Sometimes the hackerama produces deadly consequences
There are 1,950 reasons why second-generation Springfield hack Bennett Walsh was in over his head as superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers Home, where 21 aged veterans are now dead, 15 from coronavirus.
The 1,950 reasons all had George Washington’s portrait on them — $950 to his patron, Gov. Charlie Parker, and another $1,000 to Tall Deval’s faithful lieutenant governor, Karyn “Pay-to-Play” Polito.
And the connected Walsh, son of a Springfield city councilor, nephew of the former Hampden County district attorney, also took care of the state’s real governor, the unindicted co-conspirator, House Speaker Robert DeLeo.
DeLeo got $75.
This is how the hackerama works. I’m sure Walsh, who is suspended with pay from his $122,000-a-year job, is not a bad guy. Out of sight, out of mind — this is only the latest example of Tall Deval’s utterly incompetent state government.
Naturally, when he handed the hapless Walsh his hack sinecure, Tall Deval proudly had the usual photo taken with the future fall guy — towering over him, as Baker does with all his munchkin minions, arm around the patsy’s shoulders, a goofy grin on his face.
It’s the exact same pose you can see all over social media of Baker with, among so many others, the indicted state rep from Lowell, David Nangle, or the indicted former mayor of Fall River, Jasiel Correia, or Luke Noble, the very dodgy candidate for selectman in North Andover.
Often the governor and the shady pol, whoever it is, are joined in the photo op by Polito. She is invariably gazing up worshipfully at her work husband, like an obedient, well-coiffed standard poodle next to her master.
Occasionally, of course, Polito poses with her own cast of reprobates – like her Shrewsbury BFF, the drug-dealing, lying-under-oath, income-tax-evading former state trooper Leigha Genduso, as well as Leigha’s ex-boyfriend, the bullet-headed hack lieutenant colonel Dan Risteen who’s now retired with a $160,000-a-year kiss in the mail.
The way it works is, Baker puts some payroll Charlie somewhere they’ll presumably never be seen, on the theory that, what possible trouble could they get into? Often, as in the case of Holyoke, the jobs go to old-line Democrat hacks who come through for their GOP sponsors with money and election support every fourth year.
Same thing happened with the Registry of Motor Vehicles last year — Baker larded up the RMV headquarters in Quincy with the payroll patriots and relatives of, among others, nominal mayors Joe Sullivan of Braintree and Thomas Koch of Quincy, who could be counted upon to return the favor to him on election day.
The RINOs have been using the same playbook in Boston since the Welducci era — taking care of the Connollys and the Flahertys and, more recently, the McDermotts and the Goldens.
It works, until it doesn’t — until the Muslim terrorists fly out of Logan on 9/11, or seven motorcyclists are slaughtered because the Registry can’t be bothered pulling drivers’ licenses of career-criminal immigrants because the Braintree hack in charge of the program was too busy planning his London getaway and tracking down the source of the flatulence in the office.
Now we have the Holyoke Soldiers Home — different day, same incompetence, even larger death toll.
And Charlie’s response is exactly the same — appointing an “outside” investigator to produce a report until the heat dies down. If it’s like the Registry whitewash last year, said report will be issued on Thanksgiving Eve, for minimum exposure.
Meanwhile, Tall Deval struts about at his daily virtue-signaling news briefing. He shuts down the golf courses — are you kidding me? Now we have local Barney Fifes in rural Rhode Island, staking out McDonald’s parking lots to bust laid-off guys from Taunton trying to sneak in 18 holes at a public course down in Gina Raimondo’s Reich.
Baker can’t make the MBTA trains run on time, or at all, or halt the corruption in the State Police, or stop kids from dying in DCF custody, but by God he can stamp his foot and shut down gun ranges.
And how is that processing of tens of thousands of new unemployment claims working out, Charlie?
Oh, I forgot, there’s a “cranky computer system.” Oddly the cranky computer system, or balky phones, didn’t stop the governor from handing out a $155,804 lifetime sinecure to the wife of yet another second-generation hack Democrat state rep last week. Yet another example of the Baker take-care-of-Democrat-hacks M.O. in action.
The courthouses are shuttered, but hack hiring continues. And no layoffs anywhere in sight in the kleptocracy that is Massachusetts state government.
And somewhere out in the 413 area code, Bennett Walsh cries on his city-councilor mom’s shoulder and wonders when the ax will fall. Of course, maybe he can keep his job — the last $200 he sent to Charlie was October, and he hasn’t taken care of “Pay-to-Play” Polito since last May.
It’s not too late to do the right thing, Superintendent Walsh. In Tall Deval’s administration, money doesn’t just talk, it screams.