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Gov. Deval Patrick’s ratings appear to have taken a serious nosedive following months of tax hike announcements, but one politico said the new SurveyUSA poll might not be reliable. Roughly 68 percent of the 600 people questioned in the poll say they are dissatisfied with Patrick’s job as governor. That’s up 21 points from a poll in January. “I think the poll vastly exaggerates the level of dissatisfaction with Gov. Patrick,” said Tufts political professor Jeff Berry. “SurveyUSA polls are very primitive and you’d have to do a lot more searching questions to really accurately access the level of support.”...

      It is well known that Jon Corzine's numbers are collapsing in New Jersey. But that's not the only state.For example, look Governor Deval Patrick in Massachussets, as tested by SurveyUSA. He has 28% approve and 68% disapprove. This is flat across region. Even Dems net out at -11, with 42%-53%.Now look at this poll out of Michigan, H/T Race42008's Kavon Nikrad. Any credible Republican beats the sitting Lt. Gov.I haven't surveyed all the states, but it feels like someting is happening.

A throwback to the 1970s, our own original hope-n-change governor has proposed his most daring tax hike yet. A 19 cent gas tax increase to pay for the struggling Mass. Transit/MBTA department which will be on top of the proposed candy, soda, alcohol tax increases. SUVs will also be subjected to higher fees and a crackdown to ensure that MA residents avoid breaking the law and buying goods in tax free New Hampshire. How is that liberals still have not learned, that taxing people when they are hurting from a recession, depleted 401Ks, plummeting house values and rising unemployment is...

If Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is serious about restoring the GOP’s power in the Northeast, he should keep his eye on developments in Massachusetts, where beleaguered Governor—and Barack’s best buddy—Deval Patrick could face a strong Republican challenger next year. Bay State Republicans—short on numbers, long on hope—felt their spirits rise this week after Harvard Pilgrim Health Care CEO Charles Baker announced that he was considering a gubernatorial run. Baker, who served admirably in the administrations of former Republican Governors William Weld and Paul Cellucci, told the Boston Herald that a run would be an “uphill climb”; however, considering...

It seems like just yesterday we made history in Massachusetts with the election of our current governor. He ran on slogans of Hope and Change. He was called a very good speaker. He was backed by David Axelrod. So how are things going in Masachusetts now? Well, we are about to live up to our nickname of Taxachusetts again. While the rest of the country is about to go through another Jimmy Carter, we are already in the midst of Michael Dukakis Part II.

One would never guess that America is experiencing one of the worst recessions in history. Considering the legislation being passed on the federal level and proposals being made on the state level, one would think that Americans are enjoying tremendous excesses and the government simply wants to partake. Yesterday, Obama signed into law the SCHIP modifications that would expand coverage to more children. The pitfalls of this legislation are too numerous to list, the burden on the taxpayer is growing. Under the new applicants will no longer have to provide social security numbers when filing for aid, thereby allowing illegals...

BOSTON - Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick today proposed generating $587 million in new state revenue by increasing taxes on everything from hotel rooms to alcohol in an effort to fill a budget hole created by declining state revenues. Governor Deval Patrick The spending plan includes $1.6 billion in spending cuts and savings; withdraws $586 million from the rainy day fund; and anticipates $711 million from federal stimulus package that has yet to be approved by Congress. The governor also announced midyear budget cuts that include slicing $191 million from state government spending and cutting $128 million from local aid, which...

Major restaurant chains in Massachusetts would be required to prominently post the calorie counts for all their offerings - at the counter or on the menu - under a far-reaching anti-obesity campaign that Governor Deval Patrick's administration is expected to announce today. The administration's battle against bulging waistlines also calls for public schools to measure the height and weight of first-, fourth-, seventh-, and 10th-graders and calculate whether a child is overweight. The finding would be sent home with students along with detailed advice on eating better and exercising more, with the goal of reducing the incidence of health conditions...

Governor Deval Patrick is pushing lawmakers to expand the state's ability to collect sales tax on products sold over the Internet, which could add millions of dollars in revenue each year and alleviate a severe budget crisis.

Five Governors - all Democrats - are asking that the federal government provide a thousand billion dollars to the fifty states (that's a trillion dollars for those of you educated in public school) to help pay for "education, welfare and infrastructure."The Obamacratic trinity.According to New York Governor David Paterson - one of the five Governors pressing for the big T - forty-three states are running deficits totaling $100 billion (So, naturally, an extra $900 billion seems perfectly reasonable).Lookout taxpayers ... blue state grab-hands are on the way.As I have written about and lamented extensively since Bailout America hit the big...

