Former Democratic Massachusetts Attorney general Tom Reilly endorses Republican Candidate for Governor Charlie Baker? No one should be surprised. The Special Self Interest Crowd always supports each other at the expense of the public interest.
Charlie Baker held several state government positions from 1990-1998 including the head of Administration and Finance that controlled the finances of the state government. His record of siding with the Big Dig Special Interest machine, vendors, providers, and consultants on government expenditures with little or no accountability or oversight is a national model for inefficiency, waste and mismanagement. In !998, Baker went into the revolving door over to Harvard Vangard Medical Associates and the head of its parent company Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, a so called health insurer that was in trouble.
Along came the new Attorney General Tom Reilly in 1999. Together they teamed for a questionable bailout deal worked out to prevent the entity from merging, being sold, or subscribers being transferred to other carriers all Wall Street Bankers would be proud. The subscribers and citizens were told this was good! No state tax dollars were said to be involved. What about political special influence that the media never thoroughly explored? Baker went on from earning his starting salary allegedly from $400,000 to $1.7 million when he left. Baker was a strong national leader advocate for higher premiums for less coverage that business and industries and their employees must pay.
Since the Wall Street type bailout of Harvard Pilgrim, Michael J. Widmer of the misnamed Special Interest group so called Massachusetts Taxpayer Foundation, whose membership is composed of so many powerful medical, health, and insurance members that pay big dues to promote and protect their special self interest, is weighing in because of the Reilly endorsement as a damage control defender apparently to sound credible.
However, the public should see through this and not be fooled as the media has for more than a decade.
