Left In Lowell

They’re cute when you first get ‘em, but then they just keep multiplying. So it goes with the Massachusetts legislature; when we get rid of one or two hacks, more keep popping up. Just when we thought Finneran-style Mafia politics was dialing down…the mantle is picked up by Senate President Travaglini, who’s issued nothing less than a veiled threat against popularly-elected Patrick:

In remarks that shocked some in the audience, the Senate president said that he wants to work with the governor-elect, but he strong-ly suggested that if things don’t go well, the Senate will block Patrick’s legislative efforts.

According to the notes of one audience member, Travaglini said: “I told the governor-elect, if you’re willing to share and you care and you prepare and are ready to deliver, then everything will work out. If not, I have senators across the state who share my vision and my approach and if forced to choose, I’m comfortable with whom they’ll choose.”

[Bold mine.]

First of all, I can’t understand when Deval Patrick ever said he wasn’t going to work with the legislature. After all, we do have three branches of government. Way to start off on the right foot, Oh Quickly Becoming Irrelevant One. Your type is the reason that we’ve lost the governor’s office time and again - people were afraid of unmitigated one-party rule if it was going to be of the sort you offer. The wave that overcame that (the Patrick election) scares you…I know…it’s only human. But if you’re going to act so obviously like a wounded animal backed into a corner, people are going to figure you out. Then there’s this:

The audience members also reported that Travaglini said Patrick downplayed his promise to slash waste in the budget, though yesterday Patrick’s office insisted he stood firmly by his vow to cut inefficient spending.

Travaglini said that in recent discussions with Patrick, he warned the governor-elect to stop making public promises to cut $1 billion in waste. The Senate president said he told Patrick that the pledge insults the Legislature. If there is that much bloat in the budget, Travaglini said, then he hasn’t been doing his job.

Patrick has repeatedly said he can find $735 million in wasteful spending in the yearly budget. According to audience members, Travaglini said when he objected to the figure, Patrick backed off and said he didn’t really mean it.

Great, now we have hearsay about a private conversation from Trav, who has done a lot less than Patrick to gain my trust. Is he lying about what Patrick said, or misrepresenting it? I have to wonder. It appears that Trav has decided to undermine Patrick even before he gets into office, and biting into his credibility on campaign statements would certainly deliver that. Before I believe such a charge, I’d have to see more evidence than a statement from wounded-animal Trav.

Maybe his actions have something to do with this:

Legislators have also been concerned that Patrick may move to cut earmarks, money that is directed by legislators to local projects. “They are not pork,” DiMasi said earlier this week. “They are legislators’ priorities.”

Riiiiiight.

Personally, I have never liked Trav. He’s watered down more good legislation, in the interests of the connected few, than a cheap bar trying to save money on beer. He’s of the old school of legislative politics, except far less effective than Finneran at it. He weilds his influence like a blunt instrument, or an old Don. My hope? His style of politics doesn’t survive much longer. It’s been as much a drag on good solutions to tough state problems as the Republican governors that worked against and with them. You wouldn’t see me cry if his vice-grip on the state legislature unravelled.

I’m not asking that the legislature give whatever Patrick wants…loyal opposition, even amid one’s own party, is crucial to making sure all interests are represented. However, this sort of whining about your little pet projects isn’t going to look good to the people who elected you (or Patrick). I’m looking for Trav to step down probably within the next two years or less, if he keeps defending the indefensible.

[Update: interesting comment by someone apparently at the breakfast. If it weren’t for Trav’s past hackery, I might be inclined to be so generous…yes the Globe took what it wanted from Trav’s remarks, but he still made them. And he still acts like an old-school Finneran Democrat.]