Photo: Senator Kerry speaks to supporters at the Dunkin Donuts on Congress Street in Framingham.

PolitickerMA.com reported that, due to the number of folks crammed into the Dunkin' Donuts, Senator Kerry took to a chair in order to address the crowd.

From atop the chair, Kerry spoke emphatically and quickly, using his hands to emphasize his statements. The crowd was silent listening to him as he hammered home his points. If the Democrats succeed in November, he said, there will be the first "progressive, thoughtful and intelligent legislating since Lyndon Johnson was president."

Kerry also said that the Democrats would restore the United States to its position as a global superpower and repair its damaged reputation around the world.

Kerry took a few questions from the crowd, the majority of which focused on the country's energy crisis. The senator, who is known for his work on energy and global warming, said the renewable energy source most available to help consumers now is solar energy.

He was also asked if "there was a shot" troops would be coming home from Iraq soon. "More than a shot," Kerry immediately responded. "The fact is that the United States cannot sustain the current troop levels" being deployed in Iraq. 

 Photo: Supporters stop to shake hands with Sen. Kerry and ask some questions.

The MetroWest News wrote about the Framingham visit and offered some details on the Q&A session that Senator Kerry had with the voters who came out for this event:

Kerry called on supporters to continue pushing for Obama over the final months of the campaign, and offered hope the Democrats could win a wider majority in both the House and Senate.

"When we win the presidency, it will be the first moment of genuine, progressive, thoughtful leadership since Lyndon Johnson was president," he said.

With energy prices at record levels, Kerry said lawmakers need to do more to encourage investment in alternative energy sources, particularly solar power.

According to some studies, Kerry said, enough solar energy could be generated in the Southwest to supply more than six times the energy used in the United States.

"As the price goes up on oil, you're going to see more people switch," Kerry predicted. "The marketplace is going to demand alternatives and I want the U.S. to be the country that provides it."

Photo: A young supporter gets a boost during the July 21st visit to Dunkin Donuts in Framingham.

The tour continued with stops at several local businesses, including a local pizza store, a sub shop and an Asian grocery store. 

Photo:  Senator Kerry gets a warm greeting from the owner of the Framingham Sub & Pizza Shop.

Despite the hot temperatures, a number of people accompanied SenatorKerry on his walk through Framingham.  Other folks saw the walk in progress and stopped by for a quick hello and chat with the Senator.

 Photo: "Kerry on your Corner" stop in Framingham, MA on July 21, 2008. 

Senator Kerry got a chance to tour the Frmaingham Town Hall and speak with local Selectmen, School Committee and Town officials during this stop. Town officials shared information on local concerns while the Senator got a chance to talk about what his office is doing to assist cities and towns in the Commonwealth.

  Photo:  Sen. Kerry poses with FraminghamTown officials at the Town Hall building.

The "Kerry on your Corner" visit to Framingham was both well attended and a lot of fun. We look forward to the next event and the next chance to take a stroll through another Massachusetts city or town and visit with friends and supporters and share concerns about issues with voters in the Commonwealth.

As a lifetime Massachusetts resident, I always viewed the debated political issue of immigration in the United States as important, but one that did not directly effect me or the state in which I lived. In reality, this issue is more prevalent to my geographic region than I initially suspected, as the waterfront city of New Bedford is one that has faced a recent influx of immigrants. With the increase in immigrants coming to this city in the past twenty years has come an increase in controversy and investigation. (Immigration was the subject of a heated US Senate debate in 2006.) The majority of these immigrants are undocumented and here illegally, and while they desire to achieve the idealistic American Dream by working to support their families both here and in Central America, many Americans feel as though these immigrants are taking their rightful jobs as American citizens. As a result, these Central American immigrants, specifically the Guatamalan Mayans, are being treated with abuse and unequal wages by their employers. Their children are also suffering, as they are striving to obtain an education while struggling with the prevailing language and cultural barriers.

