Wednesday, February 08, 2006
So, here's what the lieutenant governor had to say earlier today.
I've already said it was a smart speech. Agree? Disagree? Give me your two cents, already!
"Thank you so much for coming here today, and thank you, Ron,
for those kind words. One of the finest experiences in my time as
lieutenant governor was working with Ron and his family to pass
Melanie’s Bill. And it was a privilege to have him as an ally in that
cause, and it will be an even greater privilege to count him as an ally
in the cause we are beginning today. Thank you.
"I am here today as a candidate for governor of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. It will be a hard-fought campaign, and we will take
nothing for granted. We’re going to speak to every voter, across every
line of party, in every city and town in this commonwealth. We’re going
to be clear in our words, strong in our convictions, and respectful of
our opponents. The people of Massachusetts expect this of their
candidates for governor--and I believe they will reward us with a
victory on the seventh of November.
"Everyone in this room has a crucial part to play in the campaign ahead.
Many legislators and other elected officials have joined us here today,
and I’ve seen the skill and dedication they bring to public service.
You are the kind of men and women who keep this commonwealth on the
right path, and I thank today for the confidence that you have placed
in me. Thank you all for coming.
"At my side, now and always, is my husband Sean. Today begins a new
adventure in the life that we’ve shared, and we’re proud, so proud, to
share it with our children as well, April and Alexander; with my
mother, Shirley Murphy; and my mother-in-law, Yvonne Healey. Yvonne.
Thank you for helping me recognize them.
"It would be a complete picture for us except for the absence of my
father, Ted Murphy, who passed away last year. My dad was a World War
Two veteran. He served for 27 years in either the Army or the Army
Reserve. He believed that public service was a citizen’s duty and an
honorable calling. My father not only believed that, he lived it--and
we remember him today for the example that he set for us.
"My mother, too, has lived a life of service--as a public-school teacher
for more than twenty years, and as a community volunteer for as long as
I can remember. My mother is a first-generation American, and by word
and example, she has always reminded me that the promise of America is
equal opportunity for all. And I believe, as she does, that equal
opportunity begins with public education, and with great teachers like
my mom.
"My parents both learned many of their own life lessons in the severe
school of the Great Depression and the Second World War. They learned
and passed along the importance of thrift, self-reliance, family unity,
and compassion for the needy and the overlooked. There was rarely such
a thing as extra money in the family budget. But the upside of that was
the special pride that we had of working as a family to make the most
of what we had.
"My husband and I started our lives together in our early twenties, with
a lot of student debt to pay off, but also a sense of confidence about
our future. We believed we could accomplish good things together in our
family life and in our careers. And we welcomed the work that it would
take. We believed in the values of responsibility and integrity that we
took from our parents. And when our children came along, we came to
feel that stake in our community in a deeper way that parents do. And
we were grateful for the opportunities we had to make our community a
better place. These experiences have shaped both my life and my
beliefs. And if I am elected to be governor of this commonwealth, they
will shape my service as well.
"These are my beliefs. I believe in fiscal responsibility. It’s been
said many times, but it always bears repeating, that we in government
are here to serve the taxpayers, not the other way around. Men and
women across this commonwealth work hard for their wages and salaries,
and government must never take their efforts for granted. We show our
respect for taxpayers by leaving them with more of what they earned.
"There is no surer way to encourage prosperity and job creation than by
a leaner and more efficient government. I believe in a government that
respects honest effort, rewards self-reliance, and gives second
chances. Government can guarantee that every citizen has certain
opportunities in life, and it should always be generous in doing so.
There will always be those among us who cannot help themselves. But for
most, the goal of government assistance should be to help those in need
to use their own gifts to build their own lives of security, dignity,
and independence.
"I believe that Massachusetts should offer top-quality education from
Kindergarten through college. In order to compete in this new global
economy, our schools need not to be just the best in the nation, but as
good as any in the world. To fulfill our promise to today’s children,
we need to focus on education in new ways, creating enhanced
opportunities for early childhood education, intensive early
interventions for children with learning difficulties, and more time in
the classroom for everyone. I also believe we need to make public
higher education more affordable for everyone.
