State of Massachusetts secondary Archives: on Principles & Values

Kevin O`Connor: Promises to serve no more than two terms

Kevin O`Connor: MA voters do not want Markey's socialism

Shiva Ayyadurai: Rational scientific approach for real solutions

1. A rational scientific approach to identify the REAL PROBLEM on any issue--beyond "Left" and "Right;"
2. An inventor's mindset to innovate the REAL SOLUTION for that real problem; and,
3. A statesman's skill to expose the FAKE PROBLEMS and find common ground to implement the REAL SOLUTION.

Ed Markey: Legislating is about issues: look at my record

"Yes, filing the right legislation and voting the right way is a critical part of this job, but if there's one lesson from today's Washington, D.C., it's that this is about power and if we're serious about putting the people and the causes that we care about first, you have to go out there and you have to take it," Kennedy said.

Joe Kennedy III: Legislating is about which causes we care about first

"Yes, filing the right legislation and voting the right way is a critical part of this job, but if there's one lesson from today's Washington, D.C., it's that this is about power and if we're serious about putting the people and the causes that we care about first, you have to go out there and you have to take it," Kennedy said.

Elizabeth Warren: DNA test shows Native American ancestry generations back

When I decided to run for the Senate in 2012, I never thought that my family's Native American heritage would come under attack and my dead parents would be called liars. I never expected my academic career to become the stuff of right-wing conspiracy theories. And I never expected the President of the United States to use my family's story as a racist political joke against Native American history, culture, and people--over, and over, and over.

I took the extra step and did a DNA test. It contains Native American ancestry. The first Native American in our family that can be proved is generations back, and there could be others. No matter. It's my family, and--like it or not Donald Trump--my family's stories are supported by this test.

Elizabeth Warren: Globe review: no use of Native American heritage in hiring

"The Globe found clear evidence that her claim to Native American ethnicity was never considered by the Harvard Law faculty, which voted resoundingly to hire her, or by those who hired her to four prior positions at other law schools. At every step of her remarkable rise in the legal profession, the people responsible for hiring her saw her as a white woman."

I'm not afraid of the facts, so today we're launching a new Fact Squad website for anyone who wants see the facts for themselves: http://www.elizabethwarren.com/heritage

This new website has more than you'd ever want to know: It has personnel files. It has interviews with the people who hired me, and my own family members.

Lori Trahan: Fight to protect shared values

Ayanna Pressley: Support progressive legislation with activist leadership

Joe Kennedy III: Co-sponsored Do No Harm Act: keep church and state separate

Americans United supports the legislation. AU's President said that "the Do No Harm Act will ensure that we honor two core American values: religious freedom and the promise of equal protection under the law."

Congress enacted the federal RFRA in 1993 with the goal of protecting religious freedom, especially for religious minorities. At that time, a broad coalition of progressive & conservative groups supported the law. But since then, the federal RFRA has been misinterpreted by some courts and has become a vehicle for those who want to use religion to undermine protections for civil rights and access to health care.

Heidi Wellman: Keep God in the public sphere

A: YES

Setti Warren: Supports 5 out of 8 of ORMA's "People's Platform"

1. Single Payer Healthcare
2. Free Public College
3. $15 Minimum Wage
4. Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance
5. Automatic Voter Registration

[The other three are: Justice is Not For Sale Act; Inclusive Prosperity Act; and Keep It In the Ground Act].

Elizabeth Warren: Calling me "Pocahontas" is a racial slur

"At the same time she claims she is so outraged, her campaign is sending out fundraising emails using the term 'Pocahontas,'" Republican state Rep. Geoff Diehl said. Trump again used Pocahontas to refer to Warren during a recent White House event honoring Navajo Code Talkers. Later that day, Warren emailed supporters referencing the comment and soliciting campaign donations.

Warren has said she never relied on her Native American heritage to gain any advantage. In a 2012 interview with the AP, Warren said she was told her mother was part Cherokee and part Delaware. "I never used it to get anything. I didn't use it to get a job. I didn't use it to get into school," she said Monday. "The people who have hired me have made that clear."

Geoff Diehl: Served as Trump campaign co-chair in Massachusetts

Warren has called the Republican president's use of the name a racial slur. "At the same time she claims she is so outraged, her campaign is sending out fundraising emails using the term 'Pocahontas,'" Republican state Rep. Geoff Diehl said. "Once again, Sen. Warren is speaking out of both sides of her mouth."

Of the four main Warren challengers, Diehl has the closest ties to Trump, having served as co-chairman of his campaign in Massachusetts. Diehl said Warren "brought these attacks upon herself by being the chief obstructionist in Washington" and called her criticism of Trump's ridicule "more phony political outrage to build her national profile to run for president."

John Kingston: Calling Warren "Pocahontas" is inappropriate but she did lie

Warren has called the Republican president's use of the name a racial slur.

Trump again used Pocahontas to refer to Warren during a recent White House event honoring Navajo Code Talkers. Business executive John Kingston said that Trump's decision to use the name during the veteran's event was inappropriate but that his criticism is fair.

"I certainly won't be using such a term on the campaign trail--but Sen. Warren's misrepresentation of her heritage is part of a pattern that clearly troubles voters, one of using mistruths, divisive rhetoric and grandstanding to advance herself and now boost her presidential ambitions," Kingston said.

Shiva Ayyadurai: Warren shoplifted racial identity of Native American

Technology entrepreneur Shiva Ayyadurai has embraced Trump's use of the term. Ayyadurai, who began the race as a Republican but is now running as an independent, already used Pocahontas to refer to Warren in a tweet. He said Warren "has literally shoplifted the racial identity of Native American for her own personal gain," including a job as a law professor at Harvard University.

