'Shhhh! Can You Hear the Tidal Wave Coming to Massachusetts?'

Need any idea how the political tide is shifting? As the writer here says, even in the capitol of Moonbatistan brave souls are showing their support for Republican Sen Bielat as he hope to remove Babbling Barney Frank from office. Outside of seeing Dingy Harry go down tonight, there would be no more sweeter victory than seeing the architect of the Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac debacle sent off into retirement.

Oh my God, could bluer than blue Brookline — the capital of Moonbatistan — be breaking for Republican Sean Bielat?

For 25 years I’ve lived in Brookline, where Republicans admit they’re Republicans at their own risk. Yet I haven’t seen so many lawn signs for a Republican since a few courageous matrons put a “Weld for Governor” placard on their lawn in 1990 and paid the price: social suicide. They were promptly shunned at Whole Foods. Their poor children sat alone in the cafeteria.

It says something huge about Barney Frank’s fall from grace that a few brave Brookline-ites are ready, again, to risk their neighbors’ wrath.

Here’s what I’m seeing: a few dozen small and discreet Bielat signs, mostly in South Brookline on the West Roxbury line, where there’s more diversity. That is, you can actually question Al Gore’s prediction that the Cape will be underwater by 2025 and not be jettisoned from The Great Books Club.

I also see Bielat signage on homes worth $2 million and up. What do rich people care? If no other kids will share a cafeteria seat with their little third-grader, they can ship Muffy and Junior off to private school.

There are almost no Bielat signs around Coolidge Corner, where Bielat lives and apartments and condos dominate. Lots of Brookline condo associations won’t allow political signs. Some wouldn’t even allow American flags to fly on the day after 9/11. I do recall some “Darfur! Not on My Watch” signs outside condos a few years back though, which gives you an idea of what we’re dealing with.

Bielat spokeswoman Lisa Barstow confirmed yesterday why Bielat himself can’t put a sign outside his own condo: his association’s rule. “But they did give him a special dispensation on primary day and for the general election,” she said. Wow. How ecumenical of them.

Mitt Romney stumped for Bielat Monday night.

Shauna O’Connell, a Republican first-time candidate running against state Rep. Jim Fagan (D-Taunton), added: “Shhhh! Can you hear the tidal wave coming to Massachusetts?”

“Sean Bielat is going to go down in history as the man who finally retires Barney Frank,” she said.

A Frank spokesman did not return messages for comment.

Funny how a man who's spent decades talking trash has been awfully quiet of late. A real challenge to your job can do that to a guy.

Massachusetts expect a record turnout today. Let's make it happen, folks. Send a message to Obama by booting his buddy Deval Patrick. The state is one of the few remaining Democrats firewalls. Make it crumble.

Massachusetts Gubernatorial Race Now Dead Heat

Looks like Obama's buddy Deval Patrick may be going down Tuesday. If a Democrat incumbent has this meager a lead four days out you can probably figure he's toast.

The Massachusetts governor’s race is now closer than it has been all year.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state finds incumbent Democratic Governor Deval Patrick with 46% support, while Republican challenger Charlie Baker gets 44% of the vote. Democrat-turned-Independent Tim Cahill remains a distant third with six percent (6%). Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, but just one percent (1%) is still undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The race now moves from Leans Democrat to a Toss-Up in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Gubernatorial Scorecard.

Less than two weeks ago, Patrick held a 47% to 42% lead over Baker. The incumbent has led the field in surveys since March, but Baker broke out of the 30s in mid-September as support for Cahill began to fade.

Obama, meanwhile, is at an anemic -19 approval index.

Looks like that staged MoveOn debacle has backfired in Kentucky as well.

Following the uproar over Democrat Jack Conway’s ad criticizing his opponent’s college antics and questioning his religious faith, Republican Rand Paul has taken a 12-point lead in Kentucky’s bitter U.S. Senate race.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the state, taken Wednesday night, shows Paul with 53% support to Conway’s 41%. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate in the race, and four percent (4%) are undecided.

