Rules reforms are step one in a wider cultural change needed in the Massachusetts State House, one in which rank-and-file legislators must be willing to be more proactive and to remember that they ultimately work for their constituents, not for anyone else.
Posted inOpinion
A right turn for Democrats is a wrong turn
As progressive stalwarts like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont have emphasized, lack of trust or goodwill from voters stems from the Democratic Party’s history of not delivering on its promises to working people.
Posted inOpinion
In narrow Decker win, a pointed message to her and Legislature
Veteran Cambridge state Rep. Marjorie Decker eked out a razor-thin 41-vote victory in this month’s Democratic primary. The fact that the race was so close underscores the discontent among her constituents with the Beacon Hill status quo.
Posted inOpinion
A New Year’s resolution: Make Mass. affordable
The big $1 billion tax cut celebrated by Beacon Hill leaders this year was, for the most part, a regressive giveaway to the already well-off, costing the state millions of dollars that could otherwise be used to support low-income people and the middle class.
Posted inPolitics
For Mass. Democrats, a troubling gap between party platform and practice
THIS WEEKEND, thousands of Democrats from across the Commonwealth will be descending upon Worcester (or joining virtually) for the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s annual convention. As a nominating convention, it will […]
Posted inOpinion
House should pass same-day voter registration
LAST WEEK, Congress and the Biden Administration failed to advance federal voting rights legislation, prompting pundits and politicians to re-iterate the necessity of advancing legislation to strengthen voting rights and […]
Posted inOpinion
Same-day voter registration can help invigorate democracy
OVER THE PAST couple of weeks, many pundits and politicians have lamented the low turnout in our local elections. Indeed, if turnout in our local elections is rarely exceeding 30 […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to bring transparency to the Legislature
IN 2016, when the Massachusetts Legislature updated the state’s public records laws, they chose to punt on the issue of how such laws should apply to themselves. Indeed, Massachusetts remains […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t expect change for the better under Mariano
ALL SIGNS POINT to House Majority Leader Ron Mariano being elected the next speaker of the Massachusetts House. What does a Mariano speakership mean for a progressive policy agenda in […]
Posted inPolitics
Mail-in voting was huge success; let’s keep it
ON SEPTEMBER 1, Massachusetts voters broke a record. Whether by mail, by dropbox, or in person, 1.7 million voters cast a ballot for our state primaries, exceeding the previous record from 1990. To put this […]
Posted inPolitics
We must act now to protect the primary election
THE MASSACHUSETTS STATE primary on September 1 is now less than 100 days away. If we want to avoid the horror stories we’ve seen from states like Wisconsin and Florida, then […]
Posted inEconomy
A stronger state safety net is part of the cure
LIFE UNDER QUARANTINE can easily cause many of us to lose track of time. But one date we should remember is this: Today marks one month since Gov. Charlie Baker issued […]
Posted inOpinion
A New Year’s resolution for the Mass. House
THERE WAS SOMETHING different about the start of this legislative session in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. It wasn’t the composition: Yes, Democrats did manage to flip two seats, but […]
Posted inOpinion
Election Day voter registration is good for democracy
TODAY — THE FOURTH Tuesday of September—is National Voter Registration Day. It’s also the day that Boston voters will go to the polls for hotly contested preliminary elections for City […]
Posted inOpinion
Don’t let corporations limit our policy ambitions
LAST SESSION, one of the only significant bills that Massachusetts legislators passed before budget season was sweeping legislation to raise their own pay. By contrast, this year, the Legislature has […]
Posted inOpinion
Beware of Rodrigues’s ‘boring middle’
OVER THE PAST few legislative sessions, progressives have looked to the Massachusetts Senate as a beacon of progressive policymaking. Across a range of issues, the Senate has been willing to […]
Posted inOpinion
A resolution for Legislature: Finish last year’s work
IN A FEW short days, the next legislative session in the Massachusetts State House will begin. New legislators will be sworn in. The governor will give his State of the […]
Posted inOpinion
House’s Trump working group hasn’t done much
LAST MARCH, a self-described “deeply worried” Speaker Robert DeLeo created a nine-member working group to guide responses to the “unprecedented actions” of the Trump administration. The group, led by House […]
Posted inOpinion
Fiscal irresponsibility from Mass Fiscal Alliance
IN DECEMBER, when you open your mailbox, you’re used to the usual flow of holiday cards from relatives and old friends, as well as end-of-year fundraising solicitations. However, residents of […]
Posted inOpinion
Make National Voter Registration Day worth celebrating
TODAY IS National Voter Registration Day. It also happens to be the day of Boston’s preliminary election. But there’s one way that Boston residents won’t be able to celebrate today’s […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Democratic supermajority not so super
IN THE YEAR FOLLOWING a presidential election, the Massachusetts Democratic Party updates its platform. A party platform can stand as a defiant statement of goals and ideals, and a roadmap […]