WGBH Radio; The Callie Crossley Show

I'm callin Crossley This is the Cali Crossley Show. Earth Day is around the corner and we're marking it with a homegrown Film Festival movies where plants are the protagonist in Little Shop of Horrors an ambitious florist learns that cross pollination isn't all it's cracked up to be in Swamp Thing. The world is ravaged by environmental extremists. The solution create a human plant hybrid. In Soylent Green. Overpopulation has created a food shortage. The plankton Wafer has been designed to solve the hunger crisis and it works. Everyone loses their appetites when word gets out that spoiler alert. Soylent Green is people. Well look at films that depict the hazards of pushing Mother Nature to limit. But first it's our political roundtable. We'll go over the latest news from being town to the Beltway. Up next politics and plans from the statehouse to the green house. First the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying the military's

image is dealt another blow today with the publication of photos purported to show American troops posing near the bodies of insurgents in Afghanistan. The 2010 images published in The Los Angeles Times are the latest in a string of embarrassing developments to confront the U.S. military in recent months. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned that the photos could lead insurgents to incite violence against coalition troops but he is still strongly condemning the images that behavior is unacceptable and it will be fully investigated. Panetta joining Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today to update reporters on the U.S. mission in Afghanistan at NATO headquarters in Brussels Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance will stick with its original timetable and stay in Afghanistan through the end of 2014. And as NPR's Larry Abramson explains several countries are pledging concrete financial contributions in the long term.

Speaking at a meeting of NATO ministers here Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen denied reports that the commitment to Afghanistan is flagging. Tuesday Australia said its troops would start handing over combat responsibilities to Afghan forces as soon as 2013. But Rasmussen says that is part of the original plan that is. We will gradually hand over the responsibility for the security to the Afghan security forces in a process that will be completed by the end of 2014. We stick to that timetable. NATO ministers are hoping to iron out a solid framework for that transition here in Brussels. It needs to be finished in time for final approval at the next big meeting in Chicago next month. Larry Abramson NPR News Brussels. A major push to vaccinate against childhood diseases starts this week in Haiti. NPR's Richard Knox tells us U.S. health officials believe tens of thousands of lives could be saved. The campaign launched route top U.S. health officials to Haiti the immediate plan is

to vaccinate children against eight diseases polio measles rubella diptheria tetanus whooping cough hepatitis B and H flu which causes meningitis later wrote a virus and pneumonia will be added. He is also doing a pilot project to vaccinate against cholera that's been controversial. But Dr. Thomas Frieden director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it's time to move past that. I don't think it's really a question of disagreement. Let's figure out what makes the most sense to save more. We should look carefully at them for the roll call of freedom met with officials on plans to bring clean water and sanitation to more Haitians. Richard Knox NPR News. Dow is down more than 60 points NASDAQ off 12 the S&P 500 down five. This is NPR News. Good afternoon from the WGBH radio newsroom in Boston I'm Christina Quinn with some of the local stories we're following. The ongoing dry conditions have prompted warnings of an elevated wildfire risk for much of New England today. The National Weather Service says the potential for fires will be at its

highest for most of Massachusetts and Rhode Island along with northern Connecticut and southern New Hampshire. Former Attleboro Police Chief Richard Pearce has agreed to pay 30 $500 fine for violating the state's conflict of interest law. Pierce was fined for participating in an investigation involving his son who was also a police officer and by giving him a copy of an internal investigation report. The state ethics commission concluded Piers's actions constituted a breach of conflict of interest laws and a report released today. The investigation into Piers's son follows an arrest in 2010 during which the Taser was used on a suspect who later sued alleging excessive force. Authorities in Boston say a 12 year old boy is facing firearms charges after a police officer saw him threw a handgun into the front yard of a Roxbury home. Prosecutors say police recovered a silver 380 caliber handgun with six rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. A wake is being held this afternoon in Hampton New Hampshire for Greenland Police Chief Michael Maloney who was shot to death when he and other officers were trying to serve a warrant last week. The funeral is tomorrow at winna

Connett high school. In sports Josh Beckett is on a mountainside at Fenway in hopes of making up for last night's blowing loss to the Rangers and the Celtics host the Orlando Magic. The weather forecast for the remainder of the afternoon calls for mostly sunny skies and much cooler temperatures than yesterday with temperatures hovering in the upper 50s tonight mostly clear in the evening then becoming partly cloudy with lows in the lower 40s. Thursday mostly sunny highs in the upper 60s. Right now it's 53 degrees in Boston 63 in Worcester and 62 in Providence. Support for NPR comes from Norris and Debbie Bishan thanking all those who support NPR and their local public radio station. Both are deserving of support. You're listening to WGBH Boston Public Radio. The time is 106. Good afternoon I'm Cally Crossley. We're talking politics today this hour. Joining me to talk through local and national politics are Kelly Bates Kevin Pietersen and Marvin Vinay. Kelly Bates is the executive director of the access strategies fund.

