"Weird. Disturbing. Pathetic. Depressing. Massachusetts."

Ever wonder why Massachusetts is (2.00 / 3)

one of only 3 States in Anerica with a declining population?
Could a repressive, corrupt  "one party" political system be  a major reason? Hmmmmmm???? Perhaps Mr. Keller is "right on" about the sorry state  of this State. One need only view the "sea of U-Hauls" on Rt 95 south fleeing this terrible place.

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by: Ronco @ Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 22:24:46 PM CST

Yes, lets wonder. (6.00 / 1)

The other states with declining population are New York and Rhode Island.  You cannot blame the decline in these states on  one-party rule.

So how are we more similar to these states and less similar to states like Nevada, Texas, Florida with higher rates of population growth?

If Massachusetts were a state with lots of land near the Mexican border, our growth rate would go through the roof.

In bizarro Massachusetts (let's call it Texas -- if you want to hold the corruption level about the same if not raise it a bit), immigrants would come to take low-paying jobs creating cheap housing that would be affordable to new college grads starting families.  Bizarro Massachusetts is made comparatively attractive by low mortgage rates, unenforced immigration controls, the availability of land to build more and more subdivisions, affordable fuel prices, and globalized economies where production or skill centers can be located far from management.

If you believe in free markets, in the long run, a decline in population in Massachusetts is not necessarily a bad thing.  It could certainly take the pressure of housing prices, which would make it more affordable to people starting families.

And you haven't proven that countries/regions with shrinking populations are doomed to becoming poorer -- look at Northern Europe, or Japan, though eclipsed by growing powers the future is by no means dire for them.

---

by: raweel @ Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 23:21:43 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Lets take a look at RI and NY (0.00 / 1)

RI  Governor Rep
  Senate  33 Dem 5 Rep
  House  60 Dem 15 Rep

NY  Governor  Dem
  Assembly (house) 107 Dem  42 Rep  2 empty
  Senate 39 Dem  42 Rep

MA ( as reference
  Governor  Dem
  House  141 Dem  19 Rep
  Senate  35 Dem  5 Rep

* source Wikipedia

RI is almost (from a party imbalance standpoint)a carbon copy of Mass ( at least when we had a Rep Governor)

NY with the exception of its Republican Senate ( due to conservative upstate NY) is predominantly a Democtratic State.

The commonalities seen in all 3 States are a "lopsided" political landscape, stiffling fees fines, taxes and general cost of living.

Is it any wonder that people are fleeing these failed "socialistic" , corrupt "utopias" as fast as they can ?

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by: Ronco @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:40:43 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Come on, (0.00 / 0)

Socialist Utopias?

MA has lower income taxes than most states.

MA has pursued more deregulation of utilities and such than most states.

Where's the socialism?

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by: jaybooth @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 12:22:39 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Been to Cambridge lately? (0.00 / 1)

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by: Ronco @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 13:18:45 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Ha Ha Ha... (3.67 / 3)

...another people's republic of cambridge reference.  How droll.  Last I checked Cambridge wasn't a sovereign nation operating outside the state infrastrucure.....oh wait, I've gotta go.  It's my turn to pick the hydroponic herbs for tonight's macro biotic vegan state sponsored communal meal where everyone in cambridge sings the praises of their constitutionally guranteed housing and health care.  Socialism Rocks!!!!

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by: anthony @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 13:31:18 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Anthony , check out the (0.60 / 5)

lastest thread on marriage between brother/mother, etc.
Here it comes.

---

by: Ronco @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 14:16:52 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Yes, it's always so nice (3.00 / 1)

when one's family makes the papers.

---

by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 14:46:35 PM CST

[ Parent ]

The "gay" humor is becoming really booring (0.00 / 2)

---

by: Ronco @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 15:53:21 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Then.... (0.00 / 0)

....stop bringing it.

---

by: anthony @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 16:27:55 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Think, don't rant (5.00 / 3)

I've little interest in being subject to more of your ideological grievances.  If people are indeed fleeing the state, I think we could do much better than a half hearted 1% decline.  I have to assume you are still here, in which case I would urge you not to fight the demographic trend.

On the other hand, out of some interest in understanding how others view the state of the world, I ask you to clarify.

Are you making a claim that one party dominance is bad, or one party Democratic dominance is bad?  Please state your claim more clearly if you get tired of ranting against the deletirious effects of socialistic rule.

I've tried to answer previously (and in vain, since you ignore my explanation) why I believe demographics affects politics, not the other way around.  I note that the states with the greatest number of Republicans in office are states like Idaho, Wyoming, Utah -- states large in area, with little existing infrastructure commitments and comparatively lesser population densities, with cheaper costs of living and a high growth rate.  Are these states growing BECAUSE they elected Republicans, or did they elect Republicans BECAUSE they are growing?  My money is that the second solution is closer to the truth.

So, making the claim that electing more Republicans to office will magically solve our problems is nothing but cargo-cult politics and does not deserve serious consideration.  Having more Republicans in office would be healthy, but the way they get elected is by adopting policies that would help residents of this high-density, aging-infrastructure, expensive state.

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by: raweel @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 16:08:51 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I don't understand why you confuse the (0.00 / 2)

presentation of unemotional facts with "ranting" as I think you call it?
I merely presented the "statistics" of the 3 States in the Union with the highest rate of decline in population and sought to identify the "common denominators". There's nothing "ranting" about it at all. If indeed,  there's any "ranting" going on here, may I sugesst that you read your own post which seems to be extremely "emotional" and perhaps "ranting"???

Facts unto themselves when found to contradict the "liberal agenda" are always annoying , aren't they? May I suggest that you  make an effort to place more value on "facts" and their effect on reality than how you "feel" about things...a common and classic liberal flaw especially amoungst females ..... methinks thou art a female..(based on the thought process)I'm right , of course.

---

by: Ronco @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 16:59:01 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Don't evade, think. (0.00 / 0)

Before proceeding, we should accept it as a given that it is at least hypothetically possible to offer the fact for consideration -- without inveighing against the merits or deficiencies of socialist utopias -- that of the only 3 states with a negative growth rate in population, these have Democratic majorities.

The implicit claim is interesting, but remains murky:  either you claim that one party rule is inherently corrupt and drives people away, or more narrowly, that Democratic rule is inherently corrupt and drives people away.  These claims should in fact be broken down further:  either one party rule or Democratic rule is inherently corrupt, and it is necessary as well that corruption causes population loss.

I do not question that some net 1% of the population seem to be searching for the exits over a period of 10 years. As much as I believe people should be flocking in droves to our state of Massachusetts for legalized gay marriage and subsidized Venezualan heating oil, you may rest assured I recognize that my own feelings are as irrelevant as your own political baggage.

To recap, I've recognized the evidence and have asked you to  make your explicit claim. 

If you are unable to clarify your claim, sadly, we have no opportunity for further intercourse other than to exchange pointed barbs about each others motives and political agenda.  You may feel free to speculate on my gender, if I can take the liberty to speculate on whether your penis is actually as large as I hope it is. Winning an argument makes me uncontrollably horny.

---

by: raweel @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 17:57:17 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Shoddy thinking (0.00 / 0)

This is the same shoddy thinking of the person who sees three people of a certain ethnicity get arrested, and concludes that  members of that race are thereby prone to be criminals.

There are states in the union with Democratic majorities that don't have declining populations. That means your hypothesis is easily proven wrong. But I suspect you knew that all along, and are just trying to win people to your side without having to tell them what you really stand for.

---

by: NoPolitician @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 20:26:00 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Please! (6.00 / 1)

No more deliveries of troll-chow!
We have enough!

---

by: KBusch @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 19:51:17 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Probably all those years of Republican Governors (5.00 / 1)

Who didn't give two shakes about job creation or job training or housing development or any of the things that this state was once known for.

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by: howardjp @ Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 23:23:36 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I don't know why (5.00 / 1)

it somehow never gets mentioned that during all those Republican Governor years , the State Legislature ( the real power) was over 80% Democrat...Besides how can a Republican Governor possibly do anything anyways if he can't sustain a Veto? Romney , for example, was unable to sustain a SINGLE veto in his tenure as Governor. No wonder the guy left.

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by: Ronco @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 09:42:06 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Gee, he said he could get all sorts of things done .... (5.00 / 1)

Be the state's No #1 salesman, work with the Legislature etc

there are plenty of things you can do as Chief Executive w/o the Legislature, especially on the economic development side, just didn't get done.

