Does anyone really take this claim from Gov. Patrick at face value?

Senator Barack Obama's Massachusetts supporters began focusing their efforts on the November election yesterday, fanning out to busy areas in Boston to register voters, even as the candidate's Democratic primary campaign against Senator Hillary Clinton continued.

Governor Deval Patrick rallied about 100 volunteers at Roxbury's Reggie Lewis Center yesterday. The volunteers scooped up voter registration slips and chose MBTA stations, parks, and other spots to find unregistered voters.

Patrick, wearing blue jeans, stood outside the Back Bay T Station and registered potential voters, saying he wouldn't even object if some were Republicans.

"I think it's in the spirit of the campaign that if someone says, 'I want to register, but I'm going to register as a Republican,' you sign them up," he said.

Puh-leeze. How can Patrick not object to people registering as Republicans when, just a few years ago, he accused pro-Republican talk radio of encouraging hate crimes? Does anybody really think he wants people to support the party of Reagan, when he wouldn't even honor Reagan's birthday?

Come on, Deval. The last thing you want is people aligning themselves with the GOP. Who are you trying to fool?

UPDATE: More from Diane Patrick and the Globe.

Gov. Patrick, still committed to casinos.

Despite a recent high-profile defeat, legislation to legalize casino gambling in Massachusetts may yet come back, Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday.

Patrick said he wasn't basing his statement on the possible departure of House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, a gambling opponent, but a confluence of other factors.

The governor told a Brookline Chamber of Commerce audience that an unyielding need for property tax relief, the possibility of slot machines at the state's racetracks, and ongoing efforts by the Wampanoag Indians to build their own casino will revive the discussions.

"There's a lot of interest in it, and issues that die in one session don't die a permanent death," Patrick said. "They tend to come back over time."

Under one scenario, Patrick said, casino gambling supporters might try to expand the slot machine bill to include resort-style casinos. Patrick projected that his plan for three casinos would generate at least $600 million in licensing fees, $400 million in annual tax revenues, and 20,000 permanent jobs.

DiMasi led the effort to kill the plan. He argued the revenues would be offset by social and economic costs, including lost business at other tourist destinations.

UPDATE: More from Michael Graham and the AP.

SECOND UPDATE: From Casey Ross.

We all knew Gov. Patrick was a trip.

Governor Deval Patrick, who led his first trade mission to China in November, said he will likely next go to India or Israel to drum up business for Massachusetts.

Patrick, speaking at a medical device industry conference in Boston today, also noted that Lt. Governor Tim Murray plans to make a foreign trade mission to Ireland later this year. He said the state could justify many more excursions to help boost the Massachusetts economy. But Patrick also said he does not want to make so many trips that he draws criticism for spending too much time out-of-state.

“We want to keep it to one [foreign trade mission] a year,” he said. “We planned for a lot of blowback from China, because previous trade missions had been criticized.”

His decision to go to India or Israel comes at a time when Massachusetts venture capital firms are starting to invest more in those countries.

UPDATE: From Red Mass Group, the Globe, the AP and Mass Roots GOP.

Jon Keller on Gov. Patrick and Sen. Obama.

There may not be two politicians on the national stage more alike than Barack Obama and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Both went to Harvard Law, are African-American politicians with mass appeal, and use soaring rhetoric to promise a bold new postpartisan politics.

But the two men differ in one critical area: Mr. Patrick has an executive record. And, unfortunately for the senator from Illinois, it reveals that the Patrick-Obama brand of politics isn't really new. It is, in fact, something akin to the failed liberalism of old, in a new vessel.

Mr. Patrick, 52, was swept into office in a landslide in 2006. He won because Democrats were energized to capture the governor's mansion and because he presented himself as an historic candidate. Having never held elective office before – though he was assistant attorney general for the civil rights division in the Clinton administration – it was easy for him to claim that he wouldn't be beholden to special interests or outmoded orthodoxies. Baby boomers, eager to make a permanent mark on the political landscape, also found the idea of electing the state's first black governor appealing.

What the Bay State got, however, is a pedestrian liberal governor who is remarkably quick to retreat in the face of pressure from the status quo.

UPDATE: More from the Boston Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: From the Herald.

Gov. Patrick gets his earth on.

Governor Deval Patrick will call on business leaders today to embrace his vision for the state's emerging clean energy industry, both to reduce their own costs and to boost the state's economy, according to administration officials briefed on the speech.