Many Central Americans, particularly Guatamalans, have immigrated to New Bedford Massachusetts to escape the prevalent crime, low wages, and limited employment opportunities of their countries. New Bedford has created jobs for these immigrants through temporary agencies, particularly on the waterfront, but the employees don't work under the typical conditions that an American works under, and do not enjoy the same benefits or legal rights. These undocumented immigrants, who live in constant fear of being caught by officials, also experience unfair discrimination, lack of compensation for their long hours, and resulting side effects of alcoholism and depression. While these immigrants hope to live out the American Dream in New Bedford, by creating new businesses and providing a valuable education for their children, they are hindered by unfair treatment and poor working conditions.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080629/NEWS/806290302/-1/SPECIAL62- The New Bedford Stand Times ran a series of articles in June on this issue and those articles provide a very comprehensive history of how so many immigrants, particularly the Guatamalan Mayans, found their way to New Bedford. This was an insightful and balanced set of articles that sought to shine a light on immigration by telling the stories of both the immigrants and the effect immigration has on the city of New Bedford.

Immigrants from Guatamala, Honduras, and El Salvador began coming to New Bedford in the 1980's due to brutal civil wars in their countries, and destructive natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes. Many work not only to provide money for their own families, but to wire money back to their families in Central America to pay for food, school, clothes, and medicine. Because over two thirds of New Bedford's immigrants are here illegally, they are significantly limited in their financial and job opportunities. The US provides for undocumented immigrants to obtain Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, which allows some people in certain situations to live and work in the US legally and temporarily. Because many immigrants came to New Bedford due to governmental instability or natural disasters, they are eligible to be granted this TPS. While the rising immigrant population in New Bedford certainly provides the city with a unique element of culture and diversity, many immigrants are forced to live in the shadows, as many continue to remain here illegally.

The issue of immigration most recently came to to the Massachusetts political forefront on March 6, 2007 when a factory for Pentagon Defense contractor Michael Bianco Inc. in New Bedford was raided. The factory was used to make textiles and provided jobs for 361 Central American immigrants. Many of these immigrants were separated from their families and children with no chance to arrange for childcare and forced into detention centers or prisons. Many immigrants were not given the chance to tell family members or children their whereabouts or that they had been transported to other states and were being deported immediately to their countries of origin.

This raid and the questions it raised about humanitarian treatment of undocumented workers launched an investigation into the issue of how the immigrants in this New Bedford, Massachusetts incident were treated. This is just one example of many ways in which immigrants who work at low-paying jobs with minimal benefits are mistreated and abused by their employers and then callously treated by federal agencies that don't want to take the time to deal with all aspects of this problem.

The Standard Times series is important because it talks about why immigrants come to America and why so many people take these extraordinary risks for jobs with little pay and no protections at all.  Many of the Guatamalean workers that the series focused on come from countries with unimaginable poverty, political instability and no jobs. As bad as the situation in New Bedford was, at least it allowed these workers to send some money back to destitute families in Guatemala.  Workers come here because there are employers who will hire them. These employers are thinking of their profit margins not the welfare of their workers or the affect that having a large influx of very poor people means to the city budgets and social services agencies in cities like New Bedford. This creates a tremendous strain and fosters deep resentments in citizens and taxpayers who think that their money is being used to support people who are breaking the law by being here. No where is this more apparent than in the issue of education.

Having gone through the Massachusetts public school system, I am aware of the necessity of a quality public education, and the difficulties the states faces with providing it to students of all backgrounds. While not directly effected by the struggle for employment in New Bedford, the population that seems to be most effected culturally by the immigration is their children. The education of immigrants is seen as difficult by the school administration, due to the fact that, by law, they are not allowed to fail any student. The task to provide a solid education proves to be more challenging for immigrants, as oftentimes they come to New Bedford schools mid-way through the year, oftentimes are illiterate, and speaking little to no English. Unfortunately, not enough state money is being alloted to providing an adequate education for immigrant students, and those to which English is not their first language. Programs such as the MCAS tests, designed to maintain the quality of public education, and the No Child Left Behind Act, do not account for bilingual children, or those who come and go from the school system, due to their parents unpredictable schedule of employment.

