The Governor’s Pimped-out Ride
A few months ago we managed to elect Deval Patrick as our Governor here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I confess that I did not choose Mr. Patrick to lead us – though I wasn’t a big fan, I cast my vote for Kerry Healey, Mitt Romney’s Lieutenant-Governor. Our new executive won in a 21-point landslide: Massachusetts’ first Afro-American governor was swept into office on a tide of optimism with the slogan “Yes We Can.”
So, great. Once he’d been elected, I didn’t make plans to leave the state – he was our choice, and that’s fine. His inauguration was a wonderful spectacle.
The problem is that we’re getting the governor we deserve. On the other hand, there are folks who are watching him in action. Conclusion: some of the excesses of the first month aren’t things he’s embarrassed to have done – just to have been caught at doing. These folks are keeping an eye out too.
We get what we voted for. Or what we voted against, as the case may be.
Welcome to Massachusetts, those who look for the government dole.
Farewell to those who are stuck paying for it.
Also, welcome to all the apparently wrongly convicted felons. Patrick has a warm place ready for you too.
I fear we’re are about to embark on an “express elevator ride to hell” (as the movie Aliens succinctly states).
Comment by Ken — February 26, 2007 @ 12:05
And so long Mitt Romney (our former governer) who will spend the next year explaining to the red-meat national conservative base how he hated every minute he spent in Massachusetts and everyone in the state, and that all the stuff he said in order to get elected as Governer in 2002 (fairly traditional MA GOP fiscal conservative, social moderate) is now inoperative. Good luck with that.
By the way, if I was Kerry Healey fan (and I’m not; surprise!) I’d sure be pissed at Mitt who carefully locked her in a room for most of his term, dawdled about running for re-election long enough to delay Ms. Healey’s campaign for a few months, and then spent about 5 minutes helping her campaign. I expect given the national results, no Republican would have won, but Mitt was zero help.
Comment by Dan M — February 26, 2007 @ 13:44
Oh, I certainly think that’s true. Ms. Healey was not a particularly great choice either. I wasn’t a huge fan of either Gov. Romney or his trusty sidekick, but Deval was promising everything to everyone – and is already turning out to be more of what I expected. I’m not sure there’s any outcome that would have been good for the voters.
My way-to-the-left friends were dancing like underclassmen at Mardi Gras on election night. I was – and am – still willing to give him a chance; but let’s see how we all feel in six months. My bet is on “not so good”.
Comment by hotc — February 28, 2007 @ 09:51