Convinced that the age of fossil fuels is coming to a close, the governor hopes to seize on the imagination of business leaders to make Massachusetts the center of the clean energy industry through incentives that would eliminate the gas tax on certain biofuels and recruit innovative renewable energy firms to develop their technologies in the Bay State.

In a speech before the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce this morning, Patrick will also outline his vision for a regional pact to limit the carbon content of fuels, similar to the pact aimed at reducing power plant emissions that contribute to global warming.

The speech, which the governor was still working on yesterday, underscores how seriously Patrick is looking at clean energy to advance his economic hopes for the Commonwealth. Last summer, the administration concluded that the clean energy sector was poised to overtake textiles as the 10th largest industry in the Commonwealth. The sector - including consultants, energy efficiency specialists, and university researchers working on clean energy - now employs some 556 firms and 14,400 people in the Bay State, according to a survey prepared for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's Renewable Energy Trust.

One administration official told the Globe that the governor will make his case by pointing to historically high gasoline prices, the threat of global climate change, as well as the quarter of a billion dollars in private capital already invested in clean energy technologies in Massachusetts.

"In light of all that, we have really an economic imperative to take action to arm ourselves for rising fuel prices, but we also have an economic opportunity in the rising clean energy sector," said one senior administration official. "We're saying clean energy should take its place in the top echelon of economic priorities for the Commonwealth."

UPDATE: More from the Boston Herald and Mass Roots GOP.

Gov. Patrick, at a loss for words.

...[A] new effort is under way to ban greyhound racing, a sport that has kept hundreds employed at tracks in Raynham and Revere for decades. A ban would shutter both tracks, unless slots are approved. But ask Patrick about the possible ban and you won’t get his pro-casino, jobs-first speech. You’ll get apathy.

“I’m going to do my best not to feel like I have to have an opinion on absolutely everything,” the governor told State House News Service this week when asked about his position on greyhound racing.

The non-response caused state Republican party spokesman Barney Keller to quip: “I can’t wait to read that chapter in the governor’s book - apparently for Deval Patrick, leadership means having no opinion.”

UPDATE: More from Human Events and the Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Herald and Howie Carr.

Why Gov. Patrick was a better campaigner than Sen. Obama. Plus, the Boston Phoenix on Gov. Patrick and the Boston media.

UPDATE: From Red Mass Group, the Globe and Herald.

Another political setback for Gov. Patrick?

Governor Deval Patrick's quest to tighten corporate tax laws and reap hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue might be undermined by a last-minute amendment providing new offshore tax breaks that was tacked onto the legislation by the House, according to state officials.

The complex amendment was backed by the House leadership and approved with little debate during mid-evening voting two weeks ago as representatives were adopting the overall tax package. Several lawmakers said they were unaware of the details of the provision, which was sought by the state's largest business lobbying group.

The provision would permit large corporations to avoid up to $200 million in state taxes a year if they maintain large portions of their business operations overseas, according to an estimate by the state Department of Revenue. The tax-shelter strategy has proved controversial in other states.

Administration officials say the maneuver could essentially make a wash of the revenue raised by corporate tax reform, a cornerstone of Patrick's agenda that was expected to bring in $217 million in the first six months of 2009.

"It would allow companies to shift money overseas and avoid taxes in Massachusetts," Navjeet K. Bal, the state's revenue commissioner, said in an interview yesterday. "This is a real concern for us."

The offshore tax break still must be considered by the Senate, along with the rest of the tax bill, before reaching Patrick's desk. Through a spokesman, Patrick said the administration will lobby senators to change the plan.

"We look forward to continuing to work with the House and the Senate to craft a final loopholes plan that will ensure tax fairness and provide much needed revenue," said the governor's spokesman, Kyle Sullivan.

UPDATE: More from the Herald.

Is Gov. Patrick hurting Barack Obama in the Bay State?

How else to explain the amazing, astounding and unthinkable results of the latest SurveyUSA presidential poll: Republican John McCain is tied with Barack Obama in the Bay State.

The last Republican to win Massachusetts? Ronald Reagan. The last Republican before that? Dwight Eisenhower. Even George McGovern managed to carry Massachusetts in 1972, the one Democratic holdout in Richard Nixon’s 49-state landslide.

Replace “McGovern” with “MoveOn.org” and you’ve seized the essence of the Obama candidacy. He’s the most liberal U.S. senator, advocating tax increases on the “wealthy” and enjoying the support of Gov. Deval Patrick, Sen. Ted Kennedy, The Boston Globe-Democrat and every 9/11 conspiracy kook in the People’s Republic of Cambridge. He’s got all the players in Massachusetts behind him except the ones who actually vote.