In the words of the 1982 decision in Plyler v. Doe, preventing undocumented immigrant children from getting an education would promote "the creation and perpetuation of a subclass of illiterates within our boundaries, surely adding to the problems and costs of unemployment, welfare, and crime. It is thus clear that whatever savings might be achieved by denying these children an education, they are wholly insubstantial in light of the costs involved to these children, the state, and the nation."

The elevated level of Central American immigrants in New Bedford brings the controversial issue of immigration to the forefront of political conversation at the state level. While some immigrants have achieved full American citizenship, others remain either illegal or temporary immigrants, which leaves a grey line between whether they should be treated on the same level as American citizens, or on an entirely different plane. Further complicating the issue is the necessity of the state to provide their children with a fair and complete education, even though the illiteracy and cultural differences make this goal more complicated and difficult. While the issue of immigration seems at a glance to be far removed and separate from life in Massachusetts, in reality this often shadowed and hidden issue of illegal immigration in New Bedford affects communities all over the Commonwealth and is an important issue that is starting to get serious consideration both in Massachusetts and nationally.

-- Rebecca Gilbert is a Junior at University of Maryland, studying Government and Politics.

"If state lawmakers insist on perpetuating direct subsidies to politically favored health care providers, then they should be forced to do so exclusively out of state tax revenues and justify such payments to their constituents," according to the July 2 report, authored by policy analyst Greg D'Angelo and senior research fellow Edmund Haislmaier.

Haislmaier told the News Service in a phone interview that the report was intended to correct what he described as misperceptions that the cost of Massachusetts health care reform had exploded to unaffordable levels. Rather he said, the appropriate shifting of funds, an increase in competition and the termination of $180 million in special payments to Boston-area teaching hospitals would solve the problem. He noted that this solution would remove from the equation the president's Office of Management and Budget, frequently cited as an obstacle to a deal on a new multi-year waiver request.

 

The Heritage Foundation thinks that paying Boston Medical Center and Cambridge Health Alliance is just plain fiscal foolishness and political favoritism. These health care centers provide services in the Boston, Somerville and Cambridge area as well as to some communities north of Boston. Apparently, the Heritage Foundation thinks that Massachusetts is favoring political special interests when it requests money to pay BMC and CHA for actual health care services rendered to patients.

So, who does the Heritage Foundation think should get Medicare money? Well, insurance companies, of course! However, sending money to them directly is still not enough. The insurance companies are still overburdened by mandates that make them pay for expensive things like drugs.  So, the Heritage Foundation recommends that we strip out some of the mandates from the State's innovative health care plan.

In addition, the authors echo a call by insurers to scale back mandatory benefits, such as prescription drug coverage. "It would not take much for the board to go back and reconsider some of the earlier options and possibly consider some new ones as well," the authors write. "Alternatively, the state could leave the program design unchanged and fund any additional expenses out of reduced hospital subsidies or even other state spending."

Earlier this week Senator Ted Kennedy made a dramatic return to the US Senate to vote on the delayed Medicare Bill. This courageous act helped to ensure that doctors across the nation, as well as here in Massachusetts, don't have to endure a cut in reimbursement pay on care for Medicare patients.The Republicans had blocked passage of this bill because they felt that the bill was favorable enough to insurance company interests.

Paul Krugman noted in his New York Times column that while the story about Sen. Kennedy's return was moving all by itself, the actual vote that Senators Kennedy and Kerry cast to restore funding to Medicare was a huge victory for health care reform advocates.  Krugman said that the Republican preference for paying insurance companies over doctors can be traced back to the last Medicare bill that Republicans pushed through Congress in President Bush's first term.

 

The story really begins in 2003, when the Bush administration rammed the Medicare Modernization Act through Congress, literally in the dead of night. That bill established large de facto subsidies for Medicare Advantage plans — plans in which Medicare funds are funneled through private insurance companies, rather than directly paying for care.