Kevin Pietersen is founder of the New Democracy coalition which is based at the college for public and community service at UMass Boston. And Marvin Benet is the executive director of the Massachusetts black and Latino Democratic Legislative Caucus. Welcome back everybody. It's good to be here. Good to be here. Thank you. Let's start local bus the city council president Stephen Murphy has said that he wants to put some curbs on buying back sick time from city employees civic employees. Just so people understand how big this issue is 2008. This is according to The Boston Herald. The city paid back twelve point three million dollars to six hundred sixty three employees for unused sick days on average. Eighteen thousand five hundred seventy six dollars. There is more listing here of people who got a lot of money in sick time. You know what I'm interested in it the people who were retiring and some of their sick time was almost equal to their pension.

And so what. But what the president has said the president of the Boston City Council is that this is not something the city can afford. But I don't need to tell any of you at this table this is dicey to push back against unions. Kelly any opportunity you think this is going to happen or are you just into being a kerfuffle that ins with nothing. I don't know if this is actually going to go that far. I think they'll be a spotlight a media spotlight on this because when you see the high salaries and then you see the new sick time it does make you pause. I think it all depends on if the mayor wants this to have an adequate airing or not because he really does really when it comes to these kinds of politics in the city it's sort of what debate does the mayor want to have. And I think it is very tough if you're a Democrat in a city councilor to take on unions around this they're going to fight this tooth and nail. And so they're trying they're trying to find money you know for the city so this is sort of you know President Murphy's way of trying to do that. You have a number of city councils that are very pro union including city councilor at large Felix Arroyo and some others

as well and I think you know they're going to try to. Paint another perspective of this for example there are employees who have catastrophic illnesses and you know do face very serious situations like cancer and long term diseases and so there's some fairness that has to be built into this conversation too but I think it all depends on how how much President or if you want to take on the unions and if the mayor wants to have this fight or not. I think what I wish we were actually talking about is the legislation in the state right now which would give employees paid sick time up to seven days a year. There are you know part time employees and single moms and parents all over this commonwealth who do not have any paid sick time and I would like to talk about that instead of you know people making you know six figures although that you have to look at that too I think it's a travesty that it's been 10 years and the bill still sitting in the legislature. Kevin. Well I agree with Kelly I think that the mayor would if the mayor wants to have this debate then the debate is going to be had. I think

that it's fairly tough for a city city council to raise this issue in and challenge the unions and in the way that. Customer of the proposers the president of the city council for that same time I think he raises a very good. Good governance issue there. There is a call. I'll cross the country for austerity and city budget budgets in particular and that this is an opportunity to point out something that I think I think many people think it's gotten a little bit out of control. So there are public safety issues there are education issues they could use you know these 12 million dollars so I think it was courageous for the president that the city council to put this on the map and to get the his fellow councillors and to be a focus on it I think the mayor would do well to follow this is as a as an agenda around negotiating with the unions to save money that could go into other places in the public coffers of the public office.

Margaret Stephen. He's not talking about getting rid of not allowing anybody saying let's put some limits on it so in other words there's a guy here that all of his unused sick time from one thousand sixty eight. I mean that seems excessive. It's quite excessive but I don't believe to Kevin's point for the things that I might differ on is that I don't believe that Mayor Menino is going to actually raise this as a major issue unless he's out the door because you know politically will that put him in a bad spotlight with the union and the will is that fight worth it down the long road. He looks to stay in office for another four years. This might not become as much of a part of his platform going forward. But I completely agree with President Murphy's challenge. I mean you know you're looking at cases like scoopers souper a school superintendent concer process who was paid one hundred thirty nine thousand. This is over his pension. You know of one hundred thirteen and there are families out there that are starving making it barely on 40000 So this is a this is a great fight to have but I'm with Kelly when I say when I hear her say that I don't believe it's going to go but so far

OK. Well moving on something that Governor and everybody else in the legislature signed off on was this gambling commission. They are charged with trying to put in place. Help communities cite these resorts casinos. They met for the second time yesterday and came out saying they don't have enough time to meet certain key deadlines and they are requesting that they get a little bit of a delay. They can do it. So says the chairperson Steven Crosby. But to rush and do it doesn't make sense when so much is on the line. But yet Marvin Benet and this is right in your wheels up in the legislature. It requires new legislation to get a delay is that something that can happen. I believe it will. I mean there has been a ongoing fight for this to take place for some time under two different speakers and I think we're at a point right now where the goal is to make sure that it's done correctly and done correctly on the first try as much as possible to avoid the backlash.

You know political pundits as well as legislators having who have challenged this issue period not to mention as we're talking from a constituent case where they're looking forward to the revenue possibly that could be generated to can help the state but more importantly we're also talking about is possibly the tourism that will come from it as well. So I think the way you set it up if you do it strategically right the first time they're trying to limit is many many challenges and if you do it right the first time it helps. Kevin do you think the legislature will go along with new legislation to delay this. I think if they're wise they they would in fact they should this this cam gambling casino bill the legislation that is now is a law that is a huge thing. And if we're going to do it well I agree with Marvin and agree with. Crosby who is the chair of the commission Steven Crosbie that the commission should pace itself and very carefully

