Monday, January 18, 2010

"All politics is local"

Knowing that it would touch off a huge debate, I've tried to avoid the Massachusetts Senate Race on the blog. But how can I? You've got a BC grad/BC dad taking on a Democrat for Ted Kennedy's old seat. That's big news even if you are not a Bay State voter.

My votes tend towards the conservative side, so I probably would have supported Brown even if his kids went to BU. But his daughter was kind enough to interact with this blog and has been a model BC student since she arrived on campus. I hope she gets to sing a celebration song with her dad Tuesday night.


Regardless of which candidate you support, I strongly encourage everyone to vote. It is your duty and your privilege.

31 comments:

Dan said...

Brown supports a Spring Game countdown clock.

matthew2 said...

There are BC grads all over the country. Some are even doing good things for the world.

If you want to talk politics, do it elsewhere.

mmason said...

Brown will vote against health care reform--Has everyone lost their minds? Just because you're a BC Eagle or have children who went there doesn't make you a great anyone or a good anything. Deeds, not words, sez Ignatius. Yes, this is a sports blog, so politics--dumb or otherwise, is better left in another theatre. What's next? You want Brown to run the basketball team because he's a conservative? Jeez, ATL...At the risk of sounding like Yogi Berra, there's a time and a place for everything, and this ain't that or it.

Unknown said...

Agree with Matthew.

Thank you for raising awareness, but cite political reasons if you're going to endorse a candidate or don't endorse at all.

BCDisco said...

Looks like a few of ATL's readers are just a little ticked off about Brown's possible win. Not sure if you guys read the original post, but ATL stated that the reason he made a shout-out to Brown was mainly because he's a BC Guy and his daughter is a BC Gal, and she has interacted with the blog. And like it or not, this election is a critical part of current events and it's taking place IN Mass, no less. I think it's perfectly reasonable to mention it. In fact, I'm surprised it's taken ATL this long to say anything.

Anonymous said...

It's EIA's blog to do what he wants.

Don't read it this week, if you don't want to hear his views.

There is a common bond here of BC with the Brown family and all of us which EIA understands.

eagle1331 said...

I agree with Michael. It's Bill's blog, he can write about whatever the hell he wants, get off his back. We are fortunate enough that he gives his time and effort to BC 99.99% of the time (if not more). There is no reason to chastise him for using his blog for his own purposes, and he did nothing to discourage people voting the other way, nor did he say anything ill towards the other candidate. Get off his back.

blist said...

If EIA doesn't want comments, he should turn them off. I say spare us the politics....
But since it's been started, Hey Coakley is a woman - I have a mother, wife and daughters. I should vote for her. Sen. Kerry is a BC guy too. Tip O'Neill made sure BC got the funding for the library we named after him. None of them would want Brown in. Seriously the BC connection thing is pointless.
The choice here is simple: what do Republicans stand for? All they do is say no. When they controlled all three branches of government for the bulk of the last decade, they started wars, raised our taxes and eroded our constitutional freedoms. Why reward that?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Don't post often, but felt the need to support ATL. He can post whatever he wants, its his blog. We all (even those outside of MA like me) have our reasons to support Brown or Coakley and this is his place, we are all visitors as far as I am concerned.

Agree with everyone's posts, both for Brown and Coakley, but feel the need to call out blist on his 'republicans raised taxes' reason. Wait until the Bush tax cuts expire! President Robin Hood is going to have all of us with a decent income begging for mercy. And I voted for him!

Anonymous said...

"The choice here is simple: what do Republicans stand for? All they do is say no. When they controlled all three branches of government for the bulk of the last decade, they started wars, raised our taxes and eroded our constitutional freedoms. Why reward that?"

______

As an independent, it appears that democrats are doing the same exact thing now. I don't know anything about Brown, but this one party (any party) in power sure is not working.

ATL_eagle said...

I knew this would cause a problem. I certainly respect BC connections to the Democratic party too (look at the tweeting I did during the Kennedy funeral). At the end of the day, I don't have a vote in Mass, so it doesn't matter. If I did, I would vote for Brown because of his politics not his alumni status. The reason I felt the need to comment though was this is big news and his daughter is one of the more high profile jocks on campus.

