Posted on 11/28/2007 2:16:55 PM PST by Alter Kaker
Enhanced resources for this story – press conference audio – are available at www.statehousenews.com
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, NOV. 28, 2007…..Former and current Republican leaders blasted one of their own on Wednesday afternoon, ripping the record of former Gov. Mitt Romney in front of the state capitol and touching off an intra-party scuffle that pitted former allies in the small Massachusetts GOP against one another.
Tearing into the presidential contender’s fiscal handling of the state and touting former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani as a more reliable candidate, former Gov. Paul Cellucci and former Treasurer Joe Malone, once rivals in the state GOP, said the Romney administration had cost the state jobs and that Romney, running as a conservative, had not battled the Democratic Legislature aggressively enough to cut taxes or rein in state spending. They estimated spending rose 22 percent during Romney’s four-year tenure.
Standing just yards away, former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey said she found the attacks “sad,” and said she took them personally. Healey noted Romney had worked to cut spending, but that his vetoes had been overridden by the Legislature. Healey accused Cellucci and Malone of "talking down" the Bay State.
The criticism of Romney struck the state’s economic performance under his leadership, pointing to roughly $500 million in fee increases and $400 million in business taxes he proposed, and comes on the heels of an independent report released this morning showing Massachusetts 49th in job creation since 2001. Recalling his effort to rally popular support for income tax cuts, Cellucci pointed out that Romney had failed to effect further decreases.
“I raise that because it goes to the question of who gets results, who has the intensity and the determination to get results,” Cellucci said.
Healey, who lost to Gov. Deval Patrick in last year’s election, ending a 16-year GOP hold on the Corner Office, said, “I don’t find this funny at all. I actually find it sad that we have these representatives for Rudy Giuliani out here running down our state, talking down our state nationally, and also running down our party.”
Legislative Democrats have consistently foiled Republican governors’ attempts to pare the income tax rate here. Healey retaliated by defending the Romney administration’s fiscal decisions, saying the Swift administration handed off a $3 billion-plus deficit that Romney closed without raising the income tax.
The Patrick administration claims to have inherited a deficit of $1.3 billion. Healey and Romney aides have maintained the state carried a $500 million surplus. Giuliani and his successor, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, also differ over Giuliani’s fiscal legacy, with Bloomberg saying he inherited a $4 billion deficit on a $42 billion budget, and Cellucci claiming Wednesday that Giuliani left a balanced budget.
The back-and-forth also set legislative colleagues against one another, Sens. Richard Tisei and Michael Knapik blasting Romney and House Minority Leader Bradley Jones and Rep. Viriato deMacedo standing with Healey. Jones hit his Senate colleagues for their criticism of the Romney tax and fee proposals. “Apparently, they’re interested in running from their records,” he said.
Standing among reporters, Healey laughed loudly at Knapik’s claims that Romney had overseen a tax-and-spend frenzy.
Asked after the press conference if he ever expected to stand in front of the State House and rip a former Republican governor like he just had, Knapik said, "No."
Tisei told reporters he found it “a bit stunning and disingenuous” that Romney was portraying himself as a tax-cutter. “Clearly, his record as governor was just the opposite,” Tisei said, pointing to $400 million in corporate tax hikes that Senate Republicans helped approve. “I can tell you as a Republican legislator that cutting taxes just wasn’t a top priority for Mitt Romney the same way it was for Bill Weld and Paul Cellucci during their administrations.”
"I'm just disappointed with the end of the Romney years," Knapik told the News Service after the press conference. The Westfield Republican has served on Beacon Hill for 17 years and said he felt that during Romney's last two years, Massachusetts was "not where he wanted to be."
Tisei, saying Massachusetts voters see a disconnection between Romney's claims on the campaign trail and his record here, speculated that Romney and Giuliani would be "very close" if a poll were taken in Massachusetts.
The bantam size of the Massachusetts GOP made Wednesday’s event sport for local politicos. Curious onlookers from the Patrick administration, unused to seeing Bay State Republicans turning on each other, looked on from afar.
Bitter foes during the late 1990s, Cellucci and Malone threw arms around each other after the press conference. Cellucci said, “We’ve always been good friends. At times we’ve been opponents, but we’re both committed to the Republican Party and we’re having a very good time helping Rudy Giuliani.”
“To add to that,” Malone said, “it has been a great pleasure. Primaries are never any fun, because you’re faced with having to run against someone who you like and you respect, but this has been fun to get reunited and to do it for such a good cause.”
After pushing Cellucci's chosen running mate, Jane Swift, off the state's political stage, Romney organized his campaign and administration around a core of old Malone operatives, chief among them Eric Fehrnstrom. Fehrnstrom was Malone's chief press person, and went into battle against Cellucci in the 1998 gubernatorial primary, only to return for the 2002 Romney campaign. Former Cellucci communications adviser Dominick Ianno, who later worked for Swift, helped organize Wednesday’s event.
But during last year’s gubernatorial campaign, Ianno played a key communications role for Healey. Another former Malone adviser, GOP consultant Charles Manning, stood with Healey Wednesday.