Living in Deval Patrick’s Massachusetts prepares one well for living in Barack Obama’s America. Massachusetts state government is an enormous organized crime enterprise run by moronic thugs who work for elitist thugs. Nothing is done by Massachusetts state government to help citizens. Everything is done to further bloat itself while mugging the taxpayer and making the elite feel better about themselves. I recently paid-off my car loan. In return, I received from the RMV my new title. Just one problem. The “actual mileage” stated was 23,000 miles too high. I researched the net and found that I had to submit...

If you’re having trouble figuring out what Gov. Deval Patrick’s really trying to do with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, just keep in mind the ABC’s of Beacon Hill budgeting: Anything But Cuts. While your wages have likely remained flat the past five years, state government spending has gone up 8 percent each year. During the past year, while the private sector was losing 1.4 million jobs, USA Today reports that state and local governments added 160,000 - the second-fastest growing sector of the economy. So when you hear that Patrick is “getting rid of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority,” you should...

ALL IN THE FAMILY Senior aides to Sen. Barack Obama and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick were aware that Obama's aunt, Zeituni Onyango, was living in the United States illegally and in a South Boston public-housing project, and were monitoring her at the request of senior Obama campaign officials, according to a current employee for Obama's key political consulting firm, AKP&D Message and Media. Back in early 2007, as Obama's chief campaign strategist David Axelrod was organizing and planning the Obama campaign, he identified Obama's unique family situation -- a number of half-brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, some living overseas -- as...

The Talk Shows Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Rick Davis, campaign manager for John McCain; David Plouffe, campaign manager for Obama.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.; former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.FACE THE NATION (CBS): David Axelrod, campaign adviser for Barack Obama; Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and John Ensign, R-Nev.THIS WEEK (ABC): David Axelrod, campaign adviser for Barack Obama; Rick Davis, campaign manager for John McCain.LATE EDITION (CNN) : Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa.; Govs. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Mark...

BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick has lately addressed doting crowds around the country as a surrogate for Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, his friend and fellow gifted orator. Last month, Mr. Obama even acknowledged borrowing language from Mr. Patrick’s stump speeches, casting a flattering light on a novice politician barely known outside Massachusetts. But there is no such glow at home for Mr. Patrick, the first Democrat to lead his state in 16 years and the nation’s second elected black governor.

Gov. Deval Patrick, a national co-chairman of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, teamed up with the Illinois senator to represent the controversy-plagued activist network ACORN in a 1993 case and secured money for the group in this year’s state budget, the Herald has learned.

For some reason, and despite my obvious interest in conflicts between civil liberties and antidiscrimination laws, I haven't gotten around to blogging about the recent pernicious attacks on freedom of expression in Canada, courtesy of provincial "human rights" commissions.(snip)During the Clinton Administration, lawyers at both HUD and the Justice Department--most prominently Deval Patrick*--were at the forefront of trying to blur the distinction between expression and discriminatory actions in the context of housing discrimination law. In particular, the Clinton Administration argued that merely speaking out against plans to locating facilities for the mentally ill or recovering drug addicts in one's neighborhood...

A couple Januaries ago, the first African-American governor of Massachusetts took the oath of office on the State House steps. "Change is not always comfortable or convenient or welcome," he declared. "But it is what we hoped for, what we have worked for, what you voted for, and what you shall have." The swearing-in ended an improbable journey for Deval Patrick -- and started a painful lesson in political realities for a rookie executive. His story provides a useful prism to view the current presidential race. The Patrick campaign is the model for Barack Obama's effort, down to the messages...

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts state treasurer has asked the federal government about lending the state money under the same favorable terms given to banks and investment firms during the financial crisis. Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill’s requests last week to the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston were prompted by the state’s inability to borrow from the short-term debt markets, The Boston Globe reported on Saturday. The financial turmoil has caused credit markets to stop lending, or to charge prohibitive rates. California has made a similar request, saying it will run out of money by the end...

BOSTON (AP) -- The treasurer of Massachusetts has asked the federal government about lending Massachusetts money under the same favorable terms it has given banks and firms during the financial crisis. Treasurer Timothy Cahill's requests to the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston this week were prompted by the state's inability to borrow from the short-term debt markets, The Boston Globe reported Saturday. The financial turmoil has caused credit markets to stop lending, or to charge prohibitive rates. California has made a similar request, saying it would run out of money by the end of the month if...

