Apparently, some of Deval’s critics will stop at nothing

Really, this garbage from the Herald is beyond belief.  I’d expect it from Howie Carr, but not from one of the alleged reporters.  Silly me.

Gov. Deval Patrick was under fierce fire yesterday returning from his politically beneficial, taxpayer-funded trip to the Middle East as lawmakers and critics blasted him for being missing in action as a job-creating casino bill hit a massive roadblock and other crucial legislation hangs in limbo.

“The state is looking for leadership from the governor’s office, and he was thousands of miles away,” said state Treasurer Tim Cahill, who is running against Patrick as an independent….

Patrick, who promised to be heavily involved in casino negotiations, hit the road Tuesday for a tour of battle-pocked Afghanistan and Iraq – a junket paid for by the U.S. Department of Defense, according to spokeswoman Kathleen Kesler.

OK, a couple of things.  First, I find it truly astonishing that anyone – whether or not of the same party, or running against him – would seriously criticize the Governor of Massachusetts for traveling to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit Massachusetts troops.  That goes for Tim Cahill, “reporter” Hillary Chabot, carping legislators who don’t agree with Patrick’s position on slots at the tracks, and frankly anyone else who thinks it’s more important to score a few cheap points than to support Massachusetts troops serving abroad.

Second, a “junket”?  Hillary, a “junket” is normally a free trip to someplace nice.  It’s not a trip to a war zone to support your constituents who are serving there.

Third, the Cahill/David Flynn effort to whack the Governor while trying to appear pro-troops is pretty sad.

While Cahill lauded the governor for supporting the troops, he questioned his timing…. Slots supporter Rep. David L. Flynn (D-Bridgewater) said he supports Patrick’s efforts to improve troop morale, but felt his timing could have been better.

Ridiculous.  As Patrick told the Globe,

“You go when the Department of Defense says you do,” Patrick said, adding that at least one other planned trip was canceled for security reasons. “For me, this was the opportunity. We’ve been planning it for many months.”

Fourth, the Herald doesn’t bother to mention that it wasn’t just Patrick on this trip.  The Globe does:

Patrick was accompanied on the overseas tour by Republican governors Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and Jim Douglas of Vermont, and fellow Democrat Jay Nixon of Missouri.

So the breakdown on the trip was 3-2 in favor of Republican governors.  Ah, but no doubt they are all conspiring to hand Patrick a political victory.  Please.

Look, I get that politics is a blood sport and all, and that folks on the losing side of things (and at the moment that would include Cahill and Flynn) get pretty desperate.  But there are – or, at least, should be – limits.  Heck, even one of the Herald commenters, normally unanimous in their Deval-hating, agrees.

Under “fierce fire”? By who? The media?

The only thing political here is the reporting, not the trip itself. It’s a war and Massachusetts has Guard troops deployed. He should go, and he did. End of story.

And, by the way, I assume the Herald desperately tried to get a critical quote out of the Baker campaign for this piece.  Kudos to the Bakerites for their apparent refusal.