Hey, there! Log in / Register

Opponent charges Steve Lynch is as evil as Johnny Damon

We got this flyer from the D'Alessandro campaign yesterday:

The new face of evil: Click to embiggenThe new face of evil: Click to embiggen

Topics: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

In a word, lame.

up
Voting closed 0

you happen to agree with more progressive politics than Stephen Lynch is capable of (which isn't hard to imagine.) Lynch is the most conservative member of the MA congressional delegation.

I think the betrayal refers mainly to Lynch's NO vote on the health care insurance bill which, as everyone knows, was Kennedy's lifelong ambition. It's true Obama and Rahm fucked-it-up and made it a bailout of America's health insurance companies but let's face it, you have to start somewhere and the time was right as the GOP had self-destructed and left Democrats in control of the two chambers and the White House.

up
Voting closed 0

Oh my God. Your reasoning is moronic.
You admit that Obama and Rahm "fucked-it-up".
You admit that it was a bailout of America's health insurance industry.
And one of Stephen's main reasons for not backing it was because it left the insurance companies in charge of our health care (something his opponent refuses to admit).

I'm sorry, can you explain how his vote was a betrayal?!
He put his political future in jeopardy to do the right thing. Where I come from, that's another "b" word. Balls, not betrayal.

And as far as Lynch being "the most conservative member of the Massachusetts delegation", since when is that a bad thing? A "conservative Democrat" in Massachusetts is a pretty moderate Democrat anywhere else in the contry.
And we need more moderate Democrats in Congress so the crazy left and the crazy right aren't allowed to run EVERYTHING. Does every Democratic member have to march in lock step with the looney left? Can we have one - just one - person to represent the people in the middle who don't agree with the loonies? I thought we were supposed to be the bid tent party?

up
Voting closed 0

You give Lynch too much credit for his vote on health care. He interests were far more cynical. He takes more money from health insurers as campaign donations than any other Mass congressman. He was NOT looking out for his constituents, he was looking out for himself.

Watch his 15 minute debate. He wants voters to believe he supported the bill becaise he voted Yes on reconciliation. He also voted YES on the Stupak Amendment. He can't have it both ways, taking a "principled stand" opposing the bill, then taking a "principled stand" supporting it.

Lynch may be right for a more conservative district than MA-9, say somewhere in Mississippi but certainly not somewhere in Massachusetts.

up
Voting closed 0

He was even not refuting "death panels" at the Curry town hall

It's so much worse to me as a constituent that Lynch won't engage with the issues (won't debate or even outline his policy objectives) than any "negative" campaign.

I don't even think of this as negative. Digging up a chippy on the side is negative. Your opponent's record is what is at question. Completely relevant and fair.

I'd take Lynch supporters' complaints much more seriously if Lynch were standing for his record in debates.

up
Voting closed 0

I cannot believe how gullible some people are. Stevie Lynch initialy voted for Obama's health care bill. After he got a lot of flack from his constituants, who threatened to vote him out of office, he decided to vote against the Bill.

At least one of his sisters, J. L aka L.L, attempted to say Stevie couldn't vote for the Bill because he is a good Catholic and could not vote for it because it included abortion. After she repeated that numerous times it was pointed out to her that people knew he voted for the bill initially, even with the abortion clause in it.

The night of the Vote, for the Obama Health Care Bill, Stevie's sister stated that both Obama and Pelosi demanded that he meet with them in Washington. She said he spent 45 minutes with each one of them and that they both pleaded with Stevie to Vote for the Bill. They asked him what he wanted for his vote, what could they give him for his vote? They way she spoke it sounded like Obama and Pelosi both attempted to bribe her brother to vote for Obama's bill.

She also stated Stephen would not vote for it because "He knows he won't be re-elected if he does". Well, Stevie likes being a congressman. He wants the vote. So, he voted against the Health care Bill but voted for the 11 page addendum. That way, he thought, he would get the support of those against Obamacare by voting against it, while still getting support from those who want Obamacare because of his vote for the addendum.