While Hillary Clinton soundly beats McCain in Massachusetts in the new SurveyUSA poll, 56 percent to 41 percent, the Obama/McCain number is 48 percent to 46 percent, well within the margin of error.

A Democrat struggling here in 2008? An unpopular war, a collapsing housing market and $4 gas - if Britney Spears were running as a Democrat, she’d pull at least 50 percent of the Massachusetts vote.

Sixty percent if she kept her clothes on.

Holly Robichaud, the “Lone Republican” of Boston Herald fame, blames Patrick for Obama’s woes. “We’ve already elected one inexperienced candidate running on a vague platform of hope in Massachusetts, and it’s not working out. This is a classic example of ‘Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.’ ”

Not a bad theory, given that SurveyUSA also found only four in 10 residents approve of the job Gov. Patrick is doing.

How embarrassing would it be for Patrick if his, shall we say, "anti-influence" caused Obama to lose to McCain here.

UPDATE: An aide to Gov. Patrick is cleared of assault charges. Plus, more from the AP.

The Boston Phoenix takes its boot, shines it up real nice, turns it sideways, and sticks it straight up Gov. Patrick's candy ass!

Deval Patrick won the governor’s office by raising expectations that he could quickly make a difference on Beacon Hill. That’s a tall order. Governors may reign in the Commonwealth, but the legislature rules. Even more important, the legislature makes the rules. That reality has become painfully clear to Governor Patrick in the first 15 months of his 48-month term.

Only the wildly idealistic optimists — and there were many who rallied to the governor’s campaign rhetoric — could have expected Patrick to revolutionize Massachusetts in this short a span of time. Idealism, of course, is in relatively short supply up on Beacon Hill. And optimism is a similarly precious commodity.

Patrick’s problem — and anyone who doubts he has a problem should look at his deeply declining approval ratings — is that, having cornered the limited market for idealistic opportunism, and then expanded it, he is now being judged by its cruel utopian standards. (Barack Obama, take note.)

If Patrick were ever to drop his guard for a moment — and charming though Patrick is, he appears to be increasingly guarded — he might admit something like this: politics is a lot tougher than government (which is tough enough), and running a state is a lot trickier than being a corporate executive and a board member.

So how’s Patrick doing? The assessment, not surprisingly, is mixed.

Patrick has genuinely improved many facets of state government, and has laid the groundwork for more important changes.

He has also misspent much effort by introducing overly ambitious and wide-ranging proposals that he and his staff were ill-equipped to usher through the dense political thickets.

Patrick and his team came out of the gate in January 2007 with an aggressive first budget, seeking in one stroke not only to fulfill a variety of campaign promises (new cops, property-tax relief, expanded early education, increased immunization programs), but also to overhaul state government (earmark elimination, restructured departments, consolidated budget items). The former were unrealistic given the huge budget shortfall; the latter sought to emasculate the very legislature whose votes were needed to pass that budget.

This budget, far more than the drapes, the Cadillac, and even his inexplicable call to Citigroup executive and former US Treasury secretary Robert Rubin on behalf of mortgage lender Ameriquest (on whose board Patrick had served) revealed a tin-eared political neophyte with much to learn. (The flap over his recent book deal, too, calls into question how much he’s learned — or at least retained.) And it was followed, even as the legislature was still working on that first budget, by a seemingly endless series of grand proposals, including a corporate-tax package, local-options taxes, life-sciences investment, a package of environmental and energy initiatives, commuter-rail extension, post-release public-safety reform, and, of course, the casino plan.

Many, if not all, are admirable ideas, but very few of them have come to fruition.

And while Patrick has retooled some of his staff and his strategies, he has not stepped back on any of these proposals. He continues to expend energy and political capital on them, making it hard for him to respond to the needs of the changing landscape.

UPDATE: More from Matt Margolis.

Gov. Patrick steps in it again.

A controversial bill that would whack employers with triple damages if they lose wage disputes with workers was allowed to slip into law by Gov. Deval Patrick, even though he had concerns about the legislation’s fairness.

Patrick, who had prevously tried to amend the bill to lessen the blow on employers, refused to sign or veto the final so-called “treble-damages” bill opposed by business groups and backed by labor groups normally allied with Patrick’s Democratic party.

As a result of Patrick’s inaction, the bill automatically lapsed into law yesterday.

“I am allowing the bill to become law because I support efforts to ensure that all workers are paid the wages and compensation legally owed them,” Patrick said in a letter last week to lawmakers.

“I am declining to sign the bill because I remain concerned that mandatory treble damages in all cases, without exception for employers who act in good faith, is unfairly punitive.”

