I tried to post a question for the live chat but was shut out. I would like to know why Slattery changed his vote on the death penalty. Plenty of talk on-line that he was paid handsomely by the gay lobbyists--who want soft penalties on all homosexual criminals. I went to the debate tonight in Beverly and was not at all impressed by either Slattery or Lovely. Slattery's union thugs holding signs were quite rude and he appears like a complete insider & is very arrogant. Lovely is an airhead who seemed uncofortable in a debate & has a terrible record as a tax and spender. I ran into a supporter of hers after the debate & she told me there is bad blood within the Lovely campaign. Many of her supporters feel that Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll-who was there--has way too much influence with Lovely-& many cant stand Driscoll! Lovely has some unhappy people in her camp-several frankly rather disloyal-who are thinking about switching over to Carroll. Manning was the most articulate & was the only one who talked, lowering taxes, creating jobs and the economy. But I dont care at all for her sister Anne who is running her campaign. I checked the web for Annes track record on candidates-she supported Fitzgerald and Gabrieli over the years--not good! Ed Carroll is a real person-the only non-lawyer & senior citizen running. His plan to bring a casino to Salem makes a lot of sense-the area needs revenue instead of new taxes. I'll be voting for Ed Carroll for senate and hope many others will too.

Mr Slattery's advocacy for "revenue enhancement", (tax increases), instead of cutting government waste and spending is a deal killer for me. I imagine that it will be for every other struggling taxpayer who is working hard to stay afloat in today's lousy economy. The reason for his position is clear: his core constituency is the public unions who are beneficiaries of the tax money, which funds their superior retirement plans, health plans, etc. Slattery also supports laws requiring that all state projects be performed only by unions, effectively shutting out competitive bids from other working man and women who do not bundle donations and provide a voting bloc to politicians like Slattery and others like him. It is the taxpayer who pays the higher costs.

People are free to support this type of arrangement. But most of us should be asking why we should want any part of it. It is vital that independent voters and others realize the importance of voting in the democratic primary on Sept 6th. YES, Independents can and absolutely should vote in the democrat party primary. I would recommend supporting Manning, who is the most aligned with the interests of working taxpayers, but you should do your homework and vote. If you want more tax and spend for the benefit of insiders then Slattery is your man. All others think twice.