Yawners

 

I was surprised to see this front page ad in the Springfield Republican for State Representative Bud Williams of Springfield.

 

 

 I don't think I've ever seen a political ad on the front page of the Republican before, but then I guess they have to take their advertising wherever they can get it in today's declining newspaper business. Such a front page ad, which I assume would be the page with the highest visibility and therefore the most expensive per column inch rate, might cause you to assume that the contest between Williams and challenger Johnie McKnight is a close race. 

On the contrary, ol' Bud must have a lot of campaign cash he doesn't know how to spend because Williams is a deeply entrenched insider whose political career dates back to the early 1990's and is considered pretty much unbeatable. Besides, both candidates hold virtually identical views on the issues, making it essentially irrelevant who wins from a policy perspective.

In fact, there are really no compelling races in Springfield this year, aside from a state senate race in which once again two cookie-cutter liberals with identical views are mostly debating which of the two of them is the more incompetent and corrupt. In the past Springfield politics, for all its sins, was at least always lively and entertaining, but years of relentless one-party rule has stagnated its once vibrant democratic process into a bore. 

However, when it comes to a totally dead one party political culture, it is hard to top the leftist enclave of Amherst, where democracy has completely collapsed, as evidenced below on this ballot for the September 3rd primary. 

 

 

Incredibly, there is not one single race - not one! - in which there is any competition of any kind for any office. None! This meaningless primary is the entirety of the democratic process for local elections in the town of Amherst for 2024. I can't imagine why any Amherst resident would bother to vote in this primary except out of a blind sense of civic duty. 

Of course in November Amherst residents will be able to weigh in on the presidential race, which in recent years has gone for the Democrat presidential candidate by a lop-sided landslide of about 85% for the Democrat. Only Cambridge has a more one-sided pro-Democrat voting record. 

So how can our democracy be revived in Massachusetts? Well, if the Democrats were at all sincere in their "save democracy" rhetoric, they would commit to help revive the two party system by voting a straight Republican ticket for the next several election cycles - assuming they could find any Republicans to vote for. In the meantime, all we can do is to note that one-party rule didn't work in the old Soviet Union, doesn't work in modern China and most certainly does not work here in the Pioneer Valley of 2024. 

 

Meanwhile, a rogue's gallery of Massachusetts pols could be spotted at the convention in Chicago this week. 

 

I see Jim McGovern in that gang, but where was Richie Neal?

 

Meanwhile, some bears were recently photographed hanging out at The Brook at Amherst condos. 

 

 

 Once upon a time I had the biggest newspaper route in  Springfield's ol' Pine Point. 

 

 

This long gone Springfield bar and restaurant on Orange Street was notorious for its rowdy, hard drinking clientele and for having the best fried chicken in Springfield. Jay Libardi and I had a lot of fun there back in the day. It closed around the turn of the century.

 

 

The pride of Chicopee.