Wake up. Stevie Lynch is no saint. He is very well versed at saying what he thinks people want to hear at one gathering, while being able to say the opposit at another gathering if he thinks that will get him the votes. He is also very well versed at giving long speaches without actually saying anything of substance.

He has not made any great strides in Washington. He hasn't accomplished anything of real value for the people of Massachusetts. All he has been doing is wasting our resources by doing nothing but taking care of himself to keep himself in Washington. But in Washington, he is a Nobody!

He doesn't care about the people of Massachusetts. He doesn't care about his own South Boston Neighborhood, let alone any other area in his district. Remember, as soon as he got in office he wanted to take our National Park Land away from us so he could put an LNG tanker facility on one of our Harbour Island. When he kept pushing it, at first, I actually started to wonder if he was going to have his pockets lined by pushing that horror through.

Can any of you tell me what you think he has actually done for the people of his district? I am one of his constituants and I don't see anthing positive he has done for me and my city, the city of Boston. I don't see anything he has done for anyone, other than himself.

up
Voting closed 0

I agree. Lame, sad, and desperate.

Maybe that Globe endorsement will help Mac. It pretty much says Lynch doesn't get in line with the radical left often enough. That's really going to help Mac in the 9th.

up
Voting closed 0

Tell us why we should vote for you, rather than why we shouldn't vote for your opponent.

up
Voting closed 0

Mac has been making an impressive case for himself as to why we should vote for him--talking to voters every single day, one on one, in depth and not just for the cameras.

That kind of work and voter engagement doesn't get you a line on Universal HUb, though, so to the degree that it got your attention, this mailer did its job.

A "newcomer" challenging an incumbent as rooted as Lynch HAS to employ tactics like this to break through. As well, he HAS to make a case against the Devil We Know. Voter complacency and apathy is huge, a huge obstacle. So savvy voters/observers like you and me know that this mailer is part of a larger package of voter outreach. It is on the more lighthearted and cheeky side, but take it in context. Totally justified and funny to boot, and probably does exactly what it is intended to do: break through the noise.

up
Voting closed 0

I have been involved with every campaign that Lynch has ever run. He ran against an incumbent state rep. and he ran a great campaign. He ran against Billy Bulger's son for the state senate and he ran a positive campaign. And he ran against 5 state senators to win the congressional seat. He never went negative. He always ran his campaign based upon what he brought to the table. So please don't lecture us all about how a "newcomer" has to go negative. They don't. Only a jerky newcomer goes negative.

And saying an elected official "betrayed us all" is not cheeky and lighthearted. It's ugly, untrue and says a whole lot more about Mac than it does about Stephen.

up
Voting closed 0

saying an elected official "betrayed us all" is not cheeky and lighthearted.

Any one of Lynch's many votes against traditional Democratic issues can be described as betrayals.

On healthcare Lynch betrayed the unions that put him in office that wanted the bill, the working families that can't afford healthcare without help from the government and the people with pre-existing conditions.

On the Iraq War, Lynch wasn't smart enough to know the Bush Administration was fear-mongering about mushroom clouds. He betrayed every single US soldier killed in Iraq and all the Iraqi citizen who died.

The Democratic Party's official position is pro-choice. Lynch has not only voted against that right on many occasions, he voted for the Stupak Amendment which restricts access to choice for anyone accepting federal funds for health care, a new restriction affecting the poor disproportionally.

Lynch voted against the recovery act and still takes credit for projects in his district that would not have been funded except for the stimulus act.

Lynch voted against TARP, which kept the worlds biggest financial meltdown ever from happening, and which has been paid back with interest.

Lynch's has a good voting record IF picking the wrong side over and over is your idea of a good record.

up
Voting closed 0

Anonymous, are you sure that every taxpayer dollar that went to the bank bailouts has been paid back? That whole episode still seems pretty sketchy to me.
One thing's for certain- the big banks sure made a rapid recovery from the brink of that supposedly civilization-threatening cataclysm.

up
Voting closed 0

but much of it was paid back so that they could control compensation to traders and executives without Federal oversight.

