The biggest song on hip-hop radio stations right now is "Wouldn't Get Far" by The Game and Kanye West. The track is an attack on misguided young women who believe that by dancing around in rap videos, they can become overnight stars in the world of entertainment. The Game and West make it clear that, in their view, these aspiring starlets are not worthy of respect.
A parallel can be drawn between the young women criticized in the song and scandal-scarred former Massachusetts House Speaker Tom Finneran, who's currently pretending to be a talk show host on Boston station WRKO-AM. Like the hip-hop dancers desperate to become stars, Finneran is desperate to be accepted by the same "progressives" who once scorned him as an insufficiently liberal politician.
To that end, Finneran has decided to turn his new show into a cheering section for Gov. Patrick. According to published reports, Finneran referred to Patrick as his "special friend" and claimed that, in the face of harsh media criticism, Patrick should "...know you've got comfort and protection over here."
It's a hard fall for Finneran, who once attacked Patrick's former boss, President Clinton, for his ethical lapses. It was bad enough when Finneran refused to label Patrick a member of the "loony left" despite Patrick's ultra-liberal history. Now, he feels the only way he can regain a shred of the credibility he once had is by glorifying the Governor.
The old Finneran would have disdained Patrick. He would have faulted him for his pandering to "progressives," his willingness to make hard-left turns on the Bay State's roads. But now, Finneran is a broken, corrupt ex-politician begging fate for a second act to his life.
Pandering to Patrick is an ill-fated initiative. The liberal activists who detested Finneran for his opposition to gay marriage and abortion rights will never love him. They will always look at him as a pathetic figure, just as some on the left still look down upon former conservative Glenn Loury. Patrick must stifle a laugh every time he hears Finneran attempt to jump on board the Together We Can caravan.
Much has been written about the idiocy of WRKO's current management, who decided to throw potential talk-radio main-eventer Scott Allen Miller under the bus in order to make way for Finneran's ugly duckling. But how about the lack of wisdom demonstrated by Finneran himself? The man who once purported to be Mr. Morality has now prostituted his soul in the name of pandering to the same liberals he once spat upon. To quote 50 Cent's "Wanksta," "Damn, homey...what the (expletive) happened to you?"
Somewhere in Finneran's conscience, he must be forlorn about embracing a man he once would have scorned. He believes praising Patrick will make him a star--but like those starstruck video dancers, it won't get him far.
UPDATE: More from Miller and Mass. GOP News. Plus, more from the Globe and the Herald.