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by: howardjp @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:16:12 AM CST

[ Parent ]

The job Romney faced (0.00 / 0)

was very much like trying to extract aggreement on a point which differs in any way with the myopic and predjudiced views of this board...impossible

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by: Ronco @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 11:07:22 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Several things that you seem to forget. (0.00 / 0)

One, Weld had enough Republicans in the state senate to sustain a veto, at least for a while.  If memory serves, Weld worked fairly well with the legislature, as did Celluci.

Two, there are a number of conservative Democrats in the state legislature who could have helped Romney sustain a veto.  But Romney ran away from the legislature instead of trying to work with it.

Three, Romney's debacle in the 2004 legislative election, in which Romney made a big push to get more Republicans elected to the state legislature, and ended up with a net gain of minus-three (or five) despite having spent millions of dollars.  The voters obviously didn't like his candidates.

And four, you can't beat somebody with nobody.  In the 2006 legislative elections, Republicans didn't even contest races in 2/3 of the legislative districts.  Two-thirds.  How can Republicans expect to win in districts in which they don't even field candidates?

As I've said here before, in Massachusetts, elections are usually won in the primaries, not in the general election.  If conservatives want to have more influence in the legislature, they should aim for the primaries and ignore whether the primary candidate has a (D) after his/her name instead of an (R).

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by: raj @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 11:23:32 AM CST

[ Parent ]

No hope for a second party in Massachusetts (0.00 / 1)

The roots of Mass Democratic 'power politics" go way back to and beyond the famous Boston Mayor Curly era who incidently was once re-elected while he was actually in prison.
Power politics as authored by Curly was pretty simple.. Never award a city job to anyone that didn't have a least 10 relatives that could vote.
This State is riddled with corruption, nepotism ( just look at the Turnpike Authority for example where you can make $65,000 a year collecting dollar bills ( plus all you can steal)), overpaid police ( where else can a patrolman make $225 grand a year?), an all powerful teacher's union, career politicians whose scandals and indictments are legendary, an eletist acadamia that heads up the State's colleges and universities while enjoying fantastic compensation pagages/perks ,visa vi, Billy Bulger with his 1/4 million dollar a year "pension". A veritable army of state employees for whom life is one paid State "holiday" after another.
Perhaps the great Michael "tank helment head"Dukakis pin- pointed the essence of Mass "power politics" when he was asked as "Governor and Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( a
$ 26 Billion "corporation" if you would), "How many people are employed by the State". He paused, then calmly replied " I honestly don't know".. 
Can you imagine a CEO running a multi-billion dollar corporation that doesn't know how many people are on the payroll?. The more the merrier one would guess especially when votes are involved that insure the staus quo ad infinitum.

Such is and has been the State of Massachuseets.... a State where soooooooo many are "at the trough" that they would be crazy to  'kill the goose" and vote in real change... wouldn't they? Will Deville bring change? You must be joking. Governor "feel good" will eventually tire of the hassle of the public eye and settle in to his ordained role as "rubber stamp" for the all powerful "mono-party" legislature

So Raj.... do the Republicans, conservatives or any other party for that matter have a chance? I think not.
As to the decline in population? Those who aren't or don't have access to "the trough" ( and more importantly, get tired of paying for it) simply vote with their feet...they leave.

.

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by: Ronco @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 12:42:25 PM CST

[ Parent ]

This comment did not merit a zero (0.00 / 0)

But I have to say that, when I saw the byline, I almost reflexively skipped right over it.
You might want to take a moment rethink your behavior on this board, Ronco.
No one is taking you seriously, and the knives are out for you.

Mine included.

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by: geo999 @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 20:18:05 PM CST

[ Parent ]

You're dumb as the proverbial horse manure... (6.00 / 1)

...or maybe you've never lived in other parts of the country.

Example: Ohio.  I have roots there and still follow politics there a little.  The Republican governor Bob Taft pleaded guilty to corruption. (His old relative "Mr. Republican" Robert A Taft, he of the American Firsters must be turning over in his grave.  Then again, probably not.)  Charles Keating, of Keating Five fame (remember him?  of course you do), was from a powerful Cincinnati Republican political family. 

And, recently, Bob Noe was convicted of seducing the Ohio Workers Compensation Board of investing in a rare coins fund that he had established and stealing from it (the fund, that is).  http://blog.citizens...  My first question when I read about this, what did the Ohio Workers Compensation Board think that it would be getting from investing in rare coins?  More rare coins?  Certainly nothing useful.

Republicans are as corrupt as anyone, and corruption runs all up and down government at every level and in every state.  Get over it.  Corruption even occurs between government and private business.  I'm sure that that is shocking to you, but it's true.  Indeed, corruption occurs in private business--remember the lysine price fixing scandal involving (shudder!) Archer Daniels Midland and other companies a few years ago?  I'm sure that you do.

You still haven't addressed the point, so I'll put it more succinctly.  If conservatives want to win elections in Massachusetts, they should try to run in Democratic primaries.  Is that plain enough for you?  If not, you're as dumb as I suspect you are.

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by: raj @ Fri Feb 23, 2007 at 01:04:41 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Raj, I thought personal attacks (0.00 / 1)

were not allowed on this board? Oh ya ,I forgot this is a "liberal board" where "double standard" is an integral part of the culture. So I can see how you can name call without fear of reprisal or censorship from your "thought master" .
Actually I get a kick out of watching you elitist, self styled "intellectuals" fume and bellow with rage when confronted by dreaded "truth" and "fact" based comments. It's actually quite comical to watch adults turn into vindictive, snarling children.

Fear not though, I won't be here much longer as I'm really getting boored now. There really aren't that many members here and at that, the majority of posts come from a small hard core group of arrogant bigots that appear to have way too much time on their hands. .
The threats like "we've got our knives out for you" are particularly hilarious..ya, like I really care, right ?

Also the little "scoring system" here is cute.... the little "hate tally" where the "members" get to pile on any "objectionable, non conforming posts that don't meet with their "approval" I imagine at some point the "Grand Wizard of Correct Thought" steps forward and proclaims that the offending poster has garnered enough "hate points" to have his "cyber connection TERMINATED" much to the cheering of the "faithful".

This post will probably be supressed before anyone sees it but if not...This is really a sad and repressive place. Enjoy yourselves in your own little world...a very, very  little world (thank God).

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by: Ronco @ Fri Feb 23, 2007 at 08:32:05 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Oh... (5.00 / 1)

I thought personal attacks were not allowed on this board?  [...] Actually I get a kick out of watching you elitist, self styled "intellectuals" fume and bellow with rage when confronted by dreaded "truth" and "fact" based comments. It's actually quite comical to watch adults turn into vindictive, snarling children.  [...] 
[t]he majority of posts come from a small hard core group of arrogant bigots that appear to have way too much time on their hands.

the irony. 

 

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by: lightiris @ Fri Feb 23, 2007 at 08:48:18 AM CST

[ Parent ]

As if population density had nothing to do with it. (6.00 / 1)

Maybe Massachusetts as flat-lined in population because it's full.  I say that half jokingly, but only New Jersey has a higher population density.  With high density, you've naturally got high pressure on home prices.

Combine that with the state's taxation policy that (a) makes it hard for towns to raise revenue outside of property tax, and (b) makes it hard for towns to be very flexible with their property tax, and all of a sudden the tax on land in Boston et al is incredibly high relative to other large American cities like Chicago, Denver, and Atlanta.  Again, more pressure on the cost of housing.

I don't know why we keep feeding you.

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by: stomv @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 06:47:13 AM CST

[ Parent ]

This is correct. (0.00 / 0)

When I was growing up in the 1960s, a big deal was made of the fact that the "population center" (something like the center of mass) of the US was moving further towards the west (actually, further into the midwest) and south.  Slightly, but ever so. The reason why should have been obvious: the east coast was settled (by Europeans) first, and, before air conditioning was introduced, the south was pretty much environmentally intolerable.  The midwest was largely unsettled, until people started moving there from the east.

As an aside, several years ago, I was wondering why the population of Germany was fairly stagnant, and I did a calculation regarding population density.  I was surprised to find that the population density of the entire country of Germany is about the same as that of the state of Massachusetts.  That pretty much explained the German population stagnation to me.

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by: raj @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 11:30:58 AM CST

[ Parent ]

You are way off (0.00 / 0)

MA has been dominated by Democrats (or at least people calling themselves that) for a very long time. No one is leaving because of that.

But if you think this is such a terrible place, by all means please leave.

I also fail to see why population growth is considered to be automatically good. There is only so much room for highways and roads, so the more people come here, the more cars will be on the road and the worse the congestion will get. No thank you.

