'Crazy'
Trav's deal-with-us-or-else remarks about Deval almost made me want to march over to Blue Mass Group to ask how I can sign up for the coming crusade. Then I read how Deval thinks it would be 'crazy' not to consider for transportation chief the very man, Jim Aloisi, who personifies the Big Dig culture that Deval has so decried. Then a more thorough reading of the Trav story indicates Aloisi is a big pal of Trav's and Aloisi's consideration is an obvious we'll-try-to-deal-with-you sop to Trav and the boys. ... I'm leaning toward Deval in this coming one-party-state-mess showdown. The Legislature has always been the problem. Trav's remarks are all about pushing Deval away from budgets, pork and patronage. The hacks want Deval to skip right from Duke 1 to Duke III in terms of dealing with them -- i.e., restoring the governing Hack Progressive Alliance of the late '80s. No Duke II in between, thank you, as Deval appears to be offering. ... Forget about my withholding judgment on Deval until he unveils his new budget. If he appoints Aloisi, we'll know the Hack Progressive Alliance has been officially resurrected. ... BTW: Deval has talked about cutting the budget. What has he specifically mentioned? Pensions. Think about Trav's remarks in that context too. ...

Update -- Carpundit uncorks:

This is why you don't want a Democrat in the corner office. Because the rest of the statehouse is dominated by the corrupt, entrenched, political hackfest that is the Massachusetts Democratic Party, and there's a danger that they might actually work together, which would result in a daily feast at the graft trough.

  ¶ 6:59 AM