Just 119 days into his first term in Congress, Salem's Seth Moulton, who upset longtime incumbent John Tierney in the Democratic primary last fall, brought his distinct perspective to The New England Council for the first time. He won, he said, by running to the center. And he's off to a good start, deftly responding …
Continue reading Combatting ISIS: Seth Moulton on strategy and tactics
At the risk of sounding immodest, I want to share with readers how deeply moved I am to be receiving an honorary doctor of letters from Regis College, a dynamic and growing university in Weston, MA. Last night I was privileged to deliver an address to the hundreds of students receiving master's and doctoral degrees. …
Continue reading Civic leadership through robust public dialogue and love of language
New catering services. Sound engineering. Construction of sets. New sound stages. Trailers for sets. Porta-potties. All side businesses that claim to have prospered in Massachusetts ever since the state implemented a 25 percent tax credit on production costs and salaries plus a break on certain sales taxes to entice production companies to set up shop …
I just returned from State Department briefings for editorialists from across the country and posted the following to the website of the Association of Opinion Journalists, just one of several key issues covered in Monday's day-long sessions. The announcement of a changed relationship between Cuba and the United States is not a kumbaya moment. There’s much …
Continue reading Normalizing U.S./Cuban relations a mix of nitty-gritty and key principles
Back in the 1990's, new House Speaker Newt Gingrich made me furious with his Contract with America, which critics dubbed the Contract on America. It was an era of slash-and-burn, anti-government GOP ascendancy, when in 1995 the Republican Party took over the House for the first time in 40 years. The victory signaled a more intense fight for smaller government, …
Years ago, Barbara Bush is said to have commented that son Jeb was the best politician in the family. That's the side of the former Florida governor that I saw in New Hampshire on Friday morning at the Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College. The hall was filled to overflowing and the boyish looking, …
Continue reading Jeb Bush – for now, more appealing than appalling
The suspense was non-existent. "If" Hillary would run again has been "when" for a very long time. "How" was all that remained to be revealed, and her strategy for announcing was an effective alternative to her 2008 entitled-to-win-it grand opening. No big staged event, with American flags flying and hordes of supporters waving signs. No big speech. …
Very knowledgeable politicians speaking in Boston last Monday expressed qualified hopes that Congress could actually get something done. They pointed to the recent "doc fix," a remedy for the unrealistic curtailment of Medicare payments to providers. The bill passed by the House and awaiting Senate action even reauthorized CHIP (the children's health plan) and provided some …
Continue reading Presidential race will thwart progress in Congress
It's great fun to see two outstanding Boston Globe opinion writers going at a subject hammer and tong, in total disagreement about the Olympics, Boston 2024 and the psychic state of the organizers as well as that of the people of Massachusetts. Joan Vennochi does a surgical rearrangement of John Fish, the driving force behind …
Continue reading Globe columnists duel over Boston Olympics bid
There's no doubt that Hillary Clinton will be the most experienced Presidential wannabe in either party - when she announces her candidacy. But the lead-up to her announcement has been dogged by missteps and reminders of why people don't want the Clintons back in the White House. Her baggage piles up every week. While most of …
Marjorie Arons-Barron 