A few dots to connect:
Patrick recruits a legislative pro, Dan Bosley, to be a top administration economic official. But the deal somehow breaks down and Bosley retreats to the legislature.
Patrick appoints a cabinet and senior staff almost devoid of Beacon Hill political experience.
Patrick and his administration make almost no positive news during the first six weeks in office.
Patrick, or Patrick’s staff, approve a new car for the Governor: a Cadillac (ouch!) DeVille (double ouch!!).
Anybody see a pattern here??
Yes, the Globe, and the MSM generally, is full of wise guy columnists and reporters.
Yes, Patrick has political opponents who will use anything they can to bring him down.
Yes, the copter and furniture stories, by themselves, are silly.
As many of you know, I was — and am — a strong Patrick supporter. Deval remains a supremely talented and promising political figure. But his victory did NOT repeal the rules of politics. Such as:
1. Stay on the offensive on a positive agenda.
2. Avoid stupid mistakes.
3. Assemble a team that understands 1 and 2.
Now, instead of being viewed on its own terms, next week’s budget will be viewed through the prism of the Caddy, the Copter, and the Couch.
If Patrick is going to deliver on his potential to be a successful, progressive governor, he better start getting the politics right. Now.
peter-porcupine says
steverino says
My defense of Deval springs from my limited tolerance for bullshit. In truth, I have never been a huge fan. He’s a handsome, charismatic man with many values I share. But there is a vast difference between executive-level experience and experience as an executive.
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I hope his staff heeds the warning: Manage the spin cycle. Or be prepared to go through the wringer.
centralmassdad says
(At least on this topic)
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After listening to the Candidate Patrick, I had and still have high hopes for Governor Patrick.
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Maybe these high hopes were just a result of the fact — believe it or not, after our earlier exchange– that I truly dislike the previous occupant of the Governor’s office.
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These are bullshit issues. But they were preventable bullshit issues. And that, along with the real lack of visible activity from the Governor’s is what makes it frustrating.
steverino says
is the disagreement?
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Is it in the high hopes department?
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Perhaps. I do have hopes, but not high ones. Because I do not think Patrick is bold enough to do what needs to be done. Neither are the national Democrats. And therein lie both of their undoings.
centralmassdad says
With those who insist that this is not a political gaffe, and all is well, he is just in his office working on the budget. On the budget!
steverino says
It was a completely manufactured, agenda-driven, bullshit story. But managing those is part of his job.
nopolitician says
While it definitely makes sense to have a constant stream of positive news to keep stuff like this off the airways, how can anyone combat a press that seems pretty intent to portray things the way they want to?
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For example, the Globe has a column that states that only six of Deval Patrick’s staffers earn over $100k. From a post here, we know that Romney paid at least three staffers over $150k, and from an article I read from 2004, Romney said that the range for a staffer was in the $110-120k range.
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But the AP headline to the article is “Patrick pays 6 staffers over $100k”, and posts are already creeping up claiming that he’s wasting taxpayer money by paying them extravagant salaries.
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The facts just don’t matter to his opponents, and they are all too happy to twist any bit of news into something negative. The mass media is all too happy to help them. And the fact that there is an existing frame (“limousine liberal, tax & spend, waste taxpayer money”) — being pushed on a national level too — certainly doesn’t help.
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Howie Carr is another problem. He is devoid of policy criticism, he simply throws around lies and innuendo based on those very same national frames. He is very happy to let others do the lying too — people call up, spout something like “Patrick is giving free tuition to illegal aliens”, and Howie lets the lies ride.
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Deval Patrick could jump into the river tomorrow to save a kid from drowning and the opposition would be claiming that he went swimming on taxpayer time. When people don’t take the time to fully understand issues, how do you get past this kind of crap?
publius says
There are always many voices with many agendas. Some tell outright lies. Reagan and Clinton had lots of opponents but managed to leave office with some solid accomplishments and reasonably high favorability. Carter and the Bushes not so much.
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People have never “taken the time to fully understand issues.” Patrick managed to win two smashing electoral victories just a few months ago despite (or because of?!?) that fact.
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Maybe someday the MSM will have less influence on the public’s perceptions of politicians. But IMHO we aren’t even close to that happening. For now, the choice is clear: play the game well or find yourself diminished in popularity and power by your failure to do so.
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