The Boston Globe, in an editorial to be printed on Sunday, September 10, 2006, endorsed Deval Patrick for Governor in the Massachusetts Democratic primary to be held on September 19, 2006.
The Globe’s editors chose to focus their first paragraph of policy analysis on Patrick’s primary substantive focus: economic development.
His economic prescription is simple but powerful: Hold the line on income taxes; focus on support for beleaguered communities to ease property taxes; and expand the economy by making Massachusetts a more inviting place for all kinds of businesses. Despite the easy stereotype, he is no big-spending, antibusiness liberal. His ideas for economic development are as serious and sensible as any candidate’s, Republican or Democrat.
Interestingly, in an interview broadcast this evening on WBZ-1030 Radio’s Lovell Dyett show, Patrick was asked his greatest frustration of the campaign. He answered, and I’m paraphrasing, “the media’s inability or unwillingness to focus on what is the main focus of my campaign: economic development.”
It appears that focus was apparent at least to the editors of the Boston Globe.
The editors then discussed his approach to the state’s new healthcare law and his plan to repair the relationship between state government and cities and towns.
He has a measured, focused approach to implementing the state’s complicated new healthcare law, already fraying at the seams. Just holding together the fragile coalition that passed the universal access law and steadily making it work is challenge enough for now. “It’s important for us to get past this politics that says we have to agree on everything before we can work on anything,” he says. Similarly, he wants to fix the relationship between the state and the cities and towns, which he correctly says is in “total breakdown.”
The editors have, in my opinion, correctly listed the order of priority of issues facing our next Governor:
1. Economic Development.
2. Implementing the new healthcare law.
3. Increasing local aid.
Congratulations Mr. Patrick.
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2. nice boost for him. they fault him only on one thing….
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But we also recognize that Patrick is a man whose life was saved by the opportunities of a rigorous education that took him from a broken home in Chicago to Milton Academy and Harvard and beyond. The transforming power of education is not theoretical to him.
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The political establishment continues to line up behind him, and he still gets to say he’s an “outsider”. I’d be thrilled if I had as much faith in him as a policy-maker as I have respect for him as a politician.
As I have said over and over again that is one of the things that is so impressive about Deval Patrick.
which means that he’s “outside” of the bidness as usual prescription offered by other candidates. You would see this if you took a step back and looked at his messages. It’s not so much a matter of who, it’s a matter of how. So, the equation is very different than the way you want to analyze it under your paradigm. Deval has a spectrum of supporters who want to see things change for the better. It’s a message that resonates with people, regardless of party affiliation.
I understand that Gab’s wife will be endorsing him. I never saw that one coming either.