POLITICS

Political news and commentary for Western Massachusetts

Lysak received 1,165 votes to 1,084 for Orlando Ramos in the recount. Full story »

Is Springfield growing its tax base, or increasing its population to get more money? Full story »

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. –Just over a year after drawing a crowd of roughly 20,000 to a campaign event here, Sarah Palin returned Thursday evening to another warm welcome in this central Indiana city nestled in one of the most Republican counties in America. More than 1,000 people queued up outside a Borders bookstore during a cold rain in rock-ribbed Republican... Full story »

CEDAR CREEK, Tex. – Buoyed by a pair of Nov. 3 gubernatorial victories and signs of increasing voter unease toward Democratic-controlled Washington, top Republicans expressed optimism Thursday that their party was poised to make significant gains in 2010. After two successive election cycles that left their activists and donors demoralized, the Republican governors gathered here offered the sort of... Full story »

Scott Coen weighs in on the latest anti-Obama message making the rounds. Full story »

Fire District 2 Water Commission Chairman Francis J. DeToma earlier took out papers for the post. Full story »

He said the late Sen. Ted Kennedy would agree with him, and not with opponents Martha Coakley or Michael Capuano. Full story »

Challenger David Amo said he will try again in two years. Full story »

CEDAR CREEK, Tex. – As Sarah Palin launched her book tour Wednesday before the type of adulatory crowds she drew to GOP rallies last year, top Republicans here grappled with how to handle a figure as polarizing as she is popular. A year after Palin attracted a crush of foreign reporters to the Republican Governors Association (RGA) meeting following... Full story »

The Democrats’ spin machine has been in overdrive since Election Day to explain their losses in New Jersey and Virginia. Even their razor-thin victory in the special election to fill the seat of former Rep. John McHugh in New York’s 23rd Congressional District confirms what they refuse to acknowledge, which is that Democrats are in for a tough election... Full story »

With the U.S. unemployment rate at 10.2 percent Obama said his administration faces a delicate balance of trying to boost the economy and spur job creation. Full story »

On this day in 1943, in the midst of World War II, Secretary of State Cordell Hull became the first Cabinet member ever to address a joint meeting of Congress. Hull’s popularity on Capitol Hill stemmed in part from the 11 terms he had spent as a Democratic House member before being elected as a senator from Tennessee in... Full story »

He did it! During his trip to China, President Barack Obama mentioned human rights and the importance of free thinking, and China didn’t dump its massive pile of U.S. dollars. America must still have some sway left in the world. Perhaps Obama is now on a roll and will score a last-minute deal with China on climate change reduction... Full story »

The bill is identical to one filed by former Gov. W. Mitt Romney in 2005.  Full story »

Activists have until Wednesday to file petitions with city and town clerks. Full story »