In my latest for the Guardian, I argue that if Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick loses his re-election bid this fall, as seems very possible, it will tell us precisely nothing about President Obama, despite their surface similarities. The reason is that Patrick’s political troubles, largely of his own making, go back to the earliest days of his administration in 2007.
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That conclusion all sort-of depends on what the campaign issues become.
I wouldn’t rule it out.
I think the campaign issues are already quite clear: rebellion against increased sales taxes, broken promises on property tax relief, outrage against public employee pension and retirement benefits, anti-incumbent sentiment brought on by drunken solons getting rides home from the cops, legislators stuffing money in their bras, groping legislators in Lowell getting away with it, etc.
And some of us still remember him being in New York signing a big buck book contract when his supposed “signature” issue was going down in flames on the hill.
Whatever the outcome, it will have nothing at all to do with Obama.
Scot Lehigh will have a very different take on Gov. DP in tomorrow’s Globe. He reminds us how Patrick has stood up to public sector unions in some interesting ways:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/03/10/patrick_gets_unions_huffing_and_puffing/
@Mike: I didn’t say pissing off the public-employee unions was bad policy. I said it wouldn’t help Patrick get re-elected. On the merits, I agree with Scot.