Defeat May Scuttle Deval Patrick Book Deal: 'It Would be a Horrendous Event'

Actually the horrendous event would be giving this Obama wannabe another term as Governor of Massachusetts.

A devastating Nov. 2 defeat could cost Gov. Deval Patrick more than his lofty position and promising political career - it could scuttle the happily-ever-after ending to his million-dollar “inspirational” memoir and turn it into a bookstore bomb, experts said.

“It would be a horrendous event,” said Hub book agent and attorney John Taylor “Ike” Williams. “The publisher would have a hard time with that book.”

The success of Patrick’s 200-page autobiography - titled “A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life” and priced at $21.99 - hinges largely on the governor raising his national profile.

That’s a far-fetched feat for an ousted, one-term wonder.

“I assume the senior editors are saying, ‘You told us this book would ride on the coattails of the Obama book,’ ” Williams said, noting the similarities between the rags-to-riches tales of Patrick and his pal, President Obama.

David Drake, a spokesman for Patrick’s publisher Crown Publishing, a division of Random House, declined to comment, other than to say the book is due out in April.

The publisher’s initial optimism when the governor landed the deal in March 2008 was clear from Patrick’s reported advance of $1.35 million - a staggering sum for a first-time author.

Even if Patrick somehow clings to office in five weeks it's difficult to see why anyone would bother buying his book. Although we figure the book will mysteriously turns up as required reading in Massachusetts public schools.

Scott Hartwig of Calif.-based Rose Ave Press, which specializes in smaller-name memoirs, said he had misgivings about Patrick’s sizable advance. “I question the logic of giving that big of an advance,” Hartwig said. “Especially if he’s not effective politically.”

He added that the niche industry relies on the author making headlines, or finding a way to be exceptionally relevant. Otherwise, he said, “It could look kind of silly.”

'If the Governor Loses, It’s Really Bad for the President'

Considering Barack Obama is already zero for one in his Massachusetts endorsements this year, if he can't drag Deval Patrick over the finish line this fall he may want to seriously reconsider his policies, especially since it appears likely he'll be facing a GOP Congress, if not Senate, come January.

A worried White House is poised to pull out all the stops in Gov. Deval Patrick’s heated gubernatorial bid - viewed as an early litmus test of whether disenchanted voters are ready to give President Obama’s message of hope and change four more years - or the heave-ho.

A Vineyard-bound Obama and his team already are discussing fall fund-raising appearances with Patrick’s camp and churning out campaign ads while David Axlerod - campaign guru for both Patrick and Obama - chats with Patrick “fairly regularly,” said one source close to the Obama administration.

“If the governor loses, it’s really bad for the president,” a Democratic insider close to the White House said yesterday, pointing out Obama already lost a seemingly sure U.S. Senate seat to Republican upstart Scott Brown.

Another Obama source said the race is “being looked upon as a petri dish to see how things will go for us.”

Obama and Patrick have been practically joined at the hip throughout their political careers. They’ve been friends for more than two decades and share a similar background as well as a campaign staff - Axelrod helmed Deval’s 2006 gubernatorial bid and Obama’s White House run two years later. Obama’s slogan, “Yes We Can,” was a slight turn on Patrick’s “Together We Can.”

“They essentially had the same message based on hope. They both won and then watched their early approval ratings go south. Patrick seems to be recovering but he’s still in danger,” said Andrew Smith, political professor at the University of New Hampshire. “If Patrick loses here, the Obama people are really going to be nervous.”

Of course if Patrick loses the media will tell us all politics is local, and if the Democrat Patrick wins in overwhelmingly Democrat Massachusetts we'll be told how popular Obama is.

Heads Obama wins, tails Patrick loses.

Next Victim of Scott Brown Freight Train: Deval Patrick

It's a shame John Kerry isn't also up for re-election this year. He would have a good chance of being swept aside by the surging red tide in Massachusetts. As it is Scott Brown may well dispatch the hapless Martha Coakley come Tuesday, but the governor of the state could also wind up being crushed come November. That is if he even survives a primary battle.

