So here’s an article about the recent gubernatorial forum, in which Tom Reilly and Deval Patrick differed on Patrick’s proposal to let towns raise their own restaurant tax money. Now, maybe that’s a good idea, and maybe (as some think) it’s not. But don’t you get the feeling that the Reilly/Patrick dynamic tends to go like this:
*Issue comes before the public awareness: health care, local aid, et al.
*Patrick puts out a specific policy proposal in response.
*Tom Reilly says he doesn’t support that approach, doesn’t propose an alternative.
*Reilly publicist says “Tom Reilly’s record on xyz is second to none.”
And look at the candidates respective websites: Patrick’s got policy papers. Reilly’s got press releases.
Look, if I didn’t know better, I’d say Tom Reilly is phoning this campaign in — phoning donors, perhaps. We got impatient last summer with Deval Patrick because we wanted specifics. Where’s Tom? Is this the best we get — a list of platitudes?
The most important question for a voter to ask a candidate is: “What will you do when you’re governor?” Look, maybe I’m an ignoramus, and maybe I don’t pay enough attention, and maybe the press is bad, etc., but I have no idea what kind of governor Tom Reilly would be. I don’t know what motivates him. I don’t know how he’d go about accomplishing his vaguely-stated goals. And since he’s not defining himself aggressively, it’s that much easier for non-events like the Conte phone call to suck up what little press oxygen the campaign has at this point.
Mr. Reilly, what do you want?
UPDATE: Eisenthal’s got more. He can’t figure it out either.
This is essentially why I could never see myself voting for Reilly, and why I’ve endorsed Deval. Of course, maybe the dynamics of the race will change, but I don’t think so. Then again, doing some quick math, I won’t actually be allowed to vote in the next election anyway.
I tried to do a comparison on the four candidates as part of an unrelated post. I was able to find information on Deval Patrick’s stances on many major issues (except, regretably, auto insurance reform). This was the best I could find on Reilly’s site:
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In K-12 education:
â¢In 10 years, Massachusetts students will be ranked among the best in the world in math and science
â¢In three years, our failing schools will be turned around
â¢Every year, progress will be made in closing the shameful achievement gaps between the rich and poor, until they are gone
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In public higher education:
â¢UMass Amherst will be one of the top ten public universities in the country (it is currently ranked 50th)
â¢Our state colleges will ranks in the top five in the nation in graduation rates
â¢Every community college will turn out graduates with skills aligned to the needs of our economy
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In healthcare:
â¢Tackling the costs of healthcare in a real, lasting way â including keeping the growth in costs for Boston businesses below the national average
â¢Our state will offer nothing less than the best and safest care in the United States â eliminating medication errors and racial and ethnic disparities
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In job creation:
â¢Use our innovation economy to turn around our stagnating job market
â¢Implement a regional job creation plan, focusing on the specific strengths of each area of our state
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Hey, goals are great, and you can’t start a plan without them, but do you think anyone would actually be opposed to making UMass one of the top 10 public universities in the country? And is it really ranked 50th? I find that a little hard to believe.
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Reilly seems to be campaigning in sound bites. He is attacking Romney/Healy without offering anything tangible that he would do.
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I like Deval Patrick, but I’d rather see him win versus Mihos or Healy. At this point, if he does manage to beat Patrick in the primaries, I think that either Mihos or Healy will eat him alive because he is campaigning as “Romney-lite”, and those two have that angle perfected.
At the recent MMA meeting Reilly proved himself inept to say the least. He managed to tell all the local officials gathered there that they could not raise revenues on their own. As they can’t rely on state aid, that leaves them to fend for themselves in what is fast becoming a crisis environment. Bet he made a lot of friends there!
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His recent trouble with the autopsy thing, as well as his, to be kind, uninspiring performances at the podium make him unelectable. Another Democratic candidate whose main credential is that he has been around forever and we owe it to him.
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On the other hand, Deval Patrick gave a speech in Somerville today that brought most in the packed audience to tears. Not since the Obama convention speech have I seen and audience more moved and inspired. It bears mentioning that he actually has a plan to assist cities and towns – one that springs from genuine concern rather than political expediency.
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I think if we have a moment free, it should be spent to support Patrick, rather than to consider Reilly. What kind of governor will Reilly be? He won’t
Saw the same thing happen at the MLK service in Hyannis this week. People waited an hour to hear Deval Patrick speak. The mostly black audience was obviously very moved by his speech. As I was leaving, someone said to me, “You should have seen him in Orleans earlier today”,(speaking to a mostly white audience), “he was captivating”.