Tom Reilly is Toast
What a winter for Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly. In the course of six weeks he has committed slow motion career suicide.
It all started with a bizzare admission that he had been arrested for drunkenness way back in 1962. Maybe he was concerned because Massachusetts liberals would never put up with having a drunk in a high elected office?
Less than two weeks later, it became clear why he was nervous about the issue of drunkeness,
Boston Globe: Reilly says he discussed crash with supporter
January 11, 2006
Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly acknowledged yesterday that he discussed a fatal car accident with a prominent businessman and campaign supporter, but Reilly, a Democratic candidate for governor, strenuously denied that the supporter asked him to intervene in the investigation of the crash that killed two teenage girls.
Then, a bill Tom Reilly supported was surprisingly, resoundingly defeated in the state legislature. Against his wishes, the state had decided NOT to grant tax breaks to state colleges for illegal immigrants. Yes, you read that correctly, he was in favor of tax breaks for illegals attending state colleges.
Next up, his selection for his running mate. Two days of news stories say it will be Chris Gabrelli, a local investment pro/millionaire who would infuse much needed cash into Reilly’s campaign. But no, that didn’t happen.
Instead, Reilly shocked Massachusetts by selecting State Representative Marie P. St. Fleur, the author of the wildly unpopular tuition tax break for illegals bill. On that ground alone, I thought Reilly had completely blown the election. I was wrong.
Less than 24 hours after selecting St. Fleur, the Boston Globe gives Reilly a lesson in the value of real background checks,
Reilly’s pick delinquent on taxes, loans; St. Fleur says she is repaying debts
State Representative Marie P. St. Fleur, Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly’s choice to be his lieutenant governor running mate, has had three delinquent tax debts in the last four years, including an April 2005 federal tax lien of $12,711 against her and her husband, according to records examined yesterday by the Globe.
St. Fleur, in an interview last night, disclosed that she also owes $40,000 in delinquent federally backed student loans.
St. Fleur told the Globe last night that she had paid down the federal tax debt to about $8,000 by making $500 monthly payments since last spring. But later last night, Corey Welford, a Reilly campaign spokesman, corrected her, saying that she had in fact made only one $500 payment last May and that the balance is still more than $12,000.
Is there anything more infuriating than a tax and spend liberal who doesn’t feel the need to pay taxes themselves?
Let’s summarize. Reilly decides to select the woman behind this wildly unpopular bill to give tax breaks to illegals attanding state schools. Then it turns out that she herself never felt the need to pay back her own student loans, or her taxes. This guy is the top law and order man in Massachusetts and his background check on this woman didn’t know any of this? If it did, and he nominated her anyway? What does this say about Tom Reilly’s judgement?
Speaking as someone who paid back student loans for 13 years without missing a payment, this is a total outrage. This woman should be in jail for tax evasion, let alone in the state house as a legislator and even worse, on the ballot for Lt. Governor.
CASE CLOSED AGAINST TOM REILLY. UNFIT FOR OFFICE.
February 1st, 2006 at 11:55 pm
Did you catch her speech? She pointed out that plenty of other black citizens couldn’t pay their taxes either. Nice…
So now taxes are racist? I’ll buy that if we can all agree to lower them. Oh, wait, taxes against white males aren’t racist but the rest are? I really fail to see what she was trying to point out except painting herself as a victim rather than someone who evaded the taxes that the REST of us all pay.
I sure wish she had stuck with Reilly because that would have been fun.
February 2nd, 2006 at 8:04 am
How about a new law entitled: If you want to play you have to pay. We the people should rise up and demand that all elected, appointed or annointed positions in Massachusetts should be filled by TAXPAYERS ONLY. Delinquents and deadbeats need not apply or run for office. Why do we have a Mass DoR anyhow? To think people like this con-artist St Fleur still exercise control over people’s lives is truely disturbing. What ever happened to riding people out of town on rails?
February 2nd, 2006 at 9:34 am
What bothered me most in her withdrawal speech was that she did not apologize to anyone and her tone was fairly defiant. The line about her family not being prepared for he “scrutiny” of the campaign was rich. How is Reilly ever going to capture the deadbeat minority victim vote. The sense on entitlement is disgusting. She can’t even renew her drivers license because she didn’t pay her vehicle excise tax. I’m sure the cable company get a check each month for the 500 channel package.
February 2nd, 2006 at 10:23 am
I am not so certain she was going for the “deadbeat minority vote”–I very much think she was going for the white guilt vote by playing the “I’m a minority and therefore poor and oppressed” card. Here in Cambridge I am sure people are already pitying her and therefore pitying Reilly. It’s our fault that we scrutinized her! Oh, heaven forbid we white people exist!!!
I work with wonderful black citizens in Roxbury and my nonprofit is aligned with the Black Ministerial Alliance of Boston. I have nothing but the highest respect for black leaders and their ministry teams trying to reform the inner city by instilling belief in the ability to change, hope for their children, and a sense of personal responsibility in their neighborhoods. I guess that is why I get so angry when people like Marie St. Fleur reinforce the victim status of minorities as a personal political play. That victim status has done nothing but keep folks down, and she is wrong to use it so savagely at the expense of the black community.
February 6th, 2006 at 2:58 pm
this is exactly want this liberal state is all about it discussed me that this man who is elected official, and attorney general would not know she was a tax cheat.HE NEW !! but his politicle thisrt. which they think is there right. got the better of him.. I am CONSERVITIVE INDEPENDENT.. And have never run for politcle office but having listening to reily, st. fluer, tolvan, i,ll tell ya. this could be a walk in the park!!!!
February 14th, 2006 at 9:55 pm
Lets not forget that just a few weeks befor 9/11
He was promising illegal aliens protection if they came forward and told him if there boss wasn’t paying them their time and a half pay over 40 hrs.
February 28th, 2006 at 9:07 am
[...] Marie St. Fleur, you may recall, was Attorney General Tom Reilly’s pick for Lt. Gov on the Democrat ticket. She lasted a whole day because the Boston Globe did due dilligence that Tom Reilly should have and discovered in a matter of hours that St. Fluer owned significant back taxes. St. Fleur, a co-sponsor of the wildly unpopular and soundly defeated bill to grant state tuition tax breaks for illegal immigrants, also didn’t feel the need to repay her student loans. Ouch. [...]
May 9th, 2006 at 8:38 pm
[...] Attorney General Tom Reilly’s campaign for governor has imploded, from his inappropriate involvement in a drunk driving case, to his admission of Kennedy-like behavior in his youth and especially his disasterous 24 hour selection of Marie St. Fluer as his Lt. Governor. St Fleur, best known in Mass. at the time for pushing a bill to give state college tuition discounts to illegal immigrants, yes, you read that correctly, was outed as a major tax cheat within hours of her selection. She dropped out (was pushed) the next morning. [...]
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