Proving to be a dream come true for New England-based talk show hosts, Deval Patrick just can’t seem to stay out of trouble these days.
During a week where the Massachusetts Governor’s astounding arrogance was in full view, Patrick made one public misstep after another. Is he on some kind of career self-destruction crusade?
In just one week, a number of major flaps emerged:
- After revelations of state police helicopter use to avoid traffic jams fueled headlines, Patrick seemed unable to handle the resulting criticism. That’s despite the fact that it was this very issue that virtually destroyed former Acting Governor Jane Swift’s political career. Remember the 60 Minutes segment on this subject?
- A push by Patrick to increase taxes on Bay State businesses confirmed the worst fears of industry leaders at a time when other regions are already busy sucking away New England’s jobs. Does Deval really want to accelerate this already-disturbing trend?
- Later in the week, a big new controversy emerged after FOX 25, the Boston Herald and other media outlets reported that Patrick had secured an expensive new Cadillac DeVille for his daily use, while casting aside the far more modest Crown Victoria used by Mitt Romney. The timing couldn’t have been worse, given Patrick’s talk of budgetary “belt-tightening”.
Patrick would do well to follow the example of former California governor and current State Attorney General Jerry Brown, who famously insisted upon using a sad-looking Plymouth Satellite instead of the limousine service that had been standard for his predecessors.
- And topping off Patrick’s horrible week, it emerged last night that the governor has secured an expensive staff position for a key fundraiser. From the Boston Globe:
As the focus intensified on the new governor’s spending habits, the administration also found itself fielding questions about hiring a $72,000-a-year aide to handle scheduling and interview requests for Patrick’s wife, Diane, a law partner at Ropes & Gray. The new aide, Amy Gorin of Wellesley, and her husband, Norm, led the governor’s fund-raising committee.
Meanwhile, while talk show hosts around the region were having a field day watching Patrick’s political capital self-destruct before their eyes, one local station defiantly installed a pro-Deval defender.
What’s wrong with this picture?
D T S: Deval Travels in Style
$1200.00 / month????
Checked a few places and it seems the taxpayers could have gotten a MUCH better deal.
Maybe it was the spinners?
As a full time employee elsewhere, why would:
1. The state hire her? Couldn’t they find a person that would devote ALL their time and effort to the state job?
2. Doesn’t she already have a secratary at her other job?
The gift that keeps on giving to talk radio has resulted in a new site launched by Howie,
coupedeval.com
No word on whether Finneran is launching such
sites…