If you want Republican Charlie Baker, you’ll love Democrat Maura Healey.
She is the heiress obvious. While they could be of various events, they share most of the similar insurance policies.
That’s the below-the-radar message of the 2022 marketing campaign for governor that progressive Democrat Healey has been pushing to beat conservative Republican Geoff Diehl.
And whereas Baker has not endorsed both candidate for governor, his lack of an endorsement of Diehl, a fellow Republican, is a de facto Healey endorsement.
Healey, the woke legal professional common, has aligned herself so intently with the outgoing RINO governor that one would assume Healey was his lieutenant governor somewhat than Karyn Polito.
Healey calls Baker “a valued partner,” one thing Polito thought that was what she was.
Healey isn’t Charlie Baker’s lieutenant governor; she simply acts like she is.
Healey is a two-term legal professional common who, if elected, would in essence serve the third time period as governor that Baker didn’t search.
And whereas Healey is to the far left of Baker, she comes throughout as a Charlie Baker reasonable, as she did once more Thursday evening throughout the second and final tv debate with Diehl.
Baker was elected governor eight years in the past, the identical time that Healey was elected legal professional common. Baker reduce Healey an enormous break when he didn’t search re-election. She wouldn’t have challenged her “valued partner” if he had.
Nor did Baker search to make Polito his successor by resigning and making Polito appearing governor, which Republican governors have achieved for his or her lieutenant governors earlier than, particularly Gov. Bill weld and Gov. Paul Cellucci.
A Baker resignation would have given Polito a leg up if she ran for the workplace. But it didn’t occur, and that was one other break for Healey.
Healey has been round lengthy sufficient to know that Baker is the kind of Republican that Democrats love as a result of they take into account him one among their very own, and with good purpose. He hates Donald Trump too, and Trump endorsed Geoff Diehl.
In the traditional course of occasions, Baker would have supported a fellow Republican to succeed him, hopefully transferring to that candidate the help of the huge numbers of unregistered voters, or Independents, who twice helped elect him.
But Baker misplaced management of the Republican Party, which was taken over by Trump-supporting conservatives, of which Diehl is one.
Baker couldn’t even have delivered the Republican Party endorsement for Polito if she had been a candidate.
So, if you’re Baker, you’re fairly content material to see Diehl go down in flames.
Everything is breaking for Healey. Not solely is her “valued partner” silently behind her, however she additionally has the left leaning institution media in her again pocket.
There had been solely two debates, in the event you can name them that. And no reporter or panelist requested her a troublesome query about her eight years in workplace or how she turned a as soon as revered legislation workplace right into a Democrat Party subject workplace.
No one even requested her if she thinks Biden ought to run for reelection or why she prevented being seen with Biden throughout Biden’s final two visits to Massachusetts.
Healey’s file as legal professional common is essentially the most unvetted file of any workplace holder who has run for governor, and the media is glad letting her get away with it. Nobody asks her powerful questions.
Oftentimes occasions, like the opposite evening, the tv panelists asking the questions have by no means coated that State House or Healey’s legal professional common’s workplace within the first place, and do not know of her file. Either approach she will get a go.
Even the Boston Globe, which endorsed her, is puzzled by the shortage of scrutiny. In its endorsement final week the paper wrote “Pressured from neither the left or the right, she has been able to mostly coast from photo op to photo op: buying sneakers, shooting hoops.”
Legitimate occasions, the Globe mentioned, however the sort that, “do not offer the kind of contentious debate that can sharpen a candidate by forcing them to defend, clarify, or even amend campaign positions.” Right on.
Can we get a do over?
Peter Lucas is a veteran Massachusetts political reporter and columnist.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”
