We need a clean sweep.....

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I had fully intended to follow up to the controversy concerning the lies told us by Bill Clinton during his interview with Chris Wallace Sunday. There has been a strong response by Condoleeza Rice and others. However the nonsense spread by many who don’t know the Massachusetts political scene compels we respond to the comments and delay the above until tomorrow.

This morning’s Boston Herald has a story telling us Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey wants Christy Mihos out of the future debates with Deval Patrick.

Why?

Because Christy Mihos did a good job in the debate. You didn’t have to witness the debate, you need only listen to the reaction from the Healey camp, they’re dripping tears everywhere. I recall her bristling at the nickname given her by my colleague Howie Carr, Muffy.

That was the first sign she is not cut out for the corner office.

As Peter Gelzinis said in his Herald column this morning:

“Between the politics of fear and the politics of hope, Christy Mihos made it abundantly clear Monday night that there is plenty of room for the politics of passion.

“Room enough, in fact, to drive a figurative 18-wheeler over the only two gubernatorial candidates who are supposed to matter.

“Like some inspired character actor, Mihos simply stole the Boston Herald/FOX25 debate away from its two stars, Deval Patrick and Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey.”

Now we understand why Healey is wimping out for the future debates. Could you just picture her in a contract negotiation with one of the big state employee labor unions?

The lieutenant governor has attached her star to the governor. After all her entire political career has been in the hands of our recent governors.

First she became the state GOP chair at the direction of then Governor Jane Swift. In that capacity she was Swift’s main cheerleader. After Swift left in disgrace Muffy ….oooops, Healey became Mitt Romney’s choice for campaign cheerleader.

In his debate with Teddy Kennedy in 1994 the governor publicly bragged he didn’t vote for Ronald Reagan. Now he is pushing the idea Christy Mihos is a disloyal Republican.
Why is Mihos a candidate for governor?

To answer that we need to understand a little recent history concerning the Big Dig.
The Romney Administration made a fatal mistake in not fighting for control of the project when he came to office.

It is now painfully obvious the governorship of Massachusetts is merely a stepping stone along the road to Washington, D.C. for the governor, as it was for former governors Weld and Cellucci.

Weld ran and lost against John Kerry for the US Senate then fought and in his effort to land the Mexican ambassadorship. He was shot down first by the voters in the senate bid and famed North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms.

Paul Cellucci needed a strong arm in his run for governor so he selected Swift, an old friend from his and her days in the state senate.

As soon as George Bush was elected president he appointed Cellucci to be ambassador to Canada. That probably was engineered by the presidents closest confidant Andrew Card, a former Massachusetts state representative.

Swift then proved herself to be way out of her league as governor. State police helicopter rides to her home and using staff for baby sitting. Most important she became totally enmeshed with the contractors of the Big Dig.

Another state senator from her senate past, Matt Amorello, was appointed as executive director of MassPike by Swift in February,2002. Like his patron, Amorello began to operate the only decision maker on the board.

Swift fired two board members for refusing to vote as directed by her. Jordan Levy and then board vice-chairman Christy Mihos were summarily dismissed. Mihos took the governor to court and both he and Levy were reinstated to the board.

In order to negate the votes of Levy and Mihos, Swift conspired with her cronies in the legislature to create two more seats on the Pike board, thus nullifying the votes of Mihos and Levy.

Later they were refused access to documents necessary to be properly informed before voting on Pike business.

Jane Swift became an out of control governor while Amorello was her rubber stamp at the Pike.
Mitt Romney at the time this was all happening was in serious crisis management with the Olympics in Utah. He was persuaded by many people to return from Utah to run for governor. Among those pushing his was Christy Mihos.

Upon his return he pushed Swift out of her intended run for governor. Within days Romney made his decisions concerning a run for governor and put his ducks in order.

The Big Dig was one of the main issues in his run.

One of his first steps was to try to persuade Jim Rappaport to pull out of his intended run for lieutenant governor to allow Romney to select his own #2. Rappaport refused.

That’s when he selected a candidate who would play ball and never upstage him. Rappaport is a Reagan Republican, plain and simple. Between being an independent voice and a Reagan Republican was more than Romney could take so he selected the state party chairwoman as his running mate and turned his resources to defeat Rappaport in the primary.

