Don, I agree with every statement you have said in your Blog. This election MUST be for our country and for our children's future. There cannot be Republicans, there cannot be Democrats. We must all work together to get this mess straightened out. We have to research the candidates and decide who is best for our future. WE MUST REMBEMBER THE PAST when we vote. Don, you are right, WE MUST WAKE UP!!!!!

Agree entirely with you, Don!

For future reference, when using acronyms, e.g., ANWR , please it spell out in its entirety. Some people are just starting to 'wake up' !

Why this guy gets to post his thoughts on a respectable website is beyond me. Itreads like a speech some wing-nut would give at a John Birch Society meeting. This is an embarrassment to read on a website that is otherwise pretty good.

Once you said that the Rebublicans were on the right side of every issue I stopped reading. I don't trust anyone that blindly follows either party. (for the record, I'll either be voting Romney if he wins the GOP or Gary Johnson)

I am not sure if Don "blindly" follows the Republican platform. However, given the context of his blog which is a rallying call for Republicans there is a certain audience here.

For Don to take any other tact would be the equivalent of staging a pep rally for a team and stating that " I think we might win, our playbook is only so-so though so we might get our butt kicked too.

It just wouldn't make sense.

In the end it is the gridlock we experience that may save us. The Founding Fathers made it hard to do anything for a reason. Hence the bi-annual national elections, checks/balances etc.

Christian don't count on the checks and balance. Have you done a roll call on Beacon Hill lately? The Senate on capitol Hill in D.C. still carries a big stick by a small Leader named Harry Reid. The pep rally is for the American people. The people that are locked into CNN or PBS. We have to act decisively when 49-51% of the population pays no taxes, yet are the biggest spenders. How long before the rest of the people jump in the same wagon. We all must understand the precarious position the Federal, State and Town governments will place us in if they go broke. Whom do they sacrifice first, police and fire departments. We must get a handle on this dangerous situation, and not depend on the people that caused it to fix it. This is not a game. I have to discipline myself to stay involved. I will not quit. The Country deserves every second I invest. It has given me a near perfect life. I am grateful.
Above all must lock arms around the churces, they may not know it but they too are under attack. We are Americans and we have always done better, even during a depression. I urge everyone to become involved not sit and complain.

"Lincredible"

Hi Sean, I couldn't agree with you more. You refered to gridlock and I know that I referred to it. I was also referring to our lives being in gridlock by the buracracy. I quickly looked to see how I used it, but could not find it. I have a couple of deadlines this morning, but I think I was referring to our lives being placed on temporary or permanent hold if we fail to reverse direction. I fully support the Tea Party and understand the opposition wants to destroy them along with the rest of the beltway crowd. There's only room for one hero, of course I'm kidding. Conservatives have an open door. The selfish politians want to have it both ways. They want someone to blame and no one to share credit with. The Politians I know are like President Reagan. "It doesn't matter who gets the credit as long as the job gets done". (paraphrase) The Country needs people like you speaking out.

Hi Malcolm, If your one word article "Incredible" was a compliment it read like a President Lincoln speech. If if was meant to critize the writer you did not achieve the minimum word count and therefore will not receive an answer. Again I'm kidding. I believe that you were referring to the attacks on the Catholic Church. The attacks were carefully planned and carried out. They have not ended they are simply regrouping. They have impacted the world with their attacks attempting to divide the people. The Churches in Euope were empty for years, hopefully they are slowly coming back. This is serious business and we must speak out.

Don, as a conservative unenrolled voter, I have bigger issues with the GOP than the Democrats. The GOP should be for individual rights and smaller government period. The GOP has been highjacked by the religious right and have somehow made invasion of privacy a conservative value.
I am of like mind with Thomas Jefferson. Corporations controlling our democracy will end it. 2 corporations control all in America today, the RNC and the DNC, and both need to be eradicated if we are to get back on the correct path.

