… As we’ve got a cockroach problem here in Massachusetts. (Fraudulently) appointed House of Lords life peer Paul Kirk (address him as Lord Kirk) just can’t be trusted to leave office at 12:01am Wednesday. Instead, this creep is going to fight to remain in power until forced out.
In fact, I suspect if he could get away with it, the special election would be cancelled and Kirk would serve out the rest of Kennedy’s term. Even Martha Coakley is a threat to this mega-creep.
Democrats in Massachusetts have talked about delaying Brown’s “certification,” should he defeat Democrat Martha Coakley on Tuesday. Their aim would be to allow Kirk to remain in the Senate and vote the health care bill.
But based on Massachusetts law, Senate precedent, and the U.S. Constitution, Republican attorneys said Kirk will no longer be a senator after election day, period. Brown meets the age, citizenship, and residency requirements in the Constitution to qualify for the Senate. “Qualification” does not require state “certification,” the lawyers said.
An appointed senator’s right to vote is not dependent on whether his successor has been certified, the lawyers said. In Massachusetts, the election of a senator must be certified by the governor, the governor’s council, and the secretary of state – all of them Democrats.
If Brown wins narrowly and a recount is being conducted, Democratic lawyers might claim that he hasn’t been “duly elected.” Republican attorneys believe, however, that a candidate has actually been elected, though it won’t be clear who that is until the recount is completed. In Massachusetts, a recount can occur if the margin of victory is less than half a percent of the total vote.
Republican lawyers have examined Massachusetts particularly to find the rules governing a recount. They also studied the law passed after Kennedy’s death on a Senate successor.
At The Hill, Kirk makes it appear he supports an orderly transition, but one that gives him at least ten extra days in office. It’s when one reads between the lines in the confusing scenario he presents that it becomes clear he’ll be happy for extra time should the Dems succeed in pulling a Franken-Gregoire (recounting votes endless until their candidate wins).
Barnes is correct: Kirk is out no matter what happens. Tuesday MUST be his last day, even if he has to be forcibly removed from the Senate chamber.
Beacon Hill legislators created a monster in the appointment of Kirk, a factor that may be contributing to Coakley’s weakness. I saw this point cited on today’s Meet The Press.
A just-released Rasmussen Poll shows the US Senate special election to be a horse race, a virtual tie. As opposed the last week’s survey from the same outfit showing Democrat Martha Coakley nine points ahead, this one has that lead trimmed to just two: a statistical dead heat.
One key: this one asked about huckster “Joe Kennedy” by name, while the previous survey threw him into “some other candidate” territory. It appears Kennedy really does take votes from Coakley when his name is included:
The Massachusetts’ special U.S. Senate election has gotten tighter, but the general dynamics remain the same.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley attracting 49% of the vote while her Republican rival, state Senator Scott Brown, picks up 47%.
Three percent (3%) say they’ll vote for independent candidate Joe Kennedy, and two percent (2%) are undecided. The independent is no relation to the late Edward M. Kennedy, whose Senate seat the candidates are battling to fill in next Tuesday’s election.
Coakley is supported by 77% of Democrats while Brown picks up the vote from 88% of Republicans. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, Brown leads 71% to 23%. To be clear, this lead is among unaffiliated voters who are likely to participate in the special election.
A week ago, the overall results showed Coakley leading by a 50% to 41% margin. The closeness of the race in heavily Democratic Massachusetts has drawn increasing national interest, and Brown made it clear in the final candidate debate last night that a vote for him is a vote to stop the national health care plan Democrats are pushing in Congress.
In addition, Michelle Malkinhas the story on ringers who were paid to wave signs for Coakley outside last night’s debate. One admits he’s actually a Brown supporter!
Finally, in this clip also from Fleming & Hayes, Coakley’s arrival is met with shouts of “Go, Scott, Go!”, while Brown supporters are suddenly pushed aside by thugs:
Felon Finneran’s stubborn bid to regain his ability to practice law has once and for all been snuffed out. The Dem-friendly Supreme Judicial Court didn’t side with one of its own this time, ruling the former House speaker should be permanently disbarred.
Finneran, who pled guilty in 2007 to obstruction of justice, had sought a lesser punishment of suspension, but the court sided with the Board of Bar Overseers. “(Finneran’s)” misconduct implicates both the integrity of the judicial system and the honesty of a member of the bar,” Justice Margot Botsford wrote for the court.
“We have no reason to disagree with the finding that (Finneran’s) conduct during the voting rights lawsuit represented an aberrant event in his long career of serving his constituency and the public with loyalty and distinction. But the respondent was convicted of a serious crime involving false testimony to a court under oath in a significant case about fundamental rights.”