walk through the steps move through the steps not necessarily to do this do this well. I mean you look at Fox which for example they're in a huge 2 billion dollar deficit. We want to avoid that in this state. And when it went to go through this process well since it is it is signed into law. So I would hope that the that the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate agree to the request so that we don't run into anything that's going to crash the systems across the state in terms of bringing these these casinos and slot policies into place. I think there might be some healthy challenges though because I think if I were in the legislature I would also say well what's taking you so long. I think you may hear some people saying that they are supposed to have a personnel they're supposed to have an office. They only have five commissioners by the way. I don't know how you can get anything done. Personally I believe with five commissioners. And so I think they may be dragging a little bit Now granted this is the first time out for Massachusetts to do

this but I think you may get some legislators trying to dig a little deeper to find out what's going on. I think one of the larger issues the concern that I have is and I'm not a proponent of gambling so I would just say that very honestly is this commission this five person commission they're all attorneys and some good public safety folks. There's no one from the citizen community at large who can think about the issues of addiction. There's no one with that background. There's no one with background about how to research what's happened in other states around how this has affected local residents and their homes and local businesses. That was a big part of this debate and I don't see that anywhere on this commission maybe it's coming. But I think they need more members and I think they need to have that other point of view in the mix because right now it doesn't exist. Well a couple things I would say that they got started late because they didn't name all the commissioners but to your point there's only five of them. So you could be ask why it took so long to name the five commissioners. I get I have no answer for that. The second thing is I don't know that this answers your question your question or your point about

having somebody on the commission itself but coming up at the first of May they're having a day long session to allow the public and lots of other folks to interact with experts around issues of gambling and every issue I can think of so that people can anybody can attend this session and figure out all day session and figure out what's going on our way in how much they take away from the public response to that I have no idea. I think we all have to wait and see about them. All right. Well moving on something interesting is coming up as you know or as many may know both Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren signed a people's pledge and this was to keep out the kind of out of town PAC money that in other states and particularly it we've seen it best in the in the presidential campaign leading leading up to this point. Of weighing in heavily mostly negatively using lots of cash to do so to attack the other candidate whatever candidate is

targeted by anybody's pack gets. And it's pretty ugly. So what we've seen so far. So Scott Brown came up with Senator Scott Brown came up with an idea well why don't we. You and I. Elizabeth Warren who is the presumed nominee for the Democrats warning against him sign a pledge that says we will keep out of these keep these super PACs out. And if any of them come in and begin personal attacks on either of either of us we will pay money half of what it costs to run those ads. So far Scott Brown said to pay off twice because there's some people that have come in to try to attack Elizabeth Warren. But now is an interesting piece by Glen Johnson who is of the Boston Globe staff and he suggested maybe making this pledge may buck Scott Brown in because it's some point he's going to need to be able to be free if you will to quote unquote not attack but go after Elizabeth Warren in a more substantive way and that will be of course defying the pledge. Curious to know whether you think that's true. Because his doing the pledge of coming up with the idea made him a good

guy and lots of people are watching this closely to see if it can be real. Marvin what do you think. I actually think that this is going to come back to bite him. And I think it's already proven itself with the recent cases where he's had to pay out too. The charities of Professor Warren's choice. Furthermore I think when he originally tried this he tried to box her in from that with the consideration that he had raised a certain amount of capital and that the way that her money was being raised that she could eventually topple him and this would be a way of constraining her outpour of you know financial resources or whatnot. And so what he decided to do is if you pander this way this would actually you know be in his benefit what we've seen is that you know and you've already mentioned that as we get later into the race and they start to begin to debate and so forth he's going to have to turn over his entire viewpoint on

this possibly because he won't have the ability to really attack or without losing the image he's painted of being this straight you know average man with the pickup truck and so forth. There are those characteristics will walk out the door because he will have to get into defense mode. If it comes down to him either defending his record defending his character or defending defending how he's related to the Bay State you get into you add all those into the equation. Now you have a Scott Brown who has to stand up where now he's just sitting down playing you know the back door move or the calm approach. But I think that as we go along in this race it's going to pick up the momentum and he's going to have to say to himself you know what that might not have been the wisest choice because now I have to come out and be the bad guy that I'm not wanted to be. So here's my question Kelly Bates and why does it have to be that why can't he just go against her policy. Because what we've seen in a lot of these heavily funded super PACs is nasty personal ads. So what they've

agreed to is that you know that that's not happening here. So why can't this be a moment where both sides do no personal attacks. And he can come at her as hard as he wants on her policy. I don't know that that makes him a bad guy. It's long as it's not personal although I don't know how much of that was the driving force. It might have been I think he wanted to get ahead of Elizabeth Warren who is her platform is all about. You know we've got to help working people. We've got to change the economy so that it works for not just you know the people who are the top earners but all of us and you know I think we need to rein in all of this you know money that's in politics etc. although you know she's raising far more much money than he is. I think he was trying to get ahead of her and say look I'm going to be the better guy and I'm going to step forward and say listen let's just cut this off right now so I think that was more of. The motivation and I think it's actually hurt him because she is now been able to give to the autism consortium you know she has been able to say look I'm for health and I want to help children who are suffering with autism and she's just you know

