MassINC is now hosting a reader’s forum on the state budget in Massachusetts and the "point of reckoning" caused by an economic downturn and soaring health care costs. Daniel Winslow, […]
No welfare for people with too many cable channels?
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Where the political earth moved in 1976
In our journey through recent presidential elections, we come to 1976, the high-water mark for the Democratic Party over the past 40 years and the last time that party […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Shhh… don’t tell anyone how much our school cost
The Cape Cod Times reports on the town of Falmouth’s own "Big Dig," a high school renovation project that is only two-thirds complete and has already cost $67 million. According […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Fired or retired? The difference is nearly $50,000 a year
The Boston Globe’s Sean Murphy reports on former Big Dig administrator Michael Lewis, who was able to triple his annual pension to $73,000 as a result of being "fired" by […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Joel Garreau’s Nine Nations of North America
A few readers have commented on similarities between Beyond Red & Blue’s 10 States of American Politics and a 1981 book by Joel Garreau of the Washington Post called The […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, The Download
Electoral College compromise?
Reader Peter Porcupine responded to my post about the Electoral College and the possibility of repeating the 2000 election by suggesting an alternative: There is an intermediate step between the […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
New maps: Democratic primary results as of April 5
Taking into account updated results from several primary and caucus states, here is a county-by-county map on the relative strengths of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton so far. (Look for […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Stats and spreadsheets from the Democratic primaries so far
As promised, here is more data than is good for anyone. There may still be minor variations from official totals, but I think this is about 99% complete — except, […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Legislator collects $306,000 for his 14-mile commute
A state senator in California has collected $306,000 for the hardship of living within running distance from his job. The Los Angeles Times reports that Tom McClintock, who claims to […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Paper beats rock, says western Mass. legislator
State Rep. Denis Guyer, whose district is about as far away from a subway stop as one can get in Massachusetts, is peeved that MBTA vending machines give change in […]
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What’s behind the push to get Hillary out of the race?
The Boston Phoenix’s Steven Stark asks why so many Democrats are calling for Hillary Clinton to end her presidential campaign despite her being so close to Barack Obama in terms […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The battle is on over police details
Blue Mass. Group’s Charley on the MTA calls for a grass-roots effort to abolish the singular Massachusetts sensation of mandating that police officers (instead of mere civilians) stand guard at […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Tough times ahead for Mass. government
MassINC is sponsoring a forum next Thursday that promises some spirited debate — and, no doubt, an audience with some passionate opinions. Will the fiscal crisis encourage the major political […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Where the political earth moved, 1968
In our survey of recent presidential elections, we now reach 1968, which this year could be a scary historical parallel for either Republicans (incumbent party collapses in the midst of […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Where the political earth moved in 1960
As we move into the 1960 election (see previous post on the 1948 election), one of our 10 States of American Politics clearly comes into view. The Northeast Corridor had […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Delaware wins border dispute against New Jersey
I was unaware of a Cold War between the two states, but today the Supreme Court allied with Delaware in its attempt to block New Jersey from building a liquified […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Judas factor in Massachusetts
Hub Blog weighs in on the "Judas" dust-up over Bill Richardson’s endorsement of Barack Obama despite his long involvement with the Clintons:James Carville defends his ‘Judas Iscariot’ attack on Bill […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Four maps: 1948 vs. 2004
As we progress through the presidential election year, I’ll be posting maps and spreadsheets showing how American political geography has changed over the past 60 years, and how those trends […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, The Download
Whatever happened to the Electoral College?
A commenter named Patience argues that Obama is more likely than Clinton to get a popular-vote mandate:I think the Democratic candidate will win in 2008, but I also think Barack […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
What went into deciding the 10 regions?
Thanks again to Michael Barone for linking to the 10 Regions of American Politics. But Barone did say that some of the regions "don’t make much sense to me." That’s […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Casino culture
Despite last week’s burying of Gov. Deval Patrick’s casino bill, don’t look for the gambling industry to go quietly into the good night. The Boston Herald reports today that casino […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Will Massachusetts turn red in November?
Dave Leip’s Atlas of Presidential Election now has separate maps showing current state-by-state polls for an Obama-McCain matchup and a Clinton-McCain race. For what it’s worth, the aggregate of polls […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
Ralph Martin out, John Dingell still in
The Boston Globe is reporting today that Ralph Martin will not run for mayor next year, and the story by Stephanie Ebbert and Sacha Pfeiffer ends with a quote that […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The 2004 Bush swing and the 2008 Democratic primaries
Welcome, Michael Barone readers. (My copy of his Almanac of American Politics is always near my computer.) To elaborate on the point that Barack Obama seems to be doing best […]