And so farewell, Charlie Baker, worst governor within the historical past of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Granted, he’s not prone to maintain that worst-ever title for lengthy. Maura Healey is greater than prone to proceed the downward spiral – as of late that’s the best way every little thing rolls in Massachusetts, downhill, from dangerous to worse to nonetheless worse but.
For the previous few days, you’ve needed to wade by way of (or extra probably, simply keep away from) all of the slobbering puff items about “the most popular governor in America.”
Give me a break. Oddly, none of those hagiographies may cite one concrete accomplishment of those final eight benighted years, aside from the one they refused to convey up — his son A.J. beating the rap on his alleged groping of a younger lady on that notorious Jet Blue flight again in 2018.
You already understand how dreadfully mismanaged nearly each public company within the state has been run on his watch, and never simply the MBTA. The Baker-era rot has permeated each nook of Massachusetts authorities, from the RMV-caused massacres of motorcyclists to the countless scandals within the State Police and so forth.
But all pale compared to his catastrophic mismanagement of the Panic of 2020. In these fawning farewell interviews, Charlie’s alibis have been that nobody may have identified, or that hindsight is 20-20, or that you just don’t get do-overs and many others. and many others.
In different phrases, everyone was going to the identical occasion. Of course, that’s what you informed your dad and mom in regards to the post-prom all-nighter, and why you wanted Dad’s automobile keys, as a result of all of the cool children had been going.
And expensive previous Dad shook his head and mentioned, “Son, if Andy jumped off a cliff, would you follow him?”
Charlie watched Andy (Cuomo) bounce off the cliff, after which he adopted proper behind him. And all of Baker’s calamitous missteps have devastated the state, for generations to come back.
It was all so avoidable. Govs. Ron DeSantis and Brian Kemp didn’t fall for Fauci’s folderol. Even Jared Polis of Colorado – a Democrat – was much less hysterical than Charlie.
Baker claimed he was simply following “the science.” Yeah, the political science. Just like all Democrats, he was keen to do something to eliminate Trump, by no matter means doable.
Charlie needed to make all kinds of impactful choices on the top of the hysteria. And in each considered one of his imperious govt orders — lockdowns, faculty and church closings, shutting down Main Street mom-and-pops whereas the big-box chains remained open, these preposterous curfews (an additional hour on weekends!), firing state workers who refused the untested vaccinations – he received every little thing precisely one hundred pc improper.
He ruined a era of faculty children, for no purpose in any way on condition that they weren’t going to die from the virus. At least a 3rd of the state’s eating places are gone. The flight of taxpayers now rivals these of California and New York.
And in these COVID-related areas the place his intervention might need saved lives, he was completely MIA.
For occasion, would it not have been an excessive amount of for him to have appointed somebody to run the Holyoke Soldiers Home who wasn’t an unqualified hack, who hadn’t given him and his dreadful lieutenant governor Karyn “Pay to Play” Polito a complete of $1950?
If Charlie was so appalled by what was taking place within the nursing properties his personal Department of Public Health (DPH) had uncared for to manage, what didn’t he give again that $52,000 the long-term-care fats cats had lavished upon him?
Instead, all he did was have the DPH finagle the stats on nursing-home deaths, to make himself look barely much less incompetent.
The actuality is, Charlie’s COVID madness beggared the working folks of this state, forcing them to flee the financial break he’d inflicted on them. And on the time he was concurrently enriching the Democrat hackerama with what amounted to a two-year paid trip, full with large pay raises for staying dwelling and never working.
Thanks Charlie.
You can argue that the Panic was past Baker’s energy to regulate, however there’s one catastrophe that might have completely been prevented, and that’s the utter destruction of the Massachusetts state Republican occasion.
As you’re conscious, the state GOP simply suffered by way of its worst elections since 1854. This GOP debacle was engineered by two bust-out ex-state reps, Jim “Jones” Lyons and Geoff “DoorDash” Diehl.
They each retired from elective politics in 2018 as a consequence of sick well being – the voters received sick of them.
Charlie’s been across the State House his total grownup life, so he understands higher than most that nearly everybody who’s been a rep for greater than three phrases is just about unemployable.
Charlie’s mistake was not caring for these two loafers. I’m positive DoorDash may have been purchased off with a $150,000 coat holder’s job in say, Labor. Labor’s at all times a pleasant dumping floor for hacks who want a job, versus work. Consider the profession of Marty Walsh.
Or Charlie may have interred Lyons and Diehl in some abandoned courthouse, doesn’t matter which one. Outside the cities, no one ever goes to work in any of them anymore, particularly for the reason that Panic.
Look at Ed Teague, former rep on Cape Cod — $174,532 a 12 months as clerk Justice of the Peace. Hey, I’ll wager both Jones or DoorDash would have been pleased to accept being a primary assistant clerk Justice of the Peace. Like, as an example, Charlie King – and he was by no means within the legislature, simply on the GOP state committee, like them. Forgotten, however not gone, for $145,734 a 12 months.
Charlie’s protection may very well be that no state occasion committee has ever been thought-about greater than a authorized equipment for transferring cash round amongst occasion factions, benefactors and candidates.
Until Jim Jones Lyons, no one had ever dreamed of utilizing a state committee in the identical approach a terrorist makes use of a suicide-bomb vest – on their very own occasion no much less. But that nightmare has occurred and now the state GOP is on life assist, and the earnings tax has been raised 80 %.
And the actual fact is, Charlie does – did — know learn how to play the patronage recreation. On his approach out the door he took care of two GOP state reps who misplaced their races within the wake of the Lyons-Diehl putsch.
Alas, ex-Rep. Shawn Dooley will make a mere $10,688 on the Civil Service Commission, and Tim Whelan will get zero on the Mass DOT board of administrators.
Thanks Charlie!
Now Charlie strikes on to his $3-million retirement sinecure as NCAA president. Those identical simpering valedictories all requested the query, What will Charlie do on the NCAA?
What will he do? For God’s sake, he’s a hack. What will Charlie do? He’ll money his $60,000-a-week paycheck and snort all the best way to the financial institution.
While everybody who voted for him cries all the best way to the poorhouse. Unless they’ve fled, or quickly will flee, to Florida. Which, fortunately, is most of us.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”