While Martha Coakley’s campaign teeters on the brink of becoming the biggest political implosion since that of her predecessor, Tom Reilly, there’s another Bay State Democrat who’s watching the Scott Brown freight train in a state of terror: Gov. Deval Patrick.

Patrick insiders say the governor’s campaign people are horrified by Brown’s surge, considering that Patrick is facing a candidate eerily similar to Brown in Republican health-care honcho Charlie Baker, not to mention a well-funded moderate Democrat in independent candidate Treasurer Tim Cahill.

The thinking goes that if Brown, a political lightweight before this race, can energize the undecideds and frustrated Dems to steal Ted Kennedy’s seat over a Democrat, then the tide in the state is truly turning. And not in a good way for the ultra-liberal governor, who knows first-hand about campaigns catching fire and becoming unstoppable.

One Patrick insider said that Coakley’s own internal polling shows Brown leading and that the governor’s inner circle is quivering.

I like my women blonde, my Johnny Walker black and my Democrats quivering.

Meanwhile, Boston Mayor Thomas "Mumbles" Menino made the brilliant observation this morning that Brown supporters want Obama to fail.

Gee, ya think?

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has told a largely black congregation that if Democrat Martha Coakley loses the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts, it will be a victory for people who want President Barack Obama to fail.

Coakley, who’s Massachusetts’ attorney general, is in a tight race against Republican Scott Brown. The special election Tuesday is being held to fill the seat left vacant by the death of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Menino appeared with Coakley at a Sunday morning prayer service in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood for victims of the Haiti earthquake.

I thought we weren't supposed to involve politics into the Haiti earthquake?

Hot Air links. Thanks!

Hapless Paterson Lashes Out, Calls Media Racist

Savor the irony of the accidental governor, who's been cut so much slack from a timid media because of his skin color, whining about being treated unfairly.

Oh, boo-hoo.

Gov. Paterson has officially played the race card.

The beleaguered Democratic governor in a radio interview this morning blamed his troubles on a racist media that he said has taken part in an "orchestrated" effort to get him out of office.

Paterson, a former lieutenant governor, who faces an uphill election fight next year, argued that other prominent black politicians, including President Obama, had received similar treatment.

"I submit that the same kind of treatment that (Gov.) Deval Patrick is receiving right now in Massachusetts, and I'm receiving; the way in which the New York State Senate was written about, calling them a bunch of people with thick necks - they're talking about (Senate President) Malcolm Smith and (Senate Democratic Leader) John Sampson - that we're not in the post-racial period," Paterson said.

"The reality is that the next victim on the list and you see it coming is President Barack Obama, who did nothing more than try to reform a health care system that's not ten percent of GDP and will be 20 percent of GDP in the next four years only because he's trying to make change," the governor continued.

Well, we already know Obama isn't beneath playing racial politics and it sure looks as if this pathetic hack isn't either.

Even the commenters at the New York Times are laughing at Paterson. Here's a sample.

How obnoxious! So we’re all OK with electing an African-American President, but not a NY Governor. What a hack.

Many of us wished him nothing but good will when Elliot Spitzer resigned, and have been severely disappointed to watch his “administration” implode because of a lack of focus and vision. Now he pulls out the old chestnut of racism to explain his profound failings. How sad.

How about a special election to get rid of this loser NOW instead of waiting until next year?

Not noted in the Post story is Paterson singling out Fred Dicker. Commenters at the Daily News hammer away.

It's not because you're black, Dave. It's because you're dense. After all this time, you and the idiots you surround yourself with are still out of step. You just ... don't ... get the fact that you aren't cut out for the job. Period.
There's no shame in coming to grips with that.

I was truly in your corner when you inherited the top job, and hoped for nothing but success for you. Then not too long after you were sworn in, we had to hear about your past drug use and marital infidelities. Wonderful. Those revelations were viewed by some as admirable; but after all this time, how have you really moved beyond that?

