Entries in MassPoliticsProfs by Peter Ubertaccio

Curt Schilling wants to make Massachusetts Senate races great again. This time a miracle might elude the former Red Sox star.

At the risk of sounding pessimistic, love is not going to trump hate in 2016.

Speakers at the Republican Party’s convention in Cleveland have now repeatedly called for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton to be thrown in jail.

No one must be prouder than one of their Wednesday night speakers, a man who made the politics of personal destruction both de rigueur and the key to his once bright political career and his subsequent personal wealth.

Despite a political career now in shambles, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey made it clear last night that he still delights in the role of attack dog.

It’s a telling symbol of the Republican Party under the spell of Trump.

Typically one hopes a Christian benediction doesn’t refer to your political opponents as the enemy.

But when I listened to Pastor Mark Burns deliver the benediction to the Republican Convention on Monday, I realized that Trump has stained just about all elements of our civic discourse.

When should we call into question the pursuit of an expansive and powerful federal government? If you’re a Massachusetts Democrat, the answer this week seems to be, “when our friends are the targets.”

The citizens of Massachusetts subsidize and lend support to the two main political parties. It would seem a minimal expectation that, in return, the parties might produce nominees to compete in most legislative elections.

James Carville put a note up on the wall of his campaign headquarters for Bill Clinton in 1992, “The economy, stupid.” It was a reminder of one of the key elements of Democratic campaign and an effort to say on message.

For any third party candidate with dreams of the White House, I suggest something similar: “It’s the electoral college!”  Don't ever forget that this constitutional arrangement controls your destiny.

Now that he is all but assured the Republican Party nomination, it’s time to take stock. How will GOP nominee Donald Trump shape his party of choice? The early indicators are troubling.

The Grand Prix is out and the chorus of boos rains down on the stodgy, old Boston way of doing business. Strange, given that Boston is a preeminent global city. And that may be a bigger cause of lament than a cancelled weekend of car racing along city streets.