Globe editorial
Short Fuse
May 24, 2009
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Education: Only a partial reprieve
Massachusetts leads the nation in the move to expand school learning time, something the Obama administration sees as an education priority. So it was a blow when the state Senate's initial budget slashed $3.3 million from the initiative, even though Governor Patrick and House members had deemed it important enough to propose maintaining funding at the current $17.4 million level. Level funding wouldn't allow the 30 additional schools hoping to lengthen their days to do so, but it would at least preserve longer days for the 13,500 students at the 26 schools already participating. After the Senate adopted a 6.25 percent sales tax and its attendant revenues, it was able to return $1.7 million of the cut - about half a loaf. That still leaves nearly 6,800 small victims of the state's hard times.Polling: Your results may vary
The Republican National Committee last week backed off a resolution that aimed to rename the Democratic Party the "Democrat-Socialist Party," but apparently Richard Viguerie didn't get the memo. The direct-mail guru ran a poll on his ConservativeHQ website asking readers to label President Obama's politics, and then sent out a press release crowing with the results: "91% of Conservatives Believe Obama is a Socialist, Marxist, Communist or Fascist," the poll purports to show, "proving Obama is no garden variety liberal." In a monumental understatement, Viguerie concedes that "this is not a scientific poll." Duh. The respondents were all self-selecting conservative ultras who subscribe to Viguerie's e-mails or issue alerts.Romney: Do as I say (today)
As he demonstrated in his 2008 presidential campaign, Mitt Romney is as variable as the New England weather. Still, Romney positively outdid himself last week. Speaking at a National Rifle Association forum, he blasted President Obama's healthcare plans - proposals that look a good deal like the Massachusetts coverage law Romney helped bring about. But it gets stranger still. "The best path to healthcare reform is to let the American people make their own decisions, not have those decisions forced on them by government," proclaimed the perpetual candidate. This even though Romney's most important contribution to the state's landmark law was his call for an individual mandate - that is, a government-enforced requirement that everyone buy health insurance.
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