Guest Post: Deval's DeVille

Guest post by Susan Falkoff.

I was interested to catch up with Blue Mass Group today and learn that the consensus there is that the fuss over Deval’s new Cadillac is the result of partisan bickering. Among my acquaintances, the issue seemed to have more traction than on BMG. A former Grace Ross supporter wrote (as though I am Deval’s scheduler or personal assistant, which I’m not): “Pleeze give Deval a ride home soon in your sweet little hybrid... Does it make sense for the Guvner to be driven to work & back home in such a notorious gas guzzler, traffic hog, and ‘gangsta cah’?” I was definitely more disturbed by my friend’s crass use of racist stereotypes than by Deval’s choice of car but it bothered me when another leftie made a similar, if more gracefully phrased, comment today. It was reminiscent of when Deval took a hit among my acquaintances (some with significant personal wealth) over building a lavish second home in the Berkshires.

Personally, I agree with those on BMG who believe that the governor needs a presentable vehicle but I was surprised that BMG posts weren’t more concerned about mileage. I’d feel a lot better if I knew that mileage was at least one of the factors that were considered in the vehicle selection. Was a hybrid SUV even a contender? This is not an area where I would expect creative thinking from the state police. Did it even occur to anyone to run (no pun intended) this past the administration’s energy and environment people? Let Deval keep his Deville but I’ll be looking for the administration to demonstrate significant leadership and creativity around energy efficiency in lots of other ways.