Originally posted in bits and pieces at
Truth & Progress:
Offering us a little more insight into their own role in the political gutter game of yesterday (click here for the backstory and video & transcript of Deval's phenomenal response), this morning's Boston Globe had this to say:
The Globe received an anonymous two-page document last week describing the criminal case. The Globe immediately verified the rape conviction and Sigh's residence in Massachusetts and then checked with the sex offender registry to determine if Sigh had fulfilled a requirement to register.
The Globe inquiry prompted state officials to notify Sigh that he had failed to register, but the editors decided against publishing a story after finding no relevance to Patrick's record or qualifications.
We are woefully predictable creatures. I predict you will join me on the flip for more...
The Globe's role in this makes me wonder if the reporter who received the two page anonymous story was set up to trigger that letter to Deval's brother-in-law thus giving cover to Kerry Healey to claim she had nothing to do with it.
The Boston Herald this morning mentions that a spokesperson from the State's Office of Public Safety points to The Globe reporter as responsible for triggering the letter. Ouch. Like the pre-Halloween game and foolery going around town here, it looks like The Globe's been "Ghosted"!
Spooky.
Judging by the reaction of the Healey campaign, demanding apologies and accusing the Patrick campaign of making accusations, it appears that the only person who didn't quite behave predicably is Deval. If Healey had actually listened to what Deval said she would know that he DIDN'T accuse her of setting this up. What he did say is exactly this:
Well, my message to the Healey campaign is that I will not let you run from your record any longer. You can try all you want to change the subject and shift the blame, but we are going to expose for all just how your failed policies and your failed politics are the reason so many people are stuck and struggling and losing hope. The garbage peddlers who shopped this story around town are part of that failed politics, too.
We are going to ask the people to choose whether the politics of fear, division and personal destruction is what they want or whether we're better than that and are ready to finally throw out those who dump this trash in the public square.
In The Globe, Gov. Michael Dukakis offers up some insight into today's form of Republican smear & fear style politics and specifically Kerry Healey's campaign:
Former governor Michael S. Dukakis said yesterday that the current attacks on Patrick are even more virulent than those generated during his 1988 presidential campaign, when Republican-sponsored ads criticized him for allowing the release of convicted murderer Willie Horton.
``This is an awful campaign," Dukakis told the transportation group MoveMass yesterday. ``I've never seen anything like it. It makes Willie Horton look mild by comparison."
How much more of this is Massachusetts and America going to condone? This brand of blood sport is thriving on the national level, liternally and figuratively hemorrhaging our nation. It's all against our best interest and with our permission -- if that's even fathomable. C'mon Massachusetts! You're in very good company. Just don't get fooled again. Wake up to what's going on here and let's demand change in policy AND politics before it's too late.
See you Sunday at 2:30 on The Boston Commons.