 

Since then, enrollment in these plans has been growing rapidly. This has had a destructive effect on Medicare’s finances: the fastest-growing type of Medicare Advantage plan, private fee-for-service, costs taxpayers 17 percent more per beneficiary than Medicare without the middleman. It also threatens to undermine Medicare’s universality, turning it into a system in which insurance companies cherry-pick healthier and more affluent older Americans, leaving the sicker and poorer behind.

 

According to the website: "The Hamilton Canal District will result in the reinvention of approximately 15 acres of vacant and underutilized land as a new vibrant mixed-use neighborhood.   The completed project will transform the primary gateway into Downtown Lowell by connecting the transportation hub at the Gallagher Terminal and Lowell Connector with the core downtown, the Arts District, and the major event venues."

Photo:  State Senator Steve Panagiotakis, Hank Keating of the development firm Trinity Financial, Senator Kerry and MA State Representative David Nangle point out the various buildings slated to undergo renovation in the Jackson/Appleton/Middlesex  (JAM) Streets area. The proposed development covers 15.2 acres of land in the heart of Lowell. 

Photo:  Senator Kerry talks with Hank Keating from the development firm Trinity Financial, while MA State Senator Steve Panagiotakis looks on. Trinity’s goal for this site involves, "vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood spanning the Merrimack, Pawtucket and Hamilton Canals will transform the gateway of Downtown Lowell by connecting the transportation hub at the Gallagher Terminal and the Lowell Connector with the core downtown, the Arts District and the major event venues."

Photo:  Senator Kerry inspects the canal locks near Middlesex Community College  in downtown Lowell. 

This series of locks dates back to Lowell's very beginning as a new "mill town" and manufacturing center.

The original lock system was designed in the early 1800's and the one that can be seen in Lowell today dates back to the 1840's.   These picturesque canals make a nice background for the present city of Lowell and are an integral part of the designs for the new Hamilton Canal District.  Future plans will incorporate mixed use development that will bring residential and business construction to Lowell and take advantage of the arts and thriving cultural center that is so central to the modern city.

The tour included a pause so that the Senator could greet a constituent. 

The Lowell Sun had the story of this particular voter contact:

Westford resident Taeomi Martyn Dooley was driving down Middlesex Street at about 11 a.m. when she saw the cluster of Kerry signs. She immediately pulled over.

In September 2000, Martyn Dooley's son, Trebor, was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a fast-growing and typically fatal brain tumor. His dream was to see Air Force One up close and personal, and Kerry helped make it happen.

In 2002, Trebor used crutches and a wheelchair to get around the world's most famous plane.

Kerry took Martyn Dooley's hands and said hello. She thanked the senator again for giving her son a "life-changing" experience when he needed it most. Trebor is 21 now and enrolled in classes at Middlesex Community College.

"He took the time to do something really special for Trebor," Martyn Dooley said. "Trebor will have that forever."

 ###

Russell is the head of a courtroom team of veterans' advocates and volunteers determined to make this brush with the criminal justice system these veterans' last.

"They look to the right or to the left, they're sitting there with another vet, and it's a more calming, therapeutic environment," Russell said. "Rather than them being of the belief that 'people don't really understand me,' or 'they don't know what it's like' - well, it's a room full of folks who do."

If the veterans adhere to a demanding one- to two-year regimen of weekly to monthly court appearances, drug testing, and counseling for any combination of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, substance abuse, or anger management, they could see their charges dismissed, or at least stay out of jail.

After counting 300 veterans in the local courts last year, the judge tailor-made the treatment court to address not only veterans' crimes, but their unique mental health issues.

Patrick Campbell, Legislative Director of Iraq Veterans of America says that he is working with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Senator Kerry to get funding to expand the Veterans Courts to other States.  This is certainly an innovative idea that deserves some attention.