Time to come up with a "Plan B" Dave. As I suggested a while ago, perhaps lobby for an ambassadorship to some obscure country. You will be rewarded for your past efforts; you gave it your best shot. But that reward shouldn't be a 4-year term as governor of NY. We deserve a break.

Update: Uh oh, time for damage control!

New York Governor David Paterson on Friday released the following statement on "negative" media coverage.

“During a radio interview this morning, I made some observations about the tone of some of the recent negative media coverage.

“At no point did I claim that this media piling-on effect was due to race – elected officials of all races get piled on by the media all the time; that is the nature of our business. What I did point out was that certain media outlets have engaged in coverage that exploits racial stereotypes.

“That’s not only unfair – it’s wrong – and it sends an objectionable message. I will not shy away from speaking honestly about prejudices, some subtle and some not, nor will I fail to point out that we have a long way to go to achieve a truly post-racial society.”.

What a joke this guy is.

Ted Kennedy: Hey, Change the Law for Me

In an apparent sign Ted Kennedy may not be with us much longer, the senior Senator from Massachusetts has asked Governor Deval Patrick to help him pull a fast one and change the law for succession--a law the Democrats themselves changed five years ago when they faced the possibility of John Kerry becoming President and then-Governor Mitt Romney appointing a Republican.

Now, however, Kennedy would like to change the same law the Democrats put in place in 2004.

Nothing like having it both ways.

A cancer-stricken Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has written a poignant letter to Massachusetts leaders asking that they change state law to allow a speedy replacement of him in Congress.

The note has been sent to Gov. Deval Patrick and the state's Senate president and House speaker while Congress considers an overhaul of the nation's health care system, a life cause of Kennedy's.

The letter acknowledges the state changed its succession law in 2004 to require a special election within five months to fill any vacancy. At the time, legislative Democrats — with a wide majority in both chambers — were concerned because then-Republican Gov. Mitt Romney had the power to directly fill any vacancy created as Democratic Sen. John Kerry ran for president.

But Kennedy writes "it is vital for this commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election."

While Democrats hold a potentially filibuster-proof margin in Congress, the outcome of a health care reform bill could hinge on a single vote and some moderate Democrats have been wavering.

Speculation has centered on having his wife assume his seat and keeping it in the family. But if there's a special election, as by law there now should be, it's clear Kennedy and the Democrats realize with the swing in public opinion against Barack Obama and Patrick in particular, they could actually face the prospect of losing the seat. Still, chances are likely slim a Republican would win in the very blue state.

Under the current law, the governor must call an election within 145 to 160 days of receiving a resignation letter. A primary would be held five or six weeks beforehand, reducing the time candidates would have to raise money for a campaign.

Besides Joseph Kennedy and Coakley, Democrats who might try to succeed Kennedy include Reps. Stephen Lynch, Michael Capuano, Edward Markey, James McGovern and William Delahunt.

Former Rep. Martin Meehan, now chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, has $4.8 million in his federal campaign account, the largest sum of any potential candidate. That would give him the advantage in any special election sprint.

On the Republican side, potential candidates include Cape Cod businessman Jeff Beatty, former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan and Chris Egan, former U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Cooperation and Development.

As a New Jersey resident, we're more than familiar with Democrats pulling fast ones when faced with the possibility of losing a seat, as the Democrats here pulled the switcheroo several years ago when the corrupt Bob Torricelli faced certain defeat before they jettisoned him and put the cadaver in formaldehyde, Frank Lautenberg, in his place.

Chances are pretty good Patrick will bend to Kennedy's will and do as he's told.

Patrick said in a statement: "It's typical of Ted Kennedy to be thinking ahead and about the people of Massachusetts, when the rest of us are thinking about him."

No, it's more like Ted Kennedy is thinking of himself, just as he did 40 years ago when he left Mary Jo Kopechne to suffer a slow, painful death.

