Here's a little surprise. In recent special election primaries it has been the Massachusetts Republicans, not the Democrats, who have been nominating diverse candidates.

Speculation about when or if Senator Elizabeth Warren would endorse one of the candidates battling for her party’s nomination has been hot and heavy.  Sanders’ backers, in particular, have been confidently speculating that Warren would eventually side with Bernie.  The truth is that Warren will not endorse until the nomination is a fait accompli.  She will not put her foot on the scale to help the now faltering protest candidacy of Bernie Sanders primarily because she believes in the Democratic Party.  She believes that a strong united Democratic Party is the key to electoral victory and policy accomplishment.

Conservatives intellectual defense of the Senate refusing to perform its "advice and consent" duty raises the question, which other constitutional provisions did the Founders intend to be operational only in time frames when the Republican Party holds the presidency?

The death of Justice Scalia is bad news for the GOP no matter how you slice it. The only real issue here for Republicans is how they might minimize the damage. The answer is by giving Obama’s nominee a fair hearing and a vote.  In so doing, the GOP would undercut the argument that will otherwise win this election for Hillary Clinton, namely that a Republican president in 2017 would put the entire federal government under the firm control of lunatics willing and able to repeal the 20^th century.

Looking for some information about the General Court?  Need to contact the clerk of the House for information about the business of the chamber?  You’ll have to use the phone as there’s no email information provided—and who uses the phone these days? 

We are very proud that Professor Shannon Jenkins of UMassDartmouth is joining the MassPoliticsProfs. Look for her upcoming posts and welcome Prof. Jenkins to the fray!

In Iowa and New Hampshire some of the toughest candidate questioning came not from the media but from everyday citizens trained by the Quakers.

Maybe they don’t like the hit ABC sitcom, the Goldbergs, in New Hampshire.

Pity. Avid viewers know the key life lesson, often repeated by the show’s patriarch: “Don’t be a moron.”

The problem with Marco Rubio’s debate rhetoric isn’t robotism. It’s race.

The GOP establishment has been cowering in horror at the Trump-Cruz insurrection and hoping someone can stop them. This is Marco Rubio's moment to prove that he is the moderate immoderate who can do the job.