Dear Governor Baker:
We appreciate party loyalty. We really do. And we appreciate that your vote is your private business. But when you go into the voting booth this November, we want you to remember one thing: during the pandemic, when states were told to get critical medical supplies themselves and you tried to do that, Massachusetts was continually outbid by the Federal Government. We watched the press conference where you relayed your experience to the President and he chuckled and said "price is always a component of that also. And maybe that's why you lost to the feds, I'll tell you that's probably why". Governor Baker, you have responsibility to the citizens of Massachusetts and clearly, the President doesn’t have our best interest at heart. Please cast your vote (don't leave it blank) for the candidate who is going to help our state when we are in need. In case you don’t recall the press conference, here is a link:
https://www.wcvb.com/article/mass-governor-tells-president-trump-that-state-was-outbid-for-supplies/31790277#
Governor Baker needs to use his vote to elect a president who is going to be the best for Massachusetts. Governor Baker is the most popular governor in the country. He is a member of the same party as the President and he left the presidential ballot blank in 2016. The citizens of the Commonwealth want Governor Baker to vote for a president who will help the residents of our state, not tell us to do it ourselves and then outbid us.
I plan to print out this petition and deliver it in person, if possible. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that may not be possible, in which case, I will deliver it via email.
Governor Baker, you do not have to walk this path alone. Other members of the GOP are questioning the president's re-election. Here is an article about Senator Murkowski and how she is struggling with supporting his re-election. Perhaps you can come out with a similar statement - it looks like you will have some allies. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/stunning-powerful-overdue-romney-murkowski-praise-mattis-stinging-trump-rebuke-n1224951
Governor Baker, while not COVID related, here is another example of why you should vote your conscience in November. When governors in the country were faced with racial unrest, President Trump described you all as "weak", "fools", and "jerks". This is not the voice of a leader - this is the voice of a bully. The Harvard Business Review says that "inspiring leaders are those who use their unique combination of strengths to motivate individuals and teams to take on bold missions – and hold them accountable for results. And they unlock higher performance through empowerment, not command and control.". Governor Baker, please vote your conscience in November and do what is best for Massachusetts. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-governors-george-floyd-protests/2020/06/01/430a6226-a421-11ea-b619-3f9133bbb482_story.html
Governor Baker, we understand that one of the issues with ramping up testing in MA is supply chain issues. You are quoted as saying
"This is a great example of where nobody was thinking we'd get to the point we needed to do millions of these a day." This sounds like something that the subject matter experts at the federal level should have anticipated. That is what subject matter experts do: they use their extensive experience to anticipate needs. I think that this is another example of where you need to vote your conscience - please be a leader and publicly support the candidate best able anticipate problems and avert them before they happen. https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2020/05/21/baker-says-supply-chain-issues-biggest-challenge-to-increased-testing-capacity
Governor Baker, so glad that you are joining with other NE governors and using science to determine when to restart the economy. We all want to get the economy back going but we also want to survive the pandemic. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/13/business/cuomo-says-northeast-governors-will-coordinate-reopenings-after-coronavirus-outbreak-subsides/?p1=Article_Recirc_Most_Popular
Governor Baker, of course your vote is your own. But we also aware of the saying "the personal is political" (or "the private is political") whereby personal issues can be open to political discussion. For more on that rallying slogan, I will refer you to wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_personal_is_political
In the latest news from the Boston Globe, MA requested 1400 ventilators from the federally controlled Strategic National Stockpile, 1000 were approved, and 100 were received. The article goes on to say “In a letter sent Monday to Peter T. Gaynor, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state’s congressional delegation warned that hospitals in Massachusetts could run through their supply of ventilators in a matter of days. ‘Given the growing need in Massachusetts, approving and sending only 100 ventilators to Massachusetts is absurd, and FEMA can and must do more to help Massachusetts during this crisis,’ the lawmakers wrote in a copy of the letter shared with the Globe.” Here is the link to the full article: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/06/nation/mass-reports-1337-new-coronavirus-cases-29-new-related-deaths/?et_rid=680151327&s_campaign=metroheadlines:newsletter
The need to following your conscience is nothing new. The following is from Hinduism For Dummies by Dr. Amrutur V. Srinivasan, pages 42-43: "Aristotle, for example, said: A good citizen is one who acts in accordance with the laws of the state. A good man is one who acts in accordance with the principles of virtue...In the best state, however, laws will be in accordance with the principles of virtue and so there would be no distinction between a good man and a good citizen". But what if there is a clear difference? The book goes on to state that "the conscience alone is the true guide that helps the individual choose what to do". Governor Baker, please choose to vote your conscience.
So thankful to the Kraft family. What would we do without them? So glad they were willing to take the call from Governor Baker. According to this article “In a telephone interview with the Globe, Baker said the journey that led to the Patriots’ delivery started when the federal government impounded an order of 3 million masks that BJ’s Wholesale Club purchased and had landed in the Port of New York and New Jersey. The state had negotiated to buy them, until the federal government impounded them on March 18.” https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/02/nation/kraft-family-used-patriots-team-plane-shuttle-protective-masks-china-boston-wsj-reports/
Senator Elizabeth Warren is pressing federal officials for answers on why they seized at least two of Massachusetts’ recent orders for protective equipment, charging that it appears they are still interfering with states’ efforts to track down medical supplies amid the coronavirus pandemic.https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/31/nation/warren-feds-why-did-you-take-massachusettss-medical-supplies/?event=event12
LL Bean and other companies are stepping up and transitioning to making medical gear but as this article states "The mobilization echoes the industrial ramp-up sparked by World War II, only this time the effort is far more ad hoc, rather than directed by the federal government rallying the nation to a common cause".
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/01/nation/manufacturing-coronavirus-defense-companies-transition-medical-gear-production/?s_campaign=breakingnews:newsletter
A group of Massachusetts physicians who are alarmed about the spread of COVID-19 have formed an advocacy group to push for safety measures for patients and providers. The group’s first action was collecting the signatures of more than 1,000 doctors on a letter to Governor Charlie Baker calling on him to provide national leadership and forceful action. Here is a link to the article: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/31/metro/local-physicians-form-group-advocate-covid-19/
25 signatures reached
Here is another article, which was coauthored by the Governor of Massachusetts and the Governor of New Jersey: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/27/opinion/baker-murphy-coronavirus-response.html
10 signatures reached
Here is an article that documents how Massachusetts received 17% of the protective gear that it requested, Maine received 5% of what it sought, Colorado got one days worth, and Florida got 200%: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/desperate-for-medical-equipment-states-encounter-a-beleaguered-national-stockpile/2020/03/28/1f4f9a0a-6f82-11ea-aa80-c2470c6b2034_story.html
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