Bellicose Bumpkin

A piece in the Globe has me wondering if gambling interests are out to get DiMasi.

We have unabashed slot booster David L. Flynn apparently bucking for the job of Speakeer:

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State Representative David L. Flynn, the most senior member of the House, said last night that five colleagues have approached him and asked him to serve as interim speaker in the event that House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi steps down as a result of the ethics controversies swirling around him.

Flynn’s disclosure and the open discussion of DiMasi’s future is stark evidence of declining discipline in the chamber and eroding support for DiMasi, who has been speaker since 2004 and has held an iron grip on the chamber.

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If I recall, the Patrick administration tried to torpedo DiMasi just before the hearing on Patrick’s casino legislation – alleging that DiMasi used his influence to get a software contract awarded to a friend of his.

Whenever Flynn is involved in something, talk of slot machines is never far behind:

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If he were to ascend to the speakership, it would have a dramatic impact on the question whether to install slot machines at the state’s four racetracks, which he has advocated for years. Flynn’s district, which is based in Bridgewater and Raynham, includes the Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park. DiMasi has opposed any efforts to allow the tracks to install slot machines.

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Given the history of efforts to bring gambling to Massachusetts and Middleboro, be very suspicious of seemingly unrelated events that lead you down the casino garden path.

Who’d have thought a little old land sale in Middleboro would bring a $1B community-altering, high-impact, tax-free business to town?

The whole thing stinks to me. What I see is gambling interests trying to take down one of the biggest gambling opponents. While odious, it would fit right in with the way gambling interests operate.

Whattup with the ballot question?
Interesting story in Globe recently:

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So far, the only person backing House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi’s plan for a nonbinding ballot question on casino gambling is DiMasi, the state’s most powerful critic of expanded gambling in Massachusetts.

DiMasi’s surprise proposal kept lawmakers, lobbyists, and State House observers guessing yesterday as to his motivation.

No casino supporters emerged yesterday to champion the idea, which DiMasi raised Wednesday and would, if it catches on, reignite the state’s debate over developing resort casinos.

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I have to admit to being somewhat flummoxed by DiMasi’s support of the casino ballot question. My best guess is that it goes back to the vote on Patrick’s casino legislation back on March 18th.

Coming up to the vote, the Patrick adminstration leaked a story that DiMasi had used his influence to award a state software contract to a friend. The problem is that the contract is awarded by the Governors office – but ignore that for now. It is my belief that this was a dirty trick designed to discredit DiMasi coming up to the vote. It only succeeded in pissing DiMasi off and made him determined to not just beat the Patrick plan but to crush it. The only thing that makes sense to me is that DiMasi agreed to the ballot question in exchange for “no” votes on the Patrick plan.

But what do I know. I’ll have to get Rich to call Sal and find out the real scoop.