The changing face of politics
Watching the democrats gather for their unity breakfast (sans food?) this morning at the Doubletree Hotel, I couldn’t help but notice that Massachusetts’ first African-American governor, Deval Patrick, was flanked by the state’s first female attorney general, Martha Coakley, and the newly elected democratic 5th congressional district nominee, Niki Tsongas—the first woman likely to represent the district since Edith Nourse Rogers left Washington more than 40 years ago. As Coakley explained to the crowd of well wishers and media, “We’ve said it for a long time, we need a woman in the House…and that’s going to be Niki Tsongas!” While, the changing face of politics in the Commonwealth mirrors the national scene with viable candidates such as Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton taking center stage, the story is not simply one of gender or race. Perhaps as voters, we have evolved enough to recognize that good voting decisions must be based on ideology and issues. As Eileen Donoghue said this morning during her pledge to support Tsongas, “Over these last few months, we spent a lot of time together, but we never forgot our principles.” Those principles, such as improving healthcare access for all Americans, ending the war in Iraq, and working to address environmental issues, are a core part of the democratic agenda—with varying ideas about how to tackle them. This morning, I was struck not only by the changing face of political candidates, but also by the different principles expressed by the nominees from each party. I heard Jim Ogonowski earlier today on WCAP express his reasons for not supporting immediate withdrawal from Iraq or any policy on illegal immigrants that would allow them to become citizens. He clearly is an articulate person with his own principles and ideas about how to take this country forward. In the end, the voters must decide who best represents their vision for the America we want to live and raise our families in. That candidate, no matter what face she-he wears, will be the one to go to Washington and represent us; our job is to pay attention, be informed, and vote!