Howie thread beginning with his Sunday Herald column

BOSTON -- The gay marriage fight in Massachusetts might not be over after all. Opponents of same-sex marriages are seeking a ballot question that would prevent gay and lesbian couples from getting married here if their union wouldn't be legal in their home state. Brian Camenker of the group Mass Resistance said Friday lawmakers and Gov. Deval Patrick bowed to the will of the "gay lobby" last month by approving the repeal of a 1913 statute that banned such marriages. Patrick, the state's first black governor and the father of a daughter who recently announced she's a lesbian, said the...

About 850 people attended the fund-raiser, which cost between $1,000 and $4,600 per ticket. Among those, 250 also ate dinner with Obama - for $15,000 per ticket or $28,500 per couple. Guests began dinner with heaping helpings of field greens, heirloom lettuces, candied hazelnuts and port-soaked currants tossed with a sherry Dijon vinaigrette. The main course: cinnamon-and-red-wine-braised short ribs and roasted porcini-crusted sea bass, plus a trio of potato confit, and hand-rolled gnocchi with wild mushrooms and a vegetable bouquet. Guests washed down that sumptuous repast with a perky 2004 Cloudy Bay Sauvingnon Blanc “Te Koko” and an impertinent 2004...

I don’t own the word “moonbat,” but I have had custody of it for a good long while now, and there are a couple of misconceptions I’d like to clear up. First, a moonbat is not something you want to be, even in Arlington, where they have begun selling T-shirts that say, “Menotomy Moonbats.” Hey moonbats, lose the bat logo. Truth in advertising requires you to put on the front of your moonbat shirts a photo of Sen. Jim Marzilli, your hero, the perv in a Prius, with these words underneath: “Sen. Marzilli Groped Me and All I Got Was...

Surrounded by cheering, clapping gay-rights activists and legislators, Governor Deval Patrick today signed a bill repealing a 95-year-old statute that had prevented gay and lesbian couples from most other states from marrying in Massachusetts. "It's a good day," said Patrick, declaring that the repeal will "confirm a simple truth: that is, in Massachusetts, equal means equal." Massachusetts will "continue to lead the way as a national leader" and affirm "all people come before their government as equals," Patrick said in a bill-signing ceremony at the State House's Grand Staircase. Gay marriage "is still troubling for some of our citizens," he...

Sweet P Farm is nestled at the top of a winding driveway, hidden from view by 77 acres of gentle woods and meadows, a retreat in the Berkshires where Governor Deval Patrick can swat a few tennis balls on his private court, work on a chapter of his memoir, or stroll through the wildflowers in his backyard. But during this year's high summer season, Patrick is opening his rural getaway to the Massachusetts political world, transforming it into something like the state's own version of Camp David. The governor hosted a big ticket fund-raiser at the home last week that...

The Massachusetts Senate today passed a bill that would repeal a 1913 state law that prevents gay and lesbian couples from most other states from marrying in Massachusetts. The bill, which had the support of Senate President Therese Murray, passed with no objections on a voice vote. Proponents of the repeal called the 1913 law archaic and discriminatory. "There are very few laws on the books that I can say that I'm ashamed that they're on the books," said State Senator Mark Montigny, a New Bedford Democrat. He said he opposed the law because of the "immorality of discrimination." "This...

Governor Deval Patrick has scheduled a picnic fund-raiser this month at his vacation estate in the Berkshires, where he will once again exploit a method he pioneered for skirting state campaign contribution limits, a funding system the Legislature so far has declined to shut down. Guests at the gathering at the 7,500-square-foot mansion situated on 77 acres in Richmond are being asked to contribute up to $5,500 to the governor's Seventy-First Fund. The fund - as the formal invitation to the soiree explains - divides the contributions between Patrick's campaign and the state Democratic Party

July 14, 2008 Dear GOAL members and friends, This requires our immediate action. We urge you to contact your State Representative and Senator and ask that they not support the Governor's Appropriations Bill. On Sunday July, 13, 2008 Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick filed a special appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008. (As of the filing of this report, the bill had not yet received a number.) Within this bill sections 24 - 27 drastically increase certain firearm licenses. Sections 24 & 25 attack lawfully licensed firearm dealers by increasing their license fees from $100 for three years to $250. Then...

Signaling a potential state money meltdown, Gov. Deval Patrick is asking lawmakers to grant him extraordinary budget-slashing power to make emergency cuts if the economy takes another turn for the worse. In addition to bracing for the effects of the shaky stock market, state officials are working furiously to secure a Medicaid reimbursement for the state’s new Universal Health Care Law worth hundreds of millions in federal dollars. “It’s an ugly scene to say the least,” said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Patrick vetoed $122.5 million from the pork-packed budget yesterday, but financial watchdogs say the reduction...