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by: HR's Kevin @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:24:06 AM CST

[ Parent ]

it's not automatically good... but (6.00 / 1)

When you look at it in Massachusetts' case, population fluctuations haven't hit each area of the state propotationally. The last census, we didn't lose any seats because - while people were leaivng places like Western Mass in high volumes, Greater Boston had a large enough rate of growth that we were *just* able to keep all our seats.

There really isn't any room for people in the Greater Boston area, but the fact that people are *still* leaving Western Mass, the South Coast, etc. in large numbers (without new people moving in at the same rate) is indicative of problems in those areas. So, the problem isn't actually the population decline - per say - but the correlation that goes with it. There's got to be a reason WHY those people are leaving: expensive housing, better opportunities elsewhere, etc. Those, in effect, are the problem.

Plus, it's always nice to have a state that people actually want to live in.

---
My thoughts are mine and mine alone. They should not be considered representative of any other organization, group or person - save me.

~Ryan.

---

by: Ryepower12 @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:29:43 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Uggh. (5.00 / 1)

I really wish my fellow Democrats would stop saying "if you think this is such a terrible place, by all means leave."

Why not, "If you think this is such a terrible place, by all means let's hear your suggestions for improving it and let's work together on those things we agree need improving."

I hope that when this ridiculous "solution" (just leave) is applied to America as a whole (as has many times throughout history by many on the right) you'll recognize how absurd the suggestion sounds.

---

by: theloquaciousliberal @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:59:44 AM CST

[ Parent ]

I pretty much agree... (0.00 / 0)

...Just to point out, that is the flip-side of the 1960s Republican/conservative mantra "America, love it or leave it" during the Vietnam War.

---

by: raj @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 11:32:59 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Charley, do you REALLY want to say it's 'for the children'? (0.00 / 0)

Would you rather go back to talking about rescinding the agreement with the Federal government that would allow the detaining of illegal aliens who committed a crime for deportation WITHOUT having them first send to MCI Concord?  Or making it more difficult for employers and school districts to run CORI checks on drivers and room monitors?  Or having the solution for increased local aid be giving the towns the power to tax themselves more extensively?

Not to mention that Gov. Patrick is trying to distract us like little children by waving car keys in our faces for which he will reimburse the state $6,516 per year, or $26,064 for all four years. Add that to the $27,000 for furniture and you get $53,064. That is less than we will be paying the part-time wife's scheduler - SEVENTY TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS - each and EVERY year, for a total of over a quarter MILLION dollars for the four years - BEFORE her health insurance, pension and other benefits are calculated!

I really want to see that budget next week.

Yr. Obedient Servant, Peter Porcupine, Republican

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by: Peter Porcupine @ Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 22:30:50 PM CST

I've no particular issue (0.00 / 0)

..with a grand a month for the guv's new sled, he is the state's head honcho, after all.

I can even suck it up for some nice drapes, and a comfy chair or two.

But 72-large a year for some datebook-carrying flack?
Now that really, really fries my nose.

(attribtion to His Honor, the Mayor)

---

by: geo999 @ Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 23:58:42 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I'm looking for a clarification... (5.00 / 1)

One outlet states Mrs Patrick will have an aide "at the cost of $72,000 per year".

I have yet to see an article state that the assistaint's cash-based salaey is $72k/year or that the total cost of compensation for the assistaint (salary+benefits) will equal $72k/year.

Anyone know?

Let me get this straight: Democrats protest war, Republicans protest health care?

---

by: tblade @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 00:54:55 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Mrs. Shwarzenegger's staff cosst Cali +$500,000 (4.67 / 3)

As pointed out by someone else here, having support for the first spouse is not uncommon. Maria Shriver gets a staff costing over $500k including a $123k/year cheif of staff.

So since Diane Patrick earns $0, that means for these particular two people on the governor's staff it costs $72k per year, or $36k each. All this hoopla for people who have yet to really spend one day on the job yet. It reamins to be seen if that money will be well spent and an analysis of their values to the commonwealth remains to be seen.

Let me get this straight: Democrats protest war, Republicans protest health care?

---

by: tblade @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 01:26:45 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Are you trying to (5.00 / 1)

provide context?

You bloggers simply do not understand what real journalists do.

---

by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 07:37:51 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Tbalde - if all your friends jumped off a bridge.... (0.00 / 0)

Why do you advocate importing the practices of a chronically dysfunctional state government, where fiscal sanity has never been a top priotity?

And if Arnold and Maria take that kind of money from the state, considering their joint private circumstances - well, shame on them.  The fact that California is as large as some European nations is only a slight mitigation.

Yr. Obedient Servant, Peter Porcupine, Republican

---

by: Peter Porcupine @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 08:39:08 AM CST

[ Parent ]

I don't disagree (5.00 / 1)

but I did want to point out that California's 33 million people make it larger than all but 6 of the 27 EU countries.  Certainly more than "some".

List of European Union member states by population

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by: stomv @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:21:06 AM CST

[ Parent ]

You seem to have conveniently missed (0.00 / 0)

the link to pages and pages of Google results for other states that provide staff to their governors' spouses.

No, you shouldn't jump into a lake just because a crazy person does it.

But if you're in a room with 50 people all pointing at their flies, it might be time to zip it.

---

by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:29:57 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Or, to flee (6.00 / 1)

---

by: geo999 @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 21:21:28 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I would never say one state's bad behavior excuses... (0.00 / 0)

...any action of Masahcusetts. I am merely pointing out that othr states provide funds for what amounts to an "Office of the First Lady". It seems to be standard practice and the cost of Diane Patrick's "staff" is far from "outrageuos" when seen in context. 

Perhaps our First Lady's office will be a waste of money. Perhaps not. Let's see what type of asset First Lady Patrick is to the community before we lump her in with pike patronage and Billy Bulger no-show jobs type corruption.

Plus, is there any indication that Ms. Shriver is not an asset to California? Perhpas (I don't know) California get's it's money's worth with that $500K investment?

Let me get this straight: Democrats protest war, Republicans protest health care?

---

by: tblade @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 11:01:02 AM CST

[ Parent ]

You're correct... (0.00 / 0)

...as far as I'm concerned, the only questions are (i) what do they do, and (ii) why do they do it.

The Queen of England, and her entourage, exists primarily to foster tourism (mostly from Americans, of course) and secondarily to encourage trade in British goods and services.  If the MA first lady can do half as well at those public relation tasks, the amounts that are expended on her would probably be cheap at twice the cost.

---

by: raj @ Fri Feb 23, 2007 at 09:37:32 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Looking for clarification? (2.00 / 3)

So is everyone else. What happened to the "openess and full disclosure" that Deville promised? Why wasn't this job posted and made available to anyone in the general public? Why was it "awarded" without disclosure or open competition to his former fund raising campaign manager? What's the old standing joke here in the "People's Republic? Why was there no "Nationwide Search?"
Where is the outrage on this liberal board that claims to champion fairness and equal opportunity?
Especially with regard to State employment "good jobs for good pay"
This whole thing reeks of the same old political "hackery" "quid pro quo" that has been going on in this corrupt State forever. Deville is obviouly not one bit different. He surely did things like this in his "high powered" unchallenged executive past life but this guy better get used to the fact that when he blows his nose in the future it will be all over the media. I don't think this guy is going to last 4 years. His ego is much too big to put up with the criticism he's going to face ahead. I can't wait for his next "screw up".
After all he quit ever other job he's ever had.

---

by: Ronco @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 12:00:38 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Again, no context (0.00 / 0)

This hire is, once again, taken out of context.

How many people did Romney have working for him? What did they all do? For all I know Romney may have been paying someone $72k to do his hair and makeup every day.

How much did Romney spend on redecorating? Surely he must have changed some things after Jane Swift left?

We don't know because the press never questioned him or the lines in his budget.

It's easy to harp on something taken out of context, but without the context of the spending patterns of prior administrations, we don't know if the mostly Republican screamers here are being honest or hypocrites.

---

by: NoPolitician @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 09:08:01 AM CST

[ Parent ]

NoPol - As noted on another thread... (5.00 / 3)

...Romney furnished the Corner Office at his own expense, without prompting, due in no small part to the budget crisis at the time.  So - while the press may have questioned him, they certainly weren't going to print THAT story.  There was no scandal, and the taint of generosity.

Romney did take some criticism for raising the salaries of some of his top aides - and he compensated for it by not taking a paycheck himself for four years.  Again, no real scandal.

