Today, in a press conference at headquarters, Governor Patrick called upon the other candidates in the race to recommit to a campaign about the issues that matter most to Massachusetts voters. A few weeks ago, six month's before a single vote has been cast, the Republican Governor's Association unleashed a barrage of negative attack ads on TV, radio and online on behalf of Charlie Baker. The Governor said that if this is the shape of things to come over the next 6 months, the voters will be turned off and tuned out by election day.
When voters look at the issues, they will see there are some very clear and substantive differences between the candidates:
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Universal Health Care in Massachusetts:
- Over 97 percent of Massachusetts residents are covered with health insurance, with over 450,000 covered now that were not covered before Gov. Patrick and Lt. Gov. Murray took office. Charles Baker and Tim Cahill want to either scale back or walk away from universal health care coverage.
- Baker:
- "Now, I think, is a good time to talk about reforming it, and rethinking some of the program components" (Boston Globe, 3.17.10, Cahill attacks health care law http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/03/17/cahill_attacks_health_care_law/)
- Cahill:
- Cahill said the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority had "failed," and ... said the state should "absolutely" consider reducing coverage packages (State House News Service: 3.16.10, Diving into health debate, Cahill warns against Obamacare http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/news/x1526467812/Diving-into-health-debate-Cahill-warns-against-Obamacare)
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Managing the Budget During Fiscal Crisis:
- Amid the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression, Gov. Patrick and Lt. Gov. Murray responded with a series of responsible cuts, reforms and new revenues to protect key investments like education, health care and public safety. Charles Baker and Tim Cahill posture about cutting taxes and state positions, but refuse to say what programs they would cut or where they would go to get new revenues.
- Baker :
- "I'm a five and five guy. I want to see them get the sales tax back to 5 percent, and I also want us to get the income tax back to 5 percent" (WGGB, 3.2.10, Charles Baker campaigns for Massachusetts governor http://www.wggb.com/Global/story.asp?S=12070987)
- (Baker) said he would slash by 10 percent the 50,000 workers in the executive branch, saving $400 million. But he would not name specific agencies he would target for reductions. (Boston Globe, 2.18.10, Patrick challengers offer ideas to close budget gap http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/02/18/patrick_challengers_offer_ideas_to_close_budget_gap/)
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Cape Wind:
- Gov. Patrick and Lt. Gov. Murray pushed for Massachusetts to be home to the nation's first offshore wind farm to create hundreds of new jobs, while increasing the amount of wind power in the Commonwealth ten-fold. Charles Baker and Tim Cahill are not supporting Cape Wind.
- Baker:
- "We can't support projects that are going to increase the cost of electricity ... and I have yet to see proof that Cape Wind will lower energy costs" (MassBeacon.com, 4.28.10, Statement from Charles Baker on Cape Wind http://massbeacon.com/2010/04/28/cape-wind-decision-cheered-by-governor-patrick-questioned-by-baker/)
- Cahill:
- "I believe that (the) decision by Secretary Salazar was a mistake" (MassBeacon.com, 4.28.10, Statement from Tim Cahill on Cape Wind http://massbeacon.com/2010/04/28/cape-wind-decision-cheered-by-governor-patrick-questioned-by-baker/)
You can see more about the issues facing our Commonwealth and the clear choices between the candidates here.