BOSTON, July 10 (UPI) -- Massachusetts lawmakers say they are preparing to vote on whether to repeal a 1913 law that bans out-of-state same-sex couples from marrying in the state. Lawmakers say they expect the state Senate to take up the law Tuesday and the state House to do the same soon after. House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray back the repeal, but their support alone may not be enough to secure other lawmakers' votes, The Boston Globe reported Thursday. Supporters of gay marriage rights say they are optimistic the repeal will be approved because of...

State lawmakers are expected to vote next week on repealing a 1913 law that prevents out-of-state gay and lesbian couples from getting married in Massachusetts, reigniting a divisive debate on an issue that has stirred passions and put the state in the national spotlight. The Senate is expected to take up the legislation Tuesday, and the House will follow shortly afterward, according to several lawmakers. House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray favor the repeal, but their support on such a hot-button social issue does not guarantee that rank-and-file lawmakers will follow. Advocates of same-sex marriage rights...

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed a $1 billion embryonic stem cell research bill on Monday. The measure is meant to provide the controversial research with more taxpayer money after President Bush refused to force taxpayers to fund the destruction of human life. Patrick pushed the plan through the state legislature to force the state's taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research to the tune of $1 billion over 10 years.He said he wanted the northeastern state to keep up with others like California, Illinois, and neighboring Connecticut, which have publicly funded the grisly research.   Under his plan, the state would...

Deval Patrick has been in the headlines for misuse of State Police helicopters for personal transportation. He has also been in the news lately for trying to impose a sales tax on aircraft used by his subjects. I learned today that Patrick has been shopping for a private jet to be paid for by the taxpayers. Patrick has his eye on an $11 million Lear 45. Deval Patrick was elected governor of a state that can be traversed north-south in about 1 hour by car and east-west in less than 2 hours. Why would he need a transcontinental private jet?...

I know it's Monday morning, but I'm finding it hard to get my bearings today. We, here in Massachusetts, were assured by electing Mr. Together-We-Can Deval Patrick governor, we be enjoying a new day. However, our days are a nightmare. Deval Patrick was the one who came into office claiming our state was in a bad financial situation. Yet, the independently wealthy Deval didn't forgo his salary like Mitt Romney and Kerry Healey did when they took office. Instead, he upgraded his car, started accumulating frequent flier miles on a state police helicopter, got his wife an unnecessary chief of...

With the news of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s $1 billion initiative to “woo” biotech businesses to The Bay State, not all are blindly cheering. State Representative candidate Bob Parks (R) of the 2nd Franklin District is suspicious of the governor’s motives. “Two years ago, I suggested our district apply directly to HUD and receive Empowerment Zone status. This would enable existing businesses here to grow and hire more people, while luring others. The difference between my plan and Governor Patrick’s is that it doesn’t require taxpayers to foot the bill, and my plan isn’t discriminatory, giving preference to one business...

BOSTON — The youngest daughter of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said in an interview published Thursday that she's gay, and came out to her parents after lawmakers voted to kill a proposal that could have outlawed gay marriage in the state. Katherine Patrick said her father responded to her announcement by giving her a bear hug and saying: "Well, we love you no matter what." She made her revelation public in an interview with her family published Thursday in Bay Windows, a weekly Boston newspaper aimed at the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. The governor told the paper his...

Maureen Monks, about to become the newest judge of the Middlesex Probate and Family Court, is a long-time radical lesbian activist attorney. She specializes in "gay" family issues. Last week, when her nomination hit some rocky waters getting through the Governor's Council, Governor Deval Patrick simply ignored their official vote and announced he will swear her in. Monks' nomination - and the governor's action -- was strongly supported by both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald on their editorial pages.

Governor Deval Patrick has decided against taking action to allow illegal immigrants to pay resident tuition and fees at state colleges and universities this fall, an administration official said yesterday, crushing advocates who were counting on the governor to deliver on a pledge to support the students. Earlier this year, Patrick said he was considering ways to offer illegal immigrants in-state rates, such as issuing a regulation, adding that it would be "the right thing to do." The governor declined to comment yesterday, but an administration source who spoke on condition of anonymity said Patrick decided that there were "significant...

DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- A new gambling study shows some Massachusetts residents who have not supported casinos in the past may be changing their minds. "Fifty-seven percent of Massachusetts residents still favor two or more resort casinos in the state of Massachusetts. That number is actually four percent higher than when we last did this poll in September," said Dr. Clyde Barrow, a public policy analyst at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. The study was funded by a real estate development firm with land interests in the proposed Palmer and New Bedford casino sites. The research showed that as the state's deficit...