Hi Bob, You are correct to a point. The Conservative Party is about the people, smaller government, lower taxes a color blind society and on an on. It's about direction and the people. It's about helping people find employment not welfare; restoring the essentials to a happy life; PRIDE. It's about integrity and the Constitution. I think the Tea Party has given the country another life. No arguments from me. We both understand that a Democracy can not survive in a lawless society. Take away the church and law enforcement away and we will return to the wild west. The church is crucial and we must protect it. It has done nothing wrong. Some of the people have made mistakes; but the majority like myself receive strength and wisdom from the church coming from God. God removes the gridlock from my life. There is no mandate telling us we must attend, but, for me I have tried it the other way and this one works best for me. They must not steal the churches value system, believe me thay know the church is the glue that bonds many of us together and if they succeed in destroying what they stand for it will place all of us at risk. Thanks for articulating your position, keep speaking out.

"Our Country is greater than an individual, even if that individual is the President.

The President believes that he deserves a second chance. He has operated undercover, without transparency. When the President’s actions are exposed, they have always proven to be a disaster beyond description."

Respectfully Don, these words are best attributed to George W. Bush and the sham of the Iraq war. Please do not forget that President Obama spoke out against going to war in Iraq and time has proven him right. Thankfully, President Obama has finally and truly brought closure to military operations in Iraq, years after "mission accomplished" I might add. Also, he and his administration gathered the intelligence and executed the plan to rid the planet of Osama Bin Laden, something GWB could never do. I look forward to the president stabilizing Afghanistan and then bringing our military home.

Don I respect your passion, however your sometimes overtly biased rhetoric diminishes your cause. You cannot really say you work with both parties and then the Republicans are right about every single issue. It makes you seem more than a little inconsistent and takes away from some of the good points you actually make.

Simon, George W. has made historians out of a lot of people. The best thing that ever happened to Nixon was George W., now he is getting blamed for everything; including global warming. How long will you give the President a free pass? We are heading for the cliff and the President has jumped out of the wagon. My goal is to work with both parties when they are ready to work with me. I said that the Republicans are right on every issue and everyone else is afraid to tell you the truth. My heart is with the country and the Republicans have the ideas. Not everyone wants to solve the countries problems, they lose power when the problems go away. They have to create a new crisis. It's about solutions with me and I attempt to consider which group will provide them. Have you watched the debates. The candidates provide a clear indication of who has the solutions that will work vs. the solutions that are only about raising taxes or subsidizing a product that should be eliminated. I agree we need some brain transplants along with some spinal transplants. Thanks for caring.

I regret being the one to inform you that we are surrounded by voters that have never seen the inside of a newspaper. It is time for all Americans to participate in the process that will determine the quality of life that we leave the next generation. I have a feeling they won't be very happy. We have been selfish with our time and our courage hesitating to take on the tough fight. How many Americans are collecting checks from the government they do not deserve? How many programs that we pay dearly for should never see the light of tomorrow? Why is the Department of Education still in Business? What would the cost be of education or health care be if the government got the Hell out of the way? The buracracy is crushing the life out of all of us? Why do people sit around watching videos when their country is drowning? We delegate responsibility to others because we'er stressed. The stress will not go away until we get our house in order. Failure to act means rough days ahead. This does not have to happen. When it happens it will happen fast. Remember the Presidential transition period we woke up one day and BANG we took the hit. It was equivalent to the Cuban missile crisis for me at my age. It doesn't have to happen. We can cut our losses by becoming informed and stop kidding ourselves. Watch what people do, not what they say. Vote smartly we owe it to our country. We can't vote for a women because we're a woman, or a black because we're black. Vote for most qualified.

As usual, 100% fact-free.

Please back up your statement that "Republicans are on the right side of every single issue" with just one example. Just one...

Maybe I should write a blog using yours as an example...

"Republicans are evil and hate America. We must retake the House to get these corporate prostitutes out of office and let real progress happen. If you do not agree with me you aren't paying attention, or you are clearly a terrorist"

That would add a lot to the political discourse similar to your blog.

Bruce we accomplished so much during your absence. I am so glad that we disagree as you provide further evidence of why Republicans can't work across the aisle. Your heart is full of hate, it's impossible to have a dialogue with you, theres no room for reason. I know your frustration, but you earned it. Nothing gets accomplished when your out of control. My position is firm and if you want to repair the problems that we are facing you need a new strategy. Go write your own blog and loosen up. Do we all have to think like you?

Clearly you don't understand the point. I have no issue with you having your opinions, but you write your blog as if it is the word from on high with no possibility that you could be wrong.