The decision is retroactive to Jan. 23, 2007, the date when Finneran’s law license was temporarily suspended.
Finneran pled guilty in 2007 to making misleading statements under oath about a redistricting plan that was challenged by advocates for minorities. In arguing for suspension rather than disbarment, Finneran’s attorney said his 26-year career in public service, as well as testimony asserting that Finneran’s crime was “aberrant” from his normal conduct, should mitigate his punishment.
The big question: is he now locked in at WRKO? The program is as boring as ever, it’s astounding he’s still there after three long years. What motivates Entercom in their desire to keep him on their schedule?
The bottom line: it’s a great day to be Howie Carr.
For days when you find The Globies just aren’t partisan enough, try enduring an issue of the Patriot-Ledger and its flunky sister papers scattered across various towns in the region.
The Patriot-Ledger combines the establishment-backing elitism of the Boring Broadsheet with a dippy, no-questions-asked approach to covering the Bay State’s ruling class.
Today’s edition has a fantastic example, but there’s far more to this than mere media bias, it really points to the brain rot that has infected Massachusetts political life.
SCITUATE — U.S. Sen. Paul G. Kirk urged a group of middle schoolers to make life a learning opportunity.
Kirk, who was appointed on an interim basis to the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Edward M. Kennedy in August, visited the Inly Montessori School on Friday at the invitation of literature teacher Shelley Sommer. She worked for him at the John F. Kennedy Library.
“Whatever you do in life, don’t waste your time,” Kirk told about 40 students from Inly School and the Thacher Montessori School of Milton.
Kirk said he made the visit in hopes of inspiring students to volunteer and do community service work rather than be idle.
Phoebe Knox, an eighth-grader from Scituate, asked Kirk to describe the positives and negatives of being a senator.
Kirk said differences between political parties are disappointing.
“There’s not enough working together,” he said. “Working across the aisle is missing.”
Kirk told students he believes President Barack Obama is committed to a government health-care plan and that he agrees with the government bailouts to stimulate the economy.
Parents and teachers said students learned a lot from the visit.
“It’s an incredible honor that someone of that status would come to this little school,” said Holly Clifford, an Inly School parent.
So what did our children learn from Phony Senator Kirk?
— That success in life isn’t earned, it’s seized through connections to sleazy politicians.
— That “democracy” has outlived its usefulness, leading to a Senate chamber that looks more and more like the House Of Lords.
— That adults in Massachusetts have been conditioned to believe that decision-making is best left to appointed rulers, as we are not intelligent enough to think for ourselves. Accept the burden of a massive government bureaucracy and the hefty bill that comes with it (which will be covered by our children and grandchildren).
A creep like Paul Kirk has absolutely nothing of value to teach our children, can we at least keep him out of local schools?
— How does a US Senate vacancy represent an “emergency”? Because Beacon Hill corruptocrats didn’t get the necessary two-thirds approval, Governor Deval Patrick must now request emergency permission from the secretary of state to make the appointment immediate. This is a stretch to say the least.
Thanks, Rose Kennedy Schlossberg, for so accurately representing your family’s sentiments toward the little people of Massachusetts.
That middle finger aimed out the window during Ted K’s motorcade perfectly sums up the situation: we’ll behave any way we like, while you will continue to reward us with eternal political power, all because of our “royal” surname.
Though The Globies and their apologists are ready to turn the US Senate into the House of Lords, with its former tradition of hereditary peerages, opposition researchers representing a number of candidates will be pounding away at Joe’s shady background.
For its part, talk radio has a chance to be relevant: it may not be able to revitalize a moribund GOP, but it could easily stop Joe with a bit of effort.
Also in target range: Beacon Hill’s Corruptocrats. Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg’s ill-fated, clumsy “run” for the vacant Senate seat in New York helped to damage Governor Paterson’s public standing beyond repair. Ultimately, he was stuck in a lose-lose position and made a different selection.
How our legislature and governor proceed from here could absolutely imperil their respective political careers as well. Let the implosion begin!
The day we’ve been dreading for so long is finally here:
- The Globies have already remade Ted Kinto a saint. Expect the next thundering editorial to be aimed at the Pope for his slow pace in deifying the late senator.
- Don’t believe for a moment that Democrats have time for genuine mourning, the internal war over his successor is already underway. Calls to rewrite the 2004 law in order to provide their party with the advantage of incumbency will grow louder, especially from The Globies.
- As nonbelievers are singled out for scorn after making “insensitive” statements about Ted K, watch for the “gotcha” game to begin.
- Even token conservative Michael Graham’s WTKK-FM slot has been overtaken by flaky quasi-liberal talk today. A touchy-feely weekend advice talker is filling-in and providing syrupy, sugar-coated love letters to Ted K. No wonder the ratings are in the toilet.