getting all this play if you look at her emails when she got the ability to donate money through this she actually did a poll and she asked people who supported her where should I put the money. So she got people engaged in the process and they got to pick which charity they were interested in so I think she's getting a lot more press play out of this. I think the larger issue is again I know I was come back to this is it is just obscene the amount of money politics it's obscene the amount of money in this race it's only going to get larger We're going to hit record breaking amounts of money raised for this. And Scott Brown did turn away a lot of money because when Citizens United that decision came down from the United States Supreme Court that good corporations all of this latitude to put money into elections. Guess what. Who benefited from that afterward. It was mostly conservatives and the right who put a ton of money into campaigns after that that money would have gone to Scott Brown. Kevin same question to you. I mean whether is motivation really was to get ahead of Elizabeth Warren if can't he just come at her from a policy basis and stay away from the

personal. I think he can but I think at the end of the day it's been proven that person's negative personal ads work. They drive up the numbers in a close contest. And he made he may have to resort to that. She may have to resort to. I think this is going to be a very very close race. We're going to spend almost about the same amount of money. It's going to have national attention and National into These are going to be wanting to weigh in because it's going to this race could decide the majority in terms of the the Senate in Washington D.C.. So I think it's good that he brought it up. It's good that that Warren agreed to it. I don't know how long it's going to hold you know you think it's going to break. I think it's going to break a leg because I think the stakes are going to be too high at the end of the day in a very closely contested race for it is going to be too tempting for I think another campaign not to coordinate what the details are to cure but just allow and then they'll pay the fines but they'll get

the those negative ads he's already put out 34000 plus. I know I guess I'm just Pollyanna and I'm thinking this has a good chance you know if they just stay away from the personal. I mean I'm not saying it's not not going to get deep and possibly personal Jeff. But you don't have to be. I don't see why you put the parts personal. Yeah it's personal is the very factor that is going to change. Like but like he said he's going to change the entire polling because once you destroy the character of the individual at their core you've now got them to become more offensive or defensive it's true. And then they have to appeal to that and their response could become negative. We've seen that with you know the national race the Republican race with Santorum where he ended up talking very negatively to to a CNN reporter because he wasn't happy with the comment that was made really related to him you know and so it depends if you get the Maritimes reporter but I know I'm sorry New York Times. But but you know if they become reactionary then they lose their

cool and I want to say I'm equally Pollyanna ish about this. I think that this is a good idea. I think this is where we need to be going in terms of the markers we need to reverse or provide some antidote to the five to the Citizens United ruling. But you're taking that money a little but political reality is political reality and I think that this this deal is going to collapse at the end of the day. Well we shall see. I'm Kelli Crossley and we're talking politics with Kelly Bates of the excess strategies fund. Kevin Pietersen at UMass Boston just heard him and Marvin Benet of the Massachusetts black and Latino Democratic Legislative Caucus. You're listening to a 9.7 WGBH Boston Public Radio. This program is on WGBH thanks to you and Skinner auctioneers and appraisers presenting their auction of Asian works of art on April 20th and 21st at Skinner's Boston gallery

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From NPR News this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel and I'm Melissa Block. Come a WGBH sustainer and everything you hear. Details on a new study it suggests chocolate may help make you thinner. Well sound a little bit sweeter. See what I mean. That's because sustainers break the support down into monthly installments that automatically renewed. You set the amount and every month your support helps eighty nine point seven keep you connected to the stories you want to hear. Become a sustainer online at WGBH dot org. Great question that is a great question and that's a great question. It's a great question. Rick great question and you'll hear unexpected questions and unexpected answers this afternoon at 2:00. You're on eighty nine point seven. Welcome back to the Calla Crossley Show. If you're just tuning in we're talking politics national and local with Kelly Bates Kevin Pietersen and Marvin Benet. Kelly Bates is the executive director of the access strategies fund. Kevin Pietersen is the

founder of the New Democracy coalition which is based at UMass Boston. And Marvin today is the executive director of the Massachusetts black and Latino Democratic Legislative Caucus. Well let's move nationally it's still kind of locally for us when we talk about Mitt Romney who is now the presumed nominee for the Republican presidential campaign. And that's because Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have stepped aside and there's been a bunch of coalescing from not only the party heavyweights but others who have been sort of standing on the side sidelines and now comes all a series of polls which indicate that Mitt Romney is effectively tied with President Obama in a new poll as a CBS News New York Times poll the Washington Post ABC News poll. All these polls show something like 45 percent 46 percent which is you know statistical dead heat. The one difference is that there is a likability question that which you look at the likability part of the poll. Drilling down deeper two to

one more people like President Obama than they like Mitt Romney. But Kelly I expect that to tighten up as well as time goes by what do you think. I think Obama's likability and favor ability will stay pretty high. He does well with people we know Him as our president now and his family. You know Michelle Obama and his daughters do a lot for him as well. I think what's going to be very critical is what is the state of the economy in October of 2012. And I think how people feel how they feel about what's in their pockets how they feel about whether they have work that is going to be critical and I think those debates between Romney and Obama on who speaks to them around their message and how they're feeling is going to be critical. The economy is in theory. Supposedly improving but it's not really improving for people who are you know as we say the 99 percent or you know people who are not at the top echelon So I think that's going to be a core question. But I think at the end of the day if the