After such payouts, the nation's banks received more than $100 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds and pay limits were placed on firms that received assistance. Read more about the pay rules here.

But in 2009 the sector bounced back quickly and most banks paid back TARP funds, freeing themselves from pay limits. link

The point of my comment was not to discuss the details of TARP but rather the many votes Lynch took that do not represent what was my choice at the time. Quite plainly, he chooses the opposite of how I would vote on the issue and thus he is not a good representative for me ... or women who think it is their right to have choice, or Democrats who want healthcare reform, or citizens who think the invasion of Iraq was a major league snow job by Cheneyite neo-con warmongers wherein Lynch proved he cannot smell a rat. All the signs were there and Lynch say yes to a Trillion war of choice that killed a very good friend of mine. Sorry. In my book, Lynch has failed.

up
Voting closed 0

So what about Hillary Clinton, Ed Markey, John Kerry....all bad Democrats? They are just a few democrats who voted in favor of authorization.

And voting against a tax on union health care plans IS good democratic behavior.

And voting against giving Wall Street executives bonuses with our hard earned money IS good democratic behavior.

And FYI, Lynch's pro-life voting record is no secret in the district.

up
Voting closed 0

So we should all get to vote whether or not Lynch gets to have a necessary medical procedure, too?

up
Voting closed 0

Hillary Clinton, Ed Markey, John Kerry were wrong about Iraq too. It's worse than that. Kerry may have voted yes in order to be a viable candidate for president. It does not make sense to excuse Stephen Lynch for his vote because other people got it wrong too. Kennedy got it right. Byrd got it right. I got it right.

A friend on mine died at age 39 in November of the first year in Tikrit, Iraq. She left a ten year old son and her husband as survivors. She was less than one year from retirement of a two decade long career in the army. Stephen Lynch's vote had real consequences. She should not have died.

I am not genius but even I could even see the pre-war propaganda made a poor case for a real threat against the USA or our allies. I cannot and will not excuse politicians who make such a lethal mistake. Has anyone heard Stephen Lynch say he regrets his vote?

The health care plan tax was a funding alternative I disagreed with too but it will also have an downward effect on insurance costs in the market. Hey, even a clock is right twice a day but seriously credit where do.

Lynch's position on choice and his vote on Stupak are not official democratic party positions, they are the opposite. More importantly, in this regard he does not represent me well. Instead, he represents the people who would take that choice away, who would take away the control women exercise according to their own judgment with regard to their own bodies.

up
Voting closed 0

Hillary Clinton, Ed Markey, John Kerry were wrong about Iraq too. It's worse than that. Kerry may have voted yes in order to be a viable candidate for president.

It does not make sense to excuse Stephen Lynch for his vote because other people got it wrong too. Kennedy got it right. Byrd got it right. I got it right.

Completely agree.

A disastrous war vote, anti-choice votes, road-blocking health care reform with NO leadership of his own to make it better...

Lynch has been out of joint with me and many, many of my friends and neighbors in the 9th for a long time now.

up
Voting closed 0

Hey look at that nice cliff! Why don't we just jump right in!?

If you want to complain, TARP isn't the problem. TARP was unfortunate, but necessary. TARP saved us, and that really isn't disputed outside of the teabagger circle.

But, those same people railing against tarp have and are now blocking financial reform, regulations, trading limitations, liquidity and capital requirements, and efforts to break up these "too big to fail" banks.

Do you want your cake or eat it too?

We could also get into how a large chunk of the stimulus plan, in billions, was also just tax cuts which filter very slowly through the economy, and add little to the multiplier effect. But that's a different story.

Democrats like Lynch were part of the problem. I have no problem with his views, and his votes; but I don't think if he really ran on them he would win his district. He want's to vote as a blue Dog Dem, but run as a progressive every time he's up for re-election.

Sorry, no dice.

Also loved how he was using GOP talking points and debate framing to defend his votes. Way to go! Wicked intelligent...

up
Voting closed 0

I'd say it's a lot worse mark on your record to vote for Iraq than it is to "go negative" about your opponent's record.

Glad you brought up the 6 way primary in 2001.

