I got an angry email yesterday from yet another government employee sick of being pushed by co-workers to “volunteer” for the Coakley campaign. In particularly, this worker was annoyed that government employees are doing it using taxpayer-funded computers and on the taxpayer’s dime.
I asked this employee to forward one of these emails from a state employee to me. Here it is (with key info taken out to protect my source):
FW: Phone Banking for Martha Coakley Richard Doud [DOUDR@middlesex.mass.edu]
Subject: Phone Banking for Martha Coakley
For immediate statewide distribution:
Dear MCCC colleagues,
As you know, the race for the Senate seat vacated by Senator Ted Kennedy is nearing conclusion. Recent polls reported on NPR indicate that, among those who are sure to vote, this is a close race between Martha Coakley and Scott Brown. Special winter elections often have low turnout, so it is important that everyone takes this race seriously...
If you believe that Martha Coakley is the right person for this Senate seat, please participate in one of the many phone banks set up statewide to support her candidacy. And please take this race seriously: Get out and vote on Tuesday, January 19th.
Please see Katie D'Urso's email below for related information on phone banking for Martha Coakley.
Strategic Action representatives and other MCCC leaders, please encourage your colleagues to join you in these phone banking events.
What makes this interesting is that Richard Doud, the sender of this email, is a state employee (and union activist—what a coincident!) He received it on his state email address and forwarded to dozens of other state workers. According to the date/time information I’ve seen, he did so on state time. There are many, many more emails from state workers on state time just like this.
That’s not all. In September, a state worker in Governor Patrick’s Executive Office of Public Safety was apparently making calls on state time trying to find out if he could get Brown thrown out of the race because of his National Guard service. Brown sent a letter to the Governor’s office asking that the matter be looked into. Nothing happened.
Then there’s this story of a citizen taking the law into his own hands in Watertown. The Coakley campaign posted a huge sign on state-owned property. The sign violated town ordinances—not to mention state law against using state resources to promote a partisan campaign—but because it’s state land, the town claimed they had no jurisdiction. So a citizen cut to down himself.
State workers using state resources to push Martha Coakley’s campaign, or to attack Scott Brown. Each of these incidents is a potential violation of the law. But who’s job is it to investigate these violations and enforce the law?
You guessed it: Martha Coakley.
The moral of the story: While you’re out working today to pay your taxes, some Massachusetts state workers will be using your tax money to push Martha Coakley’s campaign. It’s illegal, but Martha Coakley won’t do a thing about it.
It’s up to you to do something about it on Tuesday.
"The truth is something [Warren] probably prefers not to confront. Harvard doesn’t come calling just because you’re a smart lawyer and a terrific teacher — not with Warren’s modest, Oklahoma upbringing and non-Ivy League education. She is not your typical Harvard professor. At a certain point, when the law school was under pressure to promote diversity, she represented a three-fer: a great lawyer with a national profile, a woman, and a minority, at least by virtue of family lore. "
-- Joan Vennochi
