Monday, April 11, 2011

You Can’t Have Your Sal, and Eat It Too

In case you missed it, this week marks the five year anniversary of Governor Romney signing the state’s health insurance and access reform into law.

However, local and national Democrats see this “anniversary” as a chance to mock former Governor Romney and hopefully derail his potential presidential bid. Parties and gatherings have been planned in the Northeast with a handful of “parties” planned in Massachusetts. One of the guests at these “parties” will be none other than Governor Deval Patrick. It is worth mentioning that none of these gatherings will interfere with the promotion of his book.

In reflecting on these “parties”, one must wonder if former Speaker of the House and now indicted Sal DiMasi will be in attendance. After all, in a 2006 article in Governing Magazine, the former speaker is lauded for his hard work in getting such legislation passed.

“Under DiMasi’s vision, which ultimately prevailed, everybody had to pay something.” The article went on to say, “DiMasi, 61, deserves the most credit for coming up with that piece. ‘You gotta make it taste good for everyone,’ he says. ‘Everyone has to see the benefit at the end, or they don’t buy into it, right?’ ”

Organizers of these events, which are being held over the next two days, were sure to have invited Governor Romney because of his instrumental role in the passage of healthcare legislation in Massachusetts. We are just hopeful that Governor Patrick and the Democratic Party were sure to extend the invitation to Speaker DiMasi.