\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel at all distracted,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Rep. Jay Kaufman, the Lexington Democrat whom DiMasi moved from the back bench to the House chairman of the Public Service Committee and has defended the speaker. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m very focused, as are most members, on the challenges we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got by way of the economy and loss of jobs, an education system that still needs serious attention, etc., etc., and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sorry that David feels distracted. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
What Kaufman does not appear to understand is that it is impossible for him to work on the economy and education while the government he supports is distrusted by its citizens. \u00c2\u00a0He can only succeed with the support of the citizens and tax payers. \u00c2\u00a0He will not have that support while the government declines to confront its image (and evidence) of corruption.<\/p>\n
Some defenders of DiMasi will say that it is up to the courts to decide if DiMasi is guilty or not. \u00c2\u00a0I agree with the statement, but it is irrelevant. \u00c2\u00a0The only thing that is up for debate on January 7th is if DiMasi is the right person to be Speaker. \u00c2\u00a0At this point, it does not matter whether or not he is guilty. It is unarguable that DiMasi is in ethical trouble. \u00c2\u00a0It is unarguable that he’s declining to cooperate with investigations into alleged improprieties.<\/p>\n
The bottom line:\u00c2\u00a0Do the Democrats understand the degree that the public has lost faith in their moral compass? Do the Democrats have a moral compass? \u00c2\u00a0Do the Democrats want to show the public that they’re serious about changing the culture on Beacon Hill? \u00c2\u00a0Do the Democrats have the guts to change leadership? \u00c2\u00a0In short, do they have the guts to follow Torrisi? \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Of course, I’m skeptical. \u00c2\u00a0DiMasi is going to win re-election this week, and he’s going to hold the title until there is an indictment.<\/p>\n
This is one of those votes that shines a bright light on your representative. \u00c2\u00a0Are they willing to stand for change? \u00c2\u00a0Are they willing to step out of line? \u00c2\u00a0Are they willing to take a stand for an ethical government? I’m not suggesting that you call your representative and let them know what you think. \u00c2\u00a0This is where you find out if they know how to do the “right thing,” without a poll or a phone bank to tell them what to do.<\/p>\n
Watch how he or she votes. Record it, remember it. And take it to the ballot box with you in 2010.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On January 7th, the Democratic State Representatives of Massachusetts are going to choose the Speaker of the House for the ’09-’10 session of the General Court. \u00c2\u00a0The incumbent and presumed winner is Speaker Sal DiMasi. Here’s the problem: The citizens of Massachusetts have witnessed a parade of scandal, corruption, and conspiracy from Mass Democrats. \u00c2\u00a0Sal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-massachusetts","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dandunn.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}