Keller @ Large
WBZ-TV Political Analyst Jon Keller is full of opinions, and he isn't afraid to share them. Check back often for Jon's unique take on the world of politics, with some occasional Pop Culture thrown in.
You can watch Jon's commentaries from WBZ-TV to the right of your screen. Read his blog entries for wbztv.com below.
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Bio: Meet Jon Keller
The Governor Responds
May 16, 2008 5:20 p.m.
Wow! Barely 24 hours after posting a viewer's query about Governor Deval Patrick's whereabouts and activities (see previous blog posting), we have a response from press secretary Kyle Sullivan, quoted here in its entirety:
"We appreciate the opportunity to answer your reader's question. Since you would like a brief reply for what could be a very expansive answer, I will break it down into what I think are the two main questions: Where is the Governor and what he is doing?
Where is the Governor?
The simple answer is the Governor has been all over the state. In the last six weeks alone the Governor traveled across the state highlighting his plan to make immediate and long-term investments across the Commonwealth, making funds available to train new workers, and helping communities create a culture of opportunity for all residents. Specifically – when he hasn't been at the State House -- he has been in Haverhill(2x), Lowell (2x), Salem, Newburyport, Norton, Fairhaven, Northampton (2x), Springfield, Fall River, New Bedford, Chicopee, Lexington, Brookline, Newton, Fitchburg, Devens, Mattapan, Wellesley, Grove Hall, Amherst, Jamaica Plain, Greenfield, Shelburne, Roxbury (3x), Wilmington, Billerica, Worcester Weymouth, Cambridge, Lynn, Burlington and Pittsfield.
What has he done?
Highlights in 2007 include the historic vote on same-sex marriage, lower rates and increased choices in auto insurance, implementation of health care reform, development of a statewide anti-crime council, passage of the film tax credit, the creation of thousands of new jobs, attracting new and dynamic leaders in important areas like the Department of Corrections, DSS, and DCR, the passage of Commonwealth Corps, and national leadership in clean energy and environmental issues.
Already this year, the Governor has worked with legislative leadership to forge a compromise to close corporate tax loopholes, create an Education Secretary to lead the next round of education reform, and put in place a child advocate for the first time in state history. In addition, Governor Patrick filed a budget that balanced nearly half a billion in savings and efficiencies, new revenue, and targeted investments in job creation, education, and public safety.
What is he doing now?
The Governor has been focused on creating economic opportunity and job growth through a number of very specific efforts:
Accelerated Bridge Program
He filed this week legislation to accelerate the repair and replacement of approximately 250 – 300 Massachusetts bridges identified as structurally deficient. With the strong support of Speaker DiMasi, Senate President Murray and Treasurer Cahill, the nearly $3 billion plan will address hundreds of bridges in most urgent need of repair across the Commonwealth over the next eight years, creating thousands of engineering and construction jobs while saving an estimated $1.5 billion in avoided inflation and deferred maintenance costs and ensuring the public safety.
Making Massachusetts a Leader in Life Science and Clean Energy
Governor initiatives that will make Massachusetts a leader in the fields of life sciences and clean energy are expected to be approved by the Legislature in the next couple of weeks. These are smart and targeted efforts that take advantage of Massachusetts' knowledge-based economy.
Education
The Governor and his team are finalizing the findings and recommendations of the Readiness Project that will be announced next month. As the leading example of grassroots governing, the Readiness Project has not only brought over 100 experts, activists and practitioners in education together to help prepare our children to compete in the global economy, it has also included a number of town hall forums and over 800 "ready rep" volunteers who are connecting these reforms to their local communities. We fully expect that the results will lead to a robust, inclusive conversation about how MA can build upon its success to better prepare our children for the future.
I hope this answered the question for your reader. Also as a reminder to your readers, the Governor appears monthly on WTKK to answer questions directly from callers and e-mailers and we hope all you readers will listen in.
Regards,
Kyle"
A Question For The Governor
May 15, 2008
This e-mail just landed in my inbox, quoted verbatim:
"Could you do the folks of Massachusetts a favor and tell us where our governor is and what he is doing for the people of this state? I just received a piece of mail from an organization for whom the governor will be the keynote speaker. It refers to him as "one of the nation's most talented and innovative leaders and fastest rising political stars." Are we forever doomed to be merely a stepping stone for our past and present governors' political ambitions? When is our governor going to address the people of Massachusetts to discuss the issues of poverty, crime, healthcare, rising fuel costs, jobs, education and all the other quality of life issues? And I am a lifelong Democrat who voted for him."
Hey, Governor's office! (Sorry if I woke you.) Shoot me a reasonably brief email answering this voter's question, and I'll post it in its entirety.
'In The Tank' For Obama?
May 13, 2008
From an interview on Fox this morning , courtesy of the Politico web site:
Host: "What percentage of the mainstream media is in-the-tank for Barack Obama?"
Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe: "Oh, 90 percent. I mean, from day one it is what it is. We're not complaining. We have to deal with the hand we're dealt with."
