Beacon Hill firefight

Hey political junkie. Yeah you. Bored by the lack of real action in the Senate race? Well, I've got the cure for your blues.

That initial skirmish between Deval Patrick and House Speaker Robert DeLeo is starting to really percolate. And no, not over why lawmakers dawdled until the last few days of a do-nothing autumn to pass a charter school bill in only one branch.

Nope, this is over lawmakers heading out of town for the remainder of the calendar year leaving a lot of fiscal matters undone.

“It’s more than a little frustrating that they would leave for whatever it is, six or seven weeks, with so much of the Commonwealth’s vital business undone,’’ Patrick said during a rare, unscheduled visit to the State House press room.

“It’s my hope that the members will realize that their rules are of their own making, that they have it in their own power to work a couple of more days, or frankly, as long as it takes to get this work done.’’

Deval heads into the Statehouse press room? You know he's looking to raise the temperature by heading straight into the fire himself.

While DeLeo may or may not have ground to stand on in refusing to stick around to deal with the education bill, the excuses coming out of the Speaker's brain trust about the state of the state's finances are, um, laughable.

“We solved the budget gap last night,’’ [House Ways and Means Chairman Charles] Murphy said. “We gave him $484 million in cuts. What we have currently is a $190 million deficit. The $600 million was a simple projection we may or may not face down the road. We did what we needed to do. We didn’t agree with the governor in lockstep, but that doesn’t make it wrong or incomplete.’’

"We solved the budget gap"? Can't wait to see him eat those words. Maybe that's why DeLeo is reportedly not talking to anyone -- including the governor.

What we have here is an old-fashioned spitting contest between a Legislature that has as much contempt for a chief executive as I have seen in the time I have been watching Beacon Hill. That contempt is so deep that they chose not to give Patrick the tools to make the politically tough cuts in non-executive agencies, cuts he will be blamed for anyway.

But more amazingly, it has led them to defend the indefensible -- the Quinn bill and the continuation of Evacuation Day and Bunker Hill Day paid holidays. And all the while they have come up with no alternative of their own.

Nor do I find a lot of credence in Murphy's Senate counterpart, Steve Panagiotakis, saying they haven't had the time because Patrick only submitted his proposals on Oct. 31.

Mr. Chairman -- are you really a creature of the governor? You don't have your staff analyze trends during the Great Recession because you must wait for the executive branch's recommendations?

So while Martha, Mike and Pags offer sound bites on who's a better 60th vote on health care reform (assuming any of them will be seated when the final, unamendable bill comes to a vote in Washington), I'll focus on the smoldering embers of one doozy of a battle brewing on Beacon Hill.

Pols gone wild

There wasn't some of the blatant stupidity that has marked some legislative sessions -- like the infamous 200 House "Toga" party.

But the simmering animus between lawmakers and Gov. Deval Patrick boiled to the surface to close the first year of a two-year term that is likely to be the unpopular governor's one shot at political redemption.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo's angry rebuff of Patrick's call to tackle an education reform bill by staying in session a little longer stripped bare the personal hostility among Patrick, DeLeo and Senate President Therese Murray.

“I thought it was fascinating that the governor, with the number of charter schools that are throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, that he happened to pick one that was about a half-mile from my community,’’ DeLeo told reporters.

Yep, it's all about you Mr. Speaker.

Let's review the year, which opened with former House Speaker Sal DiMasi engineering his re-election only to step down and eventually be indicted. By the time DeLeo moved up, several months were frittered away although lawmakers did, in the end, produce significant legislation reforming pensions, ethics and transportation under Patrick's prodding.

After returning from summer break, the House and Senate spun their wheels during the fall. Sure they passed about 60 laws and counting since Sept. 1, but they were the mostly of the sick leave bank, land-taking and bridge-naming variety.

And when it came to the crucial issues at hand -- a reeling economy -- the silence was deafening.

I take that back -- lawmakers have once again risen to the defense of the Quinn Bill and hack holidays as off limits in the budget-cutting process.

As for the one significant reform piece of legislation -- on that carries the potential of increased federal funding -- well, sorry Deval. The Senate was just too preoccupied to take it up until the last week of the session and the House didn't want to rush it through.

Besides, there's plenty of time in January before the federal funding deadline looms. And that way Patrick will have no choice but to swallow what lawmakers put before him or face the prospect of being blamed for the loss of federal dollars.

