Romney's real agenda is national
By Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist
THE GOVERNOR of Massachusetts is leading the charges against gay marriage, promoting the death penalty, and advocating a new tax cut. That is not the agenda of a governor who is putting the common good of the Commonwealth ahead of his own political ambition. No, Mitt Romney's true agenda has little to do with the people of Massachusetts. It is one large, irresponsible pander to a national Republican audience.


How obvious can he get? The first signs of life appear in the Massachusetts economy and the governor calls for a $225 million tax cut. The state budget is still getting sliced, health care costs continue to rise, and a court suit revealing disparities in education across the Commonwealth is likely to result in a court order for more state spending on schools. Instead of showing true statesmanship and a willingness to invest in the state he has moved back to in order to run for governor, Romney once again plays to a partisan national crowd.



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On Gay Unions, D.C. Warily Holds Its Peace
By Marc Fisher

In any list of places where gay activism has had a powerful impact, Washington holds a prominent, if not leading, spot. The nation's most important gay rights organizations are based here. Some of the pioneers of the gay liberation movement are Washingtonians. After Minneapolis, the District has the highest proportion of openly gay elected officials of any major city in the country.

And an analysis of census data by the Human Rights Campaign concluded that the District has a higher percentage of same-sex couples living together than any city except San Francisco.

Yet in all the furor over cities and counties approving gay marriage, the District has remained oddly out of the fray. Uncharacteristically silent. Deathly afraid.

It's all about Congress, of course. After all, this is the Last Colony.