But the Associated Industries of Massachusetts wasn’t pleased with Patrick’s logic.

The new law is “one more disincentive to conduct business here in the commonwealth,” said AIM in a statement yesterday.

UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: From Holly Robichaud and the Herald.

The Democrat Party: Hazardous to your financial health.

House lawmakers last night gave approval to $392 million in tax increases for smokers and the state's largest corporations, providing Governor Deval Patrick with a major political victory while drawing fire from business leaders.

The legislators' 131-23 vote capped a long crusade by Patrick and his allies in the Legislature, who convinced House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi to back away from a more business-friendly plan and approve the state's most momentous tax increase since 2002.

It also ended two days of furious lobbying by banks and business groups and marked a legislative victory by the governor, who has been trying to improve his fortunes after the defeat of his plan to license resort casinos.

"We appreciate the House's willingness to move closer to the governor's proposal," said Doug Rubin, the governor's chief of staff. "When you look at where we started in this process, and the House and the Senate and the governor, for us to see that enacted is a good example of everybody working together."

After the House voted around 10:15 last night, DiMasi left without speaking to reporters but released a statement praising legislators for supporting a plan to help the state balance next year's budget.

"The members of the House have rolled up their sleeves, tackled difficult issues head-on, and provided common sense, fiscally responsible solutions to our budget challenges," he said.

The proposals would tighten corporate tax laws and prohibit several practices the governor called "loopholes," bringing in $217 million next year. It would also raise $175 million by increasing the state's cigarette tax by $1 per pack, to $2.51.

The cigarette increase would give Massachusetts the second-highest cigarette tax behind New Jersey, although New York legislators this week voted to trump both states with a $2.75-per-pack increase.

Proponents argued that the increase would fill state coffers and discourage residents from smoking, while critics said the state would lose money from smokers, who would travel to New Hampshire and Rhode Island to buy cheaper cigarettes.

UPDATE: More from the Herald and Mass Roots GOP.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Globe.

THIRD UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

Gov. Patrick's underwhelming economic speech.

Governor Deval Patrick tried to calm fears of a looming recession with a speech today that highlighted the strengths of the Massachusetts economy and outlined his $3.8 billion bond proposal to put people to work by repairing 411 deteriorating bridges.

While emphasizing restrained spending and budget cuts, Patrick also warned that government must take action that will move the state's economy forward.

“By acting now, we can cut that deficient bridges backlog in half in eight years, avoid construction inflation, and create thousands of jobs,” Patrick said. “Our plan to address deficient bridges will have shovels in the ground and people at work in 90 days.”

The address at MIT's Sloan School of Management was the first economic outline Patrick has presented since the Legislature defeated his plan to create tens of thousands of jobs by licensing three casinos around the state. House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray attended the speech, giving at least symbolic support to the governor’s plan.

Patrick also announced the creation of 16 regional districts throughout the state where his administration will help streamline new developments, a plan based on the redevelopment of Fort Devens in Ayer.

The massive repair and reconstruction of bridges in virtually every corner of the state would create 23,000 direct construction jobs, according to a preliminary draft of the governor's plan, which is significantly higher than the 5,000 employed at the height of the Big Dig.

The move could prove controversial. It would add to a state debt burden that is already the highest per capita in the country. Patrick plans to pay for the projects by floating bonds in the next eight years, which would need legislative approval and would renew debate over how deeply the state should go into debt, and how vital the bridge repairs are.

At this point, don't you get the sense that the only thing Patrick really cares about is writing his book?

UPDATE: More from Michael Graham and the Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: More from Barbara Anderson, Michael Graham, the Herald and the Globe.

Thank God for the Weekly Standard.

Both are purveyors of "the politics of hope." Both run optimism-heavy, light-on-specifics campaigns, exhorting voters to "take a chance on your own aspirations." Both read from David Axelrod-penned speeches--often the same David Axelrod-penned speeches.

The similarities between Barack Obama and Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick are unmistakable, leaving some to wonder whether Patrick's governorship might be a preview of an Obama presidency. Far from the politics of hope, Patrick's first year in office has been a cross between Mike Dukakis and Tammany Hall.

Despite Patrick's "Together We Can" campaign mantra, there isn't a single Republican in the governor's cabinet. Even if you chalk that up to just how scarce Republicans are in Massachusetts (12 percent of the electorate), it's hard to explain away the fact that Patrick, shortly after being sworn in, set up a 16-member team to cleanse the executive branch of GOP holdovers.

