Changes

==Politics==

==Politics==

With the death of Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] in August 2009, the Senate seat will remain open until a special election is held in late January, 2010. The prospective candidates most often mentioned include for the Democrats state Attorney General Martha Coakley, Congressman Michael Capuano, Congressman Stephen Lynch, and perhaps Kennedy's nephew Joseph Kennedy II.  The only Republican with a chance of winning is former  Gov. Mitt Romney, but he is expected to concentrate instead on the 2012 presidential campaign.  

With the death of Senator [[Ted Kennedy]] in August 2009, the Senate seat will remain open until a special election is held in late January, 2010, but state leaders are discussing changing the law to allow the governor to name a replacement. The current law was promoted by Kennedy himself to prevent a Republican from naming a replacecement for Senator Kerry in 2004, in case Kerry was elected president; it has now boomeranged against the Democrats in the Senate, who need a replacement soon to keep their veto-proof 60-seat majority. The prospective candidates most often mentioned include for the Democrats state Attorney General Martha Coakley, Congressman Michael Capuano, Congressman Stephen Lynch, and perhaps Kennedy's nephew Joseph Kennedy II.  The only Republican with a chance of winning is former  Gov. Mitt Romney, but he is expected to concentrate instead on the 2012 presidential campaign.  

Although once a bastion of social conservatism (the term "Banned in Boston" is still in widespread use)<ref>http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Massachusetts/id/1896007</ref> Massachusetts is known as one of the most [[liberal]] states in the Union,<ref>[http://www.epodunk.com/top10/liberal/index.html Epodunk: Most liberal places]</ref><ref>http://peacebyjesus.witnesstoday.org/liberaltable2.html</ref> being the most populous state to have all-Democratic congressional representation.  It is called by some "Taxachusetts" because of its high tax rate.  Its current senator is [[John Kerry]] (who unsuccessfully ran for [[President]] in 2004).  The state was governed by a succession of Republican governors in the 1990s and 2000s ([[William Weld]], [[Paul Cellucci]], [[Jane Swift]] and [[Mitt Romney]]); they were among the most liberal Republican governors in the country.<ref>http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Massachusetts/id/1896007</ref>

Although once a bastion of social conservatism (the term "Banned in Boston" is still in widespread use)<ref>http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Massachusetts/id/1896007</ref> Massachusetts is known as one of the most [[liberal]] states in the Union,<ref>[http://www.epodunk.com/top10/liberal/index.html Epodunk: Most liberal places]</ref><ref>http://peacebyjesus.witnesstoday.org/liberaltable2.html</ref> being the most populous state to have all-Democratic congressional representation.  It is called by some "Taxachusetts" because of its high tax rate.  Its current senator is [[John Kerry]] (who unsuccessfully ran for [[President]] in 2004).  The state was governed by a succession of Republican governors in the 1990s and 2000s ([[William Weld]], [[Paul Cellucci]], [[Jane Swift]] and [[Mitt Romney]]); they were among the most liberal Republican governors in the country.<ref>http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Massachusetts/id/1896007</ref>