Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei’s increasing jabs at the Patrick administration have folks in his district wondering what he has to offer other than brickbats to solve the current economic crisis. Rich is long on criticism and short on helping his own District weather the storm. Just ask Mayor Dolan and leaders in Melrose!
The News Service reported that Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray hit GOP apologist Tisei where it hurts: in his district. Murray pointed out correctly: “Considering he has been a fixture in the building since 1984, it’s clear from listening to the mayor of Melrose or to the municipal officials in his Senate district that the minority leader should spend a little more time tending to the needs of his district.” Tim hit the truth on that!
Melrose Mayor Robert Dolan has been boiling over at the State House and on the evening news at the Legislature the last few days for not supplying municipalities with the tax options Dolan and the Patrick administration say local officials need to balance budgets. In Melrose, Tim Murray said he wondered whether Tisei would take an unpaid furlough, as Gov. Deval Patrick, Murray, and other higher-paid administration officials intend to do.
Good idea, Tim. Maybe it’s time for Richard Tisei to take a long furlough…and for Melrose to elect a more responsive and productive State Senator. And perhaps Tisei could have company on that extended vacation…The legislature is abandoning municipalities…cutting the local aid without giving cities and towns what they need, what they are begging for to help them make it through. It may be time for many furloughs.
He would be a great candidate, I think, to challenge Tisei. I suggested this directly to Festa once as he was transitioning from Rep. to Elder Affairs and he didn’t take the bait, but now that he’s no longer Secretary I wonder if he would consider it.
(I think that was the year). Tisei is a waste. Interesting that he and Brad Jones are in business together, literally.
Republicans are not allowed to open thier mouths. This is a one party state. A party of filthy, corrupt, incompetent thieving hacks and you whine about some boob republican? Hos about those oncompetents in the corner office. Gov patrick and his legion of fools? The governor is stuck in traffic on the Mass Pike and the nitwit hasn’t the common sense to contact the state police and tell them to open all the toll plazas and push people through. He’s the GD governor for chrissake. The same incompetent that you promised would be our savior. Riiiiiiiight.
If Republicans are not allowed to open their mouths, why are you being disobedient?
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p>MCRD could you try, just a little bit, to be coherent?
“You’re already kicking our sorry behinds all around the state, so you’re not allowed to keep doing it.”
We can’t be THAT bad off.
Job losses? Not if you’re a friend of our democratic governor. He’s hiring buds at six figure salaries.
Ya know dems: this absolute power thing isn’t working out too well.
There is no rainy day fund. governor cadillac declared so in his inaugural address. So how can he continue to keep drawing from a fund he has declared is dry. Face it: our emperor/governor is so impudent he doesn’t know he lost his trousers a long time ago.
I’ll vote in the 2010 dem primary just to vote against patrick!
there’s an entire legislature who has been ignoring the begging and pleading of the cities and towns to provide more revenue options, but they jealously guard their power and toss a couple of crumbs here and there, hoping to shut ’em up. What you’re claiming about Tisei applies to every single member of the legislature, the vast majority of the which is Democrat. They’ve been in control for how long and we’re still having the discussion about local aid? Do you really think electing another Democratic senator is going to change anything?
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p>Don’t get me wrong – I’ve never thought Senator Tisei was particularly effective, and I’m glad he’s not my senator. However, I think there’s plenty of blame to go around when a draconian budget has been delivered when the legislature has had YEARS to deal with the municipal revenue options issue.
And now Tisei is going to screw us because, as the Lt. Gov.’s comment this morning show, the administration is done with his ankle biting. Sadly I don’t think he is beatable in the district since he carved out part of Melrose and picked up Lynnfield during the last round of redistricting (my thanks to the dems that sold us out on that one!) All local Democrats can do is to try hold him accountable when he pulls stunts like this…which has started to happen recently.
Ankle biting? You’re DEFENDING LeBoveridge and the Pike actions? The deliberate sabotage (per NECN)?
I am not defending LeBoveridge or the Pike. What I am saying is that Tisei has taken on the role of party cheerleader and chief attack dog (ankle biter) of the Republican Party (probably because many republicans want to dump the party chair because she was interviewed by Bay Windows). This does not help Tisei’s district, in fact as anyone that has a basic understanding of politics would realize, it will hurt his district.
Like his WORTHLESS articulation of the reasons NOT to put the full faith and credit of the Commonwealth behind the Mass Pike Circus?
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p>BTW – Madam President is classy enough to understand Tisei’s leadership role without penalizing him, even if BMG does not.
As a member of the great and general court his FIRST job is to act in the best interest of his constituents, not to act in a manner that could his district. I don’t care what his alleged “job description” says, we did not elect him to be minority leader (come to think of it two of the other five almost didn’t either). I am all for healthy debate and an exchange of ideas, but with his ‘fire him’ tantrum, he sounds more like Michael Steele than a Senator.
Positions that legislators hold in the House hierarchy are nice boosts to their salaries, but have exactly zero to do with their responsibilities to their constituents. If a particular policy would help Tisei’s constituents, and/or the people of Massachusetts generally, his duty is to support it, regardless of where that policy originated. Even if it comes from the Governor’s office.
Maybe the Lt. Gov is not the best person to lecture a pol about tending to the needs of his constituents, considering his administration isn’t exactly been tending to the needs of the citizens of Massachusetts lately. (ie, Masspike)
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p>Btw, it is worth noting that Mayor Dolan, a Democrat, has repeatedly endorsed Senator Tisei for reelection…obviously Tisei has been doing something right.
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p>Maybe instead of going after the few Republicans with no power at thhe State House, Tim Murray could instead criticize the 35 Democratic Senators who haven’t passed any local-option taxes. The Democrats have an absolute majority, and Republicans are to blame for the reduction in local aid? Next he’ll be blaming Rush Limbaugh for the de-funding of the Quinn Bill
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“…has repeatedly endorsed Senator Tisei for reelection…” Once, he endorced him once in 2004.And it was probably in the city’s interest at the time because we had a republican governor, so I guess I understand his endorsement. Dolan is pretty pragmatic, not to mention a great mayor.
…going to throw a fundraiser for Sen. Tisei anytime soon. But out of fairness, and out of contempt for those who continue to promote the status quo, I do have to offer a bit of a defense.
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p>Tell me which one of these initiatives BMGers would disagree with:
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p>Free transponders
One-way tolling (a la the Tobin bridge)
Sale of surplus Turnpike property
Abolition of the Turnpike Authority
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p>These are things that Sen. Tisei has proposed in the past year. And they are all things our dearly beloved state senators have turned down.
and a chicken in every pot and my famous gumdrop pooping unicorns.
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p>A proposal on it’s face is easy to agree with. The details — implementation, funding, that sort of thing — may not be.
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p>So sure, personally, I like the idea of free transponders — or even free insomuch as your remaining FastLane balance is returned to you only after you return the transponder — but without knowing the details of what was proposed, it’s easy to be “for” the proposal. Personally, I’m not for the remaining three of those things listed when taken at face value. I could be convinced with a detailed plan, but without those details….. meh. As the Democrats are learning at the Federal level, it’s easier to be the minority party and just throw out lots of ideas which seem good on their face but ignore the complications of reality.