Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Transformation from Duke I to Duke II: Completed
Reading Adrian and Dan and Michael, I think it's safe to say an approximate consensus has emerged about Deval: He's officially transformed from Duke I (idealist) to Duke II (pragmatist). The next phase of the transformation is to Duke III (unacknowledged cynic). ... My timeline of the transformation is a little bit different from Michael's timeline. I'd say it started soon after last year's casino debate. It became apparent with the appointment of James Aloisi. The governor all but confirmed it when he acknowledged the existence of the shadow 'legislative sponsor' system. The appointments of a double-dipping stimulus czar and Sen. Marian Walsh made the transformation complete -- and arguably pushed the transformation process well into the Duke III metamorphosis stage. ...
But the big question is: Why did Deval (and the Duke) throw in the towel? It can be summed up in two words: The Legislature. Rick Holmes had an excellent piece over the weekend about our now more than 50-years-old one-party state. Governors have come and gone over the years. But the one-party Legislature, with all its hidden deals and alliances and other spoils of power, has always remained.
Update -- Charley is feeling nauseous over the latest State House fiscal-crisis hire. BTW: I was going to suggest Deval's official, final Duke III metamorphosis would somehow involve House Speaker DeLeo. It apparently involved Sal and Jim Aloisi instead. Close but no cigar for Hub Blog. ... Rick has more on his reform ideas here. ...
Update II -- Purple rage.
Reading Adrian and Dan and Michael, I think it's safe to say an approximate consensus has emerged about Deval: He's officially transformed from Duke I (idealist) to Duke II (pragmatist). The next phase of the transformation is to Duke III (unacknowledged cynic). ... My timeline of the transformation is a little bit different from Michael's timeline. I'd say it started soon after last year's casino debate. It became apparent with the appointment of James Aloisi. The governor all but confirmed it when he acknowledged the existence of the shadow 'legislative sponsor' system. The appointments of a double-dipping stimulus czar and Sen. Marian Walsh made the transformation complete -- and arguably pushed the transformation process well into the Duke III metamorphosis stage. ...
But the big question is: Why did Deval (and the Duke) throw in the towel? It can be summed up in two words: The Legislature. Rick Holmes had an excellent piece over the weekend about our now more than 50-years-old one-party state. Governors have come and gone over the years. But the one-party Legislature, with all its hidden deals and alliances and other spoils of power, has always remained.
Update -- Charley is feeling nauseous over the latest State House fiscal-crisis hire. BTW: I was going to suggest Deval's official, final Duke III metamorphosis would somehow involve House Speaker DeLeo. It apparently involved Sal and Jim Aloisi instead. Close but no cigar for Hub Blog. ... Rick has more on his reform ideas here. ...
Update II -- Purple rage.