Reason comes from rational discussion, and all I asked for was for you to do is back up your statement with a fact. How can you write something so vile as "Your heart is full of hate?" You don't know me, and the fact that you would turn a political discussion into a personal attack is more proof that you have no business writing your blog on this or any other site.

Hava gooda day and don't try to ruin mine. Most people that don't block things out agree with the position I hold. There is nothing to gain from further dialogue between us. It's non-productive. I simply agree to disagree with you. My day is full I don't have time for games and neither does the country. Really write your article it's as simple as that tell us your position. I'll approach it with an open mind.

It is too bad that you do not want to have a real discussion, but instead insult someone who disagrees with you. Have a good day, I wish you well.

I have a question for you Bruce. A few months ago you told Patch readers that you were a strong Conservative your voter registration in 2010 was as a Democrat.

Not sure where you got your info. I am a liberal democrat and have been for a long time. Don't know what you're talking about regarding me telling patch readers that I am a "strong conservative" unless it was a particular position on a particular issue that I classified as conservative. For instance, while many would classify a strong environmental position as liberal, I would argue that it is "conservative" to be in favor of protecting our environment from corporate raiders like those that want to drill in ANWR or off-shore. I would argue that people in favor of such actions are corporatists, not conservatives.

If you want to give me some more info I'd be happy to respond, but I am a proud liberal democrat. By the way,do you always check out the voter registration status of those who comment on your blogs?

I accept your clarification, and it does explain a lot of your anger. I really do hope that you will have a better day. I have nothing to gain by angering people. I will never convert you so why continue the dialogue.

I think you must have confused me with another "Bruce" on Patch, as I have never claimed to be Conservative in any of my posts (I checked), so it wasn't a clarification, just a correction of your misstatement.

"I will never convert you so why continue the dialogue."

This is one of the saddest political statements of all time, and the source of our current political dysfunction. Clearly, you and I are not going to agree on much of anything politically, but the fact is that the American political system is predicated on people of differing positions working together to find areas of compromise that can move the country forward. It is this "all or nothing" attitude (currently more prevalent on the right I would argue) that leads to gridlock and crisis.

By the way, there is no anger here, other than towards your ridiculous statement regarding my heart full of hate. I simply disagree with your blog and wanted to engage in a debate regarding the facts and foundations of the issues and the position you took. You seem unwilling or unable to do that, so that is where we are. As I said, you are welcome to your opinions, but I question why you write a blog if you are not willing to defend your position.

Enjoy your day.

Sorry Bruce but you are the only person I have walked away from and refused to carry on a discussion with. Lets just say we have a personallity conflict and leave it at that. There are people that won't accept any answers, they are purely ion a search and destoy mission. I given you answers on my last two comments and you keep coming back. Go do something productive with your time. I'm very busy and can no longer take your attempted distractions. I'm trying to be nice about it and you won't accept that either. End of statement.

Whatever.

When John Kerry gets caught cheating Massachusetts out of taxes over his sailboat is he acting "Republican Like"?

Sal Demasi is really a republican?

Everything is just ducky in Massachusetts with a record we can be proud of?

As long as we fight over Republicans versus Democrats we will never fix anything.

Of course that's exactly what Republicans and Democrats want.

America is in deep financial trouble. If you don't realize that then I'll take some of what you are smoking.

We are in this mess because of POLITICIANS on both sides of the aisle have taken a system and bent it into perverted corruption where nepotism, hackery, and graft has spiraled into an iscestous cesspool of red ink that we may not be able to pull out of.

I don’t believe EITHER party represents me.

I do believe Democrats are folks who specialize in giving away my money to the poor.

I do believe Republicans are folks who specialize in giving away my money to the already well off.

Yes, a broad brush for sure. But when we have Democrats allowing Welfare cases to sponge of the system for decades, while Republicans allow many Fortune 500 companies to pay ZERO in Federal Taxes, you can catch my drift.

Elizabeth Warren is to Newt Gingrich what Newt Gingrich is to Elizabeth Warren.

Both are really, really bad for America.

Until we can get this through our heads we are, and shall remain, screwed.