As I noted elsewhere, Deval needs to understand that he is following a pretty much unprecedented frugality.  No Ed King at Dini's during the Romney years.  Even his original claim that he spurned the Governor's car because the heater didn't work (and I love the line that it didn't bother Romney becasue he was a reptile!) hints at somebody who is careful to the point of being cheap.

And Coupe DeValle has been exceptionally tin-eared about this, betraying the fact that he not only has never held public office before, he hasn't run for it either.

Yr. Obedient Servant, Peter Porcupine, Republican

---

by: Peter Porcupine @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 09:55:54 AM CST

[ Parent ]

"Coupe Devalle?" (0.00 / 0)

Just call him D-Diddy and be done with it.

It's never far beneath the surface with you people.

---

by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 11:28:07 AM CST

[ Parent ]

"You People"? (3.00 / 1)

Yr. Obedient Servant, Peter Porcupine, Republican

---

by: Peter Porcupine @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 12:58:38 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Who typed your post? (3.00 / 3)

Frank the invisible rabbit?

---

by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 14:54:20 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I don't get it. (0.00 / 0)

This may be another "naive white guy" moment for me but I don't get what your point is here.

Is there something particuarly "black" about Cadillacs or Coupe De Ville's that I've never heard of?

---

by: theloquaciousliberal @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 14:01:32 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Um, (3.00 / 1)

Yes.

---

by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 14:49:57 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Citation, please? (0.00 / 0)

Peter, no offense, but you've posted at least a half-dozen "certainties" (according to you) that later turned out to be 100% false. No mea culpas either. So I'd like a citation, because I don't believe what comes out of your mouth.

---

by: NoPolitician @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 15:55:38 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Aims to Please. (0.00 / 0)

Here's a 2003 story from downthread which talks about the raises for aides in return for no salary -

http://www.findartic...

About the furniture - from the Herald in 2004 -

http://pqasb.pqarchi...

Although he requested, he did not get, and bought his own stuff.

And from the recent Globe story -

In his statement, Patrick said he replaced items that Romney had personally owned and taken with him when he left office. But Romney left behind drapes, a desk, and other furniture, according to Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for the former governor. Kyle Sullivan, Patrick's press secretary, later said that the drapes left behind had fallen off the wall because of crumbling plaster.

The governor's aides declined to provide a breakdown of the costs of the furniture. An administration source who asked not to be named confirmed that the drapes cost $10,000.

I do not think PATRICK would be covering up for Romney's making off with the furniture in a felonious manner.

This is a quick search. 


Yr. Obedient Servant, Peter Porcupine, Republican

---

by: Peter Porcupine @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 16:13:15 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Salary did not help taxpayers (0.00 / 0)

Romney spent that money for higher salaries for his staff, the end result for taxpayers? Nada.  The money was not given back, he SPENT IT!

Romney had positions in 2003 that were $130,000 under Swift and bumped them up to $150,000.  Getting the hacks the cash because you are a multi-millionaire is not something to point to as an achievement.

Listening to Charlie Baker talk about fiscal responsibility is like getting lectured on abstinence from Paris Hilton - Tim Murray

---

by: johnk @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 21:09:48 PM CST

[ Parent ]

John - HOW many staffers would he have had to bump up by $20,000 to use up the entire salary? (0.00 / 0)

Net - cost the Comonwealth less.

Yr. Obedient Servant, Peter Porcupine, Republican

---

by: Peter Porcupine @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 22:40:05 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Another error by Peter. (0.00 / 0)

This is what I mean, Peter, when I asked for citations. That article (or what I could read, since it pointed to a paid archive) said two things:

1) Romney requested $25,000 to furnish his office. Sounds like a direct contradiction of your statement.

2) Barbara Anderson said that Romney was entitled to new furniture because he waived his salary.

[It's really interesting what that salary waiver bought Mitt. People are citing that waiver for his higher staff costs, higher furniture costs, and higher transportation costs, as well as excusing him for being out of the state for 200+ days last year (as in "well, we weren't paying him...").]

The date helped me though; I searched the Globe archives and found an article that contained this sentence:

Governor Mitt Romney's administration is planning to spend about $25,000 to replace furniture in his office and nearby lobby and common areas, officials said yesterday. The furniture was replaced by Governor Michael S. Dukakis in 1987, and Romney replaced some with his own money last year.

So Peter, once again, you posted a half-truth. Although Romney replaced some furniture, he also requested $25k from the state to replace more. And that is exactly in line with what Deval Patrick spent.

Plus, the tone of the articles was amazingly different. In that Herald article, they just about joked about Romney spending $25k on furnishings. Same goes for the Globe article. Patrick spent $27k four years later and it's as if he broke into some taxpayer's house to take the money.

Why the difference?

---

by: NoPolitician @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 23:26:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]

get a clue? (0.00 / 0)

When the Governor spends more on drapes than I do on a semester of graduate school (I don't pay full price, but still) then that is a legitimate story.  When he hires a chief of staff (does this mean there will be more staff to follow?) for his wife at nearly the median income for a family of 4 in the state, then thats a story.  You list several priorities that are legitimate needs in this State.  Given half a second anyone on BMG could rattle off a dozen more. 

If he bought these things when the state was flush with cash, it might not have been a big deal, but we are facing a $1 billion budget deficet, and he has still yet to show us how he will put more cops on the street and cut property taxes.  If he wasn't asking every department to identify 5%-10% to cut, then it wouldn't matter as much that he had lavish tastes and expected the state to pay for it.

Finally, BMG has spent plenty of bandwith on Scott Brown's potty mouth.  I don't think you've got anything to gripe about there.

somewhere over the rainbow

---

by: Kai @ Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 22:31:39 PM CST

It doesn't mean more staff (0.00 / 0)

I posted a comment earlier, google "governor first lady staff" and you'll get a list on states with their staffing.  Much of it is a Chief of Staff or Director.  Staffing is done for all, for the ones who do not have a dedicate hire the Governor's staff does the work.  The point is that there is tax funded staff that handles scheduling for the first lady.  Whether you want it hidden within the Governor's staff with one or multiple persons or a direct hire that many Governors do, it's always done.  So to complain out this make absolutely no sense.  I don't think Romney shopped at IKEA.

Listening to Charlie Baker talk about fiscal responsibility is like getting lectured on abstinence from Paris Hilton - Tim Murray

---

by: johnk @ Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 22:41:47 PM CST

[ Parent ]

But not here.. (5.00 / 1)

Here, it hasn't been since Dukakis that anyone was hired in this fashion.

And its not just that they hired another staff member, its the level of pay, and who they selected. Hack job for former campaign member.

If this were Weld or Romney, you guys would be all over him.

If you stood back and looked at the big picture, you would see this for what it is, instead you are refusing to take off your rose-colored glasses. In the last week I've heard from a number of people who are questioning their vote now.

And Charlie's attempt to accuse anyone who questions Patrick of being a racist is disgusting. It weakens the real fight against true racism.


Dracut Forum a small town with a big future

---

by: Shawn A @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 05:48:44 AM CST

[ Parent ]

You're not reading (0.00 / 0)

As has already been explained, taxpayers always paid for staff for the governor's wife. Previous governors buried the expense in their personal staff budget. That's all.

---

by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 07:36:02 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Cut the hysterics (6.00 / 6)

When the Governor spends more on drapes than I do on a semester of graduate school

Don't pant, dear, it raises your blood pressure. Sad to say, that is what drapes cost these days. Why, just last week, I was at Target looking for 12-foot neoclassical curtains for Bullfinch windows in the Isaak Mizrahi collection, and they told me they didn't have any! Could you imagine?

And in a world where one can easily pay $10,000 or more for a single couch, the furniture was hardly "lavish." The prices reported in today's Globe were right in line for decent furniture. While, as a grad student, you doubtless have humbler tastes, don't you agree it might have raised a few eyebrows to replace the collapsing furniture in the governor's office with beanbag chairs and crushed Dorito bags?

When he hires a chief of staff for his wife at nearly the median income for a family of 4

As a caveat, I wasn't able to find typical staff salaries for gubenatorial aides. However, if you are under the impression that $72,000 is a "lavish" salary for a professional in Boston--or even a cop--you either have a delightful surprise ahead of you when you get out of grad school, or you have chosen to specialize in the cultural anthropology of the Kapauku Papuans. Goodness, the city of Somerville is looking to pay someone $50,000 to send out snow alerts.

I do understand why it's so important to pretend the governor's expenditures were "lavish." After all, "Governor Spends Average Amount for Furniture and Car!" hardly makes a good headline, now does it?

