Saturday, March 22, 2014

Massachusetts GOP Stands for Liberty and Against Oppression and Coercion

Res Publica
Massachusetts GOP Stands for Liberty and Against Oppression and Coercion
by David Trumbull - March 7, 2014

On Saturday, March 22nd, delegates to the 2014 Republican State Convention will gather in Boston to vote on candidates for public offices and adopt the Massachusetts Republican Party 2014 Platform. From the readership area of the Post-Gazette I have the names of following delegates from East Boston. Charles Veiga, Henry A. Boyd, Michael Palermo, James Loring, Vincent Gioioso, Erik Stivaletta, Joseph Steffano, Sterling Sobey and Chris Morton.

The Party Platform they will be adopting has already been written by the Massachusetts Republican State Committee. The platform is a strong statement in favor of individual liberty and against all forms of oppression and coercion. The platform "plank" on "values" deserves to be read, in whole, and I, accordingly copy it below.

"True to the spirit of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, Republicans believe that unalienable individual rights and the responsibilities that go with them are the foundation of freedom.

"Informed by the essential guarantees of the Declaration of Independence, we affirm the inherent dignity and sanctity of human life. We believe that every instance of abortion is tragic. We advocate policies that will assist a woman during a crisis pregnancy.

"We reject all forms of discrimination, intolerance and exploitation. We are opposed to modern-day slavery and human trafficking and respect the inherent dignity of all human beings and their right to freedom. We believe the institution of traditional marriage strengthens our society. There should be no infringement on the rights of the people of Massachusetts to vote on ballot initiatives.

"Our Party vocally supports religious liberty. As a Party, we support the Constitutional guarantee of individual religious freedom, and we oppose judicial and legislative attempts to eradicate faith, whether in symbol or practice, from public life.

"We affirm every citizen's right to apply religious values to public policy and we support the right of faith-based organizations to participate fully in public programs without renouncing their beliefs, symbols, or hiring practices.

"We support the First Amendment right of freedom of association for religious organizations, including the right of religious organizations to refrain from participation in public policies that violate their religious conviction."

One Party Rule in Massachusetts

Res Publica
One Party Rule in Massachusetts
by David Trumbull - March 14, 2014

With President Barack Obama's approval rating at 41%, the lowest ever, and the latest polling showing a majority of Americans favoring Republican control of congress, this November's election looks to be a good one for Republicans nationally. Add to that the latest news from Tampa. In what many considered a referendum on Obamacare, there was a special election in Florida Tuesday to fill a vacancy in the U.S. House of Representatives -- Republican David Jolly defeated Democrat Alex Sink. Jolly, considered the underdog throughout the race, campaigned for repeal of Obamacare, and that was enough to assure a GOP victory.

What will the 114th Congress which convenes on January 3, 2015, bring us? An increased Republican majority in the House? Certainly. Currently there are 233 Republicans and 199 Democrats. More Republicans in the Senate? Certainly. Currently 45 out of the 100 senators are Republican. A Republican majority in the Senate? Possible. Republicans need a net gain of six seats. The good news for Republicans is that many of the seats that up for election this year (every two years one-third of the senators are up for election) are in states that are somewhat more favorable to Republicans than to Democrats.

Yes, 2014 will be a good year for Republicans nationally. So what about here in Massachusetts? Is Boston Magazine correct in its headline "There's Little Hope for Republican Gains in Massachusetts?" The article is by former Boston Phoenix reporter David Bernstein, one of the best observers of Bay State politics and, his own liberal views not withstanding, one of the few members of the mainstream media in Massachusetts who actually pays attention to, and reports on, the state of the GOP.

Why is the outlook so poor for the Republican Party in Massachusetts? The answer is simple. Years -- nay, decades -- of the party establishment fighting fairly and unfairly against the party activists has left a shell of a party with no substance. There's a good donor base that pays the bills, keeps the party office open, and finances the high profile races. But behind that, there is not much of a political party. Most legislative seats go uncontested, and what candidates the party has for the legislature are, mostly inexperience, under-funded, and unsupported by the party which directs all resources toward a few favored candidates.

It is difficult to say what, if anything, the Massachusetts Republican Party stands for. One might think that the Party Platform (from which I quoted last week) would be a guide. However, Kristen Hughes, chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, was quoted in the online edition of the Springfield Republican newspaper as bashing her own party's platform. Candidates Charlie Baker and Richard Tisei, often cited as the GOP's rising stars are both actively opposed to the party platform adopted by the State Committee. The Republican establishment is solidly behind Baker who, again, is running for Governor, a race he lost in 2010, and behind Tisei, who is, again, running for the congressional seat he failed to win 2012.

Yeah, Baker and Tisei, what a great idea, because, what? they that worked so well in the past. Resign yourself to more years of one-party rule in Massachusetts.

Crimea River

Res Publica
Crimea River
by David Trumbull - March 21, 2014

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldiers knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

. . . 

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

The above stanzas are two of the six that make up Alfred, Lord Tennyson's celebrated poem, "Charge of the Light Brigade," a romantic account of Britain's blunders in the Battle of Balaclava, fought 160 years ago this October, as one important encounter of British and Russian forces in the Crimean War.

Once again the West views with apprehension Russia incursion into Crimea. Once again, war, a major European land war, is a real, if remote, possibility. In the Nineteenth Century Crimean War (October 1853 – February 1856) Russia lost to an alliance of France, Britain, the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia.

The causes of the war, and its effects on later history are too complex for this short essay. However, some things came out of the Crimean War that we live with every day.

The modern nursing profession is generally regarded as having been birthed in the Crimean War out of the efforts of Florence Nightingale (1820 - 1910), popularly known as "The Lady with the Lamp."

Russia, with heavy war debts, and doubting her ability to hold onto its North American, territory should the British seek a fight over it, sold Alaska to the United States.

To this day we keep our faces warm when skiing (or hidden when robbing banks) by wearing a knitted cap that pulls down to cover most of the face, in other words, a balaclava, from the Battle of Balaclava, topic of Tennyson's poem, and the first place they were widely used.

What will come out of the current conflict over Crimea? Well, in the words of an America general of about the same time as the Crimean War, William Tecumseh Sherman (1820 - 1891), "War is Hell." I'm sure the noble six hundred would agree.