Edward J. O'Reilly successfully challenges John Kerry at the Democratic State Convention
I would like to extend my congratulations to Ed O’Reilly for successfully challenging John Kerry during today’s Democratic State Committee Meeting at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Ed O'Reilly, a progressive Democrat from Gloucester, MA, received well over the 15.1% of the total delegate vote in order for his name to appear on the Democratic ballot as a primary challenger to John Kerry on September 16, 2008. Out of the 2,573 people to vote at the convention, 580 cast their vote for change within the Democratic Party by supporting Ed O’Reilly. Before the nomination at the convention, each candidate must produce 10,000 nomination signatures to the Secretary of State’s office; Democrat Ed O’Reilly submitted over 15,000.
As a newly elected Delegate from Westwood, I cast my vote in favor of Ed O’Reilly. I did so because I believe we deserve a choice when it comes to the primary contest on September 16, 2008. It’s been 23 long years since we’ve had a contested Democratic primary. These months leading up to the September primary will shed light on both candidates, hopefully forcing Kerry to work for the vote, instead of brushing the people he represents aside to pursue national interests as he has done in the past. Senator Kerry has worked hard for us, but now is the time for him to become re-acquainted with the state he represents.
Either O’Reilly or Kerry will square off with presumptive U.S. Senate GOP nominee Jeff Beatty during the general election in November.
For more information, please visit Ed’s website at: http://www.edoreilly.com. If you have any immediate questions or would like to contact Ed personally, please call: 1 (617) 924-2008. You may also email Ed directly: ed@edoreilly.com.
Best Wishes,
Greg Agnew
I think that is a welcome
I think that is a welcome change. It's a shame that there's such a dissincentive for overturning long-standing incumbents, as both our Senators seem to have appointments for life. Hopefully Mr. O'Reilly will use this opportunity to bring important issues to the attention of the states Democrats.
Ed O'Reilly
I am an outsider from Ohio, but I congratulate the Massachusetts Democrats who helped get O’Reilly on the ballot. From what I gather, Ed's platform is much more consistent with not only the MA Democratic Party's platform; it is also more consistent with MA Dems in general.
In Ohio, many of us are working for real health care reform by pushing The Health Care for All Ohioans Act, a single payer solution to the health care crisis. Our Democratic governor, Ted Strickland is working with "stakeholders" to push a Massachusetts style plan with mandates, a solution (as you all probably know since your state has produced the template for the insurance company push in other states) that is no solution to the crisis. www.spanohio.org
I know Ed O'Reilly stands for single-payer, specifically Rep. John Conyers H.R. 676 which now has 90 cosponsors in the House. We need Ed to grab the Senate seat so he can sponsor a companion bill in the Senate and move real reform forward--with the insurance companies out of the equation.
Sen. John Kerry, though he initially voted against the war, has voted for every funding bill, I guess he was against the war before he was for it, so to speak. We Democrats everywhere need to push our Democratic representative and nominees on these tough issues and make them accountable to the electorate, the constituent/citizen needs that should come before the corporate needs and handouts.
Join PDA in the effort to transform the Democratic Party, a party that has shifted in lock-step to the right as the Republican Party has marched to the extreme Right. www.pdamerica.org We need to make the progressive agenda the center of the Democratic Party, since that is where most Dems are on the issues. Fair Trade, Out of Iraq Now, single payer health care, a serious investment in turning America into the powerhouse of Green energy in order to stop global warming, and fair elections, the last of which is best solved by paper ballots hand counted at the precinct level.
Onward Ed and MA Dems--get behind change and wake up the Party that has forgotten who it serves.
In Solidarity from Ohio,
Mike Carano
Steven Lynch
The Senate seat was not the only uncontested position...how about our Congressman, Steven Lynch? I know Phil Dunkelbarger from Westwood, challenged him in the primary last time, but it seems like Lynch has had an easy time of it. And his name now comes up as a possible "inheritor" of a Senate seat every time pundits start to speculate.
lynch
It amazes me that someone of Lynch's caliber gets mentioned as a possible inheritor of a Senate seat. He is out of step with most democratic principles. He voted for the Iraq war, against net nuetrality, has a personal history which includes conviction of assault and battery of Iranian students, (I wonder how he feels about Iran now - another preemptive strike?).
He's sold out various unions, including the choice of contractor for renovation of his congressional office in Boston; it went to a non-union contractor from NH. He failed to pay back student loans, and used campaign contributions to buy his personal vehicle.
But the most damning fact is that in seven years he has never authored one piece of significant legistlation that has passed the congress. He record is a big zero. Can anybody participating in this blog think of one thing he has done for the district? I think it's time to use his talents in the private sector. He's given back enough.
While our current voting
While our current voting technology leaves much to be desired, I don't think that hand counted ballots are the most accurate and in that sense can never be the most fair. I don't think machine counting needs to be abandoned entirely to ensure fair elections.
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