Kerry on the local scene

[Mass]

While JK has been largely silent on the national scene since Xmas, he has not been silent on the local scene. Yesterday, he was hosting a fundraiser for a local election. He also attacked the state on the problem of witness protection which has been plaguing the state for years.

The article is a little bit confusing as it also refers to Kerry Healey, who has been trying to surf this wave for a few months now (she is the Lt Gov. why doesn't she tell Romney to do something?).

http://news.bostonherald.com/localPolitics/view.bg?articleid=120093

While Beacon Hill lawmakers struggle to crack a sweeping code of silence fueling Boston’s bloody crime wave, Sen. John Kerry slammed the state for not finding cash to shield witnesses from intimidating thugs.
“When I was a prosecutor we protected our witnesses,” Kerry, a former Middlesex County district attorney, said at Boston Medical Center yesterday. “We used our county funds, our state funds and we used state police funds and we made it happen. We cooperated with the feds and used the federal witness program when it was necessary.”
...

Kerry called for an end to the bloodshed that has rocked Boston, saying last month’s quadruple slaying in a Dorchester basement was “a grim reminder that the violence continues to escalate.”
“Neighbors should not have to fear retaliatory tactics being taken against them when they stand up against this kind of violence,” the senator said. “Fear is a very powerful weapon which we need to overcome in order to restore a sense of community and safety.”

[karynnj]

1. THe article says that the legislature is stalling something

but it still seems the vaunted goyernor should have done something. If it's a state wide problem, shouldn't he be working on this?

The articles rated pretty low.

[whometense]

2. Not many ratings!

I rated it a 5 and it moved up an entire star!

I'm not aware of the stalled legislation, or what it's about. It seems a point of pride on Beacon Hill to deprive Romney of any accomplishment he can point to with pride, perhaps to the detriment of the state. I can empathize with that attitude, but there are some very weird political dynamics at work in MA right now. Politics seems to be taking precedence over everything else. Local pols are very, very angry with Romney over his actions the past few years and for running for governor as a total liar.

Anyone follow that very strange interchange over the past few days between Romney and Reilly about that awful accident last year that killed two sisters?

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/01/06/crash_report_cites_alcohol_romney_reilly_swap_accusations_on_case/

A police report on a car crash that killed two Southborough sisters says that the 17-year-old girl at the wheel of the vehicle appeared intoxicated and was playing a drinking game at a party with 15 or 20 other young people just before the accident.

The report, released yesterday by Northborough police hours after Governor Mitt Romney and Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly traded accusations over the politically charged case, quotes Northborough Police Chief Mark Leahy as telling prosecutors he believed his investigators had a case for what he described as ''allowing" a minor to consume alcohol.<...>

[rox63]

3. I just gave it 5 stars

Good article. I'm glad that Kerry's taking care of business at home before he goes back to Washington later this month.

Yes, MA politics has been mighty strange lately. Has anyone seen visible signs that Healey is in the middle of a campaign for governor? She isn't acting like someone who's running all that hard.

[whometense]

4. No...

at the moment it looks like it's Romney v. Reilly - and we know that's not happening.

[TayTay]

5. She is such a lightweight and she has a problem

She has to come in as the backup to Romney, who does not have a record in MA to be proud of. I am thrilled that Sen. Kerry has stepped in. (BTW, he also has strong opinions on the health care legislation pending before the Great and General Court.) Healey has no experience with Boston and with urban problems at all. (Well, maybe if we cut their taxes. The solution to all problems is to cut their services and taxes, right? Barbie-logic.)

Also, the implied slap to Romney is great! Go JK.

[whometense]

6. Yow!

Check out Brian McGrory today on Mittens:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/01/06/the_public_knows_better/

Thomas F. Reilly may be a lot of things in this life. He may be politically naïve. He may be unprepared for prime time. He may be in dire need of advice that's better than what he's getting now.

<...>

But Reilly, a longtime prosecutor, is certainly not unethical, and he's absolutely not corrupt. His role in trying to protect a family friend who lost two teenage daughters in a self-inflicted car crash was an act of basic human decency, nothing more, nothing less.Amid the swirl of speculation and accusations, Governor Mitt Romney kicked the story up a notch yesterday by asking, ''Why would we ever want to hush up the truth about alcohol in an accident?" It was by all measures a shocking and uncharacteristic spectacle. The Mitt Romney I know is an uncommonly decent and compassionate guy, not prone to tawdry political opportunism. The Romney who addressed the news media yesterday is a stranger to me.

''I was horrified," Reilly said, his voice clearly strained. ''I was horrified when I heard about it, that someone would try to politicize the deaths of two young children. I spoke to that father today, and they are grieving. They will be grieving for the rest of their lives.

''Those girls made a tragic mistake that night, and they paid for it with their lives. Everything else is irrelevant. I'm irrelevant. For the father to see the pictures of his daughters again in the papers -- they can't take any more."