Patrick is committed to big government and has proposed billions in new spending, including a billion-dollar giveaway to biotech companies, a new $1.4 billion commuter rail line, numerous multibillion-dollar bond bills, and a proposal to make Massachusetts community colleges tuition-free. To raise cash, he has proposed increasing business taxes, allowing the commonwealth to increase borrowing, and opening state-run casinos--the last overwhelmingly rejected by the legislature in March. His January budget plan uses nearly $500 million from the commonwealth's rainy day fund and includes a $1.3 billion structural deficit--after a year of record tax receipts.

Then there's Patrick's wholesale sellout to the unions. Fifteen of the 20 most generous
PACs in Massachusetts are labor organizations, and they contributed heavily to Patrick's campaign. Repayment began quickly. After the state Labor Relations Commission acted against the Boston Teachers Union for threatening an illegal strike, Patrick simply eliminated the commission from his first state budget. Then in September, he granted a big union wish, signing legislation allowing public employees to unionize without a secret ballot election.

As of late, the Standard has done a great job casting a spotlight on Gov. Patrick's flaws. Keep up the great work, guys!

UPDATE: More from the Herald and Globe.

I think it's safe to say that Howie Carr will NOT be running out to buy a copy of Gov. Patrick's autobiography.

All of a sudden, even the bow-tied bumkissers of Morrissey Boulevard feel free to raise questions that had previously been ignored by the Politically Correct mainstream media. Like, does Deval have a big-time money problem? How is he making that $30,000-a-month payment on his mansion’s mortgage?

Hope and opportunity, that’s what Deval is all about. Now he’s hoping the controversy about his sleazy book deal goes away, so he’ll have an opportunity to cash that first $450,000 check (presumably minus a taste to his agent).

On Thursday, the governor refused to take calls on his radio show about the sweetheart deal. On Friday, he walked away from a reporter in Lowell who tried to ask him what percentage of the money will be going to “charity.”

Now it turns out in his pitch to publishers, he talked about the crowd of 10,000 he attracted to the Common last fall. Only it turns out it wasn’t him they were coming to see, it was Barack Obama. But this, too, is a familiar phenomenon in publishing: A genre becomes popular and obscure players cash in with memoirs. The Rolling Stones are always hot, so their drug supplier gets a book deal. People want to read about Whitey Bulger, so maybe they’re gullible enough to buy rehashed court testimony by Whitey’s tubby gravedigger.

In this context, you might say Deval is playing Kevin Weeks to Barack’s Whitey Bulger.

The difference, of course, is that, as governor, Deval will have a lot more opportunities for “bulk sales” than Kevin “Two” Weeks ever did. The Massachusetts Teachers Association should be good for 5,000 or so. The cop unions owe him at least 10,000 sales, after his craven cave-in this week on police details.

Howie's underestimating the book's potential popularity to a national black audience, but otherwise he's on point.

UPDATE: More from the AP, Barbara Anderson and Holly Robichaud.

Jeez, Deval, knock it off!

Governor Deval Patrick said in his book proposal that he was able to "fill the Boston Common recently with ten thousand people," a boast intended to prove to publishers that his message of hope and optimism generates enthusiasm and will translate into sales.

But Patrick left out a key fact about the Oct. 23 Boston Common rally.

It was held to celebrate Patrick's endorsement of Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, who stood by Patrick's side at the event. Obama has filled sports stadiums around the country and caused onlookers to faint during his speeches, and he was almost certainly the bigger draw on the Common that day.

Critics suggested yesterday that Patrick's assertion was like an opening band saying it filled Madison Square Garden without mentioning that the Rolling Stones later took the stage.

"That's a bit of a hyperbole, I think," said Senate minority leader Richard R. Tisei. "People who went to that event were more interested in hearing Obama than hearing the governor."

In the proposal for the book, to be called "A Reason To Believe: Lessons on Leadership and Life," Patrick tried to demonstrate to publishers that he could be a big draw and sell at least 150,000 hardcover copies.

"I was able to fill the Boston Common recently with 10,000 people eager to hear my dreams for the future," Patrick wrote toward the end of the proposal. "I believe that I can partner with my publisher to develop widely followed book signing events that will generate the sorts of crowds at readings or lines at book signings that translate into a book's ascent to the top of bestseller lists."

Obama's campaign said the October rally drew 9,500 people to the Common. Patrick did get rave reviews for his speech, and his campaign network helped promote and draw people to the event. A 2:23-minute clip posted on Obama's site shows Patrick speaking to a large crowd.