"I believe in family life--its defining obligations, and its timeless
meaning. Fathers should be encouraged to support their children.
Families who are caring at home for seniors or loved ones with special
needs should be able to count on our support. Those are the best kind
of policies because they respect family and its central place in all of
our lives. Government goes astray when it presumes to meddle in the
matters that are best left to the family.
"And I believe it is our duty to care for those who cannot help
themselves, both young and old. The true character of any society is
seen in how it treats the sick, the weak, or the voiceless. They are
not a problem for us; they are a priority. We pride ourselves on
compassion in government here in Massachusetts, on helping those who
cannot help themselves. And this moral commitment--this bipartisan
moral commitment--will guide us well in my administration, as we face
the challenges of protecting our children, helping the homeless, and
caring for the elderly.
"Those are my values. And if they are yours, too, I hope that no matter
what your party--like Mayor Bell--I hope you will step forward and join
us in this cause.
"I know the challenges of governing this state because I’ve seen them up
close. It will take leadership. And I know what that requires. Many
citizens and entrepreneurs are finding it hard to stay here in
Massachusetts, because of the high cost of housing and the high cost of
doing business here. It’s a problem that must be faced squarely by a
governor unafraid to speak plainly, even when the news is bad or the
solution is hard.
"The next governor must stand up to the tax-and-spend attitude of the
Democratic legislature. And let’s have no illusions--let’s have no
illusions about this. That old mindset is still alive and well under
the Golden Dome. This fall--this fall, the House approved more than a
billion dollars in random spending, all in a single day. And that’s
with a fiscal conservative watching from the corner office. Just
imagine what they would be up to if the Democrats controlled the
governor’s office as well.
"As a member of the Romney-Healey administration, I’ve helped to usher
through four budgets. All of them never raised taxes, even when the
pressure was on to do just that. And I will continue to call on the
legislature to immediately lower the income-tax rate to five percent.
The voters have waited six years, and that’s long enough. It’s right,
it’s fair, and we owe it to the people to carry out their wishes.
"When the legislature tried to put in a retroactive tax, I worked with
chambers of commerce and citizens’ groups to oppose that tax, which
would have sapped energy from our economy and caused the people to lose
faith in their government. By standing up to the legislature, we won a
tax refund for our citizens instead.
"And I helped block legislative attempts to fund college tuition breaks
for illegal immigrants, while all the time supporting public college
scholarships for Massachusetts students who score highest on the MCAS,
and for National Guardsmen who fight to preserve our freedom.
"Even now, there are more tax-and-spend proposals before the
legislature, and you’ll hear a lot more about them in this campaign.
Just for starters, I will not accept any attempts to link healthcare
reform with a new tax on our businesses. We will never be able to
effectively compete with our neighboring states, let alone the rest of
the world, until we recognize that our jobs and our workers are already
taxed too much. Massachusetts workers and job creators face the highest
unemployment taxes in the country, the slowest and toughest regulatory
environment, and an anti-employer bias on the part of the legislature
that scares jobs away.
"This is the wrong approach on every account. And we’re going to change
it on every account. You don’t create jobs by overtaxing employers. And
government spending does not create jobs. People do. Entrepreneurs and
businesses, large and small--they are the job creators. And if we want
them to stay here in Massachusetts, we should make them feel welcome
with tax rates that are predictable, fixed, and fair.
"And we need to lower our tax burden on working families, too. As
governor, I will find every opportunity to reduce fees and hold down
property taxes, by giving a larger share of our state revenue taxes to
our cities and towns. As Mayor Bell said, I understand the needs and
concerns of our local communities better than any candidate in this
race. Because I’ve been there. I’ve met with local leaders from every
corner of the commonwealth, not just once, but in good times and in
bad.
"What do our communities need? They need healthcare reform to help
contain mounting insurance costs. They need housing incentives, so
young people can afford to stay in the communities where they grew up,
and school aid, to help with the rising cost of educating our children.