Now, breathe into this paper bag, you'll feel better.

---

by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 08:15:22 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Reminder to self (5.67 / 3)

Don't get on Steverino's bad side.

---

by: KBusch @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 09:03:14 AM CST

[ Parent ]

omg i love you (0.00 / 0)

that was the snarkiest, best post I've ever read. I literally didn't stop laughing the entire time. I love how truth is funnier than fiction.

---
My thoughts are mine and mine alone. They should not be considered representative of any other organization, group or person - save me.

~Ryan.

---

by: Ryepower12 @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 09:32:28 AM CST

[ Parent ]

pant, pant (3.50 / 2)

$10,000 for a couch?  Please.  My Wrangler, brand new, cost me $15,000.  Anyone who drops ten large on a couch is not spending an "average" amount.  At Jordans I didn't find anything over $3,000, very little over $2,000 and lots under $1,000. 

The whole idea of the Caddy is that it is a cut above, and not for the "average" person.  No one in my family drives anything close to one.  I'm working now full time in a professional job and don't come anywhere close to $72k, and my job is more than 40 hours a week.  How many hours is this hack for the first lady going to put in?  Its not like scheduling the occasional speaking engagement for a woman who already works at a high powered law firm will be a strenuous job.

somewhere over the rainbow

---

by: Kai @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 13:38:34 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Patrick's couches (0.00 / 0)

cost only $2,235 each, according to today's Globe. We eagerly await your congratulations for his frugality.

I'm working now full time in a professional job and don't come anywhere close to $72k

No comment.

---

by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 13:51:28 PM CST

[ Parent ]

No one in your family drives any thing close? (0.00 / 0)

...Well, is anyone in your family the executive officer of an entire state? No? Then the comparison is apples and oranges.  Sure, the Cadilac is not for the average person, he's the Governor.  It's not the average job. It doesn't have the average rsponsibilities. 

"It's not like [being Diane Patrick's Assistaint] will be a strenuous job?"

Do you have insight and an actual job description you would like to share with us? You know for a fact that this person will only be scheduling occasional speaking engagements for Mrs. Patrick? These are not facetious questions; it just seems that everyone read the word "assistant" and filled in all the blanks using the image of a simple coffee go-fer. It seems that many other states have an "Office of the First Lady"; if you think $72k is too steep for the staff of the Office of the First Lady, than based on what other state spend for the equivelent office, what would you propose Massachusetts spend?

Let me get this straight: Democrats protest war, Republicans protest health care?

---

by: tblade @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 14:19:58 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Some perspective from my own blog.... (5.00 / 1)

"To put this into perspective, a Chief of Staff for a Legislative Committee, responsible for arranging all hearings, vetting all bills, arranging notification for testimony, providing the Chair with research and analysis - this responsible postion is paid less than $40,000. Yet Diane Patrick needs somebody paid twice as much to verify her speaking engagement with the Urban League. "

Yr. Obedient Servant, Peter Porcupine, Republican

---

by: Peter Porcupine @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 14:30:44 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Finally, something relevant (0.00 / 0)

Why didn't anyone say that to begin with?  Seems alot more useful than the hysterics of "Agghhh!, the First Lady has a $72K/year assistaint! Hacks gone wild! The sky is falling." Someone should run down of similar positions/salaries in the State House.

Peter, I would have given you a 6 if you could back up the claim that the assistaint's only responsibility is going to be verifying appointments. I'm not saying I know otherwise, just would like to see the criticism backed up is all.

Let me get this straight: Democrats protest war, Republicans protest health care?

---

by: tblade @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 14:38:14 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Peter, (0.00 / 0)

Where, if you happen to know, can one find salaries for other State House types? And how often does a Legislative Committee Chief of Staff work? Is it a 9-5, year round?

Let me get this straight: Democrats protest war, Republicans protest health care?

---

by: tblade @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 14:59:30 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Yes to the 9-5 year round part. (0.00 / 0)

They are not published.  You have to ask them.  I happen to know more then one.

The Legislature's staff is one big lump sum in the budget.  I would imagine Rep. DeLeo's aide got a bump when he want from 3rd Reading to Ways & Means, but you'd have to ask Toby yourself.  I was speaking of a less sexy, normal impact committee, in the range of Public Safety or Government Affairs.

During the dark Finneran years, the Leg. aides were all paid $28,000 - no COLA, no raise, no hope.  Admin. aides and Rep. Chief of Staff slightly more - say, $35,000.  The Committee Chiefs vary with responsibility, but few if any are in the $72,000 range (as the Legislators themselves don't make that much!).

As far as your difficulty question goes - you know what I do.  The new post is described as a scheduler.  That, frankly, is a job for the left hand.  You sort the unending stream of invites into yes, no, maybe - check with the boss - and if you can drive Outlook and know how to hotsynch, you're set.  Some are also set to scouring the MPG papers, in seach of chowder suppers and Girl Scout graduations for the Rep. to crash and make a nice appearance at.  One philosophy is to put everything on the calendar, color code actual accepted invites, and then have possibilities for every moment of every day, should you feel like being Representative.

Or so I've heard.

But I'm sorry - 72 large to a political fundraiser for continuing to work her Rolodex seems, well, excessive.  Especially when there's all thos Suffolk kids just dying to get into the building.

Yr. Obedient Servant, Peter Porcupine, Republican

---

by: Peter Porcupine @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 15:12:38 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Would this be of any relevance, perhaps? (0.00 / 0)

Romney, who campaigned on a pledge to bring a business mentality to state government, has said that he has difficulty recruiting top advisers because of low public-sector wages. He said he would use the forfeited salary to pay some members of his staff up to $150,000. The highest staff salary in the governor's office is currently $130,000.

Oh my Lord. Really, I am having just too much fun on this thread. I think I have to run to the restroom now.

---

by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 15:08:04 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I didn't say it was average (0.00 / 0)

Steverino did:

"Governor Spends Average Amount for Furniture and Car!"

I don't think the state should spend anything on her office.  She wasn't elected to anything.  If she wants a bill moved, who is going to have more sway - some hack with a Statehouse office or her herself, in bed with the Governor each night.  If some outside group wants her, and not him, to speak at an event let her schedule it herself.  We shouldn't have to be paying for this, regardless of what other states are doing.

somewhere over the rainbow

---

by: Kai @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 17:09:03 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Yikes! (0.00 / 0)

Kai - Even I have more respect for Gov. Patrick than that.  I do not think Gov. officials make serous decisions based on pillow talk except on television.

Yr. Obedient Servant, Peter Porcupine, Republican

---

by: Peter Porcupine @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 19:29:52 PM CST

[ Parent ]

perhaps not (0.00 / 0)

to any great extent, but I stand by the point that she wasn't elected to anything and we shouldn't be paying for her to have a staff.

somewhere over the rainbow

---

by: Kai @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 20:50:19 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Any idea that we pay for Laura Bush's staff. (0.00 / 0)

All other states have a staff for the first lady?  Is it just this administration that you have a problem with or others.  So why haven't you address this sooner.  You seem to have strong feelings about this topic.  Why haven't we heard from you before?

Looks to me that we got a deal for the chief of staff:

LA Times - Daniel Zingale, chief of staff to first lady Maria Shriver, received a $25,000 campaign bonus, supplementing his state salary of $123,000.

Listening to Charlie Baker talk about fiscal responsibility is like getting lectured on abstinence from Paris Hilton - Tim Murray

---

by: johnk @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 21:23:34 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I don't like that much either (0.00 / 0)

but first ladies of the US all had more substantive duties to perform than Mrs. Patrick does.  Granted, most of them run along the lines of picking a theme for the White House Christmas decorations or picking the official china for the administration, but at least there is something for her to do.  I don't think the first lady of Massachusetts has anything similar.

Its not just this administration I have a problem with.  If Romney had done the same thing I would have complained about Ann.  If Gabrielli had won I would complain about a staff for Hillary.  I've got high hopes for the new governor, but he hasn't shown me much yet.

somewhere over the rainbow

---

by: Kai @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 22:39:09 PM CST

[ Parent ]

This all started with that damn Eleaneor Roosevelt... (0.00 / 0)

Yr. Obedient Servant, Peter Porcupine, Republican

---

by: Peter Porcupine @ Fri Feb 23, 2007 at 16:00:07 PM CST

[ Parent ]

I suspect that, whatever was spent on the couch, that the couch was... (0.00 / 0)

...commercial grade, such as would be found in a hotel lobby or such.  That kind of furnishing is a whole different level of quality--durability and the like--and is subject to a whole different price structure.