PolitickerMA.com  ran a story about the latest  polling numbers on the Massachusetts Senate race.  New poll numbers on the race came out on July 1st and show Senator Kerry with a substantial lead over the presumptive Republican nominee:

The poll, conducted by Rasmussen Reports, shows Kerry leading Republican challenger Jeff Beatty 58 percent to 27 percent. Last month, Kerry led Beatty 63 percent to 25 percent. At the time that poll was taken, however, Jim Ogonowski appeared to be the front runner for the GOP nomination in the race.

The percentage of the respondents that have a favorable view of Kerry jumped from 54 percent at the end of May to 60 percent at the end of June. Twenty-five percent of respondents view Beatty favorably, but 44 percent of respondents had no impression of the candidate. 

DailyKos took notice of this same poll and had this brief account of the race: "John Kerry is cruising in the Bay State, 58% to 27%, over his Republican opponent Jeff Beatty."  The voters of Massachusetts know that Senator Kerry has been working hard for them in the US Senate. Polls like this show that the voters want John Kerry to keep fighting for them in the Senate. That was this campaign is all about.

June 8th, 2008

I am still a bit tired from all the Convention activities and excitement yesterday, but I wanted, on behalf of the John Kerry for Senate ‘08 campaign, to thank all the wonderful volunteers who joined us in Lowell over the weekend. Your help, as ever, was invaluable. We, quite honestly, could not do what we do without the help of all the incredible people who take time out of their busy schedules to hold a sign, distribute literature, make phone calls, send emails and blog posts and talk to their friends and neighbors about supporting Senator Kerry. Thank you for your hard work this week. Thank you for showing up and making such a huge difference for us. We deeply appreciate all your help.

Senator Kerry was overwhelmingly endorsed for reelection by the Massachusetts Democratic Party. I would also like to thank all our great Democratic activists who braved the 90+ degree weather to hang out in Lowell and participate in the Convention and vote for John Kerry, again. Many of you have been “with” the Senator since the days when he ran for Lt. Governor of Massachusetts. Senator Kerry asked for your vote yesterday and you delivered. It is humbling, energizing and ever-so-hopeful to see all the energy that was in the Tsongas Arena during the Senator’s speech on Saturday. It is doubly gratifying to know that so many people are “there” for the Senator and stand up for him and for the issues he fights so hard for in the US Senate.

Personally, it was great to see so many friends and be introduced to so many new folks from across Massachusetts and catch up on the activities and thoughts of fellow MA Dems. I think the thing that struck me most was all huge and noisy applause that went through the Convention crowd when the topic of Democratic unity was brought up. Democrats are ready to unite and ready to take the battle for a more Democratic Congress into the general election in November. We are ready to fight hard for a Democratic President. We are ready to unite in common cause and fight to bring our troops home from Iraq, give our veterans the honor and services they have earned, make health care affordable for millions more Americans, deal with our huge economic problems and so forth. We are one Democratic Party and we are going on to victory in November and to enact historic and desperately needed change next year.

So thanks to all of you for all your support and good wishes. Now, let’s get to work! Together, we can change America!

– - – Terri Buchman

I love democracy, and there’s nothing like an arena filled with Democrats ready to have a convention.

We’re mere minutes away from the 2008 MA Democratic Convention here in the Paul F. Tsongas Arena in beautiful, revitalized Lowell, MA. The delegate events last night were great, and John Kerry fired up a crowd at a delegate breakfast event next to the river just under an hour ago.

We’ll have John Kerry’s full speech ready for viewing by Monday, but in the meantime, I’ll be updating with sights and sounds today.

update (10:05 am): The concourse around the rim of the arena is now packed with delegates making their way between the exhibitor tables, tables of people working for health care for all, Young Democrats, couple people running for local office (sheriff, for example), unions, and many others (including a Hillary for President table that was reserved months ago). I walk around with my John Kerry flair (far less than 15 pieces, though), get smiles from folks who notice … lots of folks working for great causes.