How many times did Lynch make himself available to debate back then?

What happened to his ability to stand up to his record, his principles?

up
Voting closed 0

Running against someones voting record isn't negative, especially when no one is stretching the truth on those votes, or their impact.

This isn't Lynch eats your first born stuff.

Lynch has every right to explain himself coherently on those votes (If he can); but he's apparently hoping he doesn't have to.

So far he's run from them, or lied to his constituents about them.

Which is worse?

up
Voting closed 0

He does that, too. The image posted is just the attention grabber. And it works. My wife saw it and said she might hqve to consider D'Allesandro just for his sense of humor. Then she looked over the flyer. The key point of this sort of thing is that it be read before hitting the big blue bin.

up
Voting closed 0

but of course, so does John Kerry. Incidentally, who are the GOP candidates in that primary? I haven't heard a word about them.

up
Voting closed 0

The other GOP candidate is Vernon Harrison

up
Voting closed 0

eot

up
Voting closed 0

Vernon is running on heathcare...

Tax cuts and tax breaks, which will never cover the true costs of health care. You'll get $2000, $1000 of which will be used up in one lab visit.

Get government out, which will leave the beast to self regulate.

Tort reform; which really isn't an issue and makes u a small percentage of health care costs. Why aren't we talking about practice insurance reform where the real problems are? Medical malpractice insure is the elephant in the room; not the small number of lawsuits for negligence.

Subsidies and more funding to education at all levels to increase the supply of doctors and nurses; from what freaking funding?

We are simply not in a position to cut taxes and increase spending. Why keep telling this fairy tale?

How does he propose to pay for this, besides platitudes and talking points?

up
Voting closed 0

Aren't we kinda getting to crunch time?

Keith's only issue on his site ATM is "Let Israel do what they want" (...with our funding).

IMAGE(http://www.amcgltd.com/archives/bear-how-about-no-wj9.jpg)

up
Voting closed 0

Give Vernon that at least.

up
Voting closed 0

I do.

Although I'm waiting for a more liberaltarian / pragmatic conservative.

I think they'd run well in this state; they just don't see the point and run as DINO's and we're left with the small but crazy flavor.

up
Voting closed 0

This whole thing looks like it's out of Mad magazine.

up
Voting closed 0

I like Mac but don't care for this tract. It certainly rings of frustration.

Lynch has been avoiding debate and explanations for his stalwart support for the odious PATRIOT Act as well as votes against health-care reform and for war, war, war. His apologies (in the classic sense) are OK but convoluted; they require leaps of faith and twist logic a bit.

The best work here came through Chris Lovett (as usual) at BNN. The vid of Lynch only is here.

Mac wants a fair hearing, the deciding primary is next week, and Lynch seems to have no intention of letting the voters decide on ideas and performance. You can see why D'Alessandro's people are a bit crazed.

This hiding strategy may well work for Lynch. Galvin is doing much the same in the Secretary's contest. Avoidance is cowardly, but too often effective for incumbents.

up
Voting closed 0

Mac wants a fair hearing, the deciding primary is next week, and Lynch seems to have no intention of letting the voters decide on ideas and performance.

His issues page on his website is blank. He won't debate. He has put forth a false narrative about the reasons why he voted against health care (anyone who was advocating for the public option knows that Lynch was no fighter for the Public Option when it mattered, and ONLY became a fan of the public option when it became a good excuse to pin his "NO" vote on).

Not to mention he voted for the odious Stupak Amendment limiting women's right to choose.

He's made himself out of touch and put up an arrogant air of untouchability, which matches my experiences with him and his office. Calling in to express concerns and ask for information about his state of mind on upcoming votes is like talking to a brick wall.

I'd be voting for a yellow dog over Stephen Lynch.

Luckily we have Mac D'Alessandro, who is passionate, stands for the hard issues without apology or politics.

up
Voting closed 0

Oh please. Lynch's positions are all over the interenet. Go to his office website and his whole record is there. Stop with the artificial nonsense. And Lynch wasn't opposed to a limited public option. He was unwilling to sign the SEIU pledge to only vote for a bill that included it. He actually voted FOR a limited public option in the House bill.

