Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Memo to Charlie Baker: don’t whine or sulk when reporters ask you questions.

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You were the Secretary of Administration and Finance — the state’s top financial officer, and one of the two or three most powerful people in state government after the Gov and Lt. Gov!  You were one of 50?  Your approval meant nothing??  Dude, if that’s true, you were the least effective, least influential A&F Secretary in the history of the Commonwealth.  And I think we both know that’s not the case.  Come on, Charlie, admit it — you did have the teensiest bit of influence, now, didn’t you?  Huh?  Theeere, I knew you did.  And if you had put up a big stinky-winky about the Big Diggy-Wiggy’s financing, maybe someone would have listened to you, wouldn’t they?  Of course they would have.  đŸ™‚

It gets even funnier.

Beacon Hill legend has it that Baker, relentlessly charming on his terms, is prone to petulance when things go a little astray. Legend was becoming reality in his conference room. His sentences became clipped, his tone guarded, his demeanor sulky. I asked if he agreed with his running mate, state Senator Richard Tisei, when he recently called the Kennedys “has-beens.”

“No.” Then silence.

Did he talk about it with Tisei?

“We talk about stuff every day.”

Prone to petulance — yeah, I’d say McGrory has pretty much got Baker nailed on that one!  I love the image of Baker saying “no” in response to the Kennedy question, and then sitting there sulking, the awkward silence growing longer and longer.  If McGrory taped the interview, I hope he’ll post the audio.

The big question about Charlie Baker, for me, was always whether his smarts (don’t forget, he was “The Smartest Man In State Government“) and insider experience would overcome his (to quote McGrory) petulance and impatience with having to deal with things that he thinks aren’t important.  So far, not so good.  Here’s another great example from McGrory’s column.  Right after the Big Dig question, McGrory reports:

A moment later, Baker tossed up his hands in exasperation and asked, “When do we get to talk about the future?”

Whine whine whine.  Honest to God, Charlie, you talk about the past (in the form of your experience) all the time on your website and in your speeches, especially your heroic role in saving Harvard Pilgrim and your brilliant efforts to restructure state government.  Did it not occur to you that, were you to run for Governor, people might be the teensiest bit curious about stuff in your past that you didn’t choose to highlight yourself?  Were you really that naive about what a political campaign is?

McGrory’s bottom line:

when I see Baker, I see a candidate who doesn’t quite have the ring of authenticity to him, at least not yet.

That’s putting it mildly.

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Comments

  1. That’s what the claims were back then. LOL.

    <

    p>What a joke he’s become. Seriously, though, if he thinks it’s believable at all that he was so utterly powerless, as literally one of the most powerful people in government at time both in position and behind-the-scene influence, he’s going to have a very, very tough sell. Mr. Baker — you may think you’re smart, but rest assured, the rest of us aren’t a bunch of idiots.

    <

    p>Besides, if he was so utterly powerless, when in one of them most powerful positions in government, why didn’t he resign? If things we so bad, why would he – or anyone – stay on, under those circumstances? It’s just not believable.  

  2. “I was one of 50”  That was his answer?

    <

    p>He had absolutely no role under the Weld administration, he just sat around a did nothing.  Is that what he is telling us, and that’s why he’ll make a good Governor?

  3. Don’t worry, plenty of time. Come September I’m sure he’ll have that fake “authenticity” thing down pat.

    • … that a consultant will tell him is for hauling home improvement materials (remember, the This Old House constituency is quite strong in MA).

      <

      p>[/snark]

  4. There is governing.

    <

    p>Then, there is politics.

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    p>My reservations are writ large in this column.

    <

    p>I would only say – good politicians can hire smart people.

  5. Why is he ducking the Big Dig stuff?  Who’s advising him?  

    <

    p>Somebody answer me, it just seems like Political 101, I am honestly utterly confused.  

    <

    p>It’s not like many voters are going to consider that a big issue in 2010.  Unless he continues to blow it.  

    <

    p>All he has to do is a) look relaxed, and b) say something like

    <

    p>

    Republicans, Democrats, we all messed up.  Do I believe the our side tried harder to control the costs?  Yes.  But there’s a lot of blame to go around for a project that was way over budget, and I share in that blame.

    <

    p>Then they’ll say: “Would you do anything differently?” or “Did you make any mistakes?”

    <

    p>So he’ll say:

    <

    p>

    Yes.  Big picture, this thing was conceived in the 1970s, before I graduated from Needham High.   In the early 1980s, Reagan vetoed the project, but it got pushed through by Congress.  

    I became involved in 1994, working as an aide to Governor Weld.  The budget was already out of control.  We had a big hole in the ground.  Few good options.  My key mistake?  We handed this thing off to the Turnpike Authority.  Things actually got worse.  More waste.

    I learned my lesson.   We have a Bigger Dig right now, in 2010.  A Biggest Dig.  It’s called Pensions.  

    Massachusetts gives really nice retirement packages to some state workers.  The Big Dig cost $15 billion.  The Bigger Dig is $22 billion and we don’t even get a tunnel out of it.   I’m the only candidate who’s going to face this Bigger Dig, the pensions for state workers, head on.

    • He’d have to admit having royally f&*ked up, and I just don’t think he’s constitutionally capable of that.  Maybe he’ll prove me wrong.

    • heaven forbid we allow people to retire comfortably. Gotta go after every last cent of those pensions, even though state employees given up huge portions of their salary to buy into them.

      • but it can’t be true, can it?  

        <

        p>ie, if we have a $22 billion gap, then how can it be self-paid?  if it was self-paid, they’d simply owe the money to themselves, and there wouldn’t be a gap…?

        • I don’t know the details either… but..

