Massachusetts Politics a Feeling Like 1990

Last night on WBZ, Dan Rea interviewed Massachusetts State Senate Republican Leader Richard Tisei. There are 5 Republicans in the senate and 35 Democrats, so of course they will pass the bill to give Gov. Patrick the power to appoint a temporary successor to the late Sen. Edwid Kennedy. I still predict it will be Kennedy’s widow, Vicki, and not former Gov. Michael Dukakis. (And, the special election is AG Martha Coakley’s to lose.)

Sen. Tisei noted an “eerie feeling” that the atmosphere is much like 1990, because the current hackarama, with the hacks changing the law once again for only selfish political reasons as they did in 2004, is similar to the 1990 hackarama which led to the election of Bill Weld to the governor’s office. At that time, Dukakis was the most loathed hack in Massachusetts. He had to leave the State House out the back way on his last day as governor because of picketers and protesters on the front steps on Beacon Hill. It is the tradition that the exiting governor leave via the front steps of the State House on the last day.

Because of so much negative feeling towards Dukakis and Democrats in 1990, Bill Weld also swept in a whole bunch of new Republicans in the legislature and even 2 new ones in Congress as well. And Weld did a great job “reforming.” Unfortunately, his Republican successors, Argeo Paul Cellucci and Jane Not-Too-Swift, got a little lazy and allowed more and more hacks to the state payroll, as well as covering up the Big Dig corruption.

Then in 2002 came Republican Willard Mitt Romney, who tried frantically to get more Republicans elected to the legislature in 2004, but they LOST Republicans at that election, and hence what we have now in the senate, a 35-5 Democrat majority. Romney didn’t even try to get more Republicans elected in 2006. (and it didn’t matter: Loooooooooser) He was too busy already on his presidential campaign, (as well as spending time looking in the mirror and doing his hair) and didn’t even bother to help his Lt. Gov. Muffy Healey in her bid for governor. She achieved an amazing 35%!(Oooooooooo, Baby!) in that election.