economy even there's the perception that it slightly improved. I think he will likely be elected again although I think it's going to be a very very very very tight race. One thing to add before I get Marvin and Kevin to weigh in is that there is a gender gap still between Mitt Romney and President Obama with President Obama having the most at this moment. How do you define the the women demographic on his side. And that's that's maybe closing as well given some of the stuff that happened this week and we can talk about that. But Kevin but how do you look at the polls and do you expect the likability to tighten up and also the gender gap. I quite frankly think the likability will tighten up I think. Romney is at this point where he's pivoting out of a very very contested primary where he's been demonized me that what's that process is about in some ways. I think you'll his campaign will move into softening his image with cartoons and I mean with commercials and

profiles on his family and being a grandfather and being a very close family indeed. So I think those things will close a little bit will his likability will go up. I'm not sure if me I think I'm agreeing with Kelly here. If the overall difference in terms of likability Kennedy versus candidate would win will increase in any dramatic way. So I think he has a tough road ahead of him. I think that he as he moves to the towards his convention his goal is to present himself as a moderate candidate and reduce the negatives that he's he's he's an experience there when they don't a sharply forward. Is it all about the economy as Kelly says it doesn't really matter what somebody like somebody or not. I think that if you don't think it's economy you're stupid of course it's the economy and you're going to have to and he's going to have to present a fairly convincing message around why the country shouldn't reelect the president. For him to say that

for Romney to argue that they. Country would be better had Obama not been there I don't think that. That things so they can will be a player play a very important role. But I also think the degree to which Republicans will catch fire around Romney is support at this point. The Republican Party is not to engage in a way in ways for example in 2008 when they were created and the Democrats were supporting those candidates. Turnout among Republican voters store this primary has been it's not at all it's all time low it's been there in the real world. There's a dis investment from the Republican Party in terms of this campaign his campaign is going to work really hard to galvanize the. Not just the hard work right but moderate right and and unrolled undecided voters. But Margaret don't you think they'll galvanize around getting President Obama out of office. Yeah that that that's

where the energy will come now that Mitt Romney is the presumed nominee they'll galvanize around it but I mean let's look at it. You know in the two to Kevin's point eighty six percent of Pew Research Center said 86 percent of the people concerned about the economy 84 percent are concerned about jobs. 29 percent six twenty nine point separates Obama from Mitt Romney on the likability scale. Mitt Romney will never be likable. Let's just be honest here. You don't think so. He does not have the courage charisma he does not have the demeanor his approach is very often off disconnected his friends will say that he is because those are backdoor conversations but his presentation to America as it is is very stoic stiff man who has had limited concern about the overall population and has identified who is most interested in. And so his remarks clearly across the board have indicated that even as he's talked about welfare although

he'll relate that back to Bill Clinton saying you know let's get out and make sure that we're giving them a job. Bill Clinton's approach was totally different. Mitt Romney is saying if you are a parent I'm going to find money for you so you can just get up and do something because you're not going to sit at home. And I think that because he has not found a way to understand the mindset of the individual who's poor or has never been close to being poor in his life he's not going to be able to connect to that population and they are voters. They are voters and so because of that you talk about whether or not he is going to be. If we're going to just vote on the economy we're not going to just vote on the economy. If it was just voting on a Commie I might consider that being a different view. But because we're going to have to vote on who's going to what this president's going to look like when they represent us across the nation with this president how this president's going to relate to our common people and whether or not when they're voting they're going to or they're not voting but when they're pushing legislation there's going to be a name or a face attached to that legislation versus just numbers. Those are

factors that I would take in consideration I think the American people are too. But I think the gender gap when I don't want that to go away I think it's really important Cali women voters are going to be critical in this election you cannot take them for granted. It's a place where Obama is doing very well. Look at his track record. He has been the person who's pushed equal pay for equal war and making sure that women's pay is equal to men's pay at different. You know positions within organizations. He was very strong and came out in support of women around contraception coverage in health insurance and this whole debacle in which Mitt Romney is pushing a double standard saying listen women who are poor if you're on government assistance you better go get a job as soon as your baby is born but my wife and women who are rich frankly can stay home and they have that choice his wife said you know quote I made the choice to stay home with my children. Well that I'm so glad actually that you could make that choice. But there are hundreds upon thousands of women in the United States who do not have that luxury and either you

know have to go out and get paid terrible wages and not pay attention to their own children or you know raise other people's kids. That's a choice that and got to make because they have personal wealth and that's something Mitt Romney is going to have to go up against and speak to with Barack Obama who does have wealth himself but certainly didn't come from those I mean so there's a double standard here. Not to mention that Hillary Clinton is getting a lot of play with you know texting and all of that and you know her her popularity ratings going up if you look at some of the things that are happening online and I think that helps Barack Obama with women to have Hillary Clinton still by his side. So I think one thing we should keep in mind is that you can get beyond this likability issue we were the last president who won real when re-election was a very likable was Richard Nixon. And because he promised to end the culture wars he promised the Vietnam promise business expansion for for for for the titans of industry of course because you can do to get around it if you offer a

message that's conveyed compelling and PETA. And I think that combined with a significant segment of the American population who. Who don't necessarily want to re-elect President Obama a black president. You can. You can. Well let me just as I say I'm going to let you respond but so to your point you're saying you know he's not relating to folks so what if he embraces who he is as you've defined him. Look I am not the warm and fuzzy guy. I'm the numbers man. And the bottom line and if your issue is the economy I'm here to fix it. I am the fix it guy. That's what I came to do. I didn't come have a beer with you and come have make you warm and fuzzy but I can get that job done. Isn't that very sellable. But guess what he won't do it because Mitt as we've always called him the flip flopper. He will not do it. He will go in every direction that is possible to appeal to the audience in which he's standing in front of at the time.