Two spokesmen in Patrick's administration confirmed this week that Patrick was referring to the Obama rally, but they declined to comment. To bolster their case that Patrick generated the crowd, Patrick's aides yesterday distributed a blog post on the website of MSNBC with the headline, "Patrick Endorses Obama, Steals the Show."

The State Republican Party pounced yesterday on his assertion that he drew 10,000 to the Boston Common for an event at which Obama was speaking.

"Is this book fiction or nonfiction?" said Barney Keller, spokesman for the Massachusetts Republican Party. "Governor Patrick couldn't get 81 legislators to vote for his casinos. Why does he think that 10,000 people would come to hear him speak? Next thing you know he'll throw out the first pitch at Fenway and claim 30,000 people came to see him do it."

UPDATE: More from the AP and Globe.

Why Gov. Patrick's autobiography could become a bestseller.

UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

THIRD UPDATE: From the AP.

Can Gov. Patrick give it to them?

A list of programs at the core of Governor Deval Patrick's agenda, including campaign promises to boost spending on early education and increase local police funding, are in jeopardy under a budget proposal currently being drafted by House lawmakers.

House budget writers said yesterday that they are facing an additional $72.6 million shortfall in next year's budget, the result of new calculations on debt payments and labor contract agreements. That means that paying for everything on Patrick's list of new social and educational spending could be at risk.

"When you have a budget with the deficit we are talking about, any discussions relative to expansions are limited," said Representative Robert DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee. "Just trying to level-fund programs is a difficult enough task, without talking about expansions."

Lawmakers are focusing on the budget as the economy sputters and income tax revenue is projected to shrink as the recession takes hold. Patrick is expected to deliver a major address on the economy next week, and the House will unveil its budget by mid-April.

Losing some of his pet projects to House budget cuts would be a political blow to Patrick, who has made a major effort to increase funding in several areas, particularly education.

"These investments are vital to creating long-term economic growth and activity," said Kyle Sullivan, the governor's press secretary. He said the administration would work with the House and Senate to try to preserve those initiatives.

A point of negotiation is expected to be corporate taxes. Patrick's proposal to change the corporate tax codes by closing off what he calls loopholes would produce $297 million in new revenue next year from businesses. House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi has embraced the same changes, but wants a deeper reduction in corporate tax rates than Patrick has proposed. His proposal would bring in an additional $204 million next year.

The great Weekly Standard columnist Dean Barnett lays a South Side Chicago-style beatdown on Gov. Patrick.

WITH BARACK OBAMA LIKELY headed to the Democratic nomination, it's time again to check in on Obama's secret-sharer of rhetoric and other political stylings, Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick. As a neophyte politician, Patrick rode a wave of hope into Beacon Hill's corner office, just as Obama is trying to do on a national level.

When we last left the Patrick story some six weeks ago, Patrick's popularity was plummeting, his legislative agenda lay in ruin, and he was in the process of redefining the phrase "ineffective executive" for generations to come. Since then, believe it or not, things have only gotten worse for the Commonwealth's beleaguered regent.

Last week, Patrick's signature legislative initiative bit the dust in humiliating fashion as the Massachusetts House defeated his proposed bill for three resort casinos by the not exactly nail-biting margin of 108-46. The fact that Patrick's own party controls roughly 80 percent of the legislature compounded the loss's embarrassment. But in Patrick's defense, the rout of the bill wasn't nearly as embarrassing as the fact that something so shabby as state sponsored casino gambling had become the signature issue of a man who ran on "hope."

The magnitude of the trouncing indicates how well Patrick has made friends and influenced people on Beacon Hill. Patrick and his minions were quick to blame House Speaker Sal DiMasi for the debacle, accusing the Speaker of engaging in ghastly politics-of-yesterday techniques like arm twisting.

I'd rather read a Barnett biography of Patrick than Patrick's own book!

UPDATE: More from the Globe.

Higher taxes and reverse discrimination: Didn't we tell you this is what Deval Patrick is all about?

With gas prices well over $3 a gallon and the country veering toward a possible recession, the idea of hiking the state gas tax continues to linger just out of sight on Beacon Hill.

while no Statehouse leaders have embraced the idea publicly, few also seem ready to reject it entirely as they struggle to close a $1.3 billion funding shortfall.

Just this week, Gov. Deval Patrick again refused to rule out the possibility of imposing a new tax at the pump as one way to help close the state's spending gap.

"I have never opposed raising the gas tax. What I have said is that it is not my first choice," Patrick said in response to reporters' questions Wednesday. "I think I would be right in saying that it is not the first choice of most consumers in Massachusetts, especially in these times."