Lynch is the most down to earth member in the delegation. Sounds like you are a harping lefty who couldn't convince Lynch why he should support your agenda.

The problem for the moonbats is that Lynch actually reads the bills and knows what he's voting for. The lefties don't like informed legislators. Just do what your told by Pelosi.

up
Voting closed 0

IMAGE(http://i51.tinypic.com/2jflh6c.jpg)

Really?

up
Voting closed 0

I keep checking back to see if it's changed. It's pretty unbelievable. And (ATTENTION Lynch campaign!) a great way to get votes for Mac with the undecideds. Just send them to the two websites and tell them to "click on the issues to see where they stand". In that regard, I kind of hope they never get around to it. However, the idealist in me--the one who thinks that SITTING CONGRESSMEN SEEKING REELECTION should have substance and information readily available to voters and constituents--just cannot get over this chutzpah.

At least pretend to care about the issues.

up
Voting closed 0

Lynch is the most down to earth member in the delegation. Sounds like you are a harping lefty who couldn't convince Lynch why he should support your agenda.

If by "down to earth" you mean, "unavailable" and "inaccessible" and "inscrutable", and by "harping" you mean "tried to exercise citizen responsibility by contacting my representative", and by "lefty" you mean "someone appalled by our nation's inability to care for its citizens"...

Then you are 100% correct!

up
Voting closed 0

We have never gotten meaningful responses to letters we've sent to Lynch's congressional office.

up
Voting closed 0

Lynch has been avoiding debate and explanations for his stalwart support for the odious PATRIOT Act as well as votes against health-care reform and for war, war, war. His apologies (in the classic sense) are OK but convoluted; they require leaps of faith and twist logic a bit.

His issues page on his website is blank. He won't debate. He has put forth a false narrative about the reasons why he voted against health care (anyone who was advocating for the public option knows that Lynch was no fighter for the Public Option when it mattered, and ONLY became a fan of the public option when it became a good excuse to pin his "NO" vote on).

Not to mention he voted for the odious Stupak Amendment limiting women's right to choose.

up
Voting closed 0

One thing I've always liked about Stephen Lynch is that he has never gone negative. I think it says a lot about him. Mac has run a lousy campaign. Spends all of his time knocking Lynch as a big evil guy. Trouble is, Lynch does a really good job and is well liked. So Mac's tactics just made him look juvenile and desperate. His other mailing was drawing elephant features on Lynch's head. Hey Mac, Politics 101...don't draw on your opponents face. Couple that with the fact that Lynch had a record of voting against Bush over 90% of the time and not only is it foolish, it's a lie. People in the district - of which I am one - know who Lynch is. He's a bread and butter, Joe Moakley Democrat. Mac? He's a wine and cheese, Nancy Pelosi Democrat. Not such a good thing to be these days.

Someone needs to teach Mac that if you're going down, go down with your dignity intact. He's going to end this campaign looking like a real loser.

up
Voting closed 0

Unfortunately, it looks like my roommate threw out piece we received, but as I recall the inside unfolds to a great piece about Mac and why he's running. He's also been dropping these very positive pieces off, and has been getting his positive message out in many other ways (e.g. I'm a Mac).

But the point is, this primary challenge is about the differences between the candidates. It's easy to nitpick a mail piece, but Mac's challenge now is letting folks know why they should ditch Lynch and vote for him, and those differences are betrayals. Lynch betrays us all with his war, health care, and anti-choice votes, and we can get better with Mac.

I wonder if Adam has time to post the other pages of the lit piece.

up
Voting closed 0

And Lynch's record has some real warts.

Last summer I contacted Lynch's office about six times of five months inquiring about his position on the health care bill. He wasn't talking. I also attended his town hall at Curry. Still, he wasn't willing to take a stand. The union guys and gals knew the score. Lynch was going to squirm, not take a stand, and then vote no. They were pissed. So was I.

Lynch betrays us all with his war, health care, and anti-choice votes, and we can get better with Mac.