More to come …

update (10:35 am): Now we’re in the early part of the speaking program. We’ve moved through the Treasurer, and now we’re up to Congresswoman Niki Tsongas. Of course, at this early stage, you still have a lot of people walking around and talking (nice round of applause for Tsongas’s mention of Ted Kennedy). One problem with my standing on the concourse: because I’m wearing credentials on a lanyard that don’t look like delegate credentials, everyone seems to assume I’m an authority of some kind. So they stop and ask me all kinds of questions, some of which I actually know the answer to. Hey, glad to help …

One note on unity: every mention of Barack Obama gets big applause in this state the voted for Hillary Clinton, while the Clinton buttons are flying off the shelf.

update (11:00): Governor Patrick talking now, just after his Lt. Gov Tim Murray. Gov Patrick takes the stage to a standing ovation, a very warm welcome. He thanks Ted Kennedy and gives his strong support to John Kerry … thanks, Governor! I’ll just point out that I have a “D” Patrick button mixed in with my John Kerry flair.

update (12:15pm): The good Senator is being introduced right now by a special guest … RFK Jr. Ted Kennedy is, of course, not here as he recuperates from his surgery in North Carolina, so his nephew is on the stage and doing the honors. John Kerry should be taking the stage momentarily … and he takes the stage, to big applause and LOADS of signs, a sea of “John Kerry” on blue.

John Kerry raising the roof! Pledged to work against the racism and sexism that has been so apparent during this historic primary … Calls out against “Exxon greed and Enron corruption” … deserved praise for organized labor as the source of our labor rights, to a big ovation … “fight to give workers the right to strike and organize … we’re going to pass the Employee Free Choice Act in the Senate” …

“Democratic Party stands for health care for all Americans, or we don’t stand for anything at all” … when President Obama signs the bill that finally gives health care for all, “he’ll give that pen that signed that bill to America’s greatest champion for health care, Senator Ted Kennedy.”

“Patriotism belongs to those Americans that tell the truth and protect the Constitution” … “you don’t support the troops if you deny veteran’s health care” … “when veterans come home, you don’t just send them your thanks, you send them to college” with the new GI Bill that just passed the Senate …

“I’ve criss-crossed this state hundreds of times, and I’m always inspired and motivated by your stories” …

“Brave patriots should never die because of the stubborn pride or deception of mere politicians, that must end” … “what is right for us as Democrats, is also the right way to win” … “my country right or wrong, when it’s right, keep it right, when it’s wrong, make it right” …

And the voting begins …

final update: And John Kerry wins the endorsement of the MA Democratic Party! Thanks everyone, we’ll see you out on the trail!

* I was the first Senator to author and force a vote on legislation demanding the Bush Administration set a deadline to bring our troops home from Iraq. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't popular. When my legislation was first introduced in the Senate in early 2006, just 13 other Senators supported my plan. Today, my plan to withdraw our troops from Iraq has the support of more than 50 of my colleagues and with some Democratic gains in November, this Democratic plan will lead to what is long overdue-- the return of our troops to their families.

* I am proudly committed to ending this Administration's disastrous war in Iraq, but I am also glad that one of the lessons America learned after Vietnam has been applied - and that is to never confuse the war with the warriors. The Bush Administration-- which so easily sent thousands of brave men and women to fight and die in Iraq -- has neglected our veterans and denied them the care, support and services they earned. I have fought for my fellow veterans and I am proud to have secured $20 million for additional veterans centers, including one in Hyannis, the first new veterans center in the state since 1984. I also secured funding for service members suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (a sadly common aftermath of IED attacks), authored and passed legislation to protect veterans from home foreclosure and went toe-to-toe with President Bush and helped win the pay raise for our troops that this Administration opposed.

* As Chairman of the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, I have led the fight to address the skyrocketing energy costs impacting Massachusetts' small businesses. I have also successfully increased funding to organizations which support women- and minority-owned businesses and authored legislation ensuring small business owners called to active military duty don't lose their business in order to serve their country.