Senate President Therese Murray, rolling out a package of transportation reforms on Thursday, also refused to reject talk of a higher gas tax or increased tolling, although she said nothing was in the works.

Patrick also wants more funding for the Bay State's no-whites-need-apply Metco program.

For the first time in more than a decade, state lawmakers might boost the budget for the program that sends inner-city youngsters to the suburbs for schooling - a prospect that has local education officials beaming.

The state money is a lifeline to the 37 school districts across the Commonwealth, including seven in this area, that have had to dig deeper into their own pockets over the past few years to keep alive the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity Inc. program, known as Metco. Governor Deval L. Patrick is requesting a $1.5 million increase for the agency's budget, raising it to $22.1 million.

"I certainly do believe that Metco is in need of additional funding to support the wonderful programs and opportunities, not only for our Metco young people, but also for our students who benefit from the Metco program," said Brenda Finn, superintendent of the Concord and Concord-Carlisle Regional school districts.

Mr. Patrick, there's nothing wrong with cutting spending, and nothing wrong with colorblindness. Why not try out both of these concepts? It could help ya!

UPDATE: More from the Herald and Holly Robichaud.

SECOND UPDATE: More from Michael Graham, Casey Ross and the Herald.

THIRD UPDATE: From Michael Graham.

Gov. Patrick, like most lefties, thinks money will stop inner-city bloodshed. (Did it ever dawn on him that perhaps values will stop inner-city bloodshed?)

Gov. Deval Patrick and top law enforcement officals are set to launch an uphill battle for an infusion of nearly $27 million to keep youth off the streets, out of gangs and employed in the face of a dismal state budget crunch.

Patrick, Attorney General Martha Coakley, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and Boston police Commissioner Ed Davis will head the charge tomorrow at a State House rally aimed at state lawmakers who must close a $1.3 billion budget gap by July.

“The state is certainly in a difficult financial situation, as is the city, but I think that this money really will save lives. And in the final analysis, that puts it very high on the list of the priorities for the commonwealth and the city,” Davis said yesterday.

The 1:30 p.m. rally in Nurses Hall, which is sponsored by the Safe Teens/Safe Communities Coalition and the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, is calling for new money to keep kids out of gangs, find them jobs and offer mentoring, organizers said.

By the numbers, the coalition’s top prevention efforts are:

A $4 million boost to $15 million for anti-gang grants awarded to 34 communities through the Sen. Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative.

A $5 million increase to $7 million for state Department of Public Health Youth Violence Prevention grants that were introduced last year and awarded to 21 community programs statewide.

A $5.5 million hike to bring spending on public and private jobs for teens to $19.9 million.

Patrick included increased funding for youth jobs, anti-gang grants and DPH violence prevention in his fiscal 2009 budget proposal, a spokeswoman said.

Like his book deal, this is another example of throwing good money after bad.

UPDATE: More from Howie Carr and Joan Vennochi.

Deval Patrick essentially admits he's bored out of his mind.

Governor Deval Patrick traveled to New York City last week to shop a proposal for an autobiography among publishing houses, departing the state to pursue the book contract just hours before the House voted down his high-profile casino legislation on Beacon Hill.

Disclosure of the trip's purpose cleared up a mystery that has lingered since last Thursday, when Patrick aides said he had left Boston on unspecified "personal business" and repeatedly and firmly declined to discuss any details.

Patrick's proposed book would recount his dramatic rise from the streets of Chicago's South Side to the governor's office. Such a tale would draw comparisons to the immensely successful books written by his friend and political ally Barack Obama, whose "Dreams of My Father," and "The Audacity of Hope" have been long-time bestsellers.

Patrick's absence last Thursday raised eyebrows at the State House, where union members and a number of the governor's legislative allies on the casino issue remained throughout the day to follow through in their support of the bill.

Within hours after Patrick left Boston, the House, led by Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi, crushed the casino proposal, by a 108-46 vote. In the heated run-up to the debate and final vote, a number of Democratic legislators sided with Patrick and defied DiMasi's strong lobbying.

Patrick's aides released a statement tonight, confirming the reasons behind the trip after it was reported by WBZ-TV and immediately pursued by other news outlets including the Globe. The Globe received independent confirmation of the trip by two people in the publishing industry.

Why do I get the sense that this will NOT sell as well as Obama's books? I think people would be better off spending their money on a much better political book, like, I don't know, say, Caucus of Corruption.

UPDATE: More from Michael Graham, Howie Carr, the Herald and Phoenix.