If Barack Obama loses to John McCain this November, black liberals will not be the ones most angered by such an outcome. If anything, white liberals will be the most outraged. Many, though not all, white liberals supporting Obama are doing so because of the color of his skin and the perceived content of his character. Racial guilt is the gasoline that powers the engine of the white liberal: it leads Caucasian “progressives” to support such foolish ideas as hate crimes legislation, racial quotas, speech codes in universities, and all manner and manifestation of madness. White liberals who want Obama...

Howie Carr thread; columns, discussion of his show. Is there a winner in the death pool? Charlton Heston won't be down for bkfst...also if there's a Sunday Herald column today we'll lead off with that

How many times have I told you? With Deval, it’s all about showing him the money. Originality is not his strong suit; he follows in the footsteps of others. Jesse Jackson makes a fortune in the racket Tom Wolfe called “steam control,” and Deval shakes down Coke and Texaco. But when you’re building a $7 million mansion in the Berkshires with a nut of maybe $30,000 a month, it doesn’t matter how big your “severance packages” were, you always need more dough. So now Deval mimics Barack Obama. He finds some new marks and scores a $1.35 million advance for...

NYT THURSDAY: New Massachusetts Governor 'On The Ropes'... Developing...

(CBS) Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said that he believed if Barack Obama goes into the Denver convention leading in the count of popular vote and pledged delegates, that he will have earned the support of superdelegates - and the nomination. “I think the superdelegates in the end will ratify the will of the people and the pledged delegates," Patrick, a Democrat, said. “He will have earned [the nomination], he will have earned it against a very entrenched and strong contender.” Appearing on Face The Nation, Patrick told host Bob Schieffer that he hoped the Democratic Party would not become divided...

Gov. Deval Patrick is preparing to launch a task force to target companies that are using illegal workers to pad their profits and deprive the state of tens of millions of dollars in tax revenues, officials said. Administration sources said the task force will focus on tightening enforcement of employment laws that are routinely being ignored by firms in multiple sectors of the economy. An untold number of Bay State companies employ illegal immigrant workers as part of a practice that has become an increasing drain on state tax revenues. Illegal workers are prevalent in restaurants, the homebuilding industry, hospitality...

Gov. Deval Patrick says we need gambling because casinos will bring jobs, tourism and taxes to the commonwealth. He didn’t mention one other thing they’ll bring: Lawsuits. Arelia Taveras is suing a whole slew of casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas because they allowed her to lose nearly $1 million playing blackjack. After weeks of crying “Hit me!” she’s hitting back with a $20 million racketeering lawsuit in federal court. If this strikes you as a ridiculous lawsuit filed by someone who lacks all common sense, you will not be surprised to learn that Taveras is an attorney. In...

Early last week, the presidential campaign was rocked by the "bombshell" that Barack Obama had borrowed certain rhetorical flourishes from Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick's 2006 gubernatorial campaign. The revelations were not universally regarded as shocking. Anyone who was aware of the existence of Deval Patrick prior to the publication of this story could see the similarities between the Obama and Patrick campaigns. Both men ran campaigns based on hope. Both ostentatiously sought out a style that would transcend politics as usual. They shared a strategist, David Axelrod, who had penned vacuously uplifting prose for John Edwards long before Edwards became...

“Speak to us, oh beautiful one, tell us how you make that glorious sound, that even now an anticipation of it has reduced me to a snarling, raging, panting, jungle beast!” Birdie: “You gotta be sincere! You gotta be sincere! You gotta feel it here, 'Cause if you feel it here, Well, then you're gonna be honestly sincere!”-- Bye Bye Birdie, 1960 Over the past weekend, several keen observers of politics suddenly noticed that Sen Obama was giving speeches recycling the same content-free platitudes that marked one of the strangest in American politics: that of Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. “Don’t...

Obama says borrowed lines not a big deal By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer 15 minutes ago Sen. Barack Obama said Monday that he probably should have given his friend — the governor of Massachusetts — credit for using his lines over the weekend. Howard Wolfson, a spokesman for Hillary Rodham Clinton accused Obama of plagiarizing Gov. Deval Patrick. Wolfson said that raises questions about the premise of Obama's candidacy — his rhetorical skills. Obama, D-Ill., says that's going too far. He says he really doesn't think it's a big deal to use Patrick's words because they share ideas all...