Healey, with the entire Romney organization and money behind her as well as the state committee members in her pocket, defeated Rappaport.

Now back to Romney.

The governor has proven himself to be a political chameleon changing his colors to meet his current political needs.

• In his debate with Senator Teddy Kennedy in 1994 Romney proudly boasted he did not vote for Ronald Reagan.
  
  
• He proved himself to be a John Kerry like flipper. He said he was personally opposed to abortion BUT felt a woman had a right to chose. (Actually his Mom was head of the Michigan Planned Parenthood for many years and he cited her as his reason for being pro-choice on a number of occasions.) What’s more he gave an interview during the last election in which he explained how he counseled a young woman who was pregnant and said that experience colored his position on the choice question. Now he says he is firmly Pro-Life. I don’t believe him. He simply knows he cannot get the GOP nomination for president by being pro-choice.
  
  
• Anyone with a child in college in Massachusetts knows the fees far exceed tuitions. Much of those fees have come through Republican administrations, including the Romney administration. For example the tuition per hour of credit at Massasoit Community College in Brockton is $24, but the fee is $81 per hour. Here is Massasoit's cost schedule. Bristol Community College in Fall River is 24/99, a 4 to 1 ratio. The UMass Amherst web site does not separate the fee and tuition costs. (I’d call that a tax increase on the cost of going to a Massachusetts college.)
  
  
• Gas tax hike applied by the Romney Administration without the legislature.
  
  
• These are merely a few of the complaints concerning this administration. However the biggest of them all was the failure to use the bully pulpit of the governor’s office to arrest control over the Big Dig from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority when is came to power. The means were there and the public was fed up to here with the cost overruns and ready to do war with the legislature for whatever help was needed there.
  
  

It has been understood all along the authorities in Massachusetts were political dumping ground for politicians and their families and friends. The governor did not (nor did his predecessors) file legislation to remedy the authority fiasco. All the authorities got a pass.

I suspect Romney didn’t want to make waves at any point which is why he wanted Kerry Healey as his lieutenant governor. Jim Rappaport would have been a political liability because he knows where the bodies are buried and would have made waves to create change. That would have been good for us but not for Romney’s presidential train.

If you have desires to run for president you don’t want to make enemies with power interests. Certainly you don’t want to upset the Big Dig’s Bechtel. After all they are tied in tight with the national Republican party.

Christy Mihos is not merely running against Kerry Healey, but Mitt Romney too. I doubt the boys on Bacon Hill (yes Bacon, as in pork) don’t care a whit whether Kerry Healey or Deval Parker occupies the corner office. Mihos would be another matter.

On the issues Mihos is what Romney has not been. Passionate on the matters which have a long term impact on Massachusetts.

Some of the issues which would concern the power brokers on Bacon Hill:

• State aid to cities and towns. The amount is 28% of taxec collected by the state. He proposes 40%.
  
  
• Cap property values on real estate to the amount at the time of sale until the property is sold again. That would end the game of upping the assessments in order to raise the level of real estate taxation.
  
  
• Honor the voters overwhelming passage of returning the income tax back to 5% from 5.3%.
  
  

More than 40% of the voters voted to eliminate the income tax a few years ago. Obviously the voters are much different than the legislature they elect. They voted for Republican governors but did not get what they had a right to expect --- serious opposition to increases in state revenue. Romney has raised taxes and fees in many areas. Why should we believe Kerry Healey will be any different.

I have some real differences with Christy Mihos on some issues. However, there are too many maters which need to be dealt with. Now.

It’s not just the Big Dig, it’s immigration control, fighting against further erosion of the second amendment rights, implementation of the death penalty, repairing our transportation infrastructure and generally making Massachusetts more livable.

Compared to some of our neighbors, just the basic taxes, sales, income and property, we are at $2,813 per capita compared to $2,540 for RI, NH at $1,934 or a very similar state, Pennsylvania, $2,080.

We are also higher in gas taxes, college fees, water rates, and any of a myriad of other costs of living here. The costs to businesses are even higher.

Massachusetts is hemorrhaging people to other sates. Very often those who can leave are those we would wish to retain. Small business are fleeing as well.

Housing in the inner cities is high as is the crime wave.

It’s time for a real change and Kerry Healey or Deval Patrick are not the ones to do it.

Go Christy Mihos.

Ciao…….Moe