What’s Tim Murray smoking? Did the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts score an early prescription for voter-approved medical marijuana?
“Like many of you in the room, I would like to be governor,” Murray told a recent gathering of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
Comments
Tim Murray is no longer electable. His image has been tainted to a point where he should not accept any appointed position in the state, like in college administration for example. He's too much of an embarrasment. The only thing left is lobbying on Beacon Hill for the private sector.
how in hades can anybody in this county city and state say they are proud to be a member of the democratic party? ma
Just look at the Republican clowns in this state and you should be able to answer your own question.
Good one Skippy, good one.
I think he'd get in, without a doubt. Like you said Joan, John Tierney got elected, of course there was massive cheating on in Lynn, but he still got in. Voters have no clue to what's going on, on a state and federal level. Remember Alvin Green in South Carolina, nuff said.
Any evidence?
look at the numbers in Lynn for one thing. people have to be totally blind to elect this man, either he cheated or the people in this state are not paying attention.
Just more evidence that the Globe's view of Massachusetts ends at Rt. 495.
And all this time I thought it was Rte. 128.
Tim Murray, OUR PRESENT LT. GOVERNOR, is the absolute icon of the failure of government and its people (government employees) to operate honestly or transparently. Should this man ever be elevated, or even sustain office, once the present governor is gone, it's not IF there will be a dead body or other issue of irresponsibility that we will pay for, but when. Keep your eye on the ball folks....and more important, keep your eye on Tim...(and always know the MSP knows more than they'll expose...the essence of government corruption. How truly tragic)
The Democrats control Massachusetts - if John Walsh (head of the Massachusetts Democratic party) decides Murray should be governor - he will be governor.
and of course the Globe and Joan Vennochi will do everything in their power to get him elected.
I've always looked to Joan Vennochi to be a dependable voice of reason at the Globe, but in this case I think she has gotten caught up in the Globe's on-going efforts to attack Murray for any and all problems on the political scene. He is clearly not their choice for Governor and they seem to be on a crusade to make sure he never will get the chance to be.
The car accident was probably the most overplayed and enbellished story in recent Globe history. Murray cannot drive on ice, clearly, but does that make him unqualified to run for Governor? Accident reconstruction experts (one even hired by the Globe) confirmed that Murray was going too fast for black ice conditions, but not going over the 108 miles an hour that was repeatedly reported. If he had not been wearing his seat belt, he would have been ejected in the rollover and dead...he was neither....he walked away from the crash and went to work at the State House. Murray was not using a cell phone that morning, but it is the Governor, not Murray who does not want Administration records released anytime for any reason (even if it supported Murray's truthful statements) Murray told the truth. But, the problem with the truth is that sometimes it is boring and does not make good, paper selling headlines.
The state and federal authorities are investigating a low-life guy from the Chelsea Housing Authority named McLaughlin. The Globe reports that it was common knowledge that McLaughlin has been scamming the system and using pols to do it for decades. (Which makes readers wonder: if the Globe and everyone knew about this guy for decades, where was the Globe Spotlight Team saying so all that time?)...Murray is just one on the dozens and dozens of pols that this guy tried to play for his own benefit. Murray has indeed testified along with others who were targets of this creep...but, the Globe skews it's reporting to make Murray the bad guy, not the victim.
The Globe keeps erroneously repeating the mantra that Murray is the "Go-to guy" for patronage...and even tries to make him responsible for the Burgess hire at Public Safety...the Globe stretches the dots to fit their purpose by claiming that because Murray knew Burgess' sister in Worcester a decade ago, that proves he must have been behind that hire. Wrong. But, wrong does not seem to stop an innuendo from being printed anymore. Congressman Jim McGovern actually told the Globe that he was the person who recommended Burgess for consideration for a job (He knew her and worked with her in Cong. Moakley's office.) But, the Globe chose to smear Murray for something he had nothing to do with. Lt. Governors are not the go-to for hiring in any administration including this one. Patrick, like all governors before him, keeps tight hold of the hiring reins.
Sorry for the rant...but, people who know Murray, really know Murray, know he has been unfairly smeared. He is not perfect by his own admission. He cannot drive on ice. He could not get the Governor to release the phone records that would have ended this strange nonsense. BUT, he has probably been the most effective and hardworking Lt Gov in memory because the Gov. let him take the lead (if not the credit) in critical areas and he has come through.
What is Tim Murray smoking, you ask? Nothing. He does not smoke. (next thing you know, he Globe will report that Murray must have been smoking while driving on black ice and rolled a state car over as a result!...(PS: Murray personally paid the state back for the car he damaged...can the Globe pay Murray back for its deliberate and unfounded damage to Murray's reputation and future?)
This comment has been removed.
Candlone:
What's up with you and Murray?
You write like a politician who is at a loss for words so you hang on to crutch words. "Clearly", "clearly", "clearly"
Murray is NOT electable, plain and simple. We Democrats cannot afford to have him run for any office.
Whether Murray was at fault for anything more than speeding, may never be known. To say that Murray can't get the records released is a bit of a stretch. However, the incident has left him unelectable in the eyes of many. As a Democrat, I believe if he is nominated, they will likely lose that election.
please. If this state can elect a fool like our current governor, or a fool like our current US Senator-Elect, how would Timmy be any different?
You must be quite the mensa candidate yourself to call Elizabeth Warren a fool.