And finally, our communities need support for their local police, so
that citizens are safe and the only people who are in fear are the
criminals. That’s why I’ve been fighting so hard for higher local aid,
and more funding for housing and schools. Our cities and towns have
always been a priority for me. And they can count on me more, even,
than they have in the past, if I am elected governor.
"Now let me say a few words about our schools. Our communities across
Massachusetts are also entitled to see measurable improvement in our
schools. Our fourth and eighth graders already score first in the
nation in reading and math, and that’s a good start, but there’s plenty
more to do. In our upper grades, we need to increase our emphasis on
math and science and engineering. And for our youngest children, we
need to start school earlier with high-quality early childhood
education programs. Early childhood programs give every child an equal
start, and boost school success by addressing learning problems before
kids get to first grade.
"We also need to keep--to make sure that our kids spend more time in the
classroom. Spending time in the classroom is really what helps our kids
learn best. And the reality today is that most kids come from families
in which both parents work, or they’re from single-parent families.
Why, then, do our schools end at two or three p.m.?
"Before I entered politics, I worked for the U.S. Department of Justice
researching crime. And one fact that has always stayed with me is that
kids get into trouble not in the middle of the night, but after school,
while their parents are still at work. I propose to change this with a
longer school day and with after-school programs that keep kids
occupied, supervised, and safe.
"Another problem with our schools that no one ever wants to discuss is
the dropout rate. Now, we can all take some comfort in the fact that
over ninety percent of our graduating seniors pass the MCAS. Yet at the
same time, fourteen percent of the children that start high school
never make it to twelfth grade--and in some urban districts, the
dropout rate is closer to fifteen percent.
"Fifty years ago, it might have made sense to let young people drop out
of school at age sixteen. But today it’s a different story altogether.
To allow sixteen-year-olds to end their education is to sentence them
to a life of disappointment, poverty, or even jail. And in fact, I’ve
been told by some of our sheriffs who are standing here with me today
that in some cases, eighty percent of the people in their jails dropped
out of high school. You have to wonder where would they be instead if
someone had cared about them enough to keep them in school. We don’t
have to write these kids off. We should raise the age of mandatory
school attendance from sixteen to eighteen years old, and expand our
alternative education options so that all kids can have a real shot at
success in their lives.
"In today’s competitive employment environment, a great high-school
education is a start, but it’s not enough to ensure a young person’s
future. Access to good, quality public higher education is essential to
both our economy here in Massachusetts and our children’s success. We
must reduce the cost of public higher education for middle-class
families.
"And here my experience comes firsthand. And I hope my mother doesn’t
mind me talking about this publicly. But when I was fifteen, my father
had a serious heart attack and could never work again. My mother’s
income as a schoolteacher was nowhere near enough to support the family
and pay for college, too. So it was necessary for me to work during
high school to save money for college, and during college to help pay
bills as well. And because of this, I will never forget how important
it is to make college affordable to anyone and everyone who’s willing
to do the work.
"These years under Governor Romney’s leadership have been good for the
commonwealth. But we cannot afford to go back to the days of
single-party rule. Our administration found a $3 billion budget gap,
and through sensible fiscal restraint made it a $1 billion budget
surplus. An unemployment rate of 5.7 percent is now down to 4.9
percent, and our economy is back on track. We have new housing going
up, smart-growth developments are in works all around the state, and we
have doubled our multifamily housing starts.
"Not bad for three years in office. But there is more to do, and only
one way of staying on course. Democracy demands more than one voice,
more than one party to govern. We in Massachusetts have seen what
happens when government is all checks and no balances--when every
interest group has a voice on Beacon Hill, and the taxpayers have none,
and while important work is being left undone. As governor, I would
make sure that the work gets done, and maintain the voice of taxpayers
on Beacon Hill.
"In this campaign, ladies and gentlemen, we have a proud record to build
on, a clear agenda to take to the voters, and nine months to make our
case. The opposition is strong, the stakes are high, and we’re going to
give it everything we’ve got. To every citizen in every party in every
region in Massachusetts, I thank you for the privilege of serving these
past four years. And I ask you to join in the great cause we begin
today. And I ask you for your vote on the seventh of November."
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