Deval Patrick, Idiot
New Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick is in hot water for spending state money on swank redecorations for his office and ditching Mitt Romney's Lincoln Town Car in favor of a Cadillac DTS.
I swear, sometimes I think I should go into politics. Because, guys, this stuff is not that hard.
Okay, Governor, maybe your office is a little ratty. You really want to redecorate? Bring in some "Living" reporter from the Globe, tell him/her how the office doesn't do the great state of Massachusetts justice, and announce that you've found a donor, preferably someone with a longtime interest in historic preservation, to pay for it, because you don't want to spend taxpayer dollars.
Next...a Cadillac? Oh, Deval, you are a bonehead. What kind of message does that send, driving around in a posh new Caddy? This kind of message:
One word, Governor Patrick:
Hybrid. How about the Ford Escape? It's American, it's populist, and it gets about six times the gas mileage of the Cadillac. It's still an SUV, which is unfortunate, but people will forgive you that.
Oh, and Governor—your wife doesn't need a $72,000 aide. She just doesn't. (Ever heard the name Alan Hevesi? You could look it up.) Tell her to get over herself. Hire a scholarship student graduating from a local university—not Harvard—maybe the daughter of a veteran—and pay her $30 grand. She'll be happy to get the job, and you'll look like you're helping out a hard-working, up-and-coming young person. Which, in fact, you will be.
Residents of Massachusetts, you have a problem, because if this behavior is indicative of Patrick's character—and trust me, it always is—in about three years, you're going to have some serious corruption scandals on your hands.