ATL_eagle said...

BTW, if anyone didn't pick up on it, my headline is a famous quote from another BC Guy.

Cliff said...

Thanks Bill,

Living outside of MA and working hard to get a HS friend and his family out of Haiti, I wasn't up to speed on the MA Senate race.

This site on Ayla was great.

http://aylabrown.com/

Keep up the great work. You are on my RSS reader, Google Reader.

blist said...

I didn't mean to attack you Bill, though it looks like it I guess. I was reacting more to the people saying people shouldn't react to you.
And Michael, you're right, it looks like more of the same from the current administration. It's a shame we can't just toss everyone out and start over.
I guess for me, as a small business owner, I want/need to see movement of some sort on health care, even if what is pending now is largely crap, b/c I'm getting killed by the insurance companies - my company's premiums have gone up 30% in the past 2 years. A start is at least something, not just obstinantly saying no to anything that could possibly help the middle class. That's my opinion anyway.

ObserverCollege said...

SERIOUS--Bill has the right to use his blog as he sees fit.

Bravesbill said...

Mod and myself actually agree on something: Go Brown! Kill the nationalized health care once and for all.

Thomas said...

blist has all republicans pegged correctly as war-mongers who want to leave you penniless and voiceless. way to go blist!

Anonymous said...

As a current BC student, I'd just like to say I've heard more support for Coakley than Brown on campus. The Democratic students at BC may be in the minority, but they are much more vocal than some alumni may realize.

Bravesbill said...

Sean, I'd say that the number of Democratic students outnumber the number of Republican students on campus by at least 2 to 1, probably 3 to 1.

John said...

I'm with you Bill and luckily my vote counts, and its in already. Lets hope this is right:

http://www.intrade.com/

Frank C. said...

jesus, everyone complaining, chill out. i thought us bc fans were supposed to have a thicker skin. it not like he came out stumping for a random candidate. hes pointing out that in a major political race, there is a slight bc connection involved.

JC said...

The quote is from Tip O'Neill for whom the BC library (where I worked for 2 years in the inter-library loan dept) is named.

Bill has a right to say he would vote for Brown if he could, just as we have a right to disagree with him.

SectionKK said...

Dems definitely outnumbered Republicans on campus at BC, at least they did earlier this decade when I was there. I can imagine that changed much.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
blist said...

I don't actually believe all Repubs are war mongers etc. as thomas says. Just that their record speaks for itself lately and I don't have faith in one person aside from the president doing much to change anything. Seriously, it's the party that in response to losing last fall went harder right.
Basically it's bad choice today. I'll give Brown a chance if he wins, esp since he's a BC guy so there's hope he'd do the right thing for the country.
I apologize if anyone (BIll etc.) thinks I was personally attacking them. I wasn't.

jgirv17 said...

Bravesbill said: "Sean, I'd say that the number of Democratic students outnumber the number of Republican students on campus by at least 2 to 1, probably 3 to 1."

And are you aware of the fact that BC has the largest College Republicans membership in the state? (Saying that BC is lacking in conservatives is kind of the same as saying that Kennedy family has few liberals)

Andrew said...

jgirv17...

where'd you find that information? Regardless, is that really saying all that much? Does that mean it isn't 2 to 1? My experience is it is at least 2 to 1 Dem to Repub on campus.

Bravesbill said...

Saying that BC has the biggest College Republican membership in MA is not saying much considering MA is one of the bluest states in the nation. Say there are 1,000 members. What are the other 15k who attend BC?

jgirv17 said...

I know this is late to the party, but in terms of BC specifically...I'd day yeah, it divides closer to 50/50 in terms of Republicans and Democrats.

Chances are, the Democratic students do outnumber those who affiliate with the GOP...but I can promise that those who actually registered ended up half and half. I had the actual numbers in front of me 2 years ago...but I do know enough to say that accusing BC of being "liberal" in terms of its student body would just show how oblivious you are with respect to our campus and area.

Unknown said...

what evidence do you have that ayla brown has been a "model bc student"? i hate when you make sweeping statements like that with absolutely nothing to back it up. just because she talked to your blog once doesn't make her a "model BC student," and even if she is, why is that a reason to elect her father to the senate? like, are you kidding?