From today's Boston Globe. A story on the 4 Republicans left standing in the State Senate and the fact that all will get large pay increases because they all will be in minority leadership roles.

For the record, I don't have an issue paying leadership legislators more for taking additional responsibilities. But our friends on the right, in the Republican Party and Tea Party wingnuts all have issues with "taxpayer funded" jobs and public sector paychecks.

Can you imagine the Howie Carr Column and the talk radio haters if a Democratic elected official said this:

But even the losers of this not-so-titanic battle will come off well. While the next minority leader will get a $22,500 bump in pay and a bigger office with additional staff members, his three underlings will inevitably serve in the august ranks of leadership. They will divvy up the roles of assistant minority leader, minority whip, and assistant minority whip, each of which carries a $15,000 pay increase.

A “Voter Choice” initiative petition turned in to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office on Wednesday would give Massachusetts voters a chance to change to a voting system that lets voters rank their choices instead of voting for only one candidate. The change would apply to key races, including for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary and treasurer, among others, starting after January 2012.

The non-partisan proposal is endorsed by the Massachusetts League of Women Voters, Common Cause Massachusetts, and the voting rights group MassVOTE, among notable community organizations.