| Many members are disappointed in the speaker. He allowed Deval to ram through lousy ethics reform bill just to please the Globe and talk radio. Leadership believes that requiring reps to file financial reports and campaign reports twice as often will remove the larceny in the hearts of dishonest members. We can weed out the Sal DiMasi's of the world by making sure the rep from Dighton crossed every t and dotted every I on burdensome campaign reports. (Why would anyone want the job? Really)
Real leadership, which is missing, was required to "work with" phonies such as Harshbarger and others so as to come up with a piece of legislation which discourages dishonesty without inhibiting "elected officials" from doing what is in the best interest of their constituents.'
Easy opportunity was there for Deleo to throw it back in Deval's face. Deval is holding up a budget to use the opportunity to push a knee jerk, intellectually dishonest piece of legislation. This is a time when members really look to the Speaker to show leadership and protect the institution and its members. Instead Deleo basically said "we are all a bunch of thieves and this bill will stop it."
On the Senate side we have Terry Murray working the same petty agenda of revenge she has been doing since she got to the Senate. This resulted in Deval believing he was James Michael Curley and going after the new highly touted Massachusetts film industry.
Stupid move Deval. There are many other and better ways to make Terry's blood boil. The soundstages being proposed and the people proposing them show promise of many jobs and money. Instead you kill the road work money for the studio in Plymouth and then put out the word that the movie tax credit is failing. Wrong Deval! It enabled Hollywood to see Massachusetts and now they want to locate here. That is a lot different then the fly in fly out movies being made now. But it takes these movies to get to the step which is now in reach. Hollywood east. Once they commit and invest and move here we can take away some of the credits. C'mon Deval, You're from the Southside. Didn't you learn about drug dealers giving the stuff away for free to new customers?
But anywaty, word is Deleo is not happy with the job. Taking years off his life and it is showing. Not dealing well with the adversity. Members are being ignored, feeling left out, and losing confidence in their captain.
So what's happening then? The talk is who is jockeying to be the next speaker. It is not too early.
So these are the names
Assistant Majority Leader Ron Mariano is out front the most. Taking as many members as possible to dinner and talking the usual b.s. As you recall Mariano was Sal/Petro's original choice but got bumped in favor of Deleo. (BTW Speaker Pro Tem Petro is the symbol of what is wrong with the House. Why his he there? Only Deleo knows. Why does he want to be there? Only Petro knows.)
Ronnie is from Quincy and can rub some people such as the more refined suburban women reps the wrong way.
Petro - Only because of his current title. But really, do we want to be Rhode Island North?
Jim Vallee. The majority leader got Deval to say some nice things about him after the ethics reform bill was signed. (see above comments re: leadership and ethics reform) He is an heir to the Tupperware fortune who is best remembered for threatening a female member on the house floor when she wouldn't do what Master Vallee wanted.
Charlie Murphy The current chairman of Way's and Means and a former Marine. He just survived his first budget. Made it out alive but of course the final version which became law looked as much like the original House budget as Godfather III looked like Godfather I. Too bad he has to do what Deleo and Vallee tell him to do.
The problem with the above mentioned candidates are they are part of the leadership that is causing the uneasiness. Should the next speaker be from the Deleo/Sal lineage? This current kingdom can trace it roots back to Quinn and before.
You see every speaker since then was pretty much the hand pick successor of the speaker before.
Quinn wanted Bartley, Bartley became speaker. Bartley wanted McGee, his majority leader. McGee became speaker. McGee wanted Keverian, his majority leader. But McGee went a little coo coo so Kevirian revolted when he wouldn't leave and brought with him many from King McGee's court.
Keverian was speaker and wanted his majority leader, Charley Flaherty to be speaker. Flaherty becomes speaker and did not want his majority leader, Richie Voke, to become speaker. Richie had a way of rubbing some people the wrong way. That's why the repubs and many others went with Finneran. Flaherty was very happy about that. Then he stepped down knowing that richie wouldn't get it.
Finneran wanted his long time friend Sal Dimasi to be speaker. Regardless of what he said about Johnny Rogers. Sal became speaker because of Finneran and Rogers didn't know what hit him.
Sal wanted Deleo to be speaker. His office became a favors bureau for DeLeo the last few years. Guess who our current speaker is?
So now who does Deleo want? Who do thre members want? Perhaps someone not looked on as some of the above mentioned are: a Deleo protege
The list above does not impress. Members want someone they can have faith in. Someone who respects the institution and its members. Someone battled tested who sees beyond the immediate.
So three names popped up this weekend.
David Torrisi - Chairman of Higher Education. Only member with the balls to tell Sal he's a thief and doesn't belong in the speaker's chair.
He voted against the budget even though a chair, showing leadership and independence. He is a lawyer and considered an outsider. has outside family business which makes him not need the job. May n ot have it in belly to be speaker but could be very influential and powerful king maker, regardless of title nexr apeaker gives him.
Gene O'Flaherty The love child of Dennis Leary and Steve Lynch. Chairman of Judiciary but lke Torrisi now seen as outsider in this administration. His name was thrown in the mix as a possible alternate choice last time around. Not afraid to cause trouble and stand up for unpopular causes. Battle tested.Respected by both conservative and liberal members. His name keeps popping up as the one to watch.
Dan Bosely battle tested. Saved us from slots on more than one occasion. Unsuccessfully led a coup against Finneran. Remember? He has been throwing bombs and pointing out to other members the deficiencies in Team DeLeo. Has it in the belly and wants it for the most motivating of all reasons: revenge.
So there you have it. That was my weekend.
It appears, just as I thought, that we have less than competent Governor, Speaker of the House, and Senate President.
We need new blood. |
