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DAVID S. BERNSTEIN

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Can Patrick Hang On?

What Deval needs to do now
Massachusetts has a mixed record of re-electing governors.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 29, 2010

Lobbyists line up to line House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s pockets

Good to be king
This has been a brutally difficult year for Massachusetts candidates to raise money. But there is a clear exception to that drought: House Speaker Robert DeLeo, who appears to have smashed recent records for fundraising to this point in the year.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 15, 2010

Review: Thy Will Be Done

Sara Herwig becomes woman, minister
There is a marvelous, understated juxtaposition here between Sara Herwig's journey to becoming a woman and her journey to becoming a minister.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 08, 2010

Worcester Rising

Lt. Governor Tim Murray, Congressman Jim McGovern, and sheriff Guy Glodis have pushed the Bay State's political frontier westward
Massachusetts's second-largest city has always been Boston's ugly step-sister, ignored and marginalized by the state's political elites. Tell a Bay State political veteran that you're writing about Worcester's political power, and the first reaction, more often than not, is a hearty laugh.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 03, 2010

GOP Know-Nothings: Hard-right Congressional candidates complicate Charlie Baker's run for governor

Plus, replacing John Tobin on the Boston City Council.
With a strong anti-incumbent mood at their backs, Massachusetts Republicans should be able to make significant gains this year, simply by keeping the focus on Beacon Hill Democrats.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | August 29, 2010

Baker's Learning Curve

A debate shows that the candidate is improving — but has a long way still to go
In the first Massachusetts gubernatorial debate, this past June on WRKO radio, Republican Charlie Baker fared poorly, sounding defensive and petulant during testy exchanges with Governor Deval Patrick and Treasurer Tim Cahill.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | August 18, 2010

Federal trans-formation

Frustrating on high-profile LGBT issues, Barack Obama has moved quickly, with little fanfare, on gender-identity issues.
The LGBT community has had its complaints about Barack Obama and his administration, particularly concerning the pace of eliminating the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy, and passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | August 15, 2010

Rookies Go Bust

DeLeo and Baker were bested in Beacon Hill's gaming showdown, not so Cahill
The end of the two-year Massachusetts legislative session frequently turns into a high-stakes poker game, with the governor, Senate president, and House speaker bluffing and bargaining down to the wire — along with lobbyists, interest groups, and, in election years, candidates for state office kibitzing from the sidelines.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | August 04, 2010

Burn Baby Burn

John Kerry, Scott Brown, and the death of climate-change legislation
Last Thursday afternoon, moments after I posted on Facebook about the death of the climate-change bill, I got a message from a surprised and disappointed Laura Everett.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | July 28, 2010

Bad news for Mitt?

Presidential primary schedule might ruffle Romney's chances
If former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney runs for president again in 2012, he will start with some distinct advantages over his likely opponents for the GOP nomination.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | July 21, 2010

He'll be back?

Beacon Hill Democrats might be missing their last chance before a Republican gets the veto stamp. Plus, will ballot questions spell Deval’s doom?
Democratic legislators are so used to commanding supermajorities on Beacon Hill, and to slapping around Governor Deval Patrick whenever the spirit moves them, that they don't seem to be thinking about what politics and policy-making might look like should Republican Charlie Baker defeat Patrick this November.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | July 21, 2010

Rough Seas Ahead

Will the economy, the oil spill, and Afghanistan conspire to sink Obama's presidency?
Eighteen months after Barack Obama took office with the largest plateful of troubles of any president in recent memory, it would seem only fair for him to finally get a stretch of smooth sailing.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | July 14, 2010

Same Old Faces

It's an outsider's year for candidates, but the consultants are old Beacon Hill mainstays. Plus, who spent what at the conventions, and Baker goes on TV first.
If you're wondering who the geniuses are behind the political campaigns in Massachusetts this year — the strategists, media firms, ad teams, and fundraisers — well, it's a lot of the same folks who have been behind Massachusetts campaigns for a long time. Candidates may win or lose, but consultants are forever.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | June 24, 2010

Dead Kids

Startling sociological findings about violence and Boston's inner-city youth
Boston's violence promotes more violence, and its murders beget even more murder.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | June 15, 2010

Weenie Roast!

The Phoenix 's second annual Memorial Day political roast
A year ago, with scandals and embarrassments swirling around Massachusetts state politics, the Phoenix tossed some well-deserving pols on the flames in our first annual Memorial Day political roast. I'm pleased that I've been invited back.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | June 05, 2010

Heck of a Guy

Despite a history of illiberal views and a boorish reputation, Guy Glodis enters the Democratic state convention unscathed
Scott Brown’s stunning victory in January’s special US Senate election continues to reverberate through Massachusetts politics.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 26, 2010

GOP leaders must call for Rand Paul to withdraw

New libertarian conservatism
It had already been clear enough from reports coming out of Kentucky prior to Tuesday's primary, but any lingering questions were put to rest earlier tonight on the Rachel Maddow Show: Dr. Rand Paul, Republican nominee for US Senate in Kentucky, disapproves of the public accommodations provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 21, 2010

Boston tucks away a $125 million windfall

More for Moneybags?
As debate continues over the city’s finances — and whether the city of Boston can afford firefighters’ raises, branch libraries, community-center staffing, and other costs in tight times — the city is planning to quietly tuck away a one-time windfall of more than $125 million.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 24, 2010

Moneybags Menino

The mayor cuts services, but sits on a stash of cash.
Inside Boston’s political back rooms, there is a growing suspicion that Mayor Thomas Menino is sitting on millions of dollars — tens of millions, maybe as much as $400 million — that could be used to save vital city services, such as, among many examples, four branch libraries and eight community centers that are slated to be shuttered.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 17, 2010

‘There are no rules’

The 11th-hour change
On April 19, the Globe first reported that arbitrators had awarded the Boston firefighters union a 19-percent raise. By the next morning, both the Globe and the Herald were citing Menino administration figures of a $74 million cost.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 12, 2010

Mayor-Select Marie?

Some think that Tom Menino is anointing Marie St. Fleur as his successor, but he might just be serving himself
Tom Menino, just a few months into an unprecedented fifth term as Boston’s mayor, has raised eyebrows by hiring State Representative Marie St. Fleur of Dorchester to the newly created, $120,000-a-year position of chief of advocacy and strategic investment.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | May 05, 2010

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