*I represented the U.S. Senate at the recent global climate change hearings in Bali and am one of the Senate's most outspoken critics of the Bush Administration's destructive energy and environmental policies. I have sponsored and cosponsored numerous pieces of legislation to demand more from America's automakers, end our addiction to foreign oil and make clean and renewable energy an affordable option for all consumers.

* With our economy struggling, I have taken the lead in addressing the needs of Massachusetts' working families. Senator Kennedy and I fought the President over his refusal to tap emergency fuel reserves to help homeowners to heat their homes-- and we won that fight and also secured an additional $82 million in LIHEAP funding for the state. With thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure, I authored legislation to allow housing agencies to tap into a $10 billion bond program which would provide $211 million to Massachusetts homeowners in immediate threat of foreclosure. I want to return to the Senate this November to continue those fights and continue fighting for the people of Massachusetts. There is no other job I want, no other job I can imagine doing.

Ned Lamont penned the following message in support of Senator Kerry’s 2008 US Senate re-election bid. Lamont had successfully challenged Sen. Joe Lieberman for the Democratic Senate nomination in Connecticut in 2006. Senator Kerry actively supported Mr. Lamont’s general election campaign and appeared alongside Ned in Connecticut in October of that year at a rally. In addition, Senator Kerry challenged Joe Lieberman over his support for the Iraq War and asked for help from the online Kerry community to raise money for the Lamont campaign. Senator Kerry was lauded as a “rock star” by Lamont campaign staffers for his support of Ned in 2006.

Thank you Ned! We look forward to working with you on the challenges and issues that you raised in 2006 and continue to fight for today. It’s an honor to post this letter.

Dear Massachusetts Democrats:

Back in early 2006, it took real courage to step out from the pack in the Senate and demand a timeline to withdraw our combat troops from Iraq. But that summer, John Kerry joined with Russ Feingold to push for a vote in the Senate to do just that. Their legislation only got 13 votes out of 100, but it played a big part in beginning to change the debate around the war. John Kerry stood up for all of us.

At the time, I was running in the Democratic primary against one of the war’s biggest supporters, Joe Lieberman. So many grassroots Democrats I talked to wanted leadership on changing the disastrous Bush policy in Iraq.

And after Connecticut Democrats voted for change on a hot day in August, John Kerry was there for us once again.

John not only endorsed me, he had the courage to really step up and work hard for our victory that November. There are all sorts of unwritten “inside-the-Beltway” rules about working against another Senator in your caucus, but John Kerry did what he felt was right. He campaigned for me in Connecticut, raised money for me, and did everything he could to support me in my race against Joe Lieberman.

This year, John Kerry is running for re-election – and I hope you’ll do whatever you can to support him. And you can start this weekend.

If you can spare some time on Friday or Saturday, please consider volunteering for him at the Massachusetts Democratic Convention in Lowell. It’s a wonderful chance to meet other Democrats and be a part of an active political convention, and John Kerry will be holding a party with all the volunteers.

If you’re interested, please email volunteer@johnkerry.com or call Amanda Bersak at (856) 906-9053.

Massachusetts is blessed to have two wonderful Senators, both with the clout to get things done and the progressive ideals to put that clout to work the right way. John Kerry has been a leader in getting our combat troops out of Iraq, he’s been a leader on combating global climate change, and he’s fought hard against the trickle-down economics of the Republicans.

And he’s fought hard for Democrats across the country. I saw it first hand in my race, but I also saw what he did for Jim Webb in Virginia, and Claire McCaskill in Missouri, and Jon Tester in Montana, and so many more. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that without John Kerry’s work, Democrats wouldn’t control the Senate today.

I know John will work just as hard this year to try to extend that Senate majority to a true working majority for progressive politics. With the closely-divided Senate we have now, it’s been too easy for the Republicans and my old opponent Joe Lieberman to block a new course in Iraq. With more and better Democratic Senators, we can finally bring the real change to our country that we all need.

