Charlie BAKER 2.0

September 4, 2013 at 9:51 PM · Filed under Media, Opinion, Politics, Sports, Uncategorized, Wall Street and tagged: 38 Studios, bonds, Boston, current-events, democrat, Deval Patrick, governor of massachusetts, jobs, Lincoln Chafee, moral obligation bonds, Politics, president, Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, republican, Rhode Island, Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, state pension plan

Republican Charlie Baker is looking for an APP that will make him MORE palatable as Governor of Massachusetts this time around.

Baker who ran in 2010 against incumbent/current governor and President Obama pal Deval Patrick (Democrat) in 2010, is planning Baker 2-point-0…the upgrade!

I wonder if Curt Schilling will campaign for Charlie Baker this time around…or whether Baker will consider Schilling, again, as his running mate?

In case you’ve forgotten, Curt Schilling is the former Boston Red Sox pitcher (baseball) who:

• Is King – was King? of bloody socks (at least, here in Boston).

• Championed Republican Baker against current governor Patrick, who took office in 2007: “I’ll vote for him (Baker) because he’s someone that has always appealed to me as being out for the greater good above all else. This state is in dire need of exactly that right now…”

• Later wanted the state (Massachusetts, under Governor Deval Patrick) to give him, Schilling, millions in loan guarantees/state subsidies for his Gaming startup company, 38 Studios.

• When Patrick said no (what did Schilling expect? You campaigned for his rival – and Microsoft you are not!)

• Schilling threw a tantrum. He flounced over to Rhode Island where Schilling got the $75 million in loan guarantees he wanted – then in 2012 defaulted on a million-dollar payment and declared bankruptcy, leaving RI holding the bag. RI is suing!

Yes – that Curt Schilling.

So what role is HE likely to play in Charlie Baker’s second run for governor, Baker 2.0? I say 38 NADAs!

Because back then, when Schilling was campaigning for those government hand-outs from Massachusetts and Patrick turned him down…

Said Baker:

“Over the course of the past four years, Massachusetts has lost a lot of businesses…we can’t blame that on businesses that make decisions to do what makes the most sense for their employees.”

Rick Gorka, a spokesman for the Baker campaign, called Schilling’s departure:

An example of a “toxic business climate’’ created by Democratic incumbent Governor Deval Patrick. 

So given the debacle that Schilling’s 38 Studios turned out to be, how will Baker justify his campaign getting it so wrong…???

How does Baker parlay that into a bid for faith in his ability to make SOUND business decisions for the Bay State?

For surely IF Baker (thank God) had been governor – HE would have given his buddy/campaign torch bearer the tax-payer dollars Schilling was asking for – and TODAY, it would be Massachusetts TAX PAYERS left holding that bankrupt bag!

According to news reports, angry RI lawmakers were left asking:

Why Rhode Island backed an untested company helmed by a wealthy former athlete when the state grapples with an 11.2 percent jobless rate and chronic budget deficits.

Chafee

Incidentally the very SAME day that Baker announced that he’s running for governor (09/4/13)…the governor of Rhode Island Lincoln Chafee announced  HE will NOT run for another term.

Chafee refused to give Schilling’s 38 Studios yet MORE subsidies to bail the company, (as Schilling was demanding). Chafee called the 38 Studios deal:  a very, very challenging investment by the state.

So what does that say about Charlie Baker?

Because if HE had been governor of Massachusetts, WE would be looking at the 38 Studios debacle and drumming him out of town!

38 Studios created such a MESS  for/in RI, that I can’t figure it out.

• The state issued $75-million in bonds backed by RI taxpayers. Not just any bonds, moral obligation bonds that they apparently can’t default on, maybe. RI owes the bond holders $110 million!
• The state is suing 14 people involved with the 38 Studios deal, including Curt Schilling.
• Erosion of confidence in the RI Economic Development Corporation – every deal is now suspect!

Welcome 38 Studios! What a mess THAT turned out to be…Charlie Baker.

Now here comes Baker 2.0!  More like “Oh NO! Not again?!”

This is ONE time you do NOT upgrade…

Reminder (taken from an online news article about 38 Studios):

• “In April, the Boston Business Journal reported that new court filings alleged 38 Studios knew it was in dire straits before it moved from Massachusetts to the Ocean State. According to documents filed in Rhode Island Superior Court, Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. attorney Max Wistow said there was “crushing evidence” that shows that Schilling and others at the company covered up financial information”.

Rhode Island was left to find a multi-year plan to start paying down the debt.

Goodbye 38 Studios. Didn’t come back – and neither should Charlie Baker!

• In 1989, RI issued about $23 million in bonds for the office building housing 38 Studios…and the state retirement system compounded the error by buying the 38 Studio bonds.

When the building’s owners filed for bankruptcy, RI ended up owing it’s OWN pension system.

Oh what a tangled mess we missed – when governor Patrick, Schilling dissed!

 Photos: Google Images

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