I wonder if Adam has time to post the other pages of the lit piece.

Great point. I didn't get the mailer in 02132. Dunno why. If I did, I'd post it.

up
Voting closed 0

Well, that's the whole point. There were five bills and the SEIU wanted him to just support whatever the leadership put out there. He wanted to wait and see what the final version of the bill looked like and how it was going to effect his constituents before he would agree to support it.

Imagine that. The audacity of that man!

up
Voting closed 0

SEIU?
What about AFL, UAW, IATSE?

Nice selective memory pretending it was only SEIU that was interested in passing health care reform. Really? I'm not a union member and I wanted to see Lynch make his case, and I watched the dialogue--including the Unions--pretty darned closely.

They came out pretty strongly in favor of final passage--even despite the "cadillac tax" which would affect union members and their hard fought (and deserved) premium health care plans. The Unions, unlike my congressman, saw the larger wisdom of moving forward at a historic moment that would not come again for another 10-15 years.

And given how Lynch embraces his union roots so marketably, excuse me, passionately, I gave the unions' reactions to the various health care bills and sticking points considerable attention, hoping to see it move my maddeningly uncommunicative congressman.

It is the height of hilarity that Stephen Lynch is trying to use "UNION" as a "BOO!" word in this campaign.

Yet another example of how Lynch is borrowing talking points from the right--"SEIU are purple shirted thugs" is straight out of Glenn Beck.

up
Voting closed 0

Sorry for the delay in posting, but here goes:

You open the flyer up to this. Open it again and you get a poster, which was too large to fit in our scanner for a single scan, so here's the top and bottom (apologies in advance for anybody who actually wants to read the thing instead of looking at an image; I don't have any OCR software).

up
Voting closed 0

Response to Stephen Lynch's defense of health care NO vote
By seospider at www.bluemassgroup.com/diary/19726 Fri May 07, 2010

Congressman Stephen Lynch addressed Town Meeting on Wednesday evening and spent a considerable amount of time defending his no vote on health insurance reform. Unfortunately there was no opportunity to challenge the Congressman on many of his claims that ranged from misleading to completely false.

The Congressman based his resistance to reforming our health care system on five key points:

1. The Senate bill did not contain a public option.

This claim is completely disingenuous as Congressman Lynch is on record as opposing a public option. It is shocking to have a Congressman oppose a key provision of health care reform and then claim he opposed the bill because it did not contain the public option he previously opposed.

From politico.com September 8, 2009:

At Sunday's Boston Common rally for President Obama's health care reform, Lynch was booed (Boston Globe, September 8, 2009) during his speech by the very same activists he'll need to win over in the upcoming special election. A longtime advocate of labor interests, Lynch wasn't even invited (Boston Globe, September 8, 2009) to the state's leading labor breakfast this weekend because of his skepticism towards the proposed public option component of health insurance legislation.

Notably, Reps. Michael Capuano, Ed Markey and state Attorney General Martha Coakley all loudly expressed support for the public option at these same events. Lynch's hesitation - combined with his past record - means that he'll face a tough challenge to win the nomination.

This type of hypocrisy by politicians continues to feed our cynicism and loss of faith in government.

2. The Senate bill raises the revenue to extend coverage to the uninsured by applying a "Cadillac" tax to current plans that most of us will pay.

Congressman Lynch implied that this "Cadillac" tax would affect all of our health care plans. This is untrue. The Cadillac tax goes in to effect in 2018 and applies to a very small percentage of health care plans in America, those plans costing over $27,500 for families. The $27,500 threshold will increase at the rate of inflation and possibly more if health care inflation is higher.

For comparative purposes, once Walpole switches over to its rate saver plans, the most expensive plan will cost $18,204 per year. This is a far cry from the $27,500 threshold at which the "Cadillac" tax will kick in. In addition, municipal health care plans, like those for employees of the town of Walpole, are some of the most generous plans in the state. For those in the private sector the average cost of a health care plan in Massachusetts is $13,788.

To imply that all of us are going to pay this tax is not only a blatant scare tactic, it is a lie.


