Anybody with any sense recognizes that the MBTA has to be fixed. And yet, even the rumor that the Baker administration will not sign off on a billion bucks worth of bonds that were destined for expanding the South Boston Convention Center, because the new Governor would prefer to spend the money on fixing the T, has got House Democrats frothing at the mouth.
“I hope he’s not stupid enough to say either-or,” House Majority Leader Ron Mariano said of the possibility that Baker will fund the T instead of the convention center. “It’s crazy. One has nothing to do with the other.”
Wow, settle down, Ron. “Stupid” and “crazy” are a tad harsh, don’tcha think? Guess Baker’s honeymoon is over in the House.
It’s becoming increasingly clear how cleverly Baker is playing the House conservaDems. He is backing them into the extremely uncomfortable corner of defending the film tax credit, the Convention Center boondoggle, and a nice deal on health insurance for long-term state employees (they pay 20% of their premiums, whereas post-2002 hires and much of the private sector pay 25%; Baker has proposed that all state employees pay 25%), instead of his proposed increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit and fixing the MBTA. He is, in other words, putting House Dems in the position of defending special interests, whereas he is speaking up for low-income residents and all the folks who depend on the T.
That’s smart politics, and it’s also smart policy. Like I said yesterday, things could be getting pretty interesting around here.
abs0628 says
Your average semi-informed voter is going to elect Charlie to a 2nd term at this rate. He’s playing the optics of this very well.
And meanwhile your average somewhat informed voter hears the talk from our “Democratic” leadership and they think they’re either stupid, heartless, out of touch or right wingers. Perhaps all of the above. Beyond frustrating. No wonder fewer people are registering as Democrats — if this is what they see as the party’s message & values. The distance between our platform and our leadership is a chasm.
Also do they not get that a Convention Center can’t run if the people who staff it can’t get to work because the MBTA is broken?! Who am I kidding…Clearly they don’t care if those workers’ routinely have commutes from hell. Just disgusting.
At this point I’m almost more annoyed with Mariano than I am with DeLeo — and that’s saying a lot.
Have either of these 2 ever been primaried? Are there any prospects to run against them? Because I would donate and volunteer in a heartbeat and I doubt I’m alone.
kirth says
What’s frustrating is that your somewhat-informed voters are correct — the Dem leadership are those things. Case in point: Rep. Mariano has twice this week labeled proposals he disagrees with as “crazy.” That both ideas have to do with funding the T is significant.
If Baker can achieve beneficial outcomes that the Dem leadership has been blocking for years, I really don’t care that he wears an R after his name. Would Martha Coakley be even mentioning these things?
Bob Neer says
What is the best shorthand for the corrupt cabal that controls the House? I ask the hive mind …
centralmassdad says
Leadership of the Massachusetts Democratic Party.
Trickle up says
a palpable hit.
SomervilleTom says
Right on the money, as it were. 🙂
Christopher says
They are legislative leaders and they have Ds after their names, but they are NOT the leadership OF the Democratic Party.
centralmassdad says
And talk is cheap.
In actions, they ARE the Massachusetts Democratic Party. They are the most powerful politicians in the state, bar none. They are maintained in that position by the votes of the Democratic caucus. Any member of that caucus who challenges them is quickly punished and marginalized, without political consequence. Few do, most follow their orders without question or complaint.
They’re yours. You own them. In fact, it is my opinion that the left wing’s willingness to engage in precisely this sort of self-deceiving rationalizing is among the more important things that entrench these guys in their positions of power. The left wing doesn’t agree with these guys, at least when it comes to the cocktail party conversation, but it is the willing enabler of every single thing they do.
SomervilleTom says
Who, in your view, IS the leadership of the Democratic Party?
Specifically, who else has anything like the power held by Mr. DeLeo?
Christopher says
…but the Democratic State Committee is the leadership of the institutional party. Deleo is the leader of the House who seems to too often not use the party he belongs to as his frame of reference.
SomervilleTom says
The fact that Mr. DeLeo so often ignores the Democratic State Committee means that the Democratic State Committee is irrelevant to voters, and therefore Democrats, in Massachusetts.
hesterprynne says
The ConservaDem platform in convenient postcard form.
SomervilleTom says
I particularly enjoy the “REFORMS AND TRANSPARENCY” section. I guess that “Ethics, Pension, Transportation, Immigration, and EBT reforms” doesn’t include putting his son (along with a dozen other family and friends) on the Probation Department payroll.
therleepost says
But, ‘people’ is short hand for the quagmire of a system not structured for producing competent and cost effective operations.
HR's Kevin says
While there may be people issues and they probably could run things more efficiently, no amount of efficiency would fix things at this point. There is absolutely no way the T is going to be fixed without a lot of money.
By all means, lets fix the system, but we need to commit more money as well.
therleepost says
Person A will spend $100 to achieve the same (or worse) outcome that person B will spend $10 to achieve. While the outcomes might be functionally equal, person B leaves available $90 left to accomplish more beneficial outcomes.
It is a people problem.
SomervilleTom says
Neither Person A nor Person B has anything to do with today’s MBTA. Your “people problem” has as much substance as the “welfare queens” of the twenty years ago.
Kosta Demos says
because he/she wants something for nothing.