Wednesday, January 05, 2005
‘Here's the problem in Massachusetts’: Reader No. 1 on Mitt and the Hack-Progressive Alliance, based on today’s posts below:
“John Ellis is right about Mitt's skill. You are right about the hack-progressive alliance (worth noting we just passed the 10th anniversary of a signal moment in Hack-Progressive Alliance History: Bill Weld throwing away a landslide election's worth of political capital by giving the legislature a big pay raise - we've never recovered.)
“Here's the problem in Massachusetts: it is impossible for any kind of suburban moderate effort to move the ball forward in any substantive way against the hack-progressive alliance:
“ -- Suburban moderates have to go to work every day and don't have the time or attention to fight the hack-progressives who ARE at work every day. (Once Bill Weld lost his veto-override numbers in the 1992 Senate election, his ability to change anything was effectively dead.)
“ -- Key constituencies that preserve order in suburban moderate communities have become heavily dependent on hack-progressives. To name two: public safety, and public schools.
“ -- Suburban moderates are still uncomfortable taking arms in debate against the intellectual vanguard that keeps the hack-progressives in power. …
“I'll submit my opinion that there is very little that Governor Romney can do to change this in any substantive way in two terms. (He would obviously be more effective in a Red State.) So, he is behaving in a logical manner for a politician.
“Being realistic about politics, I am OK with 'me me me' if there is something in it to improve the Massachusetts civic and political culture, but that's not evident (yet). One thing that sets Mitt apart from Showhorse Senator Kerry: Mitt is an executive and executives are responsible. So - let's see more local responsibility. Don't leave the Big Dig glory to Tom Reilly.”
Another blown ‘curry’ opportunity: Don’t know much about the state’s ‘sick leave banks.’ But if they’re another tool to ‘curry favor’ with lawmakers, then they’re probably a scam. ... What’s with the sudden pressure on Mitt to ‘curry favor’ with lawmakers? What’s with the comparisons to other Republican governors? ... Repeating a Question of the Day from the other week: Curry favor for what? ... I’m not saying Mitt can’t be a gentleman with lawmakers. He can and should work with them on the merits of policy initiatives. He’d probably enjoy local governing more if he did so effectively. But what critics are really saying is, ‘We’ll give you some of what you want if you give us some curry chits.’ I.e. Good government for bad government. The Question of the Day has just been answered. ... Psssst. Don’t tell anyone. But we’re approaching the very essence of the Hack-Progressive Alliance that has dominated the Statehouse for so long.
‘The degree of violence the gang engages in ...’: This is one nasty gang.
“John Ellis is right about Mitt's skill. You are right about the hack-progressive alliance (worth noting we just passed the 10th anniversary of a signal moment in Hack-Progressive Alliance History: Bill Weld throwing away a landslide election's worth of political capital by giving the legislature a big pay raise - we've never recovered.)
“Here's the problem in Massachusetts: it is impossible for any kind of suburban moderate effort to move the ball forward in any substantive way against the hack-progressive alliance:
“ -- Suburban moderates have to go to work every day and don't have the time or attention to fight the hack-progressives who ARE at work every day. (Once Bill Weld lost his veto-override numbers in the 1992 Senate election, his ability to change anything was effectively dead.)
“ -- Key constituencies that preserve order in suburban moderate communities have become heavily dependent on hack-progressives. To name two: public safety, and public schools.
“ -- Suburban moderates are still uncomfortable taking arms in debate against the intellectual vanguard that keeps the hack-progressives in power. …
“I'll submit my opinion that there is very little that Governor Romney can do to change this in any substantive way in two terms. (He would obviously be more effective in a Red State.) So, he is behaving in a logical manner for a politician.
“Being realistic about politics, I am OK with 'me me me' if there is something in it to improve the Massachusetts civic and political culture, but that's not evident (yet). One thing that sets Mitt apart from Showhorse Senator Kerry: Mitt is an executive and executives are responsible. So - let's see more local responsibility. Don't leave the Big Dig glory to Tom Reilly.”
Another blown ‘curry’ opportunity: Don’t know much about the state’s ‘sick leave banks.’ But if they’re another tool to ‘curry favor’ with lawmakers, then they’re probably a scam. ... What’s with the sudden pressure on Mitt to ‘curry favor’ with lawmakers? What’s with the comparisons to other Republican governors? ... Repeating a Question of the Day from the other week: Curry favor for what? ... I’m not saying Mitt can’t be a gentleman with lawmakers. He can and should work with them on the merits of policy initiatives. He’d probably enjoy local governing more if he did so effectively. But what critics are really saying is, ‘We’ll give you some of what you want if you give us some curry chits.’ I.e. Good government for bad government. The Question of the Day has just been answered. ... Psssst. Don’t tell anyone. But we’re approaching the very essence of the Hack-Progressive Alliance that has dominated the Statehouse for so long.
‘The degree of violence the gang engages in ...’: This is one nasty gang.