Your Stimulus Dollars at Work: 'To Me, It Sounds Like the Federal Government Is Rewarding Bad Behavior'

Sure seems as if ACORN is doling out the stimulus money in Massachusetts. Then again, since they're a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Democrats, it really makes no difference.

If you had any doubt Obama's stimulus package was a boondoggle, you won't after reading this.

Criminal offenders, teen moms, dropouts, runaways and other wayward youths will score summer jobs with federal stimulus cash as most Bay State kids desperately scramble to land coveted seasonal gigs in a tight economy.

“To me, it sounds like the federal government is rewarding bad behavior,” said state Sen. Richard R. Tisei (R-Wakefield).

The state Department of Transitional Assistance will be using some of Massachusetts’ $1.3 million in Obama administration cash for jobs for clients’ children ages 14 to 24 who meet specific criteria, including:

* Lacking basic skills.
* Pregnant or parenting.
* School dropout.
* Homeless or runaway.
* Court-involved or an “offender.”
* An English as a Second Language learner or an immigrant.

“For the kids who really have their act together, I’d hate to see them being left out and summer jobs are not available to them,” said Senate minority leader Tisei.

Indeed, why reward the kids who play by the rules. Silly, misguided youth. Don't they realize they need to be useless slackers to be recognized by the Democrats? It's just amazing: A specific criteria is you lack basic skills.

As for kids who don't reside in the projects with Obama's Auntie Zeituni, forget about seeing any assistance.

“I don’t think the suburbs will see any of the money,” Tisei said. “The more you find out about the federal stimulus money, the more we find out what a boondoggle it is.”

Like Obama said, "You ain't seen nothing yet."

Howie Carr chimes in.

By the way, the money from the DTA summer job is “noncountable income for cash assistance.” In other words, you get to stay on the dole while you’re being paid to work.

According to the memo, the money for this program is coming from the stimulus funds, which we were told would be helping everybody, not just pregnant high-school dropout criminals.

So where is the empathy for the Dave and Ricky Nelsons of the 21st century? But then, the dirty little secret is out. When Sonya Sotomayor or Barack Obama talk about empathy, what they really mean is favoritism.

H/T loppyd.

Update: Jake Tapper exposes more stimulus fraud in Iowa.

'Hey, Can I Get a Free Car, Too?’

It's not as if the state of Massachusetts didn't have any budget problems to tackle. But hey, when you're a welfare state, you may as well go all out.

Gov. Deval Patrick’s free wheels for welfare recipients program is revving up despite the stalled economy, as the keys to donated cars loaded with state-funded insurance, repairs and even AAA membership are handed out to get them to work.

But the program - fueled by a funding boost despite the state’s fiscal crash - allows those who end up back on welfare to keep the cars anyway.

“It’s mind-boggling. You’ve got people out there saying, ‘I just lost my job. Hey, can I get a free car, too?’ ” said House Minority Leader Brad Jones (R-North Reading).

The Patrick administration decided last month to funnel an additional $30,000 to the nearly $400,000 annual car ownership program.

The program, which is provided by the State Department of Transitional Assistance, gives out about 65 cars a year, said DTA Commissioner Julia Kehoe.

Howie Carr adds the snark.

A lot of snotty people at the Boston Globe are going to be unemployed very shortly. Finally, a ray of hope for the bow-tied bumkissers. Maybe they, too, will be eligible for a welfare Cadillac.

H/T Lauren.

Massachusetts Again Strives to Be National Leader In Onerous Taxation

It was just a couple of weeks ago we noted that Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, good friend of Barack Obama, was looking to further gouge his constituents through a series of taxes on candy, soda and alcohol. Well this tax-and-spend liberal is just getting warmed up.

Bay State businesses blasted an eye-popping 27-cent gas tax hike proposal yesterday being considered by Gov. Deval Patrick, saying the increase will send companies and customers fleeing across the state’s borders.

Critics also condemned the proposed boost - which would raise the tax to a highest-in-the-nation 50.5 cents - as a double whammy for drivers inside Route 128 who would still face tolls on top of the hike.