Who Me, RunningGreen & Bob you have helped to outline the problem, however, I disagree with your solution. We are shooting at the wrong target, in my opinion. Just as they say guns don't shoot people, people do. The parties are fine it is deeper than that and I think that you will agree. We have allowed people to self desrtuct by placing their lives in the hands of the government, instead of themselves. When the company I worked for went out of business my friend asked me how much disability are you collecting? I said none there's nothing wrong with me. He said they don't giva sh-- about that, they will find something. I laughed and walked away, many would say please continue. More than 49% are collecting a government pay check and many do not deserve it. The government doesn't care about waste, fraud and abuse, they encourage it. It's not the party it's the people we vote for. Most Americans do not want to put their families through the harassment they walk into. If you do you better be Mister Clean going back to elementary school or maybe the womb. We limit the people willing to partcipate. It's about destroying your opponent. They call each other liars, and then say come please let's reason together. You could have 100 parties and we would experience the same problems. We need to demand more of ourselves while attracting qualified leaders once again. We don't need Arena's on Beacon and Capitol Hills. The voters need to be taught the Golden Rule and try to live it.

Don, the Government is not an invisible entity. It’s actually nothing more than a short white haired man standing on a box behind a curtain.

Whether it’s Republicans or Democrats, the objective is to get yourself re-elected. In order to get re-elected you must spread the pork around.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking only Democrats spread pork. Yes, Democrats have ruined Massachusetts. However had Republicans been in total control we would be in the same mess.

The whole Country is awash in red ink. I hardly consider it a victory that some red states don’t have as much debt as most blue states. Broke is broke.

Democrats cater to the left, it gets them re-elected.

Republicans cater to the right, it gets them re-elected.

Those of us that aren’t Demigods on either side are Citizens without a party.

Those on the Left are addicted to Taxpayer hand outs. Those on the right are addicted to Taxpayer bailouts.

Neither one helps the middle class.

You can’t help Crack heads make the right decisions. An intervention is necessary. As much as I wish voters would vote they don’t. There too entrenched on either side to fight for real change.

So, I would intervene. Strict term limits. We must rid ourselves of “Professional Politician’s” on the left and the right. A professional politician is totally incapable of voting independently, they vote for the side that keeps them in power. No pensions for Politicians. Serve one term and step aside and give someone else a shot. Massachusetts is but one of 9 States with full time Legislatures that spend more time campaigning that leading.

We must have a Constitutional Amendment requiring a balanced budget every year. No more deficit spending.

I believe that next years Federal budget spends more than our entire GDP combined which means that even at full capacity we can’t produce and sell enough goods to pay our bills. How insane is that? Never mind our massive trade deficit with China.

49% of people are on some sort of Government handout. Yes, you are correct in that. That’s the Left building their Army. GE made 15 Billion Dollars in bottom line profits in 2010 and paid NO FEDERAL TAXES. That’s the right building their Army.

49% on some sort of Government handout, ridicules and unsustainable.

GE paying zero taxes on 15 Billion in profits, ridicules and unsustainable.

Food for thought....speaking of food my wife is yelling at me get off the damn computer your supper is getting cold..............

Who me? - - I share your disgust. No arguements from me. I wrote a letter to the Editor about 2 years ago on pork barrel spending. I watched Rick Santorum hang himself taking one for the team with pork barrel spending. 1. We need more civility attracting better candidates. 2. We need to eliminate pork barrel spending. 3. We need a platform that candidates will agree with and sign up to or identify issues they disagree with. I think that a balnced budget is necessary and 95% of the rest of your thoughts and ideas I agree with, I also think the Republicans would sign in a minute if the Democrats would endorse such a platform. If the Democrats disagree I think the Republicans would sign up in a minute if they ever gained control of the House, Senate and Oval Office. 4. We must restore the line item veto. There argument is legitimate, you can't have one Party buying votes and the other Party being heartless, cold and uncaring. If the Republicans ever control the House, Senate and oval office you might very well see that. The special interest will maintain control until we change the candidates and eliminate waste fraud and abuse. Most Republicans that I know would love to see that happpen. We are going broke and with that in mind much of the waste will be cleaned up. When the checks stop coming and people are offered jobs in the private sector things will change. When people see their name on a paycheck they will change. Unfortunately it will take pain to bring change.