Former Gov. Bill Weld, who elevated Cellucci to statewide prominence as his running mate in the pivotal 1990 campaign, has already endorsed Romney. Tisei chaired Weld’s 1990 campaign.
Malone said he had not spoken with Fehrnstrom about Wednesday’s hit on Romney, but with other Romney aides. “Those folks are all my friends, and I look forward to having a beer with them after this campaign’s over … Old friendships have to take a back seat to what’s best for America.”
Fehrnstrom called Malone “a good guy” and said he would take him up on the beer offer. But he added, “Rudy Giuliani is trailing Mitt Romney in the New Hampshire race, and when candidates are behind they and their surrogates become desperate and negative and I would expect that these types of attacks from the Giuliani campaign will be occurring more frequently as we get closer to the New Hampshire primary.”
A 7NEWS-Suffolk University poll released Wednesday showed Romney building his New Hampshire lead over Giuliani, up from four points in June to 14 points in a survey of likely primary voters. The poll’s margin of error is +/- 4 percent.
Earlier Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray came across Romney's big-name critics and deflected a joke from Cellucci about making a splash by endorsing the GOP primary. "The only splash I'd be making would be getting thrown out the Corner Office window," Murray said later.
Romney has drawn endorsements from 18 of the 19 Massachusetts House members, but only Sen. Scott Brown’s in the Senate.
Cellucci said he felt justified in criticizing Romney because Romney has been criticizing other Republicans.
“It reminds me of the man in the glass house, because these attacks that are coming from the Romney campaign – in almost every instance, whether it’s against Rudy Giuliani or the other Republican candidates – the record of the person that’s being attacked is far superior than the record of Mitt Romney.”
Cellucci also knocked Romney for his actions in the wake of convicted killer Daniel Tavares, freed by a Romney-appointed judge after being charged for assaulting prison guards. Tavares allegedly murdered a Washington State couple and his case has rocked the Massachusetts criminal justice system and the presidential campaign circuit.
Romney, Cellucci said, had thrown the judge, Kathe Tuttman, “under the bus” by calling for her resignation. When more revelations about former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik’s allegedly criminal behavior surfaced earlier this year, Giuliani, Cellucci said, offered “some balance” in his response.
“I think the way people respond is something people ought to take a look at, as well,” Cellucci said.
Asked about the case, Healey defended the Tuttman appointment. “For all intents and purposes, the judge in this case had a record as a victims’ rights advocate, she was a prosecutor, she was someone who had worked on domestic violence cases, sexual assault cases. We had no reason to believe that a prosecutor would ever make a judgment like that, and that’s why Mitt Romney asked for her resignation.”
Healey said Tuttman’s gender played no role in her nomination.
“After pushing Cellucci’s chosen running mate, Jane Swift, off the state’s political stage-————”
Getting Jane out of the governor’s office is the best thing Romney ever did.
Nonsense. She was chosen because she had a vagina, and was a Democrat.
Joe Malone, the ultimate insider Mass. Hack.
I don’t care for these types of nasty attacks.
Big surprise Cellucci would endorse another Italian grifter politico.
I’ve seen much better arguments against Romney by FReepers!
Technically, Healy knew him better than Celluci, and she was defending him, so it’s not completely accurate to add “those who knew him best” to the headline.
And I would never think to post Giuliani supporter’s comments here as good GOPers to listen to.
“spending rose 22 percent during Romney’s four-year tenure”-
What a “Conservative” alternative..blah, I’m never voting for him. And I don’t care for the excuse “It was in Massachusetts, he had to..! LAME-/COP-Out).
>> GOP TITANS LEVEL ATTACK
I thought the Titans were in the AFC!
After the Conservative wannabe’s tear each other apart and the dust settles, true Conservative Duncan Hunter can then become the nominee.
This should lay to rest any doubt about Romney’s conservative credentials. When a social liberal like Cellucci teams up with another social liberal like Guiliani to take pot shots at Romney, most conservatives should see that as a resounding endorsement.
The social liberals are rounding up the wagons, and going after their greatest threat: Romney.
Can you call any Republican in MA a “titan” when their party is almost nonexistent? Malone had the fortitude to take on Ted Kennedy once but he lost badly. Cellucci barely got elected to a full term as governor in 1998 and left before his term was done. Actually his vacating the office to become ambassador to Canada opened the door for Romney to see the GOP nomination in ‘02.
Romney is by far not the best choice but if it comes down Giuliani, Huckabee or him I know who it’s going to be. Just the fact they’re talking about a Giuliani/Huckabee ticket says it all. If people think illegal immigration is bad now put those two clowns in charge.
If that's happens I couldn't be happier, he's the man who deserves the vote of conservatives.
Enjoyed how you pounced so well on that
“Massachusetts Republican Titan” oxymoron.
Malone rightly picked the less wishy- washy and more backboned / capable contestant out of the two afformentioned Presidential candidates.
Even though I’m a big Malone fan, it defies reality to assign “Titan” status to anything Republican in Massachusetts.
Correct. We have no conservative “Titans”.
The clear choice is Duncan Hunter!
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