Here’s a letter from a SaveWRKO reader:
WTF? Today of all days, you would think WTKK would want a news / political person — Dan Flynn maybe?
Even if there were not major breaking news, does it make sense to have a self-help guru covering a political talk show? Does Dr. Laura ever fill in for Rush? Maybe Dr. Dean Edell can fill in for Jay next time he’s on vacation. It’s been almost a week since he hasn’t had one.
It takes a lot to get me to listen to WRKO when Howie isn’t on, but the suits at ‘TKK are making it easier and easier.
— Perhaps trying to one-up WTKK’s leftward shift, WRKO actually dumped Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham today, replacing them with convicted felon Tom Finneran, the corrupt former Democratic House Speaker.
Ted K’s passing provides the elitist, establishment media a chance to flex its muscles, perhaps for the last time. Don’t think for a moment The Globies aren’t prepared to take full advantage of this opportunity to sustain and promote political corruption in Massachusetts.
Clearly, Massachusetts Corruptocrats have learned nothing from California’s overwhelming rejection of tax-and-spend initiatives Tuesday. The attempt by Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic-controlled legislature to shove this bloated excess down their throats failed uniformly across the state.
Focus groups run by the “yes” campaigns were so uniformly negative that consultants thought there was a problem with the groups.
“We moved to different cities and tried different questions, but we got to the same place with every group,” said Gale Kaufman, a consultant for education groups supporting the ballot measures. “People sent a very simple message: ‘It’s not our job.’ ”
Even before the election, focus groups were sending a clear message to Sacramento: after a wild spending spree, you created this mess. Now that it has become unmanageable, you want us to fix it?
In the Bay State, the key difference is that politicians aren’t inclined to place anything on the ballot when they can simply sneak in big tax hikes during a late-night session.
But the public anger is the same: anyone assuming Massachusetts taxpayers are going to roll over and play dead (like they usually do) may be proven wrong this time.
In today’s Herald, even WTKK’s Margery Eagan gets it, to the point where she’s quoting Howie Carr in her column. An excerpt:
The Tax Stealers - aka, our legislators - just did again what they do best: Tell us taxpayers to drop dead.
And we taxpayers just did what we do best: play dead.
Reform before revenue! That’s been Senate President Terry Murray’s mantra.
Guess that’s gone by the boards.
Several dutiful taxpayers told me yesterday they’re doing all they can to fight back: e-mailing and calling to harass The Stealers.
Either The Stealers ask for lots of personal information before responding, or they don’t respond. Or they send a form letter answering nothing. Or they do call back, and lie.
Outraged small businesses and tax watchdogs promised yesterday they’ll be heard on the hikes, be it at a rally planned for the State House steps today or at the voting booth in November.
“It’s completely out of control,” said Barbara Anderson, executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation. “The only thing they care about is not getting re-elected. We have to throw them out.”
Corie Whalen, who organized the conservative anti-tax Tea Party in Boston last month, invited anti-tax citizens to gather at the State House starting at 11 a.m. today.
“They’re misleading people when they act like necessary cuts have to be made when they haven’t worked to clear up real waste,” Whalen said.
Jeff Golden, a buyer at Downtown Wine & Spirits in Somerville, said the vote to remove the sales tax exemption from liquor at package stores means many smaller shops would close their doors.
“It’s frustrating for a smaller place. We’re operating on the margins already,” said Golden. “We’re going to have a hard time convincing people to come here when they can get it for less in New Hampshire.”
In the end, it’s not enough to simply write columns about unfair tax increases. How about using that microphone? It’s right there in front of you.
How do you fault Bush and the GOP for this? We know they’ll try. In fact, newly arrested Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner is already blaming a racist conspiracy by the FBI, according to The Globies.
Fair enough, Chuck: there’s a whole list of white Democrats who deserve to be the next to go, starting with Therese Murray and Mayor-For-Life Menino.
By the way, you won’t see Turner’s party affiliation anywhere in today’s news stories, so I looked it up: he’s apparently a Green Party member.
Our corrupt legislature must be quite pleased today that the gay marriage initiative didn’t appear on the Mass ballot, especially after seeing it pass in three other states.
While California is often compared with Massachusetts, yesterday’s Golden State ballot proposition results were amazingly conservative. And in what must come as a shock to white liberals, high black and Hispanic turnout is the reason cited for the rightward shift.
The sad truth for white “progressives” is that many ethnic minority groups hold conservative views on social issues, even while they vote for liberal Democrats. That factor only partly explains the split results, however.
— Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage, passed 52% to 48%, despite polls showing it miles behind.
