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DAVID S. BERNSTEIN

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The Massachusetts legislature is the principal roadblock to putting the state's criminal-justice system on the right track

House of Incorrections
As you read this, Beacon Hill is debating a "three-strikes" crime bill, while waiting for the US Attorney's Office to hand down indictments in the scandal over patronage at the probation department.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | February 01, 2012

The Dr. Phil Years

Before she became a political phenomenon, Elizabeth Warren grew beyond academia to take her message to the public
The pundits and politicos have had a tough time analyzing Elizabeth Warren as a candidate in the coming race for US Senate with Republican incumbent Scott Brown.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 25, 2012

America's Next Top Kennedy

Joe III is the new Kennedy on the block, and his campaign for Congress inevitably has Bay Staters thinking of Camelot
We are all mere mortals, Massachusetts pols like to say, and they are Kennedys.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 18, 2012

Bus stopped?

The iconic campaign bus is no longer full of newspaper reporters writing for the folks back home. Are the political-junkie Web sites filling the void?
The media mob will have high-tailed it out of New Hampshire by the time you read this.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 11, 2012

Elizabeth Warren's new chapter

Going for Broke
A book about middle-class bankruptcy, being published this week, includes a chapter co-authored by US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 11, 2012

LIVE UPDATES: Talking Politics covers the NH primaries

Fear and loathing in the Granite State, as we follow the 2012 campaign trail
Our operatives bring you live-on-the-ground dispatches, live from the Granite State.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 10, 2012

Romney rambles on

Mediocre in the Midwest
Republicans are aflame with urgency about removing Barack Obama from the White House, but they just can't seem to get enthused about any of the available replacements.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | January 05, 2012

The Year Ahead in Mitt

Prepare yourself for 12 months — well, at least 11 — of watching our handsome, well-coiffed former governor
Here's a quick look at some key dates for Romney, and what you might want to keep an eye on when his face pops up on your TV screen. Remember, there's a lot at stake: if he wins, you get at least four more years of Mitt-watching.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | December 28, 2011

QUIZ: Candidate or Criminal?

Telling politicians from those in the pen isn't easy — just take their words for it
Of the 16 passages printed below, half were written or spoken by a 2012 Republican candidate for president. The other half were written by incarcerated criminals. Can you tell the difference?

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | December 21, 2011

Night of the Living Newt

Mitt Romney has money, organization, and great hair — but Newt Gingrich has the nastiness Republicans have come to expect from top conservatives
Newt Gingrich held court earlier this week at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics (NHIOP) at Saint Anselm College, as a throng of local and national media swarmed to watch him participate in an event of his own creation.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | December 15, 2011

Brighton progressive Tim Schofield takes his third swing at public office

Last chance in Brighton
Tim Schofield's two previous campaigns for public office seemed to prove that being the progressive darling of Brighton is not a winning political niche.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 30, 2011

The Right To Occupy

Boston's 99-percenters head to court next week, perhaps with the future of the movement at stake
Occupy Boston and the City of Boston face each other in state superior court next week, for a hearing on the city's right to remove the protesters' encampment on Dewey Square .

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 22, 2011

It's Mitt & Scott's Party Now

Scott Brown and Mitt Romney, preparing for the 2012 microscope, are installing a faithful friend at the State GOP
A longstanding rift between the high and low tiers of the Massachusetts Republican Party has widened in the past few years — and it's about to grow into a chasm over two views of the 2012 elections.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 16, 2011

City Elections

New Boston's big day
In practical terms, Tuesday's city elections changed very little in Boston.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 09, 2011

The Ex-Mitt Club

Most of Romney's big early donors from his first presidential campaign have deserted him in his second
In most ways, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign has improved upon the 2008 version.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 02, 2011

Saner Than the GOP: The Vermin Supreme-Aleister Crowley Presidential Debate

Election 2012: Only one candidate walks out alive
Everything you need to know about what may be the most important political event of the year.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 27, 2011

Shifting lines

Boston seems to be taking the state legislative redistricting proposal well — but that doesn’t mean everybody’s happy
Last week, the state legislature revealed the new redistricting proposal for Massachusetts's state-legislative districts.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 26, 2011

Saner than the GOP: The Salem Presidential Debate

Election 2012
In what may very well be the most important political event of the year, two presidential candidates are scheduled to debate this Friday evening in Salem, Massachusetts.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 03, 2011

Dorchester hosts the city's most intensely fought council campaign

Dirty pool
Prior to the September preliminary, I described the race to fill the only open seat on the Boston City Council — replacing Maureen Feeney of Dorchester, who has chosen not to seek another term — as something like a school election.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 19, 2011

Narrowing the Field

Elizabeth Warren hasn’t wrapped up the nomination for Senate; she's only determined who can beat her if she falters.
It may seem like the Democratic nomination of a challenger to US Senator Scott Brown has been wrapped up. That's not true — there are 11 months left before the primary, and a lot can still happen.

By: DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 12, 2011