Warren has acknowledged telling Harvard and an earlier employer, the University of Pennsylvania, of her heritage but only after she had been hired. Pocahontas was a native woman who lived in present-day Virginia in the 1600s and agreed to marry an English colonist to help ensure peace and protect her people.

Elizabeth Warren: We will stand up to bigotry against anyone

Martha Coakley: I know how tough my 2010 Senate loss was for many people

"I felt it really was important to say to people, 'I know how tough that loss was,' " Coakley said afterward. "I think people recognize that we don't win every race."

Coakley said she's jumping back into the political ring to continue to fight for issues she's worked on as attorney general. With a tight smile and a wave, she insisted she was pleased with Saturday's results. "It's terrific. We had a goal coming in that we wanted to get our 15% to get on the ballot," Coakley said. "We've had a great day."

Steve Grossman: We need a job creator, not a prosecutor, for governor

Coakley said she was not paying attention to the poll numbers, and said her career as a prosecutor in Middlesex County and at the state level was not a detriment to her campaign. She noted her fights against bank home foreclosures and challenging the Defense of Marriage Act.

Richard Tisei: Iconoclast in GOP; former state Senate minority leader

One thing remains the same in Tisei's 2nd straight run for the Democrat-held seat in Massachusetts' 6th District--as an openly-gay New Englander, Tisei is an iconoclast in his party.

The Republican said that he does not find himself in a hostile party. In fact, given that he represents one of the party's best chances to once again hold a New England congressional seat--something he thinks is necessary for the GOP to be a national party--Tisei is seeing plenty of support. "I feel very comfortable with the history of the party," Tisei said, mentioning the GOP's involvement in women's suffrage and the Civil Rights movement. "I'm also a small business owner. I support our free enterprise system," Tisei added. "People should be making choices for themselves, rather than the government making choices for them. So in a lot of the philosophies, both economic and as far as individual rights go, I feel very comfortable in the party.

Don Berwick: Son of a Connecticut doctor; attended med school in Boston

A: That's right. I grew up in a small town in Connecticut called Moodus. My father was a G.P. in the town. He made house calls, delivered babies--did everything. He did fluoroscopy in his office. He rounded out every day of my young life at the hospital 17 miles away--a real old-style G.P.

Q: And then you went off to Harvard for college and medical school. And you also have a master's degree in public policy from the Kennedy School, and you trained in pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital. Is that right?

A: Yes. I actually did a year of internal medicine first, at Massachusetts General Hospital as a medical intern. I loved that, but I always had a special place for kids in my heart and decided to switch to pediatrics, and so I completed my training at Boston Children's Hospital.

Don Berwick: OpEd: "The second most dangerous man in America"

"The foundation of leadership is more values than strategy," said Berwick. "When the values are right and goals are bold, people want to do well. I will be the same in the corner office."

Berwick stressed his work in non-profits, where he studied other organizations and what makes them work better. "The most important decision an executive makes is who he or she selects to carry out the agenda you agree on," said Berwick. "My management style is to seek out the best people."

Mike Lee: Give me 17 months and I will achieve bipartisanship

GOMEZ: This election is about putting people before politics. Congressman Markey has had 37 years down there to get things done in terms of immigration reform, comprehensive tax reform, entitlement reform. Give me 17 months and I will keep my word and I don't need 37 years like Congressman Markey has had.

Q: 17 months is the time left in John Kerry's term, but you would be just one of 100 members of the Senate. How are you going to break the gridlock in Washington singlehandedly?

GOMEZ: If a Navy SEAL can talk a Peace Corps volunteer into marrying him, I think I can work with anybody. I look forward to working with President Obama, I look forward to working with all the senators in DC I have been bipartisan my whole life. That's the problem we have in DC right now. We have such a high level of cynicism, fiscal mismanagement and hyper partisanship. And the issues are so big that we need to reach across the aisle, respect the other side and get things done.

Bob Massie: Overcame childhood hemophilia, hepatitis, and HIV

"My original title was `Surviving Hemophilia, HIV and Hepatitis.' It was so boring. I decided to take a totally different approach and tell five stories instead," says Massie. When asked about the medical timing, Massie notes, "If I had been born earlier, I would not have survived. If I had been born later, I wouldn't have \gotten HIV. The medical care was good enough to keep me going, but flawed.

Karyn Polito: Voted YES on 'one nation under God' in pledge of allegiance

A Resolution, filed by Rep. Jones (R, North Reading), would reaffirm the reference to "one nation under God" in the pledge of allegiance.

The relevant part of the MassDems Platform is Part I, clause 7: CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES: We reaffirm our commitment to the constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state, and of the freedom to worship without governmental interference.

Bill H.4402 ; vote number H205

Marty Walsh: Voted YES on 'one nation under God' in pledge of allegiance

A Resolution, filed by Rep. Jones (R, North Reading), would reaffirm the reference to "one nation under God" in the pledge of allegiance.

The relevant part of the MassDems Platform is Part I, clause 7: CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES: We reaffirm our commitment to the constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state, and of the freedom to worship without governmental interference.

Bill H.4402 ; vote number H205

John Kerry: Contest between common sense values and extreme ideologues

Carla Howell: Number one issue: Big government versus small government

A: Big government versus small government. One simple issue, one simple choice. Big government problems, or small government solutions. Big government is the problem; small government is the solution. I am campaigning for small government. You either get big government and high taxes or small government and low taxes.