I just wanted to say to your point Richard Nixon was going for reelection if I'm correct that's correct right so he was a sitting president. He was being reelected. He's different from trying to different from getting the first time. The other point to Kelly's point. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act it was the first legislation that President Obama signed nine days after being in office that speaks to his character. So when you're talking about how you know that was equal pay to equalize pay for women equal pay for women Thank you. But that speaks to his character and his interests and so forth. But it also says you know Mitt Romney at this point I think in fact. Couple of his press people were questioned about this with him whether he supported it and they said we have to get back to you. Why do you have to get back to me if you know that the candidate has a strong stance on making sure that there's equal rights at the table. Mitt Romney has no concern about balance. He has concerns about his population that has been very successful. And let's

add he didn't just come out of the womb and had to raise himself up by his bootstraps. He came and he came into this world what the family did was fairly successful had done great things politically and he has he has really just I would like to say receive the benefit of those efforts so he's not coming off of you know this we're talking about two different candidates where you have an Obama who started out from the very bottom and raised himself. We're talking about the individual who literally had something handed to him the same way. Well what I've been saying all along is that there is a very clear choice for voters. And I don't think anybody is paying attention now except us. But as we get closer and closer these kinds of details that you all raise here lots of citizens will have to step back and say OK how do I really feel because it's not so mushy. It's kind of clear right the two there of representing two different takes. Just very quickly I just want to say that Michelle Obama came out in support after Ann Romney said you know don't say. Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen said Ann

Romney never had to work a day in her life. And Romney responded by saying I raise five boys that's a lot of work. And Michelle Obama said women should have choices but given what you've said Kelly. She was speaking to the choice that all women should have. But she wanted to make sure that there was no nastiness coming from the Obamas and in fact President Obama himself said hey we think what he and I mean that's fine. I think that's right I think what Ann Romney did is fine I guess the thing that I would take issue is is Ann Romney. Has the privilege to do that you know that's and women who are on government assistance under Mitt Romney's policy proposals let me just stick with that. I do not. And that's a double standard. Very true. Very true he wants them out the door immediately. You've just you've just given birth and now you want to go now you have to go into the workforce we're going to give you extra money for daycare. I mean in Europe women and men get a year and more to spend time raising their children and they get paid to do it. And our kids benefit from that. I mean that's it's such a radical idea to us in the United States but. You know that's something that they make a commitment to.

You know what we're going to do it we're going to be hearing a lot about this. Here's a lightning round and I do mean lightning. Joseph Kennedy the third running of the district left by Barney Frank has raised an extraordinary amount of money one point three million dollars in the first three months. Looking over at Niki Tsongas she too has raise a hundred sixty thousand dollars. Both of their opponents have raised much far less than the two of them. We're back to this question Kelly about all of this money. I mean it really is scary. Just a quick give me 30 seconds on your response to this. Time to pass that United States constitutional amendment that says the corporations are not people. I think we take money out of politics we need campaign finance reform we need a systemic solution it's not OK to me that Brown and Warren today can make a promise that they may or may not break. I mean this is our country. And the fact that the way you win is by raising you know large sums of money. That's not equitable. Kevin I absolutely agree. I mean it used to be a systematic approach to this day. You know Kennedy's fund raising prowess is reflective of his

his family's fame and the connections throughout the country. He's going to outraise anybody everybody else in that race. Niki Tsongas will raise about what she raised two years ago closed about two million dollars but I think she's still going to be caught up in a very competitive fight. The difference in terms of percentages and in the final. Only 8 percent. Niki Tsongas outspent. John go in and go to yeah through a lot of money through me three to one yeah. So that in and just just to correct something. Nixon did win against Humphrey in an open contested seat and he wasn't well liked at that time I think 68 re-election was 72. Marvin you've got seconds to point about big money big money. Kennedy has hefty donors on his list. He has Chris Dodd Paul Kirk Christopher Lawford Bill Carrick all former people connected to his uncle Ted Kennedy not to mention some of his father's money that has been given to the campaign. I mean he he has you know a a plethora of people who are available to him for

resources. You talk about Sean Bell who is literally only contributed you know one hundred twenty seven hundred seventy six thousand so his donor base is not large enough to compete in this race. I hear Kelly Kelly Kelly on the campaign reform. But the reality we're dealing with now is that big money is available. All right well thanks to you all that wraps up another political roundtable I've been joined by Kelly Bates executive director of the access strategies fund. Kevin Pietersen founder of the New Democracy coalition which is based at the college for public and community service at UMass Boston. And Marvin Benet executive director of the Massachusetts black and Latino Democratic Legislative Caucus. Coming up film critic Garrett Daley and his Earth Day Film Festival. This is a nine point seven WGBH Boston Public Radio. Funding for our programs comes from you and Ellis insurance offering personal and

business insurance plus financial planning and their online insurance tuneup identifying timely and relevant Risk Management Solutions. Exceptional service intelligent insurance Ellice insurance dot com. And link in. Introducing the new 2013 Lincoln M K S with continuously controlled damping or CCD. You can learn more at Lincoln dot com link in. Now it gets interesting and from members of the Great Blue Hill society who's a state and planned giving arrangements to WGBH create a lasting legacy and ensure public media for generations to come. What will your legacy be. On the next FRESH AIR we talk with journalist Matt Apuzzo part of the Associated Press's investigative team that just won a Pulitzer Prize for revealing the New York Police Department's clandestine spying program that monitored daily life in Muslim communities. Join us this afternoon at 2:00 here on eighty nine point seven.