SECOND UPDATE: Gov. Patrick receives a $1.35 million book deal. If they market this book to African-American audiences, positioning Patrick as the Tyler Perry of American politics, perhaps the publishers can make their money back. Otherwise, this is throwing money down the toilet. More from Matt Margolis, Michael Graham, David Bernstein, Boston Magazine, the Herald and Red Mass Group.

THIRD UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

Holly Robichaud on Gov. Patrick's next move.

Now that you have lost the battle over casinos, what’s next Governor Patrick?

Is any one else embarrassed for the Governor? His plan for three casinos was soundly rejected. He was clearly outmaneuvered by Speaker DiMasi. As they say Deval was beaten like a drum.

So what’s next?

Let me predict you will hear the words: TAXES and TOLLS. How else do Democrats try to resolve budget issues? Their game plan is always to reach into our wallets.

Moreover, Deval has been attempting to follow in the footsteps on Dukakis who raised taxes when he did not get his way.

I suspect you will see shortly a big effort to put up tolls on I-93. The Governor will attempt to close more business tax loops holes and then they will look at the income tax. Beware!

Don’t expect the Democrats to cut back. Remember our Governor is on track to double to the state’s budget just look at the Governor’s office. He attempted to spend $10,000 on new drapes and he recently opened a branch office in Springfield. I wonder how much the drapes cost out there?

UPDATE: From Casey Ross and Joann Fitzpatrick.

SECOND UPDATE: From RedState.com, the New York Times, the Herald and the AP.

Gov. Patrick whines about Speaker DiMasi. (Still waiting for the media to ask Patrick about his friend's bigoted pastor.)

Governor Deval Patrick said yesterday that House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi did not allow the "honest and open debate" he promised he would give the governor's proposal to build casinos in Massachusetts.

In an e-mail sent yesterday to his supporters, some of whom were disappointed with the political capital the governor used to pursue casinos, Patrick said the state missed a chance to discuss the Commonwealth's shaky economy and figure out ways to generate new revenue.

"Without a full debate, ideas go unheard, compromises cannot be reached, and solutions disappear," Patrick wrote.

The e-mail also attempted to put the focus on other issues.

"The ideas we've put forth in the life sciences, clean energy, the proposal to close corporate loopholes . . . are good government solutions - examples of what we can do when we work together," he wrote, according to a posting on the liberal blog Blue Mass Group.

"But our best solutions on how to grow the economy, provide good jobs at good wages, and provide property tax relief for communities and residents are needed today."

UPDATE: More from the Globe and WBZ Radio.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Globe and Herald.

Gov. Patrick gets the Sharon Taxman treatment.

Half a dozen state lawmakers who previously supported gaming expansion voted to kill Gov. Deval Patrick’s casino bill, or missed the vote altogether, after being elevated to lucrative leadership posts by House Speaker Sal DiMasi, a Herald review found.

DiMasi gave the lawmakers coveted committee posts, some of which include $7,500 stipends, in late February as lobbying over casinos began to intensify. Those lawmakers, after previously supporting casinos or voting to legalize slot machines, came out against Patrick’s bill in Thursday’s decisive vote.

“Democracy seems to have been superseded by other things,” said AFL-CIO President Robert Haynes, a casino backer.

DiMasi spokesman David Guarino said the awarding of leadership positions was not intended to influence lawmakers’ votes.

“He lobbied members only on the issues,” Guarino said. “There were no deals, no trades and no offers.”

However, of the eight top committee posts awarded Feb. 28, six went to lawmakers who had either publicly supported Patrick’s casino plan or voted in 2006 to legalize slot machines at the state’s four race tracks.

By elevating the lawmakers to leadership positions, DiMasi virtually guaranteed they would back his position because chairmen rarely vote against the speaker.

Most of the committee positions, either chairmanships or vice chairmanships, carry $7,500 annual stipends. They also guarantee greater prestige among fellow House members.

Four of the pro-gaming lawmakers who took the committee posts - Steven Walsh (D-Lynn), Charles Murphy (D-Burlington), Louis Kafka (D-Stoughton) and Thomas Kennedy (D-Brockton) - voted against the governor’s plan. Two others Kathi-Anne Reinstein (D-Revere) and William Galvin (D-Canton) missed the vote.

Lawmakers who returned phone calls from the Herald yesterday said their elevation to leadership posts did not factor into their vote against Patrick. Lawmakers who previously voted for slot machines pointed out Patrick’s bill did not include slots at the tracks, an issue key to saving jobs in some of their legislative districts.