By many accounts, Patrick is a less than skilled executive, one who doesn't push hard for his objectives. It is his weakest selling point to an electorate looking for a leader next year and a theme that has been and will continually be hammered upon by his gubernatorial rivals.

But count me as one of those who think it is the performance of the Great and General Court that can and should be the focus of attention. The legislative foot dragging while the commonwealth is reeling from the recession is appalling.

Throw that into the context of DiMasi, former Sens. Dianne Wilkerson and James Marzilli and current poster child Anthony Galluccio and you have the image of an out-of-control band off politicians who equate taking away Evacuation Day with taking away Christmas.

Thousands are out of work and here's a chamber that works part-time, protects its perks (and its own) while everything around it crumbles.

Or that's how Patrick's campaign commercials will say it.

Sadly, there's no real solution in sight. The Republican Party's continued slide into irrelevancy makes it unlikely the local branch will be able to field a credible slate of candidates to challenge incumbents and change the nature of the branches. Maybe they are working hard behind the scenes, but I doubt it.

A new governor? If you really belief a new man or woman will change the dynamic that has existed on Beacon Hill for the last 20 years, you are eagerly awaiting the rival of the jolly fat man in the red suit next month.

There are myriad problems facing the Commonwealth and few solutions. The ones that exist are not easy. But in the face of this reality, members of the Great and General Court will no doubt be proudest of this headline as reflective of their "accomplishments" in 2009.

No interest

"Dear Valued Customer -- we're jacking up your interest rates to pay for our taxpayer-financed bailout you're already paying for."

That's pretty much the gist behind the mail that has been trickling in over the last few weeks from Citibank, telling me my base credit card interest rate will now be almost double that of what I get charged on a non-Citi card.

And thanks to the federal dollars that have gone to lobbying and televisions commercials (not to mention stadium naming rights) Congress is going to let it happen without so much as a whimper.

Does something strike as just a tad wrong about this situation?

I guess I'll just keep paying my bills in full every month -- until they start to charge me for being a really good customer who, unlike them, spends wisely and actually meets his debt obligations.

Blocking schemes

It's that time of campaign season, when sincere volunteers and robo candidates bombard your phone with with pleas for support. It's one of the reasons I'm happy to have caller ID.

Or not.

There was an interesting contrast to the two calls yesterday. One listed the number and only "Massachusetts" as the caller. Wow, a whole state calling me! The other listed the number and "Capuano for Senate."

I always understood the name of the caller needed to be displayed along with the number, although there certainly isn't a heck of a lot you can do about it, even though the attorney general's consumer protection office does take complaints -- if no action.

But what was interesting to me is the call from "Massachusetts" came from the campaign of Martha Coakley.

Would be nice if the candidate whose office is supposed to arbitrate the rules actually lived by them.

When Coram met Ampad

Good thing that Senate Democratic candidate Steve Pagliuca hired Tad Devine to do his campaign commercials for him. That way he can't have Devine craft the kind of spot that did in Mitt Romney in his 1994 race against Ted Kennedy.

The Herald has a look at the role of Bain Capital in merger of Coram Healthcare of Denver, a financial transaction that resulted in a $254 million one quarter loss and the layoff of 365 people. Oh, and a $2 million paycheck for Pagliuca and Bain.

Sounds a lot like the saga of Indiana-based Ampad, a company that laid off 350 people after Mitt Romney and Bain came to town. Pagliuca recently said Romney got a raw deal in the ads Devine crafted for Kennedy.

Funny, but the saga sounds an awful lot different than Pagliuca's "Jobs=Dignity" ads that keep flooding TV, radio and the web.

The Herald story duly notes no liability was admitted -- as part of a $22.2 million settlement.

Senators (and police) behaving badly

Not that I have any personal experience in the matter, but do cops normally drive you home if you are reported too drunk to do it on your own?

The special treatment afforded Sen. Anthony Galluccio by the Cambridge police also stands in rather sharp contrast to the "courtesies" extended Henry Louis Gates when police received a call that could have been considered an alert to a potential crime.

So we have the spectacle of yet another member of the Massachusetts Legislature behaving badly, compounded by special treatment. Galluccio has gotten a lot of free passes for his driving faults -- up until the time he decided to leave the scene of an accident.

No wonder lawmakers don't have time to tackle the state's problems. They are too busy dealing with their own.

Another media zoo?

I couldn't help but notice the coincidence.