Hi I'm Laura Carlin from WGBH a sister station classical New England. Join us on June 23rd at our Brighton studios for our annual classical festival. You'll attend an authentic 18th century Boston classical salon. Watching the silent comedies with the live right time plaice and. Join the classical club with the gift of one hundred twenty dollars and we'll say thanks with two complimentary tickets on line a classical New England dot org. Scientists Business Innovation is what we do in Massachusetts more about startups the WGBH ex-con Amee reported Friday during MORNING EDITION bargain shop between X company dot com and eighty nine point seven WGBH. Welcome back to the Calla Crossley Show. If you're just tuning in film critic Karen Daly is here with an Earth Day Film Festival and the focus is films that feature

Cynthia plants. Welcome back Karen. Hi Kelly. So first we should say that since the implants are fictional and they're invented they don't exist in real life and if people are thinking well what's this Indian plant. If you think about Harry Potter and being right most of the Hogwarts was right next to the forest and there were all kinds of strange things happening the devil's snare and the tree that fought back and the little hopping Willow You know I think Oh and don't forget Wizard of ox that's true. The trees the trees that were throwing the apples and so there's been a fair number of films that displayed plants that were smart and TELEGIN sometimes very nasty. Yeah. What's the thing. The ones that we're looking at today seem to be fairly nasty. Is there an if you going to write up a fictional plant that you figure they might as well be nasty what you have you know you have you know as we've talked about before you have to have some tension and if you just have a plant sitting in the middle of a window so this is soaking up the sun it's not very much attention

going on there so you've got to create some tension and so they become you know anti-human or they are they have a thing against humanity or they don't like civilization. So there are a lot of different kinds of themes that are going on inside these films. So it becomes you know and I have to say I never thought of some of the films we're going to talk about in just a second as sort of message films but they really are to those of us who consume them because it's really about not so much Harper perhaps many of them are horrific. It's about a message. It is about a message and let I mean to me the Whenever I start thinking about intelligent plans I start thinking about the classic invasion of the Body Snatchers directed by Don Siegel about these pods that came from outer space and took over people and turned them into walking atomic time. OK well let's take a listen to this is a 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers and in this scene Dr. Hill discovers erupting alien PUDs in his greenhouse. They're like huge feet. Must be the way that she in my

closet was formed. My what a crash. I don't know that you know she just thought she must go someplace on a planet probably somebody or something washed duplications take place. When they're finished what happens job box and a precious complete copy originally stroy. Mission accomplished. So invasion of the bodies that just got made again by the way so in another later version but this is like yes this is an ongoing theme. It is an ongoing theme and you know many people think that it's an allegory about communism and McCarthyism in 1950s. I actually went to a seminar with Don Siegel director and someone asked him Is this about communism and he goes you know what. Not really it's about because some people are pods and some people aren't pods. It's more about group think it's more about you know blending in and not doing and sort of like the zombies of today which are very popular. Back then they were pods. So the plants become representative of being non feeling and being

non-human and just kind of blending into the environment. It's kind of scary in that regard. I think it's also because you think you don't think of a plan as being scary to begin with. I mean and then these these these authors come up with ways in which they can be so you can just look at it as just a straight up horror film I did. I don't know invasion of the Body Snatchers was trying to tell me something. Next time you watch a film bring me along and I'll tell you. That's another one that I just think is classic is Swamp Thing. You just just think Swamp Thing makes you feel like something is going on that's dastardly and underhanded. But but very plant like it's very plant. And again this came out you know in 1982 it's based on the comic book and the L. Alan Moore who wrote the comic book was very much into the Green Man motif. Now the Green Man motif goes way back in history and it represents a figure usually on Gothic churches of a man. Comprised of

foliage and I being inside of foliage and always represented that conflict between nature versus civilization. And that is something that you're going to see a lot in these films that conflict where you know man is trying to conquer nature which is a very western concept. And we see it played out many many times. So in Swamp Thing what you're seeing is you're seeing that grand that the Green Man motif and some of the other green man motifs in the wall and the and the in literature are St. George and the green or green George Jack in the green the green knight insur Gawain in the night Robin who is considered a green army. And Johnny Appleseed is considered a dream where they're going back to nature to help nature or they're somehow representing nature. So in Swamp Thing what you have is man has again created an imbalance where there's pollution and there's chemicals inside a water area in this kind of a swamp. An explosion happens. And of course in the movie it becomes more of a monster movie than the Green Man motif. But it's still a lot of fun.

