We can now add...

The Death Penalty to Mitt Romney’s ever lengthening list of grand un-achievables. A partial listing of which would include; auto insurance reform, smashing gay marriage, a sensible health care bill, stem cell puritanism, tax cuts (a patent absurdity in the face of Willard’s endless sneaky fee increases) oh and his phantom 30 billion dollar transportation and highway program.
Romney would like us all to view the capital punishment through the rose colored prism of his simpleminded unswerving resolution in the face of Tom Reilly’s alleged equivocation. God and Scot Lehigh willing that may just end up being the main parameters of the issue.
Of course Romney couldn’t care less if the damn thing passes, crime is low at the moment in Massachusetts the police have never been more assiduous in their duties. The prisons are full and the streets as quiet as can be hoped.
Romney however needs yet another loud frantic bamboozlement to appear as a he-man to the uncircumspect barbarians that dwelleth beyond the Berkshires. These of course, being Mitt’s future serfs and servitors. So its less about who has done a gut check on the gallows and more about the increasingly weird virtual presidential politics that have been corrupting the process here in the Commonwealth.
The irony is, I myself somewhat on the pro-death penalty side. Oh I understand its a punishment heavily freighted with race and class distinctions don’t get me wrong. I’m well aware that it has not inherent deterrent effect on anyone of a truly antisocial nature. Take Texas for example, they can pile the stiffs up like cordwood and yet the whole state is rotten with violent criminality - not much in the way of deterrence goin’ on thar ah think.
Nope...there are some people, the Charles Mansons, the Sirhan Sirhans who just need to be turned to dust soonest. It is admittedly a small number, but an exclusive collection of malevolent brutes. If the French or the Green Berets nab Bin Laden tomorrow, I say hang him. Not much in the way of punishment can be achieved by leaving Osama or anyone like him alive behind bars-better to execute and be quit of them.
Clearly any death penalty statue would need a number of safeguards built into it to satisfy some of the above drawbacks...whether or not the Legislature has the wisdom to craft such a law is another question entirely.
However its hardly an important issue to Humble Elias, doesn’t even make my top ten list...and rarely impacts my voting pattern as a result.
The state is otherwise completely divided on the issue...if there is no consensus out in the electorate why force the issue on Beacon Hill? Because Mitt Romney wants to look like a hard guy to Spartanburg South Carolina that is why.
And until the real debate commences as to how much of the Governor’s program is dictated by the fancies and cherished myths of out of state wowsers, there the matter rests.