"He lives in the bubble that insulates Massachusetts Democrats from harsh political outcomes." Good point, Joan, and one has only to read the current Globe article of the longer commute of blacks to see that the Globe is in that bubble too.
Tim Murray & Mitt Romney have a lot in common. Too much. Z
Tim Murray ? Who's he. If he gets the nomination for governor the next gov will be ex-senator Brown.
Senators (especially non-leadership) in an executive position? Recipe for disaster.
There is absolutely no reason to consider Brown for governor. He has no executive experience for one thing. Just a familiar pretty face. Lots of other Republicans would be more appropriate for the job.
Wake up and smell the coffee, Joan. Whether you like it or not, Tim Murray WILL become the next governor of Massachusetts. Deval Patrick's bags are already packed for Washington, DC, and once he's gone, Murray will automatically become governor. And, unless I miss my guess - it will be Tim Murray who will appoint our next Senator should John Kerry get that Cabinet appointment he seeks - in a "selection" process that would make Rod Blagojevich proud.
Perhaps. But I think it's fair to say that voting him in afterwards may not happen. Ms. Vennochi has a very good point about the state not wanting to send Republicans to national office, but finding them perfectly acceptable as governors. Over the last 30 years, I would guess 1 to 5% of the national House and Senate days logged representing Massachusetts were by Republicans. The number for governor must be roughly 10 times that.
OccasionalWriter, you don't understand how Massachusetts politics works. Murray's price for the "right" Senate appointment will be a guarantee of his reelection. And the Democratic machine is fully capable of delivering on that promise - even in a non-presidential election year. Remember, these are the guys who elected an admitted tax cheat over a certified auditor for "State Auditor".
So the King of Patronage wants to be Governor - good luck with that Tim.
Is Murray anymore delusional than the Governor? What makes Deval think he's qualified for a senior level position in the President's administration?
It's not delusional ... look how hard the media worked to ignore and coverup Elizabeth Warrens lies and faults. The big D after your name is all that matters. Qualification is all about getting elected.
WSD: so the press and a stupid electorate are responsible for republicans being unelectable? Not your party's positions?
maybe some introspection is in order.
Maybe not so delusional in this State of sheep voters
Didn't Todd Domke already write this column a few weeks ago?
As political scandals go, these are pretty small potatoes. The mysterious car crash is turning into an issue like Warren's Native American background - it's time to let it go and move on. Continuing to circle back on this incident is just lazy.
I for one am not shocked that money is tainting the political process. I'm surprised this is news to Joan. Yes, it's ugly, but point to one elected official who is not either 1) independently wealthy; or, 2) financed by wealthy donors who expect favors in return.
I would like to have seen an actual appraisal of Murray's qualifications for this office, beginning with his tenure as mayor of Worcester. Was he effective? Popular? What did he or did he not accomplish? Ditto for his time as Lt. Gov.
He seems like a decent enough guy. He's Lt. Gov. and it's only natural he's thinking about running for gov. I'd like to know more about him. I was disappointed that Joan chose to just recycle the same talking points that have been out there for months, rather than bring a fresh perspective.
Classic Massachusetts Democrat! Seems like a nice guy, what's a little corruption and a few lies.
Tim Murray, Eleanor Murphy, and even Kerry Healy prove the point we don't need a Lieutenant Governor in the commonwealth! Glad to see someone from the Globe speaking out about Murray's "issues" to use a polite term. As for those who think the car wreck is no big deal, what would you think if someone belonging to you was involved in an accident with a guy driving a state vehicle at excessive speed in the blackness of night to "check storm damage"? You'd think that was a bit of a stretch too.
Murray would be a shoo-in for any political job in Massachusetts except governor. As tsynchronous so elegantly put it, a ham sandwich could get elected in MA if they have a "D" after their name. This applies to every office except governor, where, from time to time, the MA electorate experiences a spasm of common sense.
I agree with you ( and Joan ) on this one, Murray just has to choose any office beside governor and all will be forgiven, forgotten or covered up.
McLaughlin is going to be hard to get away from. Here's betting we get subjected to endless whining avout "the accident" instead. Rob Eno and the red mass "brain trust" are already bleating it to death.
The Mass GOP is truly the gang that can't shoot straight.
A message from reader "candlone" [11/25/2012 07:00 AM] puts the best face on prospects of Lt. Gov. Murray, yet they are none too favorable. The anhistorical Globe and its chattering readers don't seem to remember the last close parallel: an ambitious but not visibly talented holder of one of the minor statewide offices who hoped to edge up but got waylaid by an opponent with some apparent pizazz, at the time. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Globe's cagy, sniping hatchet-lady leaves unanswered a key question: if not him, then who? Democrats have at least as tough a problem with that as Republicans. Decades of fascist rule at the State House with House speakers Thompson, Harrington, McGee, Finneran, Flaherty and DeLeo erased the heritage of the 1960s and 1970s, when some young Democrats managed to stand out from the pack for their work on issues. Another young Mike Dukakis who came along in the last thirty years would likely have been squashed into a back office and humiliated, as some new state reps were.
Blooms asks, if not Tim Murray, then who a should the Democrats nominate for governor in 2014? Ummm, let Me guess. How about Martha Coakley?
And I thought we were done with all those negative political ads for a while! Joan! Joan! Joan! As transparent as can be as usual!
Hey Tim-
You and many others under the golden dome need to be fumigated.. Get out you are an insult to taxpayers in this state..