Friday, January 11, 2008
Here in Massachusetts we have recently gone through the election of a Democrat Governor named Deval Patrick. Patrick's campaign was characterized by a studious avoidance of taking a position on...pretty much anything. Instead we were treated to a feel good campaign by a man barely qualified for the job who, in lieu of substance, ran on looks, platitudes of "'Together We Can", personal charm and a liberal electorate suffering from a reverse Bradley Effect eager to vote for a minority candidate. The only substance he did offer -- holding out the hope that local communities would lower property taxes if the state would hold the line on further tax cuts and raise local aid -- was pure piffle with anyone with the cranial capacity to understand that local government was no more likely to give back money through lower rates than any other government was.
His first year in office has done anything but allay the fears of those of us who knew that looks and slogans were no substitute for experience and seriousness. Patrick's big legislative activity on behalf of the state's economy has been to push casino gambling. How creative. And now, what is he threatening? To push through in-state discount college tuition for illegal immigrants -- and he's willing to go around the state legislature to do it. Yes, the measure was so unpopular (around the time of the campaign) that even the ultra-liberal Massachusetts legislature voted it down. Patrick mulls new tack on immigrant tuition
Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday he is studying whether he can bypass the Legislature to clear the way for illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities, triggering criticism from Beacon Hill Republicans on an explosive issue that has reverberated nationally.
Speaking before a group of business and civic leaders, Patrick said his legal team is weighing whether the state could grant the lower rate by passing a regulation, which would require approval by the 11-member Board of Higher Education. Patrick's comments, in response to a question from an audience member, came two years after an in-state tuition bill failed in the Legislature, and amid a debate over illegal immigration in the presidential race.
Paying in-state tuition would save illegal immigrant students thousands of dollars. At the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, out-of-state tuition is close to $10,000 a year, compared with about $1,700 a year for residents. Out-of-state tuition runs as high as $8,430 a year at a community college compared to about $700 a year for residents...
Patrick has endorsed Barack Obama -- a man whose campaign carries many echoes of the Patrick campaign, sometimes literally. Yes, we've seen the mass chanting of "'Yes We Can!" here in Massachusetts. You've been warned.
Update: MIss Kelly has a good one on the Obama/Patrick crossover: Barack Osama and Deval Patrick - Deja Vu All Over Again