“They’ll be paying this increased gas tax as well as tolls. It will only further the inequity that already exists,” said Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board member Mary Connaughton.

Paul O’Connell, executive director of the New England Service Station and Automotive Repair Association, said raising the gas tax by 27 cents would cause a “flight to New Hampshire” by motorists seeking lower prices.

“A lot of our members operate near borders, and this could put them out of business,” he warned. “My gut instinct is that this stinks.”

The tax hike would be levied instead of $7 tunnel tolls and other Pike hikes to pay off Big Dig and MBTA debt. Tolls would be removed west of Route 128 by the end of next year.

As if they're ever going to eliminate the tolls. Keep dreaming.

A real shocker they're still paying off the Big Dig, which is basically a small taste of what's to come to America with the spendulus scam.

The real kicker here? Well, get this. Those high-minded liberals who squealed the loudest about the Patriot Act and all the imaginary horrors and invasions of privacy it wrought are now going to install chips to track motorists.

The state would work to implement a pay-per-mile system by 2014 to eliminate tolls inside of Route 128. Officials would track auto use through a chip inside the state’s vehicle inspection sticker. Drivers could get a gas tax refund to avoid double billing.

I guess Big Brother is cool when it's a leftist doing it.

Naturally, all this taxation is simply going to further drive business out of the state, leading, of course, to more taxation when the anticipated taxes fail to generate enough revenue to spend on all the entitlements and illegals crushing the state.

A bailout can't be far off. Then the rest of us can foot their tab.

H/T Lauren.

Taxachusetts: Obama Pal Sweet on Soda, Candy and Booze Tax

Cut wasteful government spending and bloated bureaucracy? Hell, no. Just grab for more, jack up the taxes on anything in sight, then raise the taxes again when you don't realize the projected revenue since everyone will just cross the border to neighboring states.

These tax-and-gouge liberals just never learn. But the suckers in Massachusetts keep voting for them.

Desperate to close a $1.1 billion budget gap, Gov. Deval Patrick wants to tack the state’s 5 percent sales tax on booze, candy and soda, sources say.

Alcohol sales are taxed at 5 percent in bars and restaurants but are currently exempted from state sales taxes in package stores, and Patrick plans to remove that exemption, along with the exemptions on candy and soda, sources told the Herald. It has been estimated an alcohol sales tax could raise close to $90 million.

And that's just from the Kennedy revenue stream. Seriously, though, they'll never see that kind of money. Consumers will find their way around it for the most part.

Patrick needs to learn from his buddy David Paterson in New York and call these taxes fees. The dummies always fall for that. Make them feel guilty and cut a discount for diet sodas, all in the name of the children, of course.

H/T Lauren.

Obama's Choice: The People Or Ted Kennedy

Barack Obama likes to talk the talk when it comes to the environment. But will he walk the walk when it comes to opposing one of his chief sponsors, Ted Kennedy?

For all his talk about saving the planet, does he have to stones to go up against Kennedy?

President Barack Obama's enthusiasm for alternative energy is being buffeted by two political forces on opposite sides of plans to build the nation's first offshore wind farm off Cape Cod.

A leading foe of the $1 billion project is Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., an early and influential backer of Obama's presidential bid. A strong proponent is Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, a close friend of Obama and a source for some of his best campaign speech lines.

The plan to erect 130 giant turbines across 25 miles of federal waters in Nantucket Sound poses an early test of the president's energy policy, on stark display Monday with Obama's order to re-examine whether California and other states should be allowed to have tougher auto emission standards to combat a build up of greenhouse gases and his directive for the government to get moving on new fuel-efficiency guidelines for the auto industry.

In the final days of George W. Bush's tenure, the Minerals Management Service issued a report saying the wind farm project poses no major environmental problems, clearing the way for the Obama administration to make a final decision on whether to issue a lease for the project. Reviews by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Interior Department's inspector general are still pending.