So I hope you’ll not only support John Kerry’s re-election but also join me in the months ahead in supporting his efforts to elect Democrats around the country. Our country is ready for change, and we’re lucky to have John Kerry in position to help push the progressive change we need.

Sincerely,

Ned Lamont

Last Monday was the seventh Memorial Day since the attacks of September 11, 2001; the seventh Memorial Day since American servicemen and servicewomen bravely undertook unbelievably dangerous missions in Afghanistan and Iraq; the seventh pointed reminder of the immeasurable sacrifice made by our troops in theaters of war halfway around the world.

To mark the occasion, Senator Kerry wrote to his mailing list to express his hope that “since Vietnam we really have learned a lesson of how to separate the war from the warrior.” It’s a theme the Senator has avowed for decades: that American citizens have the right, indeed bear the obligation, to disagree with a wrongheaded course of action, and to freely speak the truth, that fundamental value that Senator Kerry once called “the American bottom line.”

There is great wisdom in separating the war from the warrior when discussing strategy and evaluating policy. A critique of battlefield tactics is not a criticism of the soldiers carrying them out. Dissent is not un-American or supportive of our enemies. As citizens, we should not hesitate to openly weigh our options for war and peace, to debate new ideas in the public sphere. This year, we are seeing a presidential election serve as the catalyst for a great national discussion on what to do next in Iraq, prompting each of us to consider the war separately from the warriors.

But the aphorism runs both ways: we also have to consider the warriors separately from the war. Regardless of our individual feelings on the war in Iraq, we cannot fail to recognize that veterans are the segment of society to which we owe the most. We have repeatedly witnessed evidence of an incapable V.A. Department grasping at straws to provide care: confounded vets mired in paperwork, the hushed-up cluelessness of officials trying to deal with an epidemic of suicide attempts, the decay and neglect at Walter Reed.

Even for those who are able to resume civilian life, the hurdles of veteran status linger. The economy is weaker than when they left for Iraq, and demands a more competitive and better-educated workforce. For soldiers sent on three or four tours of duty, there’s a lot to catch up on here at home. Yet the skyrocketing costs of education keep a successful readjustment out of reach for many.

Just four days before Memorial Day, the Senate overwhelmingly agreed to include the text of Senator Jim Webb’s Post-9/11 G.I. Bill in the Iraq war spending bill. Senator Webb’s initiative is a masterstroke that embraces the philosophy of the World War II G.I. Bill—that every member of the Armed Services (including reserves and the National Guard) pursuing an education deserves the government’s generous help. The legislation will free up millions of dollars for financial aid, which veterans can use to pay for tuition, housing, and supplies.

Under Senator Webb’s plan, returning servicemen and servicewomen aiming to attend college in Massachusetts will be eligible for federal tuition assistance equivalent to the cost of attending the most expensive public university in the state. Such a large infusion of aid will be a boon both for the veterans and for the colleges and communities of the Commonwealth. And that’s not the only economic benefit we’re likely to see: a Congressional study in 1988 showed that funding the G.I. Bill of the 1940s generated a sevenfold return on the investment.

The White House’s response to Senator Webb’s new G.I. Bill has been a breathtaking affront to America’s veterans. President Bush and the G.O.P. establishment have rejected it outright, calling it “too generous” to our fighting men and women. How could anything be too generous to veterans? It’s an appalling assertion to hear from the Commander-in-Chief who has directed the military efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq for the past seven years. It’s also painfully emblematic of the haphazard, shortsighted way in which the Bush White House has conducted those wars.

The twenty-five Republican senators who bucked the threats of the Bush Administration and voted to pass Senator Webb’s bill deserve praise for their conviction. They understand that returning veterans have to be just as much a priority as victory in combat. President Bush, Senator John McCain, and the others who oppose the new G.I. Bill want to preserve weaker educational assistance, which means fewer options for servicemen when they return home from war. Bush and McCain worry that encouraging veterans to enroll in college will deplete the military, and in doing so, they aren’t separating the warrior from the war.

—Michael DeRamo

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