As usual, the problem is less what Kerry Healey said than
how she said it.
The
lieutenant governor's take on a proposal to grant in-state tuition rates to the children of illegal immigrants--"Let them go to private schools if they want to. Let them go to private schools"--contains the germ of a legitimate idea. And if Healey had put it differently (e.g., "Massachusetts is filled with fine colleges and universities that could help these kids get their degrees"), no one would be casting her as the second coming of
Marie Antoinette.
But Healey, the current frontrunner for the 2006 Republican gubernatorial nomination, seems to have a terrible tin ear. And the problem's getting worse, not better. (First there was the
overhoused seniors remark, then her
botched handling of her husband's company's dubious tax break, and now this.) Some politicians are blessed with an ability to make bad ideas sound good. Healey seems doomed to do the exact opposite.
Here's the
audio of Healey's disastrous appearance on WRKO yesterday. (You'll have to scroll down a bit.)
Also: terrific move by
Tom Reilly, who called in to challenge Healey on air. God knows the attorney general's gubernatorial campaign has had its
rough moments. But Reilly may finally have discovered an effective campaign persona--that of a combative, old-school liberal of humble origins.
A parting question for any readers who'd care to comment: How long before a
Draft Charlie Baker movement starts in earnest? I say Healey gets two more serious gaffes, tops.