Let me ask you this.  Did you bitch and moan as much as you are doing now when John "I was anointed with Crisco oil" Ashcroft, the former US Attorney General under Shrub, had the federal government spend US$8000 on a drape merely to cover a boob on a metal statue so that it wouldn't show when he was giving televised appearances in the foyer of the Department of Justice building?  He did do that, you know.  Or are you merely reserving your bitching and moaning for Deval Patrick?

---

by: raj @ Fri Feb 23, 2007 at 01:15:32 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Hear, hear (0.00 / 0)

Thank you Charley.

---

by: KBusch @ Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 22:42:00 PM CST

Thank you! (6.00 / 2)

The whole story about drapes is, well, window dressing.

---

by: afertig @ Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 23:02:50 PM CST

when do we hold the Governor responsible? (5.33 / 6)

I'd like to start off by saying I've been a Patrick supporter from very early on, as well as a fan of BMG. I agree that the decibel level of this story is a reflection on the media's enthusiasm for sensationalism, but that we already knew. More troublingly, and more interestingly, it showcases how green Deval and his advisers seem to be. Regardless of the legitimacy of the stories, they were nothing if not predictable. Now Patrick has spent significant political captital on this garbage, when he need that capital for what will be a very challenging budget debate, and perhaps more challenging implementation of Chapter 58. With regard to this site, the lack of criticism, constructive or otherwise, of the governor by the Editorial Board, is becoming painful. Your defense of Patrick rings more hollow each time you refuse to grant any grounds for criticism. He has made a mess of his first weeks in office, and it is not the globe, but his team which is responsible. The Globe was here long before Patrick and any governor (or other executive or legislative officer) who wants to be effective has to be ready to deal with, react to, and generally contend w/ the dreaded MSM. Perhaps like the Patrick Administration, BMG has struggled to get out of campaign...supporters of Deval no longer need to defend him rhetorically from all sides so as to keep him in front at the finish. Rather, we need to have very high expectations and hold him accountable accordingly. That includes a compentent communications staff, and not having your drapes be newsworthy.

---

by: davisdemocrat @ Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 23:09:26 PM CST

Right on! (5.00 / 1)

Exactly.  The bias of BMG is so obvious here it is nauseating. 

Disclaimers first. I'm a unapologetic liberal, a big Deval supporter (despite him being too conservative for my tastes) and a big fan of BMG.  And I agree that much of this nonsense has been given way to much attention by the MSM.

However,  the Governor (and, more importantly, his communications staff) have reacted to this "news" incompetently, naively, defensively and foolishly.  First it's "they don't even make Crown Vics anymore", then "I'm way to important and busy to concern myself with trivial details like the car I drive in every day and the furnishings for the office I work in every day", and then (worst of all) "Okay, I understand you fools obviously hink this is important so I'll just pay for it all myself and you'll go away." 

I want a Governor (and a Governor's staff) that is wiser, more thoughtful, more cautious, more articulate and more "big picture" than the "every man."  But I certainly don't want a Governor who pulls out the checkbook to solve his communications gaffes.  And I certainly don't want a Governor who thinks paying for his own fancy drapes his "doing his part" to balance the budget.

I'm pretty damn sure many, many people are as disgusted as I am by the Governor's "noblesse oblige" attitude to this "little stuff."

---

by: theloquaciousliberal @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 09:08:57 AM CST

[ Parent ]

it's hard to get (5.00 / 1)

Big Picture Deval, when the media is busy turning him into defensive mode. He was on a roll with his proposals for changes to town-state relationships, then the Globe realized that "Deval Buys Fairly Expensive Window Drapes" could sell more newspapers.

---
My thoughts are mine and mine alone. They should not be considered representative of any other organization, group or person - save me.

~Ryan.

---

by: Ryepower12 @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 09:36:12 AM CST

[ Parent ]

How to get out of "defensive mode"? (5.00 / 1)

Get a communications team that knows what they are doing.

I don't blame teh Governor.  He's obviously out-of-touch with the "common man" (those of us who drive 1993 Honda Civics and are more concerned about where the next mortgage payment is coming from than our drapes) but we should have known that when we elected a multi-millionaire.

I honestly didn't expect his staff to be so clueless though.  They should have advised him to shut-up, get back to work and put the checkbook away.  They have a professional obligation to quickly devise a much more effective counter-attack strategy than has been displayed so far.

I don't want a "BYO Governor" and I certainly don't want him wasting his time on trivial decisions. 

But I do want one who's wise enough to hire a staff that understands how to stay on message, apologize effectively and change the subject.

"I apologize and here's how it is being fixed." is a lot different than "I am so sorry that we all have spent the kind of time we have on what we have spent time on, and I am sorry to have been responsible for that."

---

by: theloquaciousliberal @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:01:51 AM CST

[ Parent ]

"when do we hold the Governor responsible?" (0.00 / 0)

um.

When he does something?

---

by: Trickle up @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 09:44:57 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Oooh...shiny! (6.00 / 1)

For that matter, am I the only one still wondering about the whole Aqua Teen hunger Force thing?  Are those two freed?  Arrested?  Have we figured out whythese people overreacted so pathetically?  I don't want a fall guy, but I want to hear something that convinces me that someone somewhere learned from that experience.

