In today's Boston Herald Margery Eagan attacks, the Cardinal many people think will be on the short list to be the next Pope.
But it's unclear which Catholics will be swayed by New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan's delivering of the Republican convention's closing prayer Thursday after Romney speaks.
Pro-pedophile. Anti-poor. That's the rap on Dolan, also president of the U.S. Conference of Bishops. Progressive Catholics are complaining about Paul Ryan's pro-rich, slash-the-safety-net ideas. Clergy abuse survivor groups say Dolan still covers up for abusive priests.
Dolan is the leader of the Catholic Church in America. He is the head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. He also offered to say the closing prayer at the DNC. Marjorie, your "know nothingness" is showing.
2. Evan Kenney's update from Tampa
I received an update from Evan Kenney via email yesterday. He summed up his trip to Tampa so far.
I've never met so many important people in my entire life, and it's only been a weekend! I've also never seen so much media, especially media that want to hear from me.
I've spoken with Fox News, CBS, NPR, among others this weekend.
I've met Kerry Healey, Brad Jones, Doug Wead, Dr. Ron Paul, Jesse Benton, Howie Carr, Wolf Blitzer, Jon Keller, and Michael Steele, among others, in the past few days.
I haven't failed to show my youthful ignorance, however. Monday morning, I showed up, in a "Tribe Called Quest" T-shirt, to what I thought was just a continental breakfast at the Marriott.
Well, I must have missed a memo. It was a Mass GOP breakfast at which attendees were very well dressed in front of cameras.
Oops.
The media loved it, though. It turned out to be a great message. I told NPR that I might be the first Republican to ever own a Tribe Called Quest shirt, but that fact alone goes a long way to prove that the Republican party is changing not only in Massachusetts, but also across the country. The Republican Oath represents so much more than Mitt Romney or Ron Paul, and my presence alone in Tampa, as the youngest delegate from Massachusetts, is great evidence that our tent is growing progressively bigger.
OCPF reports can be interesting things to read. Especially the one for Donald Bourque, who is challenging Ryan Fattman. You see Bourque lists an expenditure for $1000 to the Massachusetts Democratic Party. What was the expenditure for?
A "vote buyer's list"! What in the world is a "vote buyer's list"? Does the Massachusetts Democratic Party have some sort of list of the people you can give walking around money to? If so why are they charging for it?
4. Lowell Sun picks up on leftist leanings of Lowell's "independent" mayor
The Lowell Sun picked up on the left leaning tendencies of Lowell's "independent mayor".
"They're trying to counter Scott's endorsements from Democrats and real independents by saying they have an independent voice, but the guy is to the left of her," said Robert Eno, who owns Red Mass Group, the blog in question. "The only reason he's an independent is because the Democratic party isn't left enough for him."
A Red Mass Group post published Sunday highlights several positions Murphy took during his 2007 run for Congress in the 5th District special election won by Niki Tsongas. During that race, Murphy advocated for a single-payer health-care system, enacting a temporary tax on all Americans any time Congress votes to declare war, and lifting the cap on Social Security payroll taxes.
The best part is Murphy's defense of his positions:
Murphy said Monday his views are nuanced and do not fit neatly into liberal or conservative boxes. For example, he said a single-payer health-care system could encourage entrepreneurship and risk-taking -- principles Republicans often extol.
"When you look at a number of these different issues and how I've approached them, they can't be simply charted like normal political beliefs on a line from blue to red," said Murphy.
Apparently, socialized medicine is a GOP position now.
