Triumphant Return of the Friday Roundup

For the past few weeks I've but the blog on the back-burner, and for some reason I stopped my Friday tradition of clearing my desk of the various stories that have collected over the course of the week. Maybe it was bloggers-block, or maybe I just needed some encouragement. Anyway, here are a few of the things that happened this week that I thought I'd point out, in case you missed them:

• SEIU Releases New Radio Ad. I heard this anti-Healey ad on the radio a few days ago. Now, I'm no Healey sympathizer, but it rubbed me the wrong way. If you folks at SEIU are going to steal from Billionaires for Bush, at least make it entertaining.
• Thoughts on Fall River MCAS Flap. Nelson Hockert-Lotz, a business owner in New Bedford, has an interesting take on MCAS as a graduation requirement. The current system, he says, rewards high school dropouts who can always get their GED after dropping out to avoid taking the MCAS tests. In his opinion, a student who "passes his school classes but fails the math portion of the MCAS five times - and still does not drop out of school - that kid deserves to earn a high school diploma."
• Speaking of Fall River... Foes of the proposed Fall River LNG terminal scored a victory this week. The Rhode Island House of Representatives has voted to effectively ban LNG tankers from most sections of Narragansett Bay. The bill passed the House unanimously, 55 to 0, but still needs approval by the Senate. RI Governor Don Carcieri also opposes the Fall River LNG site.
• Galluccio Out. Cambridge City Councilor Anthony D. Galluccio has quit the race for Sen. Jarrett Barrios' seat. Galluccio had announced when Barrios was still running for the Middlesex DA job, and it was clear that when Barrios instead opted to run for reelection that Galluccio no longer had much of a chance. What are all those cabs with Galluccio stickers on them going to do now?
• Weld Struggling in NY. The latest Quinnipiac Poll has former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld behind in the New York Republican Gubernatorial primary to John Faso 30 - 21 percent, with 42 percent undecided. Democratic candidate and NY Attorney General Elliot Spitzer beats Weld in a hypothetical matchup by nearly fifty points -- 66 to 17. (via Political Wire)
• Where Did I Leave my Keys? Do you have a question? Maybe the NSA can help. They "really listen to our problems." (via BoingBoing)

What else is on your mind?

Bad Day for Bill Weld

Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld's campaign for New York's governorship has hit a few bumps in the past few days (via political wire). First, Weld has lost the support of Michael Long, the chairman of the state Conservative Party, who has endorsed former Assemblyman John Faso. This is actually quite a big deal since no statewide Republican candidate in New York has won an election without the Conservative Party's endorsement in the past thirty years. New York has a fusion ballot, so it will be obvious to every voter whether the GOP candidate has the support of the Conservatives. Weld is welcome to still try for the party's endorsement, but without the support of its chair, it will be a much tougher sell for someone known as a social liberal from his time here in Massachusetts.

Not only that, but according to the Times article, Weld actually end up being a target of investigations into the shenanigans that resulted in the bankruptcy of Decker College in Kentucky, just weeks after he left as its chief executive. Weld had earlier claimed that he was not a target of these investigations, but those actually doing the investigating had this to say:

Marisa Ford, the chief of the criminal division of the United States attorney's office in Louisville, said in an interview on Tuesday that "nobody in my office, in the western district of Kentucky, has had conversations with him about whether or not [Weld] was a target."

"The investigation is in such early stages that it's premature to even try to make target designations," she added.

Weld claims that his lawyers told him he would not be a target of the ongoing fraud investigations and acknowledged that maybe they meant he wasn't one "at that time," and that didn't mean he would never be investigated. The Decker College scandal does not seem to be going away for Weld and should he end up being a target of the fraud probe, keeping it in the news, it could sink his candidacy.

Friday Roundup

Last week, too much was happening to have a roundup post, but since it's Friday, and there's a lot of little things left to talk about, I thought I would continue my brief tradition of clearing my desk at the end of the week so I can start the weekend fresh. Here's a couple of things that I think are interesting:

• Healey Reaction: Kerry Healey -- Out of Touch has a rundown of reactions to her official announcement of her candidacy for governor. Scot Lehigh has his (mostly favorable) reaction in today's column, where he also makes mention of Christy Mihos' budding campaign.