As I spend time on Cape Cod, I've followed the Cape Wind project with some interest over the years. They claim there would be reduced energy costs for Cape residents and it enjoys fairly broad support. Though of course when it comes to the possibility of helping the residents, the Kennedys naturally crap all over the little people.

Kennedy has fought the Cape Wind project for eight years, arguing it would kill birds and endanger sea life while imperiling the scenic area's tourism and fishing industries. The turbines would stand 440 feet above sea level when the tallest blades are pointing straight up. The Kennedy family's oceanside Hyannis Port, Mass., compound would have a clear view of the project to be located 4.7 miles offshore, but Kennedy says it is not why he opposes the project.

"The interests of our state have been basically submerged to a special interest developer," Kennedy has said of the project.

Sure, nothing to do with his view.

I use the beaches on Nantucket Sound and it wouldn't bother me in the least. The turbines would barely be a blip that far out. The idea it would affect fishing and tourism is nonsense.

Still, I get the felling Obama will gladly throw Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick under the bus much faster than he would Kennedy, so expect some doubletalk from Obama about it affecting pristine waters or some such pap. Obama knows he can do whatever he pleases and the folks there will still overwhelmingly support him, even if it costs them money.

Project backers are wary of last-minute political meddling. They cite attempts in Congress over the years to derail it, including efforts by Kennedy.

"The opponents have proven to be very crafty and to embrace a scorched-earth approach to fighting this project," said Sue Reid of the Conservation Law Foundation, a conservation group supporting Cape Wind. "Of course we are going to be vigilant."

Prepare for a knife in the back, Ms. Reid.

Massachusetts Legislature Seeks to Block Voters' Rights

Don't you just love democracy in the most liberal state in the land, where unelected judges foisted gay marriage upon the public without even allowing the voters the right to have their say? Now the state legislature is attempting to allow the citizens to have their say and are desperately being thwarted every step of the way as proponents of this sham know it will go down to resounding defeat.

Tight vote looms on same-sex marriage

With the Constitutional Convention just hours away, a proposal to allow voters to decide the future of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts was hanging by a thread in the Legislature last night.

By all accounts, House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, Senate President Therese Murray, and Governor Deval Patrick, all strong supporters of gay marriage, were within one or two votes of blocking the proposal from reaching the 2008 ballot.

The three have spent the last few days prodding, cajoling, and lobbying wavering lawmakers who previously supported the measure. The razor-thin margin will heighten the drama of what is expected to be an emotional and tense showdown at today's session, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

What is so emotional and tense about allowing the people to have a vote? After all, Democrats overwhelmingly dominate the population, so it would be a sure thing to pass if the people were allowed to vote, no?

At stake is the fate of same-sex marriage in the only state where it is legal. The voter-initiated constitutional amendment, which would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman, must win the support of at least 50 of the state's 200 lawmakers in two consecutive legislative sessions to win a place on the 2008 ballot. The measure won its first round of approval, with 62 votes, in January, at the tail end of the last legislative session. Through turnover and resignations, support dwindled to just 57 votes by this spring, even before the intense lobbying began.

So only 25% of the legislative votes are needed.

What are they afraid of?

Now dig the spin applied here.

A defeat for the amendment would deliver a major blow to social conservatives seeking to overturn the Supreme Judicial Court's 2003 ruling legalizing same-sex unions. A victory for the ban is unlikely today, with political leaders saying they will delay a vote until later this session if they do not believe they have the votes to defeat the amendment. The measure will die if no vote is taken by the end of the 2007-2008 legislative session.

How exactly would garnering 25% of the votes be a major blow for social conservatives? By the same token, would that represent a major blow to the unelected judges who rammed this absurd ruling down the throats of the people? Would it not be a major blow to the Democrats and their strong-arm tactics?

