She contends that due to this, she has the most diverse experience
among the LG candidates, and that of all of them she could “hit the
ground running” as part of a team: “There’s so much to do, you’re going
to need at least two people,” she says. She met with all of the
prospective Democratic candidates for Governor, talking about possible
partnerships. “Mike Capuano was clearest: There’s no time for
ribbon-cutting.”
One thing comes across pretty strongly about Goldberg: an almost
visceral dislike for Mitt Romney. “In some ways,” says Goldberg, Romney
is “worse than Bush — He’s ignored our state, with a total disregard
for the people of Massachusetts.” Goldberg tells of her conversation
with the CEO of UTC, a diversified high-tech company based in Hartford,
Connecticut, in which he asked, “Who’s your governor? Bill Weld?” She
says that before the Taunton dam broke, “Romney had never heard of
Taunton.” And like many Democratic candidates, she feels that Romney
has not delivered on the promise of economic development for the state.
Goldberg feels the foremost priority in economic development is higher
education. She says high-tech companies have looked at Massachusetts,
but that the state actually lacks qualified people. For this she blames
the cuts in the state university system: “There’s been no governor
working on ways to get companies here and get them to stay here.”
As I always do, I asked about health care; in particular, whether the
House’s proposed non-insuring employer assessment would hinder economic
development. She is concerned about a chilling effect on small
business, but not for big business. “I personally think every business
should see health insurance and something they should do… I’d like to sit
down with business leaders and
tell them that other people are taking advantage of you.” I have
to wonder if Goldberg is aware that Stop & Shop is #2 of the <a
href=”http://bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=878″>Top
Twenty corporate users of the Free Care Pool — right after Dunkin’
Donuts. In any event, she suggests that industry could do more to pool
health care purchases; and says that having dealt with health care on a
corporate level gives her valuable experience with the issue.
In conversation, Goldberg is fluid, intense, and has — I would imagine
— a taste for a fight. She does not come across as a dilettante. I
suspect that she would be a formidable contender in a debate setting.
BMG people — I wrote a post a while back criticizing BMG for (IMHO) not taking Deb’s campaign seriously. In fairness, though, I appreciate this interview and your reflections on it. Thanks.
I still don’t understand why you’d think we weren’t taking her seriously. I know there was a comment describing her as second-tier, but that didn’t come from us. We had put up more posts about Silbert and Kelley because they’re the ones who we had interviewed first, but I don’t believe we’ve ever questioned Goldberg’s viability as a top-tier candidate.
David, I take your point. My comment was aimed less at the site’s managers than at certain posters who (I felt) had a tendency to glibly dismiss Deb as a rich heiress, etc. without looking hard at her campaign. You’re right that you’ve never questioned her viability — my apologies.