• Weld Makes News, Literally: It seems former Massachusetts Governor and current New York gubernatorial candidate William Weld is sanitizing news stories for his website. The Times reported last week that campaign staff removed "all negative phrases about him" from various news articles and put them under the 'news' heading of his website, with no mention of any of the changes. (via America Blog)


• Students For Murray: A group of young volunteers for Tim Murray's campaign for Lieutenant Governor have started their own blog. It's refreshingly full of enthusiasm and currently has some of their stories about caucus day. (via Under the Golden Dome)


• Howdy Neighbor: Dan Kennedy has a great article in CommonWealth Magazine profiling the citizen journalist movement as exemplified by Watertown's own Lisa Williams of H2OTown. Check it out if you're interested in taking a peek under the hood of one of the best locally focused blogs out there.


• Truthiness = Journalism: Michael Crichton has won a journalism award for his fictional book "State of Fear," which dismisses global warming as an elaborate hoax. Who would give a work of fiction an award for journalism? The American Association of Petroleum Geologists, of course, which claims the novel "has the absolute ring of truth." (via BoingBoing)


• Boehner Gets Huge Overnight: This embedded quicktime movie is simultaneously the funniest and worst thing ever to feature newly elected Republican Majority Leader John Boehner. (via Metafilter)

What's on your mind?

Reaction to Weld Announcement Mixed

The Globe has some reaction from Democrats.

"He's been here for five years, but hasn't been involved in a public debate, public discourse, or public service. Apparently, not even any type of public service. We are kind of wondering if this just a lark on his part," [Democratic Rural Conference founder Michael] Schell said.

"Karl Rove asking him to run really isn't a good reason to run for governor," he said, referring to a call made by the White House adviser.

"William Weld is running because he is bored," said Howard Wolfson, a top Democratic strategist. "Eliot Spitzer is running to make a difference."

The Albany Times Union has some reaction from at least one Republican who is also seeking the nomination.

An associate of state Secretary of State Randy Daniels, who has been building toward a gubernatorial run since 2003, said Daniels "will take on anybody in a Republican primary -- and win."

Someone is going to run to the right of Weld in the GOP primary. The question for Weld is whether there are enough liberal Republicans left in New York to win the nomination.

NY Gov: Weld Dives In

Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld has now officially admitted that he's entering the 2006 New York gubernatorial race, as was speculated earlier this week. Weld, who was so bored with being MA Governor that he unsuccessfully ran for Senate and then resigned so he could try to get on Jesse Helms's good side, is apparently now tired of private sector life as well. New York State Republicans are apparently hoping that the key to beating Attorney General Elliot Spitzer is to run someone who is just as liberal socially, but without all that pesky history of corporate oversight. Weld did signal a slight move to the right, however in this New York Times article:

But Mr. Weld said yesterday that he supported gay marriage only in Massachusetts, because the legal decision correctly interpreted the state's Constitution. He said he supported civil unions - and not gay marriage - for New York and elsewhere...

This strikes me as an even more tortured position than Tom Reilly's support of the 1913 law which bans out-of-state couples from getting married if their union would be illegal in their home states. Personally, I think it's silly to let other states dictate what we can and can't do, but at least there is a logic behind supporting that law. Weld, who if I recall correctly actually officiated at a same-sex wedding, is now saying that while gays deserve the right to wed in Massachusetts, they don't deserve it in New York. Notice how that's different from Reilly's position which is, essentially, let New York (and every other state) make up its own mind. Weld, on the other hand, is now against equal marriage rights in New York, but enthusiastically supportive of them in Massachusetts. What other reason than pandering to NY conservatives could he have for this strange position?

Massachusetts Republican Governor Mulls 2006 Run

No, it's not Mitt Romney, it's former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, who the New York Post reports is 'likely' to run for governor of that state. You know that the NY GOP has got to be having trouble recruiting anyone to run against popular NY Attorney General Elliot Spitzer when they're considering recycling our former officials. From the article:

Former Mass. Gov. William Weld has told state GOP Chairman Stephen Minarik and Conservative Chairman Long that he's "likely" to run for governor, and will make a final decision by the end of September.

"He says he's clearing up his business now and that he's close to making a final decision," said a source who spoke to Weld.

Long, meanwhile, has made it clear that Weld — who once said he had few ideological differences with Sen. Clinton — would have a tough time winning Conservative support.

Two words on why Bill Weld will never win a contested Republican primary: Margaret Marshall. Even if he has the NY GOP clear the field for him, Weld will never get the support of the NYS Conservative party. If I recall correctly, no Republican candidate for New York Governor has ever won an election without the support of the Conservative party. Weld would guarantee a three-way race which I predict he'd lose by two touchdowns. The last poll I saw had Spitzer beating Weld 60-16.

Also, this is the NY Post, so take it with the skepticism it's due. Weld also reportedly sent a memo to the parters at his firm saying he won't run.