Support BMG PAC!

Make a secure credit card contribution using Google Checkout:

Or send a check to BMG PAC, PO Box 877, Medford, MA 02155.

Make a New Account

Forget your username or password?

FREE COPY OF BOB'S BOOK Barack Obama for Beginners to every 50th Facebook Friend!

BMG on Facebook

About

About us
Rules of the road - please read!
Formatting and multimedia tips
Email us
RSS feed

BMG TRAFFIC REPORT
Blue Mass. Swag

Event Calendar

February 2010
(view month)

S M T W R F S

* 01 02 03 04 05 06

07 08 09 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 * * * * * *

<< (add event) >>

Active Users

Currently 22 user(s) logged on.

Blog Roll

Massachusetts Left
.08 Acres
Below Boston
Berkshires Blog
Blue News Tribune
Chimes at Midnight
Eisenthal Report
Granby 01033
Health Care for All
Left in Lowell
MA lefty blogs
Marry in Mass.
Mass Engagement
Massachusetts Liberal
Michael Forbes-Wilcox
My Dedham
Progressive Mass.
Quriltai on the Shore
Ryan's Take
Someday I Will
ShrewsBuried
Talking Stoneham
The Fray
Universal hub

Differently-Winged
John Daley
Mass. Pro-Life
No Looking Backwards
Peter Porcupine
Pundit Review
Red Mass Group
Scaling the Hill 2010

Mass. Media
David S. Bernstein
Cambridge politics
CommonWealth Unbound
Globe bloggers
Herald bloggers
Hub Blog
Jon Keller
MassBeacon
Media Nation (Dan Kennedy)
Open Media Boston
Adam Reilly
Toll Talk (Mary Connaughton)
Weekly Dig Blog

Legal
ACS Blog
Balkinization
Election law
How Appealing
SCOTUSblog
Volokh Conspiracy

General
Accountable Strategies
Billionaires for Bush
Blue Works Better
Crooks and Liars
Daily Howler
Daily Kos
Democracy Arsenal
Eschaton (Atrios)
Glenn Greenwald
Grist (environment blog)
Hullabaloo (Digby)
LiberalOasis
MyDD
Oliver Willis
Pandagon
Political Animal
Political Critic
Political Wire
Poor Man
Progressive Blog Digest
Real Climate
Senate Guru
Swing State Project
Tapped
Talking Points Memo
Think Progress
Truth and Progress
Turn Maine Blue
Wonkette

BMG chats up Jack E. Robinson

by: David

Sun Oct 01, 2006 at 23:03:40 PM EDT

Charley and I spent half an hour this afternoon in a wide-ranging and interesting discussion with Jack E. Robinson, the Republican challenger to Ninth District incumbent US Rep. Steve Lynch.

Here's the audio. It's well worth a listen. For example, in the first 30 seconds we get this: "One of the reasons I'm taking on Mr. Lynch is that he's more conservative than I am, and I'm the Republican in the race." There's lots more where that came from.

Charley and I will be posting some written notes from the conversation in due course. Our thanks to Jack for a most enjoyable conversation.

David :: BMG chats up Jack E. Robinson

Tags: vote 11.7.2006, Massachusetts, Lynch, Robinson, BMG, (All Tags)

Print Friendly View

Send As Email

BMG chats up Jack E. Robinson | 9 comments

Wish Robinson wasn't a Republican ... (0.00 / 0)

Listened to the whole interview. Robinson sounded pretty darn reasonable (I gather he'd had some problems with 'reasonableness' in the past.), with some good ideas.

Went to his web site. Actually agreed with quite a few of his positions. Pro Stem Cell Research. In favor of raising the minimum wage. Against putting discrimination into the constitution.

And I can't STAND Lynch. The worst kind of Democrat, in my opinion. Way, way too conservative. And Lynch strikes me as arrogant.

So I'd vote for Robinson... If the House wasn't so close.

'Cause Jack Robinson may be an relatively independent Republican, but he'd still caucus to elect Hastert and those clowns. And the House will be very, very close.

Looks like I'll vote for Dunklebarger again ... Or if the Lynch-Robinson election polls to be not close (which is, lets be honest, likely), I may vote for Robinson just to show everyone how much many of us dislike our Representative Lynch.

