Murphy + sympathy for Martineau

A quick audio clip in which House Speaker William J. Murphy expressed sympathy for Gerry Martineau got a lot of play on talk radio this morning, leading some to wonder about his level of sympathy for Rhode Island taxpayers.

This isn't entirely fair to Murphy. If he could do it all over again, the speaker, I suspect, might have put things a bit differently when reporters surrounded him as he emerged yesterday from a budget meeting with the governor. But he's no babe in the woods, and it's fair to take his words at face value.

Yet after the Martineau bit, Murphy, in response to a subsequent question, also said that if anyone did anything wrong at the State House, shame on them and let the chips fall where they may.

Using just part of this conversation offered reassurance for those inclined toward a dim view of the General Assembly, but it didn't tell the whole story.