I usually do not think of the Boston Phoenix as my number one source for news but they seem to have more going on the the governors race department lately than anyone else. This week they had two articles, one technically an editorial, on teh race for governor in this state and they are both worth a look. The first article is an editorial on Tom Reilly and his bid for governor. Have a look at this piece from the end of the editorial and then I will comment:
Reilly Should Exit

One of Reilly’s problems may be that he has thought too much about raising the money he needs to be elected governor and not enough about what he would stand for if he were to be elected. Witness Reilly’s flip-flop embrace of the death penalty; it was every bit as squirrelly as the conversion Mitt Romney miraculously underwent when he cast his cold and calculating eyes on the White House, at which point he abandoned his position on abortion that while he was personally opposed to it, he respected and upheld a woman’s right to choose. And then there was his spineless performance on the issue of gay marriage. Reilly really stuck it to a community that had for the most part supported his electoral career. Even if as attorney general Reilly felt he had absolutely no wiggle room and had to allow a statewide referendum on gay marriage (something we — like others — doubt), he could have made a more convincing case and showed more solicitude toward his gay supporters. When the going gets tough, Reilly gets squishy. At least more-conservative Democrats have the candor to hold their positions with conviction.

While he may not do it convincingly, Reilly is always on watch trying to turn easy headlines into political hay. He tried to exploit the nasty and soul-numbing scandal over the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests by suggesting constitutionally dubious oversight of church affairs by his office. He tried to worm his way into the sale of the Red Sox with dubious claims of policing the trusts that owned the team. And he offended civil libertarians as well as people of common sense when he injected himself into a fracas caused by two loathsome radio talk-show jocks who made a racist wisecrack on the air.

But when there were issues that really mattered and where his office had a clear interest — such as the spate of murder-conviction reversals in Suffolk County and the plague of murders that Boston police have not been able to solve — where was Reilly? Keeping his mouth shut.

Although the prospect appears unlikely, we’d welcome the entrance of one of our congressmen into the race. Whether Patrick or Gabrieli have what it takes to make it as governor remains to be seen. They may, by the standards of political pros, be long shots. But we think their candidacies are more appealing than Reilly’s.

I usually dont agree with the more alternative ideas pushed by Phoenix like publications but I could not agree more. Demcorats are really lacking exciting candidates with impressive ideas. I think that Deval fills that void. At the lease he does a better job than Reilly. Reilly just seems to think that he somehow deserves this because it is what is next for him. Even taking election politics out of it I really dont know that he would be so strong for the people of Massachusetts.

On the issue of Deval Patrick, the Phoenix also has a stort about him. Here is an excerpt:
Corporate Accountability

Maybe, In the wake of his landslide win at this month’s democratic caucuses, Deval Patrick Is the new front-runner. Maybe he’s neck-and-neck with the former favorite, Attorney General Tom Reilly, who’s stumbled more in the past six weeks than most politicians do in a year. Whatever you make of Deval Patrick’s chances in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, one thing is clear: his years as a high-powered corporate executive are about to get some serious scrutiny.

There’s a political paradox at work here. Patrick’s business bona fides could be invaluable in a general-election fight with Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, the likely Republican nominee, and Big Dig whistle blower Christy Mihos, who may run as an independent. At the same time, Patrick’s Fortune 500 roots practically beg Reilly, who’s been cultivating an Everyman persona, to play the economic-populist card with a vengeance. Whether Reilly can do this skillfully is unclear — but so is Patrick’s ability to reconcile his abiding business loyalties with the exigencies of his candidacy.

The article goes on to take a look at that business backgroung of Deval Patrick -- especially what the negatives might be. I wanted to be worried about this issue with him at first but I doubt that it will affect him in the long run and it would probably be good for this population losing state. Understanding business is good and with quotes like this, "The difference between us and the right is — or ought to be — that we understand that there’s more than one bottom line,” he continues. “There’s the profit bottom line, and that’s right. That’s fine; I’m a capitalist; I understand this. But there are also environmental bottom lines, and community bottom lines, and human bottom lines. And the role of government, as I see it, is to balance those bottom lines — to create the corridor within which the free market operates. I don’t know that that is a Republican or a Democratic message. It’s pragmatism.” I don't think he can lose.

# posted by CourageVisionChange @ 12:36 AM