Can we get an electable Democrat to go against Lynch two years from now? What's Brian Joyce doing in 2008 ... ?

by: Jeremy @ Sun Oct 01, 2006 at 23:10:21 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

I agree with your sentiments... (0.00 / 0)

but I wonder: has Robinson said he'd vote for Dennis "child predator enabler" Hastert and company? I mean, there's no rule that says he'd have to. In fact, he could plausibly caucus with the Dems anyway. Sure, the GOP could shout him down and needle him, but the Dems could bring him in the fold, and he could even run as a Dem two years from now as the incumbant.

So -- who's he going to caucus with?

by: stomv @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 05:42:31 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Unclear. (0.00 / 0)

As I recall the conversation, Robinson didn't commit to vote for Hastert (if Haster even stands for reelection as Speaker, which IMHO is looking less likely), but he didn't commit not to either. But I think the likelihood of his caucusing with the Dems is low to nonexistent. What he wants to do is contribute to the ascendancy of 30 or so moderate Republicans, who would hold considerable sway if the GOP has a majority of only a couple of seats.

by: David @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 07:32:27 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Beating Lynch (0.00 / 0)

Brian Joyce is going to beat Stephen Lynch? Puh-leeeze!! He couldn't do it 5 years ago, what makes you think he can do it now, when Lynch has the powers of incumbancy.

by: AaronUSA @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 11:18:18 AM CDT

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

A serious Democractic opponent for Lynch (0.00 / 0)

What makes me think that Joyce would be a serious contender for Lynch?

In 2001, either Cheryl Jacques or Brian Joyce would have beat Stephen Lynch if one of them had dropped out of the race. The liberal vote was split. As noted by the media of the time:

http://www.bostonpho...

That being said, a lot has changed since then. As you noted, Stephen Lynch is now the incumbent -- although he hasn't been getting great press for being an incumbent.

Also, the district has been redistricted, to Stephen Lynch's advantage.

In any case, Stephen Lynch is one of the few Mass representatives who has had both primary and general election challengers this year. With luck, 18 months from now, someone with name recognition will notice that and challenge him in the primary.

by: Jeremy @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 12:45:52 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Oh Please (5.00 / 1)

Lynch cleaned up in the Democratic Primary against a single progressive candidate. His numbers were on par with Galvin's beating of Bonifaz and Mike Sullivan's destroying of Desmond in the Middlesex Clerk's race.

While I disagree with Steve Lynch on several issues, he works hard and is progressively pro-worker. Lynch has won a State Rep seat, a State Senate seat and a congressional seat (on 9/11 by the way) by having people underestimate him.

If progressives are going to waste time with Jack E. Robinson (what planet are you on if you think he Jack E wouldn't be backing a Republican for Speaker if they retain control) instead of working to help - oh let's say Paul Hodes in NH2, then a sad state of affairs has come to pass.

by: Striker57 @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 14:14:31 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

the interview (6.00 / 1)

I think one of the main points of the interview was to take the pulse -- if indeed there is one -- of the Republican Party in MA, and its many discontents. Jack is certainly a fellow with opinions on that. Progressives would do well to take note.

---

Blue Mass. Group
So what politics do you deserve?

by: Charley on the MTA @ Mon Oct 02, 2006 at 20:25:22 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Robinson Responds (0.00 / 0)

There's no guarantee that I would vote for Hastert for Speaker. In fact, in wake of the Mark Foley scandal, I was one of the first Republicans to call for the resignation of anyone in the House GOP leadership - including Hastert - if it is proved they had advance knowledge and decided to cover-up. See my press release issued on Monday, a day before the resignation calls started to cascade. Also, where has Rep. Lynch been on this? He's been as quiet on this as he's been on the Big Dig.

Jackforcongress

by: Jackforcongress @ Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 17:43:20 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

But will you vote for a Democrat? (0.00 / 0)

I don't think Hastert will run for Speaker anyway, so saying you won't vote for him doesn't matter. But if the house ends up having 218 Republicans and 217 Democrats, which party are you going to support? Having a Republican majority will cause more problems than having a conservative Democrat.

by: jkw @ Fri Oct 06, 2006 at 00:18:32 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

BMG chats up Jack E. Robinson | 9 comments