Our Stubborn Governor
The ongoing controversy over Governor Patrick’s handling of the problems at the state’s Department of Children and Families helps provide some political science insight into the running of...
View ArticleMad Hot Sexy Issue of 2014: Public Administration
Someone in the Patrick administration opened a window to let spring air in and a $100 million dollar bill floated out. It hasn’t been seen since. Oh well. Okay that isn’t fair, but as the Boston Globe...
View ArticleDeval Patrick’s “City Upon a Hill”
Politicians from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan have invoked John Winthrop’s “city upon a hill” phrase for political effect but few have embodied the phrase in the manner of Governor Deval Patrick,...
View ArticleDon’t further the ugly
The plight of migrant children and the role of the Commonwealth in offering them shelter is going to produce many reactions. There are those grounded in reality (cost, duration, locations best suited...
View ArticleFaith and Philosophy in Gov. Patrick’s Immigration Decision
Governor Deval Patrick’s remarkable press conference announcing that Massachusetts would welcome unaccompanied immigrant children continues to reverberate through the commonwealth. His actions and...
View ArticleThe demagogues among us
There’s nothing like the fear of the other to bring the demagogues in our midst out into the open. Whether it is an ugly town meeting in Bourne or a radio personality stoking fear at a rally in Boston,...
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The renovated corner office
I suppose there is some charm in working in an old office that would have been good enough for John Hancock. Perhaps the next time a major storm or security situation threatens the Commonwealth, the...
View ArticleQuestioning Faith and Politics
Recently Governor Deval Patrick stood with leaders of diverse faith communities and invoked his own religious faith as a rationale for accepting immigrant children into the commonwealth. I wrote...
View ArticleMassachusetts Madisonianism
Recently in thinking about the Massachusetts legislature I’ve come across some academic arguments that the power of the legislature has deteriorated significantly over the years. These arguments take...
View ArticleA hierarchy of Massachusetts political endorsements
Yesterday’s Globe offered a peak into the strategies employed by candidate Steve Grossman to obtain coveted political endorsements for his gubernatorial run. But does it matter? Maybe. Maybe not. Our...
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