peteysweetusername t1_ivpe0py wrote
I’m not surprised. What’s surprising to me is question 1 and question 4 are close calls and previously received affirmative votes from the legislature. Question 2 has 3:1 support and the legislature didn’t even vote for it. To me it shows the lobbyists’ power in the state
KayakerMel t1_ivpkhij wrote
Same. Yes on 1 and 4 had much bigger campaign coalitions. I was really worried that Yes on 2 would falter.
marshmallowhug t1_ivpo0p3 wrote
I told all my friends to ask their dentists what they thought. I guess people must like or trust their dentists (who seemed to universally be for 2).
Sheol t1_ivpq1vs wrote
My dentist sent me an email! They have never emailed me anything other than appointment reminders.
gacdeuce t1_ivpw6o2 wrote
I drove around my town: all dentists said yes on 2. I read the disclosures on the “no on 2” fliers: it was insurance company lobbies. Easy choice to vote yes on 2.
WinsingtonIII t1_ivq519z wrote
TBF, question 2 was also much less controversial than 1 or 4, whether someone agrees with all three or not.
Anything to do with taxation or immigration can be a bit of a lightning rod. Some regulation for dental insurance is by comparison not particularly contentious, whether the legislature has discussed it or not.
peteysweetusername t1_ivq6dsu wrote
What I meant was more of a take on the legislature. These ballot votes show where the public at large thinks and they overwhelmingly supported question 2. In my book, with that kind of support, the legislature should have easily passed this legislation rather than having to collect tens of thousands of signatures. They did vote to pass questions that ultimately lot are being decided on a 55/45 margin. The difference to me is obviously lobbyist influence
WinsingtonIII t1_ivq783e wrote
I see, that makes sense.
Though I think you could argue that perhaps question 2 wasn't raised by the legislature as it wasn't viewed as a huge deal by many people until it made the ballot. For instance, I am very in favor of question 2 since I work in health policy and feel strongly about the fact dental insurance is essentially a scam as it stands right now. But I can see how many people might rank questions 1 and 4 as being ultimately more impactful questions from a policy perspective.
In terms of what the legislature takes up, it's not just about margin of support, it's about how strongly people feel about the issue as well.
Markymarcouscous t1_ivqeybj wrote
Question 1 being close demonstrates how someone like Charlie baker can win and be popular as governor in MA
InfiniteState t1_ivq9sbi wrote
Things like question 1 have been proposed a number of times and always lost. People don’t like to vote for raising taxes, even if they’re not affected. It was always going to be an uphill battle and I’m honestly surprised it passed.
Even with the huge amount of money spent ($31m!) and support from the teachers union and all of the Dem leaders (Warren, Healey, Wu, …) it was still really close.
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