          <

          p>

          ie, if we have a $22 billion gap, then how can it be self-paid?  if it was self-paid, they’d simply owe the money to themselves, and there wouldn’t be a gap…?

          <

          p>… The state owes them money which the state doesn’t have.  If the employees “paid in” (i.e. gave the state money for later…) then they get ‘paid out’.

          <

          p>For instance, I’ve paid into social security my entire career… but… or so I’m told… it’s going to someday be out of money and I’ll be out of luck… or so I’m told.  

        • These are the so-called Five Percenters.  Five Percent of pay for Eighty Percent of Salary if you held on long enough, a MINIMUM of twenty percent of salary when you go.  Do the math.

          <

          p>Many were hustled out dring the first couple of ‘incentives’ – Five or Five (extra five years on your pension or age, whichever is more helpful to boosting your rate), a Three AND Three, and so on.  Theory was that new hires would pay at the newer rates – Seven Percent, now Eleven Percent.

          <

          p>Problem is – even though the contirbution rate is higher, the damn Five Percenters just won’t die (perhaps due to their superior and cheap lifetime health benefit package?).  Not to mention all those who contributed Five Percent of a $300 selectman stipend for time in service, which counted the same as a full year of 40-hr weeek work.  (Or 37.5 hours, as is now the case).

          <

          p>The incentives served as a band-aid on a punctured artery – some help, but not a solution.

        • The more I think about this (from the article I linked, the funnier it is:

          <

          p>

          “We’re not going to sit back and take it,” said Rob Gray, Healey’s chief strategist. “Chris Gabrieli is targeted because he’s most vulnerable. A lot of questions about his business record have not been asked.”

          Healey’s 30-second attack ad states: “Chris Gabrieli the politician wants taxpayers to borrow a billion dollars to invest in stem cells and high tech health. But Gabrieli the tycoon isn’t telling us that he was a director and owns a stock fortune in a company which could profit from his stem cell plan.”

          The company Healey’s ad was referring to, Isis Pharmaceuticals, said in a statement yesterday that it does not conduct stem cell research or have plans to. Gabrieli has said he would divest himself of his holdings if elected governor, and he denied yesterday that he is trying to profit from his proposal to pump money in the stem cell industry.

          The ad sparked speculation that Healey was trying to influence the Democratic primary. Some surveys indicate Gabrieli holds the widest lead among the Democrats over Healey in a general election match-up.

  6. From RMG

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    p>

    BAKER-TISEI TEAM RAISES OVER $560,000 IN FEBRUARY

    Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:38:57 -0800

    Nearly $1 Million in first two months of 2010

    The Baker for Governor and Tisei for Lieutenant Governor campaigns announced today that they raised a combined $561,773.75 in the month of February and outraised their opponents by as much as a factor of six.

    In February, Baker and Tisei’s fundraising
    far surpassed that of their opponents, both as individual candidates and as tickets. According to OCPF records, Baker-Tisei outraised Patrick-Murray ($249,737.47 combined) by 2 to 1, and outraised Cahill-Loscocco ($86,594.85) by 6 times.

    <

    p>Funny stuff!

  9. Baker eventually regrouped, waxing poetic about the gritty neighborhoods and the main streets he has visited across the state

    “You get to meet people you wouldn’t otherwise meet,” he said. “You get to go places you wouldn’t otherwise go.” He paused and added, “I can’t believe how many different ways there are to make a living.”

    <

    p>Did you know there are people who actually drive around in big green trucks and pick up the trash in the morning? I had no clue until I started running for Governor.

    <

    p>I just though everyone grew up, went to Harvard, and then became CEOs of insurance companies. Amazing what you learn out there on the campaign trail.

    <

    p>Of course, I still do spend 90 percent of my time at country clubs raising money from CEOs, but still … wow … eye opener.

  10. Hat tip to PP — I remember her kvetching about the campaign over on RMG.

    <

    p>Here’s a nice Cape Cod Today editorial on Rob Gray:

    <

    p>

    The Republican wunderkind behind the Healy media campaign is Rob Gray.  His strategy, when he was allowed to unleash it, which by the way was when Kerry Healy was still behind by more 20 points after the second debate, assaulted Deval Patrick on several fronts in a coordinated effort:  TV; soft on crime, Direct mail; soft on education, all other media; soft on taxes.

    You know Rob Gray as the political consultant hired to guide Gail Lese’s campaign for Cape & Islands Senate seat. Right about the same time a couple of years ago, he repeatedly sent out targeted direct mail pieces to the district. You remember the ones with the needle and syringes on the beach blaming Rob O’Leary?

    Well, they didn’t work in getting voters to change their minds about Senator O’Leary. But they did cost alot of money and Rob Gray proved to be the primary beneficiary. Gail Lese paid him over $75K for that advice.

    Well, Rob Gray is at it again. Last week we were treated to a direct mail piece from Kerry Healy, showing us Deval Patrick flunking a math test, with a picture of Patrick so grotesquely blurred, that he resembled Willie Horton. I think that was the desired effect.

    Also at the same time, she started running a campaign on TV that can only be described as this year’s version of the infamous Willie Horton ad. Patrick got a guy in Florida off death row in the ’80s.  The guy got life instead.  A Federal Appeals court agreed. Turns out the prosecutor in that case (whom Healy trotted out in Boston last week) went back and got the death sentence reinstated, only to have the Florida State Supreme Court overturn it again (he left that part out at his press conference). I digress.

    Here’s the point, these ads can’t work unless your candidate is ready to receive the voters you’ve disaffected.  First you have to make your candidate look good, ie. fix their their favorable-unfavorable ratio, and then run the negative stuff.

    <

    p>Emphasis theirs.

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