All right well here's the trailer for the 1982 film Swamp Thing. Thank you. Which. Was. This was really the only. Thing. Thank. You. Thank you. One thing I know reaches in the incredible adventure that grows on you for you. Thank the friend she was OK. Thanks. Comic book legend. So gerund this is a wink wink kind of situation though right I mean you know that's one thing growing all over you. Come on what I've been through is way over the top. You know it's not an uncommon thing you go back to 1951 and there is The Thing from Another Planet was essentially a giant carrot that attacked human beings so you know this idea of an ant more flies plant attacking people or

defending its own turf. It's not that unusual in film. One of the most popular and I think now that we have in the context of this conversation about Cindy implants people say Oh. Yeah but the one that just really strikes whether you've seen much of the movie at all is Little Shop of Horrors that's another one that's done in many different varieties tell us about just the essential plot of it and then we'll play a little bit of it. Well the essential plot is that there is a schnook guy working in it and a flower store who is a loser but he's in love with this girl. He finds this weird plant that seems to be affected by some atmospheric thing and the only way that the plant will thrive is if he gives it a little bit of his own blood and then the plant gets bigger and bigger and it needs to be fed and is constantly saying feed me and it needs to be bad human flesh. And that's really what the show Little Shop of Horrors is all about.

Talk about your dark dark comedy so here in this scene Seymour the florist the loser that Karen was referring to is trying to negotiate how to feed his blood thirsty plant. What do you want me to do slit my wrists. Folks what book. I got an idea I'm going to think or to think it's nice that someone must tell you that's disgusting. Let's be frank I don't want to hear this. This it have to be human. It doesn't have to be mine it. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO GET IT IS see. My. Aura. Oh ok that's the one that everybody can recognize right off it's a classic it is a classic And again that's the second version the first version was the 1960 Roger Corman made for three made in two days worth thirty thousand dollars and featuring a very young Jack Nicholson as the role that Steve Martin played and this version of the masochistic dental patient.

I think what I like most about it is that Seymour gets to feed Audrey his love interest as boyfriend to the plant. Yeah I love that you are going to be going through the grounds of service there. Just a bit. Now you know we've got a lot of discussion about Lorex which is a film that came out just recently right. But there's another one fern gully. I'd say I wasn't aware of fern gully which had some of the elements that Lorex had not only of war X but if you take a look at the plot of fern gully which deals with a section of the planet where you know there are there are people who are very much in tune with nature and if you take a look at that and the fact that man is coming in and destroying it looking for some stuff it's very similar to Avatar and you can make you can parallel you can do a parallel there. But interestingly enough Fern Gully has still strong 20 years later with its DVD sales. So it strikes a really resonant chord and it's a story about a patch of earth that is run by fairies who are connected and to the earth

and man is coming in destroying the rain forest and they have to. Join forces to battle and of course there is an evil being that is released from a tree who thrives on the pollution that man creates. Well now this is the film festivals in honor of Earth Day and the big kahuna for you is the day of the Triffids. And tell us a tiny bit about it Emma played the trailer for a tiny bit about it is that it takes place in London who has made nine hundred sixty two assuming one thousand fifty one book a meteor shower comes down blinds everybody in the world and releases a sport and the sport turns into these walking huge plants that suck on the blood of human beings and since everyone is blind They're easy prey because the plants don't move all that fast. All right this is the trailer for the 1962 film day of the Triffids. You know the fact that. When the bits into a nightmare of a population like PSA walks.

Insanity going to be starvation pestilence anyone caught in the middle doesn't stand a chance. I think we ought to get out of here and go on this thing. How can you know it's any better. I don't. Doesn't seem to have any central nervous system and there was a move all plans moved. And I don't usually pull themselves out of the ground to chase you. I love that line they don't chase you. What are we to take from all of these sort of you know I got to say downbeat in the plot but funny in the in the execution. And I'm going to I'm going to make back a bit of a stretcher and I think we can go back to the classic Mesopotamian literature of the epic of Gilmore gash and when of course we can't guarantee him. That's what I would do if one of the things that my guest did was he built the walls or IRC and the walls or IRC were protecting civilization from the outside from from from whatever's out there whether it was an external pleasure or external problem or even nature so

was protecting the human beings. Western civilization has always had this theme of nature being against nature and all these films and especially the day of the Triffids if you take a look at it they are being attacked by plants. So they go into enclaves build walls to protect themselves until they no longer can protect themselves. Then they go to someplace else to find and build a wall to protect themselves. That's a lot of what these films are all about that that attack of man against nature and nature is rebelling against it and fighting man back. That's what you see in a lot of these films. And again when you're talking about something like Avatar Fern Gully things are out of balance we are not in tune with what's going on in nature and I think that's what Earth Day is about. Let's get back to our roots and understand that we are connected to nature. So these films do talk about that and in a very interesting pop culture way you get a chance to really engage in it at maybe at a level that people don't think about Earth Day and. Thanks Karen but I like it. We've been talking about Earth Day with films that feature

Sinti and plants. They're going to get you. I've been speaking with our contributor film critic Guerin daily. You can keep on top of the Calla Crossley Show at WGBH dot org slash Calla Crossley follow us on Twitter and become a fan of the Calla Crossley Show on Facebook. We are a production of WGBH Boston Public Radio.