I see no issue with the pledge as Mr. Lamb proposes. By Ms. Dykema's refusal to sign, it is clear that she will be accepting mailings and ads put out by outside special interests and PACs. I saw may of those types of mailings during the 2010 election and I'm sick of them! Elections should be between candidates only! Rep. Dykema shouldn't run away from signing this pledge.

If only Marty had a history of running clean campaigns. But he doesn't. He's the king of gimmicks.

Carolyn has always run clean campaigns.

Even so, Marty has the nerve to challenge Carolyn to run a clean campaign, after he has taken PAC money, after he has imported supporters from Shrewsbury, Acton, and even Bedford, after he sent supporters on line to attack her with all sorts of half-truths and nonsense.

Carolyn is not running away. She's just not playing Marty's lawyering game, his pretend issue, his fake controversy. Good for her.

Why is Dykema stone walling ? If Brown and Warren can make this agreement, then why is she stalling. It is a reasonable proposal. It is basically the same agreement Warren and Brown made. Is she calling their proposal a gimmick ?

Also, Dykema completely ignored the part about not allowing outside special interests to do mailings and run ads. Maybe she is expecting a big payback for voting to force unionization of in-home day care. That is a huge slap in the face to women to force that upon them.

Speaking of unions, how much money have the unions promised her? That's got to be the reason for refusing to sign.

Dykema still refuses to sign the pledge and it's crystal clear why she's ignoring it. If she really wanted to run a clean campaign, then she would just put her John Hancock on the pledge. What's the problem ?!

Carolyn has lost my vote this year. She talks in their Beacon Hill double-speak nowadays at the State House. She fails to mention that the pledge bans outside groups from advertising. Where does she acknowledge this in her letter? Anybody see it? I don't. Shame on her. She has gone Beacon Hill on us.

Here we go again. Ms. Roney's post is the VERY mudslinging we voters are SICK of. We want the facts, not false accusations. I wish Mr. Lamb's pledge covered Ms. Dykema's supporters, too. YOU, Ms. Roney, are one of the worst offenders! BTW - it is a fact that the MTA, SEIU and PACs spent lots of money on mailings for Carolyn in the past. As a voter, I want information from the candidates themselves, not from outside interests who use candidates as their puppets. It's clear Ms. Dykema is running away from this pledge because she NEEDS these outside interests...she can't stand on her own. What a shame. Not signing the pledge speaks volumes.

Marty played this same game in the 3rd District Congressional campaign in 2010. But Marty was the only one playing dirty, while complaining at the top of his lungs about imaginary slights from other candidates. Ms. Dykema is right - this is a gimmick, and a recycled one at that.

And MReed - I notice by your profile history that your profile exists SOLELY to post comments on articles about Marty. Another recycled trick from the last campaign cycle.

The bottom line is Dykema completely ignored the part of the pledge that both candidates would not allow outside mailings and ads paid for and put out by outside special interests.

What is she afraid of losing ? She and her supporters have no response to that. They don't want to talk about it.

Dykema has choosen to keep her head in the sand. I think. She is worried about loosing to Marty. A simple agreement would have made her look better. A lost opportunity for Carolyn.

Right...accuse me of having a problem with free speech for.....pointing something out. Nope, that's not ad hominem or anything.

I'm not a Dykema supporter. I'm a conservative. But I think she's right to ignore this "pledge" from Marty - clearly she's done her homework on her opponent.

And yes, I did just come on to post these comments, because I saw the article via a link from a friend, and had something to say.

If Marty wants a clean and civil campaign, he is much more likely to get it by behaving that way himself, rather than publicly whining about not getting his pledge signed.

I think Marty is a Conservative like myself. He can best "Conserve” my "Out Of the Pocket" expenses for my family. Dykema is for me spending more in taxes along with the Democratic majority at the State House. I cringe when I fill up my gas tank and go grocery shopping! My house is not worth what it was! The problem is not only the economy and jobs at the national level, it is their current disservice by our elected officials sitting in the State House in Boston. I will vote for Marty Lamb.
I feel like I should live in Wisconsin, where they got it right!