It’s Time for The Boston Globe to Come Clean on Mayor Walsh

mayor walshThe Globe in an editorial on Tuesday has called upon Mayor Walsh to come clean in what is going on in City Hall. The last line of the editorial reads: “The best way for the mayor to repair that impression [of the lack of integrity of Boston’s permitting process] would be to hold his staff accountable and level with the voters about who at City Hall knew what, and when.”

It arrived at that conclusion after reading some emails that had been given to it through a public records request. These emails show according to the Globe that two aides to Mayor Walsh “were in close proximity to an alleged extortion effort. . . “  What does that mean?  The allegation is that the mayor’s aide Kenneth Brissette forced Boston Calling to hire union workers. I’m sure everyone who worked in Brissette’s office were in close proximity to him during that time.

The Globe editors write that one email “vaguely implies that Walsh himself may have had some unspecified involvement.”  What is a vague implication of an unspecified involvement? Seriously, this is not the level of writing one would expect from a high school editorial.

This is garbage writing by people trying to suggest some wrongdoing with no basis for the suggestion. It reminds me of the time the Globe suggested one man attended Boston College around the same time as another who was charged with a crime. It “vaguely implied” those BC men had “an unspecified involvement.”

Then this in the editorial notes: “Mayor Walsh maintains he has done nothing wrong, and there is nothing in the e-mails or federal indictment that proves otherwise. If that is the case what is the purpose of the editorial. Is it only to tell us of the “close proximity” and the “vaguely implies” and the “unspecified involvement” that mean nothing. Is it like Seinfeld a show that was about nothing an editorial about nothing?

Or is its purpose, to use the first three words in the editorial, a “DRIP, DRIP, DRIP” attack by the Globe on the mayor pretending he has done something where there is nothing there. Over and over writing the same stuff even though there is nothing new. Tearing into the mayor’s reputation drip, by drip, by drip. We know the game by now: next a columnist is ordered to write something, then a reporter and then another editorial. Drip, drip, drip,

The editorial notes that “It can’t be comfortable in City Hall watching the scandal grow in slow motion.” Obviously that is the case but is seems hypocritical for the Globe which is piling on one drip after another and putting forth editorials about nothing to suggest “it’s a distraction for officials and for the city itself.”

Of course it is so one must ask why is the Globe continuing to make something out of it. Why not let the process play out. It is always disconcerting when the needle gets stuck in the record and it plays the same tune over and over again.

The mayor is in the middle of a Globe inspired unnecessary investigation by the federal prosecutor into people working in the mayor’s office. The mayor must stick to his job. He must not become in any way an arm of the federal investigation nor interfere with it. He must let it take whatever course it will even though it seems malignantly disposed toward him. (Politics anyone?)

The mayor is under no obligation to help the Globe in its attempt to destroy his reputation. The Globe gets sufficient help from the federal investigators. The mayor should know that the Globe is no friend. It would be nice if the Globe would come clean and tell us what it is about the mayor that makes it want to destroy him and his reputation.

 

10 Comments

  1. Matt- In good old Fall River,MA our Mayor was able to put 22 windows in city hall, with zero paperwork, he also had them installed by a man who was around 1 million dollars in the the red involving back taxes. Our City “Leaders” knew all about violating chapter 30b. The man who owed 1 million dollars to the city sub-contracted the windows out to some chump and the 50,000 dollar check bounced. Long story short….no indictments, no nothing. Mayor Walsh has fallen out of favor.

    • Doubting:

      You should know that Fall River (and New Bedford) are not part of the concern of the federal government. For one thing the Globe has very little circulation down there so it ignores it except when a football player or some other celebrity gets into trouble. If the Globe ignores it then you cannot expect the US attorney to deal with anything going on down there because she would not get much publicity and her main concern is following the directions from Morrissey Boulevard. The FBI would not care much about that part of the world since it is too far of a drive from Boston, or should I day Chelsea, and the beaches aren’t that good. After all how many times can you visit a battleship. It must be good to live in such a law free zone.

      • Matt- Indeed!! Come to the New Bedford Waterfront and ask for Carlos “The King of Cod” he could use some of your legal advice.

  2. Matt

    the FBI drip drip drip technique
    has long been used in classical
    music

    It is called ostinato

    If you repeat a music/FBI theme long
    enough
    it becomes embedded in the Boston Globe
    readers’ subconscious

    FBI agents weaponized Ostinato/drip drip drip
    a long time ago

    that is why we call them
    very special agents

    in other meme news

    http://www.memecenter.com/search/fbi

  3. Who cares about a movie producer, director, whatever, Walsh bailed on a chance to hosts the Olympics, I guess he wanted to avoid a Federal investigation after all the cronies and Unions ballooned up the costs like the “Big Dig”. The “Big Dig” maybe the Globe could finally find a “federal investigation” there and help the people of Massachusetts pay off the $10B over run our great grand kids will be paying.

  4. Under the new ownership of John Henry for 2 1/2 years now. Apparently that changed nothing at the POOF-happy Globe.

    • Rather:

      I’m not sure how involved John Henry is in it. He seems to be a sports guy not that I know much about him. I would suggest that he turned the Globe over to his new wife and she plays around with it but the old boys with the old biases still run the shop.

  5. “It would be nice if the Globe would come clean and tell us what it is about the mayor that makes it want to destroy him and his reputation.”…..

    A homegrown Dorchester, Irish, Catholic, former Union official (Laborer’s, no less), in recovery, unmarried guy who had the courage to run for mayor…… and win. (with no help from the Globe).

    I wonder?

    • Rather:

      Yeah, that’s close, but he also is a Boston College guy which has to be also considered. Has the Globe ever hired anyone from that college?