The Globe (properly) highlights the peril awaiting many poor families with children after yet another round of human service budget cutting that has -- to date -- been pretty hidden from public view.

Meanwhile, buried as a brief, we quietly learn of a deal with Zoo New England, contingent upon getting their fiscal affairs in order, to get a $5 million public appropriation.

“I’m hoping it’s the beginning of a new day,’’ zoo chief John Linehan said in a phone interview last night. “Certainly in many ways it’s long overdue.’’

That's a much more subdued response than last summer, when he hinted at euthanizing animals if the public spigot wasn't opened.

One contrived media flap later, Linehan did get public funds. Will the children of severely disabled parents get the same public reaction for a much more real scenario?

Two faces of Pags

Mike Capuano has an anger management problem. Steve Pagliuca has a consistency problem. One can be fixed. The other? I'm not so sure.

“Steve appreciates the role lobbyists play in educating policy makers on the impact of legislation under consideration,’’ his press aide Will Keyser said. “At the same time, he believes it is wrong for lobbyists and special interest PACs to be a critical source of campaign funding for members of Congress.’’

I'm having a hard time seeing the same difference Money Pags sees between cash provided by lobbyist through election PACs to help a candidate and cash used to influence legislation. Both are stomach-churning examples of protected commercial speech -- and both have contributed mightily to the elimination of the buying of influence in America.

So tell me why it's OK for lobbyists to spend billions of dollars to get what they want in health care, climate change and financial regulation reform -- but it's wrong for them to contribute to candidates who can do their bidding in Congress and in legislatures?

Is it because Pags can purchase his own campaign exposure -- but the lobbyists who have worked for Bain Capital Partners have achieved the type of legislative gifts that has allowed Pagliuca to amass the private fortune he is spending on his campaign?

While Capuano needs to keep a tighter rein on his emotions (and stay away from baseball bats) he is consistent on the issues where Pagliuca is twisting himself into rhetorical knots.

Who's being more honest?

Feds to T: Step aside

The Washington Post is reporting the Obama administration is looking at the idea of having the federal government take over safety regulation of the nation's subway and light-rail transit systems.

After two Green Line crashes in the last two years, it sounds like a marvelous idea.

Truly fruity, oh Rudy!

Margery Eagan has a great column today that truly makes you hope the Mayan calendar might be right.

Welcome back Sarah

I don't know about you, but I've been bereft without Sarah Schweitzer's ongoing saga of how old line and well-t0-do New Englanders have been dealing with the economic downturn.

So her dispatch from the Boston Athenaeum (usually pronounced Athen-EE-um, but sometimes as Athen-AY-um) was an unexpected gift.

There's not an app for that

Excuse me, but why do I want to pay $3.99 to tell me the train or bus is delayed? I already know that.

And forgive me for being cynical about the ability to accurately predict when it will show up. And how, exactly, will it work in the subway without wireless access?

Until the T deals with buses and trolleys running in pairs, I'm not sure it can offer anything.

I may give the freebie a try though. And if they can develop an app that will actually make 'em run on time...

Predictable hypocrisy

Leave it to the Republican Party to oppose the Constitution.

House Minority Leader John Boehner is in high dudgeon over the Obama administration's announcement that it will try Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other alleged 9-11 conspirators in a civilian courtroom in New York City. The decision places the defendants at the scene of the crimes the are accused of perpetrating.

"For over 200 years, our nation has relied on a faithful adherence to the rule of law to bring criminals to justice and provide accountability to victims," said Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. "Once again we will ask our legal system to rise to that challenge, and I am confident it will answer the call with fairness and justice."

That's how it should be under the Constitution -- and a system that worked well in dealing with the crimes of Oklahoma City bombers Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

Yet Boehner blustered:

"The Obama Administration's irresponsible decision to prosecute the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks in New York City puts the interests of liberal special interest groups before the safety and security of the American people. The possibility that Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his co-conspirators could be found 'not guilty' due to some legal technicality just blocks from Ground Zero should give every American pause."

I see, upholding the Constitution is a "liberal special interest."

The only potential legal "technicalities" that pose a problem for the prosecution are the 183 instances of waterboarding, a form of torture recognized as such by all in the civilized world -- with the exception of the administration of George W. Bush.

I thought Boehner took an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution"? It's an obligation that supersedes that of defending the crimes of his political soulmates.

I'm more confident in the actions of a jury in New York City than I am of the GOP "braintrust."