There's plenty of blame to go around.  Yes, the press is playing the Kool Kidz game.  And Deval so far is attempting to play tackle football without any pads.

~~~~
Believe it or not, I have even more to say...

---

by: sabutai @ Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 23:13:51 PM CST

Emily Rooney just reported on "Greater Boston" (6.00 / 2)

to the nodding agreement of Paul Cellucci's Republican press secretary, that the curtains were falling off the wall in the office--and that a table collapsed under the weight of a book at a press event the week before the furniture arrived.

You heard me. A press event. Which none of its attendees reported on.

The press knows exactly what they're doing--playing their "outraged" readers and viewers for fools.

---

by: steverino @ Wed Feb 21, 2007 at 23:49:00 PM CST

I've pretty much stopped paying attention to... (0.00 / 0)

...the opinion-related bloviations of Jon Keller, and, quite frankly, to most of the other people in the American advertising-driven media (which includes most media, including public TV and radio). 

As far as I can tell Keller had some "x" number of minutes to fill between commercials for "this" pill and "that" nose-strip, and he had to fill them with something--anything.  And this was the idiotic thing that he filled those minutes with.

Understand: the purpose of advertising-driven media in the USofA is to provide a bit of entertainment to get people to watch the advertisements, and that's it.  The customers of advertising-driven media are not the listeners or viewers.  The customers are the people who pay the bills--the advertisers.  Jon Keller was the dancing monkey that the station put on to get people to stay to watch the advertising.

---

by: raj @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 02:14:31 AM CST

Blame the press, blame anyone (5.00 / 3)

Just don't blame Deval

This is an outrage and not of the press' making

People are tired of this and wanted change

Now they get the same old BS from Patrick

Give us a break

---

by: Paul Jamieson @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 06:10:54 AM CST

Except. (5.00 / 1)

Patrick hasn't had much time to actually govern.

And he's already being defrocked as a hypocrite.

The only thing I blame Patrick for is not recognizing that you guys were just chomping at the bit to take him down a notch.

What a hoax.

---

by: raweel @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 06:23:39 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Where's the plan? (0.00 / 0)

The Governor and BMG can get all high and mighty about the media's failure to focus on the important stuff.  But the media needs to be fed.  Give them some news.  "I'm working really hard on a budget" is not going to make a headline or lead the nightly news.  Who cares?  Where are the initiatives?  The innovative plans or new ideas?

It's not just the Caddy and the curtains.  The CORI issue, the local taxation stuff, these are not the issues to lead of your days as Governor.

Where is the strategic communications plan for the Governor?  What's the Governor's message of the day or the week?  Where are the events and announcements that support those initiatives and messages? 

Yes, this is the kind of communications discipline that Romney excelled at.  It was the only thing he did well, so people caught on.  Patrick's a more substantial guy.  But that does not excuse him from the need to use his pulpit to start shaping the public agenda. 

It won't make the bad stuff go away, but it will provide some counter-prgramming.  It will also give his supporters soemthing to cling to.

If the budget is what is occupying him, he should have already begun the unveiling process.  For example, preview an educational intiative that will be in the budget.  A public safety intiative tomorrow.  Fire these news hits off with precision leading up to the final unveiling next week. 

That's how it's done folks.  Stop whining.

---

by: Metawampe @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 08:21:01 AM CST

Now there, (0.00 / 0)

I agree with you. Whirlpool isn't the only one whose job it is to manage a spin cycle.

Reagan did it with his silly midnight swearing-in as California's governor. Spitzer is doing it now; he addresses the New York State Senate like they're the French at Agincourt.

And it's not just about feeding the press; it's about taming them. There are snakes in the corps who have been out to get Patrick ever since he launched his "straight to the people" campaign, denizens of the same reptile park that brought us Al Gore, Internet inventor. Hell hath no fury like Andrea Estes scorned.

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by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 08:46:08 AM CST

[ Parent ]

I agree (0.00 / 0)

I am a big fan of Deval's and root for him to do well, but I'm worried he's stumbling out of the gate. Early Clinton syndrome, to a degree.

He needed to hit the ground running with the specifics people thought he lacked in the campaign. And he needed to build some good press before his budget cuts are announced.

He looks and sounds like a novice, I'm sorry to say. Maybe he'll hit a home run with the budget, but does anyone think he's got a magic formula for doing more with less? If you don't like the news now, how will it be when budget cuts are announced?

The knock against him in the campaign was that he was building unrealistic expectations, using symbolism, but no specific backup for how he was going to do it.

Now many here are knocking the press for holding him to unrealistic expectations, focusing on symbolic issues and not covering specific and serious topics.

He's not done, but he needs to do better. It'll be great to read Philips story someday about how far Patrick has come since his early days when he bungled his way through the Cadillac and Curtains days.


------------------------------

I am noternie.

More than a full year's worth of blogginess at  Someday I Will.

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by: noternie @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 09:15:44 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Why not? (5.00 / 1)

The CORI issue, the local taxation stuff, these are not the issues to lead of your days as Governor.

Why not? Because Republicans don't agree with his position on those issues? He got nearly 60% of the vote, he doesn't need to govern to appease the Republicans in this state.

In my opinion Patrick is right on the CORI issue -- a crime, or even being accused of a crime should not be a life sentence with respect to employment. CORI data should be segregated to relevant information to relevant parties.

In my opinion Patrick is right on extending the option of towns to diversify their revenue streams. We've seen property taxes going through the roof when state aid is frozen, and a reliance on state aid by cities that have low property values even though those cities house a lot of commercial activity (including restaurants). Patrick ran on that plank, why shouldn't he try and implement it?

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by: NoPolitician @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:08:41 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Because (6.00 / 5)

Being Governor is apparently like being in prison.  The trick is to kick someone's ass on the first day.

.08 Acres
.0000016% of Massachusetts Political Commentary

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by: sco @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:17:02 AM CST

[ Parent ]

YES!!! (0.00 / 0)

Excellent point. And not far from the truth, I think.

------------------------------

I am noternie.

More than a full year's worth of blogginess at  Someday I Will.

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by: noternie @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:18:53 AM CST

[ Parent ]

You missed the point (0.00 / 0)

Yes, and Clinton was right (initially) on gays in the military.  The lead-off issues can define you.  The point here is all about sequencing and emphasis.  Though CORI and local-option taxes are legit issues, they are, at the core, about criminals and taxes. Many Patrick voters were excited by his big message, but few were motivated by his stance on CORI and new opportunties for taxation, I suspect.  And the great middle that went along with the tide?  If this how he wants to lead off, they might get disillusioned -- and fast.

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by: Metawampe @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 13:58:45 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Clinton (0.00 / 0)

did not put "gays in the military" first on his agenda. The Republicans did.

You might want to think about that for a minute.

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by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 14:07:05 PM CST

[ Parent ]

the problem with that is.. (0.00 / 0)

you air a plan before you have all your kinks left out and then everyone gets so outraged at all the minute details that, by the time the public weighs it, all the truly revolutionary ideas in it are - poof - gone. That's why I'm a big fan, when it comes to stuff like budgets, to come up with something concrete than you can defend vigorously - before you let all the flood gates open.

It may be that we can only have a Deval Patrick or a Mitt Romney. Do we want someone to spend their time on substantative issues - or real window dressing, PR of the first order? I'm going to take the person who actually wants to role up his sleeves.

The media was clearly getting pissed off, and now they smell blood in the water. However, it wasn't Deval Patrick that's the problem - it's the media. How we fix those craptastic "journalists" I don't know... but I'm very open to ideas.

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My thoughts are mine and mine alone. They should not be considered representative of any other organization, group or person - save me.

~Ryan.

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by: Ryepower12 @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:37:16 AM CST

[ Parent ]

No, that IS how you do it (0.00 / 0)

Looks like the Gov's people have figured out how to use the impending budget to take the initiative and re-focus the media.  Patrick just unveiled the property tax relief plan that will be in his budget bill.  What's the leading political story right now on the radio, boston.com, etc.? Hint:  It ain't the Caddy.  Or the curtains.

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by: Metawampe @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 13:38:37 PM CST

[ Parent ]

A populist, right? (0.00 / 0)

Let's grant everyone's point that the media's nose for the news is easily led astray by the faintest aroma of scandal.

Now let's consider that a wealthy former corporate attorney had the stones to be running as a populist in the first place. Meaning what? That he likes people? That out of a profound commitment to economic and social justice he feels that the work of government should be oriented specifically toward the least wealthy among us? So far, it looks a lot closer to the former. Hence moves like the five-city inauguration, the velvet rope, the elevator, et cetera. All symbols, no substance. But they're important symbols nonetheless, because the governed have a right to expect access to the people doing the governing.

But once that access is granted, what do the governed find? A man who seems to have no natural sympathy for the sort of people who view a $10,000+ expenditure on drapes and chairs not merely as a waste of public funds (though it clearly is) but as proof-positive of a decidedly anti-populist cast of mind. "How can I get my work done surrounded by Ikea?" he must be asking himself. "How can I ask other heads of state to sit on anything less than a $1500 wingback? And what about my wife? Is she supposed to teach herself how to use a Palm Pilot?" The answers are, respectively: you'll deal; so will your office guests; and she can do what she wants... with her own money.

How can he give a rat's ass about such considerations? (For those who suggest, probably correctly, that Patrick had no direct input into the decorating choices, I propose that a truly populist governor might have added to the bottom of all job postings: "If you're the kind of person who thinks my administration needs to spend a lot of money on office decor, then this isn't the job for you.") Someone who sneezes at thousands of dollars in frills is not likely to begin the policy process by asking himself what its material effects will be on the working class. But then who cares about material effects? That's just food, clothing, shelter, and other baubles that we here in the "new" economy needn't trifle with. We can just dress ourselves in civic engagement, go to bed every night in a house made of access, and nourish ourselves with heaping spoonful after heaping spoonful of populism.

Jeremy

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by: JeremyBThompson @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 08:54:29 AM CST

I marvel at your telepathic powers to read Deval's mind (5.00 / 1)

as well as your ability to ask how a black man who grew up in the Chicago projects can consider himself a populist.

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by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 08:58:55 AM CST

[ Parent ]

No need to marvel. (0.00 / 0)