3. Congressman Lynch represents his constituents, not the President of the United States, the Speaker of the House or anyone else.

This is true. However citizens of Massachusetts and residents of Walpole will benefit tremendously from the national health care bill. Phil Edmundson, CEO of William Gallagher Associates and John O'Brien, CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care, wrote in the Boston Globe that national health care reform will:

Make insurance for affordable for Massachusetts families and individuals
• Today, a family of four paying about $1,000 a month for health insurance, and earning up to $66,000 a year, is eligible for sliding-scale subsidies to help pay that bill, freeing up much-needed cash for rent, groceries, and heating bills. Individuals making less than $32,000 are also eligible for help with premiums. National health reform would bring sliding-scale subsidies to an additional 75,000 middle-class individuals and families around the state.

Help Massachusetts' small businesses.
• Small businesses would also get a lot of help. Approximately 70,000 small businesses, many of which are struggling to hire the workers they need to be successful, would receive new tax credits to offset 50 percent of what it costs to offer health insurance to their workers.

Help Massachusetts' seniors with their prescription drug costs
• Prescription drugs would become affordable for nearly 200,000 of Massachusetts's seniors. As national health reform fixes the Medicare Part D "doughnut hole,'' seniors could focus on being well, instead of splitting pills or skipping days between meds in an effort to make them last longer. And all seniors could get preventive care visits and enjoy wellness programs, as national reform will guarantee Medicare coverage for such benefits.

Create jobs for Massachusetts health care industry
• National health care reform would also bring significant increases in funds available for medical research, primary care, community health centers, and health quality improvements. This would allow Massachusetts' knowledge-based economy to thrive.


4. Full implementation will not take place until 2018 and the politicians who passed the bill will not be around to take responsibility for its consequences.

Major parts of this bill take place immediately. According to the Christian Science Monitor immediate reforms include:

• Insurance companies will be prohibited from placing lifetime caps - limits on the amount of money that can eventually be paid out - on their policies. They'll face new restrictions on setting annual caps, as well.
• Insurance companies also will be prohibited from pulling your coverage, except in case of fraud or intentional misrepresentation.
• Children won't be excluded from coverage due to pre-existing health conditions. Plus, children will be able to stay on their parents' policy until age 26.
• Small businesses that offer health coverage to employees will be eligible for tax credits of up to 50 percent of premium costs.
• Seniors who fall into the coverage gap, or "doughnut hole", in the middle of the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage plan will get $250 to help them pay their bills.
• People with pre-existing health conditions will be able to enroll in a new, but temporary, national high-risk insurance plan.

Health care is complicated and the delayed implementation of some provisions is to ensure that families, companies and the federal and state governments have the necessary time to adjust to the changes. Implying that the timeline for implementation is delayed because people are embarrassed is disingenuous at best.

The only Washington politician I know who is not hoping to be serving in 2018 is the only one who is limited to two terms by the Constitution, President Obama. So this accusation seems to be a thinly veiled and cheap criticism of the President.


5. The bill maintains the anti-trust exemption for health insurance companies.

This is true and Congressman Lynch implies that because the antitrust exemption remained in the bill as a giveaway to insurance companies. However, it seems insurance companies didn't get the memo. These very same companies fought the health care bill tooth and nail.

Removing the antitrust exemption is important but should not have been grounds for opposing the entire bill. No bill is ever perfect as evidenced by Social Security Act of 1935 spearheaded by FDR. When Social Security was passed it did not cover agricultural and intermittent workers. These exclusions were designed to keep most women and minorities out of the Social Security program. This was a clear injustice yet would the United States be better off today if FDR's entire Social Security bill was defeated over these legitimate criticisms?

Ensuring that every one of us has health care that can't be taken away even if we lose our job, has been the number one domestic policy priority of the Democratic Party since the 1950's. It took sixteen years to revive health insurance reform after the defeat of President Clinton's initiative. If Congressman Lynch had successfully helped defeat this effort it likely would have been another sixteen years or more before anyone tried again. With his no vote on health care, it is now obvious that we cannot depend on Congressman Lynch to stand up for the values many of us hold dear.

