[statecom-discuss] Re: The groundswell grows! PASS THIS ON.

[Mike Heichman]

Jill Stein wrote:

> Please forward to 20 friends!
> GOT DEMOCRACY? Stein for Secretary Newsletter
> Dear Friend,
>
> It's happening! In the past 48 hours several major newspapers have 
> published powerful endorsement editorials for my candidacy, saying 
> that I will make a huge difference as Massachusetts Secretary of 
> State. The endorsements have triggered a groundswell for our campaign 
> across the state.
>
> The Metrowest Daily News sums it up:
>
> *"We need someone who will speak up when the political bosses and 
> special interests are cutting the rest of us out of the discussion, 
> someone who will advocate for stronger civic engagement and healthier 
> politics, who'll protect voters and taxpayers." The full editorial is 
> below.*
>
> Now it's up to you. Please email this message on to 20 friends who may 
> want to vote for change on November 7. Then ask them to pass it on to 
> 20 more people. When you do this, you will help us reach tens of 
> thousands of voters before election day.
>
> Friend by friend, we are igniting democracy in the Commonwealth. With 
> one more push, we will tip the balance for democracy and the healthy, 
> just Commonwealth we deserve. Pass it on NOW!
>
> Thanks,
> Jill Stein
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> Editorial, October 31, 2006
> MetroWest Daily News
>
> *Endorsement: Jill Stein for Secretary of State
> *
> The shrinking of the Massachusetts Republican Party is especially 
> evident in the lower part of the ballot. No Republicans have come 
> forward to challenge William Galvin, who has served 12 years as 
> secretary of state, Joe DeNucci, who has been auditor for nearly 20 
> years, or Timothy Cahill, elected treasurer in 2002.
>
> If the polls are correct, there is a good chance Democrats will 
> control every statewide office and every seat in the Congressional 
> delegation. The small band of Republicans in the state Legislature 
> continues to dwindle. Contested legislative races are increasingly 
> rare, with close to 98 percent of incumbents re-elected.
>
> We can't blame the Democrats for the Republicans' inability to 
> compete, but their success prompts a concern: Who'll be left to blow 
> the whistle if the Democrats misbehave?
>
> There is already too much secrecy on Beacon Hill. The Legislature, 
> having exempted itself from the Open Meeting Law, regularly locks the 
> people and press out of its deliberations. Budgets are written in 
> secret, and released with little time for even legislators, let alone 
> ordinary citizens, to figure out what is in them. The online versions 
> are so opaque as to be nearly worthless to anyone who isn't a state 
> employee or lobbyist.
>
> Lobbyists, by the way, spent more than $31 million working Beacon Hill 
> in 2004. When it comes to issues such as health care reform, auto 
> insurance reform, taxes and economic incentives, the lobbyists' ideas 
> and preferences are reflected in clauses that defy public scrutiny.
>
> What Massachusetts needs is a champion for government transparency and 
> democratic reform. We need someone who will speak up when the 
> political bosses and special interests are cutting the rest of us out 
> of the discussion, someone who will advocate for stronger civic 
> engagement and healthier politics.
>
> The secretary of state, whose responsibilities include managing 
> elections, regulating lobbyists and supervising public records, could 
> be such an advocate. But Galvin doesn't see his office that way. He 
> was all but silent when legislative leaders killed the Clean Elections 
> Law; he raised no fuss when they redrew legislative district lines to 
> further strengthen Democratic incumbents. When lobbyists and lawmakers 
> cut deals behind closed doors, Galvin goes along.
>
> Galvin does have an opponent on the Nov. 7 ballot: Jill Stein of the 
> Green-Rainbow Party. Stein, a Lexington physician, is a soft-spoken 
> and articulate critic of state politics and government policy. She 
> makes a convincing case that an aggressive secretary of state could 
> treat the ills that beset the Beacon Hill establishment, and save us 
> from what she calls "the hidden tax of influence-peddling."
>
> Galvin has had some success in protecting consumers from investment 
> fraud. He's made some improvement in voter registration and election 
> procedures, though he is now missing a federal deadline for making 
> voting machines more accessible to voters with disabilities.
>
> But Galvin is a pillar of the Democratic establishment who shows 
> little interest in rocking the boat. What Massachusetts needs in that 
> office is a champion of good government, a referee willing to blow the 
> whistle on the other players, a watchdog who'll protect voters and 
> taxpayers. For these reasons, we endorse *JILL STEIN *for secretary of 
> state.
>
> ------------
> For more information on the Jill Stein campaign, see 
> http://www.jillstein.org
>
> To read the endorsement of the New Bedford Standard Times, go to 
> http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/11-06/11-01-06/02opinion.htm
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