I can share the secret of my ability to ask how a black man who grew up in the projects can consider himself a populist. I'm able to consider... wait for it... the possibility... are you sitting down?... that somebody can forget his upbringing. (Yes! Even a black man.)

All the more so when economic growth and personal wealth are proffered as the best measures of success, which they indubitably are. After all, he didn't take a law job with the Poor People's Human Rights Campaign. Or ACORN. He took one with Coke. Why? To ensure that the rights of one of the planet's giant companies are safeguarded. That, and he wanted to get rich.

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by: JeremyBThompson @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:16:43 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Well, then, (0.00 / 0)

if it could be true, it must be true.

You seem to have enormous trouble distinguishing between your imagination and reality.

That, and a smelly hat, will get you a quarter outside the B of A in Harvard Square.

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by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:40:33 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Rather than insulting me, (0.00 / 0)

why don't you begin from observed reality - his career as a corporate attorney, his expensive tastes - and work your way up to your contention that his populist instinct remains as finely honed as you claim it was is in youth?

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by: JeremyBThompson @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:51:21 AM CST

[ Parent ]

I'm not insulting you. (6.00 / 2)

You're just losing.

Otherwise you would not have found it necessary to Photoshop out of Patrick's resume his little stint as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, his assistance drafting South Africa's civil rights laws, his largest-in-history investigation of the arson of black churches, and his oversight of the race discrimination settlement at Texaco.

"Expensive tastes?" By your criteria, we'd certainly have to dismiss the populism of a privileged child of a rich ambassador or a man who rides around in a top hat with a cigarette holder.

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by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 11:20:35 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Here is the presumption... (5.50 / 2)

....that is fueling the whole "scandal" -

A man who seems to have no natural sympathy for the sort of people who view a $10,000+ expenditure on drapes and chairs not merely as a waste of public funds (though it clearly is) but as proof-positive of a decidedly anti-populist cast of mind.

I disagree with your assertion that any of these expenditures are wasteful when viewed objectively:

1. The drapes:  They are not for Patrick's vacation home.  They are for the Governor's Office at the State House.  This is where Patrick and all subsequent governors will meet and entertain other state executives, elected federal officials, the occasional head of state, constituents, etc.  This office should not evoke Versailles but should be reasonably well appointed.  The amount spent on the drapes was appropirate and they should last, if properly cared for for a very long time.

2.  The furniture for the office: same as the comment above. 

3.  The car: I don't buy into the concept, first off, that a cadillac is synonymous with excess or wealth but Patrick has agreed to reimburse the Commonwealth so the point is now moot.

4.  The assistant to the first lady:  As has been pointed out previously, this duty was always performed, it was just absorbed into the budget for the Governor's office and not discretely disclosed.  One could make the argument that Patrick has done the Commonwealth a service by making this expense more transparent.  Further, a State's First Lady has obligations and coordination of these duties is not an improper expenditure and we are happy to pay for such things both with federal dollars and in most other states.  This is a non issue, especially if the Governor's overall budget is not out of line with best practices. 

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by: anthony @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 09:15:53 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Transparency (6.00 / 1)

You raise a very telling point. One reason that we may not have transparency in government is that a lot of the things that are standardly done -- even for good reason -- can lead to the sort of resentment-fueled media bonfires beloved of Jeff Jacoby, the Boston Herald (is that a newspaper?), and bimbo/himbo news anchors.

After a century of being babied, we have to be careful not to go on a whining fit when we learn how things have been done all these years.

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by: KBusch @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 09:51:28 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Reminds me of (0.00 / 0)

people who complain about the cost of the toilet on the Space Shuttle, without stopping to consider that is rather difficult to find a commode at Home Depot that vaccums your buttocks to the seat.

Though, if they had one, I might buy it for Andrea Estes.

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by: steverino @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:49:54 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Do an entirely different set (0.00 / 0)

of physical laws pertain to the Governor's Office? Because I think I can appreciate the need for a step up from an off-the-shelf American Standard when we're talking about outer space. But on Beacon Hill?

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by: JeremyBThompson @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:57:18 AM CST

[ Parent ]

Jermy - consider the required Commode CAPACITY alone when on Bacon Hill.. (0.00 / 0)

Yr. Obedient Servant, Peter Porcupine, Republican

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by: Peter Porcupine @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:59:56 AM CST

[ Parent ]

People seem... (0.00 / 0)

...to be confusing the Governors Office with Patrick's office.  Does Patrick's office need to be appointed in the way that it has been?  NO.  Does the Governor of the Commonwealth of MA's office need to be thusly appointed?  I say, yes.  I am comforable with this expenditure.  Annually, no.  Every new governor, maybe but it would depend.  Every 10 years or so, definitely.  A little pomp to go with the circumstance is not bad. 

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by: anthony @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 11:04:19 AM CST

[ Parent ]

In other words (0.00 / 0)

You reserve your right to raise hell the next time someone who isn't your guy is elected.

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by: CentralMassDad @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 14:01:03 PM CST

[ Parent ]

No.... (0.00 / 0)

....actually that is the complete opposite of what I said.  And how are you so sure it'll be a guy?

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by: anthony @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 14:07:12 PM CST

[ Parent ]

We are not "happy" about it. (0.00 / 0)

1. The drapes:  They are not for Patrick's vacation home.  They are for the Governor's Office at the State House.  This is where Patrick and all subsequent governors will meet and entertain other state executives, elected federal officials, the occasional head of state, constituents, etc.  This office should not evoke Versailles but should be reasonably well appointed.  The amount spent on the drapes was appropirate and they should last, if properly cared for for a very long time.

2.  The furniture for the office: same as the comment above. 

I realize now that the main point of contention is over the definition of the term "reasonably well appointed." Cracks about orange milk crates and bean bags aside, no one is seriously suggesting that the next step down from the luxe drapery is dorm-room chic.

But can you really imagine a conversation wherein a member of the roster of Important Guests (which, incredibly, you seem to believe will include constituents) comments to Patrick that he has outfitted his office in a manner unbecoming a governor? Or that his guests will conduct whatever presumably serious business they've come to discuss with the Governor in a way that reflects the homely surroundings in which that discussion has taken place? No, and doubtful, I'd say.

And in the event that someone does have the gall to tell Patrick that his digs are looking kind of dingy, can you imagine the Governor having the strength of character, and the courage of his populist convictions, to reply that, "Maybe they do, but what in the hell does that have to do with the topic at hand"? No again, unfortunately.

Patrick has agreed to reimburse the Commonwealth so the point is now moot.

The point is not moot. It took him days to clue in to the fact that his tooling around in a Caddy wasn't jibing with his Axelrod-crafted campaign message. And we're seeing this mea culpa only because he got caught.

The question of the $500-something a month may be moot. The question of whether or not we have a governor who will, in the future, make a show of reflectiveness only after he's been caught, remains quite germane.

As has been pointed out previously, this duty was always performed, it was just absorbed into the budget for the Governor's office and not discretely disclosed... This is a non issue, especially if the Governor's overall budget is not out of line with best practices.

But I thought Patrick was Captain Change, Mr. No-More-Business-As-Usual. Such a radical reformer, you would think, would start from square one, rather than basing his behavior on "best practices."

One could make the argument that Patrick has done the Commonwealth a service by making this expense more transparent.

Could? One would have to if one thought that appearances mattered more than facts. Transparency is a question of appearance. The fact is, the governor's wife is unelected, and any functions she performs - or "obligations," as you would have it - are irrelevant to policy and governing. But they do make for a good display, don't they? They are, in other words, just for show. But then that brings us back to appearances, the only yardstick by which Patrick worshipers seem willing to use.

We are not "happy" about it. That's why this shitstorm is swirling, no?

Jeremy

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by: JeremyBThompson @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 10:48:52 AM CST

[ Parent ]

How much should they cost? (0.00 / 0)

Cracks about orange milk crates and bean bags aside, no one is seriously suggesting that the next step down from the luxe drapery is dorm-room chic.

Can you estimate how much you think the new drapes should have cost? Would you be willing to put your money where your mouth is and provide the drapes for that price (including installation)?

Have you ever redecorated you house? My wife has, and she won't tell me how much she spent on drapes in a couple of the rooms, except to say that they were in the 4-figure range. Even if they cost $1,000, that's for a lot less drape than the ones hanging in the state house.

$12,000 sounds like a lot, but without context, the number is worthless. I doubt there is a person here who even knows how many windows were outfitted. Without basic information like that, how can anyone proclaim judgment?

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by: NoPolitician @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 16:05:44 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Identity politics (0.00 / 0)

One of the more curious complaints in the academy is that there aren't enough conservatives, that conservatives are underrepresented with respect to their numbers in the population. Ironically, this complaint is a sort of identity politics and looks an awful lot like a request for affirmative action from the opponents of affirmative action.

But conservatives are not an ethnic group, sexual minority, or biological category. Nor are populists. There are rich populists and poor populists, just as there are rich and poor paleoconservatives, libertarians, and communitarian liberals.

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"How can I get my work done surrounded by Ikea?" he must be asking himself.

That, actually, is a serious question. Can the Patrick Admistration use the Governor's office to attract businesses to our Commonwealth if the office looks cheap? We already have evidence that it looked dilapidated. Are you suggesting that material conditions would be materially affected by this trifling expenditure?

We cannot trade these symbols in for jobs.

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by: KBusch @ Thu Feb 22, 2007 at 09:46:10 AM CST

[ Parent ]

That, actually, was a sarcastic question. (0.00 / 0)

Can the Patrick Admistration use the Governor's office to attract businesses to our Commonwealth if the office looks cheap?

Once again, "cheap" is here being marshaled as the only alternative to extravagant. So my guess, as an economic development analyst, is that yes, Patrick could somehow overcome his less pricey furniture handicap, and use all of the other business incentives at his disposal, to bring companies to the Commonwealth. Among the petty factors on which businesses have based their location decisions - and there are plenty - the look of the governor's office is nowhere to be found.

Jeremy

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