Yikes! OK blog readers, your turn: do you believe that's true? And what is your reaction to it?
I'll post interesting responses here later.
Obama Puts On Flag Pin
May 13, 2008
That's an actual headline out of West Virginia today.
On the one hand, this is a smart, if obvious and long overdue, move. Why give the doubters oxygen for their musings about your patriotism by pompously refusing to ever wear a flag pin? And if you really love America (as I'm sure Obama does), expressing it in this way doesn't seem such an onerous burden.
On the other hand, if he's willing to do this now, what in the name of Michael Dukakis was this all about?
LeBron's Burden
May 13, 2008
Of course, I want the Celtics to crush the Cavs and LeBron James. But I must confess, I've always been a huge LeBron fan ever since I attended his first pro game in the NBA summer league over at UMass/Boston and admired the way he handled himself both on and off the court.
And this dust-up with his mother at last night's game when she butted into his business by heckling Paul Pierce just makes me admire him more. Who hasn't had a moment in their lives when they have to tell an over-protective Mom "please back off, you're embarassing me!" Don't worry LeBron, I have your back on this one.
How To Deal With Willie Horton
05/12/08 1:04 PM
Here is an excellent column by Susan Estrich, manager of Michael Dukakis's 1988 presidential campaign, explaining how they bungled their handling of the infamous Willie Horton affair and why Barack Obama should learn those hard lessons as he begins a racially-charged general election campaign.
It should be required reading for the scores of delusional liberals for whom the Horton affair (as well as the 2004 anti-Kerry Swift Boat ads) are never cautionary tales of their own inability to properly handle hardball political tactics (not to mention their inability to admit mistakes) but symbols of right-wing depravity and voter stupidity. Want to win in November, instead of the usual outcome? Pride cometh before the fall, and attention must be paid.
Email Jon your comments and feedback
All The Hypocrisy That's Fit To Print
05/09/2008 3:25 PM
New York Times columnist Harvey Araton, stirring the pot as hard as he can, writes in today's paper of record that Patriots' coach Bill Belichick should be crucified for his egregious offenses against everything we hold sacred (e.g. videotaping the hand signals of opposing coaches):
"I believe Belichick should now be barred from coaching the Patriots for one season, on top of the $750,000 in fines and the forfeiture of a first-round draft pick levied on him and the Patriots by Goodell last fall."
Read the whole thing if you want a hearty chuckle. Meanwhile, although I don't have the time to waste on surfing back through Araton's entire print catalog, I'll venture an educated guess that he has never come close to demanding comparable punishment for the following New York sports cheaters, such as:
* Yankees drugger/slugger Jason Giambi. Surely, Araton will now militate for the Yanks to be stripped of their 2003 American League pennant, in which a human growth hormone-laden Giambi played a key role;
* Jets coach Eric Mangini, an assistant under Belichick here from 2000 to 2006 and, thus, complicit in what Araton hysterically labels Belichick's "decade of sin";
* The New York Knicks' NBA championships of 1970 and 1973 should be rescinded due to the obvious cheating of star player Bill Bradley. To this day, Celtic great John Havlicek has scars on his body from Bradley's chronic, patently-illegal clutching and grabbing;
* The 1994 NHL Stanley Cup victory of the New York Rangers was definetly the result of the constant tripping, holding, cross-checking, slashing, boarding and elbowing that has been part of every pro hockey game ever played, and should be erased from the record books, along with appropriate fines and suspensions for the participants. (We'll overlook the three pre-1940 cups won by the Rangers because they occurred prior to the advent of clueless moralizers like Araton.)
I'm sure there are many more venial New York sports sins that need to be expunged under the Times' ludicrous new code, but I'll leave their compilation to you. Gotta run to the mens room and wash Araton's column off my hands.
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It's The Pits
How many times have you said that about something in your daily life – an ugly building you see every day, a tangled intersection you must navigate on your commute, a broken-down playground in your neighborhood, a piece of dubious public art outside your office?
And how often have you said to yourself: "Gee, I wish Jon Keller would get himself over here to see this and do a report on it for WBZ News?"
Your prayers have been answered. OK, maybe you weren't exactly praying for it, but I think we can have a lot of fun, generate some constructive debate, and cast a spotlight on some dubious decision-making by the powers that be….if you'll help me.
Submit Your 'Pits' Nomination
Watch recent 'It's The Pits' reports
Dangerous Comm. Ave/BU Bridge Intersection
Harvard's Hideous Grad Student Dorm
Searching For Kerry
05/07/2008 2:33 PM
That's the theme of this amusing new web ad from the US Senate campaign of Republican Jim Ogonowski, one of two Republicans (along with Jeff Beatty) competing for the right to oppose John Kerry and assorted minor party candidates in November. Notice that the ad zeroes in on a sore subject – Kerry's alleged indifference to local concerns – that the incumbent has been trying to address by dramatically accelerating his local visibility in recent months.
(Full disclosure: my adult son is a Republican political activist involved in the Senate race; see the right-hand channel of this web page for details.)
Email Jon your comments and feedback