No, the dirty little secret is they know the people do not support gay marriage, no matter what proponents and the liberal media tell you, and they want to suppress the vote in 2008. Let's assume for a minute gay marriage hadn't been decreed by the unelected judges and the legislature was attempting to allow voters the chance to vote for it. We'd be hearing endless caterwauling about how the people were being denied their constitutional right to vote by a small majority.

The double standard is sickening.

What it boils down to is this: Democrats in Massachusetts don't really believe in fairness. It's one-party rule, always has been, always will be, the people be damned.

If you don't agree with them, they call you bigots and homophobes and harass you into voting their way. They're the bigots, sneering at those who know marriage is between a man and a woman.

Isn't democracy wonderful?

UPDATE: The fix was in all along. Just disgraceful.

BOSTON -- Massachusetts lawmakers on Thursday blocked a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage from reaching voters, a stunning victory for gay marriage advocates and a devastating blow to efforts to reverse a historic 2003 court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

A stunning victory? Please. It was fixed by strongarm tactics. Who they hell are they kidding?

"We're proud of our state today, and we applaud the Legislature for showing that Massachusetts is strongly behind fairness," said Lee Swislow, executive director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders.

Fairness? Not allowing the people to vote is fair? Who do they think they're kidding?

Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute that backed the amendment, pledged to continue fighting, but wouldn't commit to presenting another proposed amendment.

"I don't believe it's dead because the people have not had the opportunity to have their vote," he said. "This will not go away until the citizens have their opportunity to decide what the definition of marriage is."

Republican presidential candidate and former Gov. Mitt Romney called the vote "a regrettable setback" and said it makes it more important now to pass a national amendment banning gay marriage.

"Marriage is an institution that goes to the heart of our society, and our leaders can no longer abdicate their responsibility," he said.

Deval Patrick and The Truthers

It's hard to believe Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick would be dumb enough to allow nonsense like this to remain on a site with his name on it, but it's apparently been up for at least five days, according to Michael Graham (via Wizbang!).

9/11 is being used to justify war after war and the coming state of martial law in America. 9/11 was clearly a fraud conducted by members of our own government in an effort to take over the world. Much like Operation Northwood’s, in 1962, 9/11 was scripted by a group within our government to create fear and allow for a doctrine of preemptive war against nations that are geostrategically important to our imperialistic desires.

Some of the issues at hand:

- PNAC (The Project for the New American Century) a conservative think-tank, whose founders include many within the current administration. This group published a document calling for a "new Pearl Harbor" prior to 9/11.

- PNAC members referred to 9/11 as an "opportunity" for change post 9/11

- WTC 7, 47 Story, steel framed, building that collapsed on 9/11. Building 7 fell at near free fall speed, and like WTC1 and WTC2, appeared to be a controlled demolition.

- Bush's reaction at Booker T Washington Elementary the morning of 9/11. While claiming to have seen the first plane strike live, despite it not being televised until the next day, Bush was allowed to remain at the school for 34 min after the beginning of the attack. This was despite standard secret service protocol to remove the president during a time of attack.

- Flight 77 hitting the Pentagon. It is a matter of common sense, and public record that the Pentagon is the most well defended building in the world. Despite this, the "official story" has a commercial airliner being able to hit it without a shot being fired.

- Hijackers alive post 9/11. At least 7 of the "hijackers" have been interviewed by major news networks.

This lunacy has been going mainstream now, especially with certain idiots on television. But for the governor of a state, even one as liberal as Massachusetts, to give it tacit support, is really beyond the pale. Says Graham:

This is his campaign, his money, his name. And yet, as of this writing, the governor has chosen to leave this vile, anti-Semitic, America-bashing 9/11 idiocy up for five days. It’s been debated on my radio show, written about in the Boston Herald, and the entire Web site is monitored by the staff of his committee. Why is this nonsense still there?

The conspiracy theorist in me suggests that Patrick needs these netroot nuts so much, he’s willing to abide their anger. They may be irrational and hateful, but they show up at campaign events. They send e-mails. They call legislators.

UPDATE: If the link above doesn't show enough lunacy, wade into some of the comments. Beyond belief.