That is why I urge you, if you are a Democrat or Independent, to vote for Mac D'Alessandro in the Democratic primary on September 14th. Send a message to entrenched incumbents like Congressman Lynch that they need to represent our values not their perceived short-term political interests.

up
Voting closed 0

For anyone fooled into thinking that Lynch's health care votes were about taking a strong stand, please review the history and the facts.

up
Voting closed 0

You're welcome. I remembered reading it awhile back, when it was first posted, and finding it a clearly stated and reasonable assessment.

up
Voting closed 0

An act of desperation by a campaign that's going down. The people of the 9th are rejecting Mac's radical agenda and the Move On crowd does not like people to disagree with them. Because you know, they know so much more than you or I.

Keep those negative mailings coming! They are doing wonders for you Mac!

up
Voting closed 0

moonbat, isn't there a teabagger romp somewhere for you to attend?

up
Voting closed 0

Lynch is a BIG Sox fan and takes great pride in his role in the Congressional hearings on steroid use so that ones gotta hurt. Furthermore only somebody from Southie has the political wit to come up with that flyer!

up
Voting closed 0

VICTORIA KENNEDY !! (You go, girl)

up
Voting closed 0

Billie Bulger, who donated a Benjamin to Mac's campaign.

up
Voting closed 0

Republicans are hoping, perhaps praying that Mac D'Alessandro defeats Steve Lynch in the primary. With Lynch out and the radical D'Alessandro in, Republicans will have a fighting chance to win the 9th and add to what will be a House (and Senate?) majority. Bonus, Lynch is likely the only MA Democrat close enough to the mainstream to defeat U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) so if D'Alessandro can take him out, it might just signal the end to Lynch's political career and any viable threat to Brown. I'm sending a modest donation to D'Alessandro now. Go Mac, go!

up
Voting closed 0

Direct all your Tea Party friends to give to Mac -- I hear they are a generous bunch!

Your money's good, even if your analysis isn't. Let's take the bet, though, and get Mac elected!

up
Voting closed 0

You do know what the 9th is, right?

Hint: it's not just Southie and Braintree. It's a D+11 district.

Advise: Stick to the other teabagger fairy tales. The biggest race in this district is if another Dem can unseat Lynch.

Also, How's that Brownie working out for ya?

up
Voting closed 0

...nothing would surprise me after Brown taking Kennedy's seat (the people's seat, yeah yeah I know, back off tea party!).

I do acknowledge that any Republican for the 9th will have a harder time of it against Lynch the Incumbent with Lots of $$$ than against D'Alessandro.

But I do not think either Lepor or Harrison has chops, at least from what I've seen from them, and I'd like to think that my brethren in the 9th are good thinking people who will make the right choice in Mac v. Lepor/Harrison.

And it doesn't mean that I want a DINO democrat who tacks with the Republicans on the big issues "just in case". I mean, with Dems like Lynch, who needs Scott Brown?

In any case, bring it, Mac v. Lepor, or Mac v. Harrison. That is a contest I want to see play out.

up
Voting closed 0

What do you expect from someone who has no chance. Negative never wins. Plenty of that going on within this congressional district in other races. Better to lose gracefully then go down acting like a complete dope.

Lynch is a damn good man and Rep. He'll win again big and the haters will keep on hating.

up
Voting closed 0

How is talking about Lynch's lone-wolf voting record as a betrayal going negative? The record itself is negative. Read more complaints about Lynch's voting record from his constituents: http://www.stephenlynchsbadvotes.com/

up
Voting closed 0

Thank you for that link. Tactics like that just fire us up more to get out and vote for Lynch.
Don't you wackos get it? We like his leadership. We like his independence. We like that he listens to us and not the SEIU extremists. As hard as it maybe for you to believe, we actually don't want another looney moonbat in congress!! It speaks volumes that you just can't see beyond your own, limited opinions.

up
Voting closed 0

either you're fired up enough to vote in the primary or your not.

up
Voting closed 0