Which is extra appalling: Immigration authorities placing a Milford teen in a detention heart, or Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey utilizing him as a political prop in a PR struggle?
Healey, who’s up for reelection subsequent 12 months and whose approval scores have dipped, staged a photograph op in her Statehouse workplace with Marcelo Gomes da Silva on Friday that reeked of political opportunism and ickiness.
Placing her arm across the 18-year-old who has been residing right here illegally, she handed the impressionable teen a rosary she stated was blessed by the Pope – all of it captured by her taxpayer funded photographer.
It was one of the vital shameless maneuvers by a Massachusetts politician in latest reminiscence, and that’s saying so much.
If she actually wished to fulfill with Gomes, she might have simply finished it privately – with out having it documented for social media and the newspapers and TV information. However she selected to make it a public spectacle.
Little question some individuals fell for it, together with liberals and different Democrats who’ve been swooning over Gomes for days.
However just a few days later, appearing ICE Performing Director Todd Lyons was prompted to fireplace again at Healey and threw in Boston Mayor Michelle Wu for good measure.
“Politicians like Mayor Wu and Governor Healey have loudly touted lawlessness over law and order. Their prioritization of criminal aliens in communities across the state should speak volumes to their constituents. As these elected officials welcome those flouting national laws, ICE’s brave law enforcement officers protecting public safety will continue to perform the job they refuse to do,” Lyons stated in a press release Sunday.
The forwards and backwards was an escalation of the struggle between ICE and Democratic politicians throughout the nation. However in terms of PR, Healey is clearly the winner. ICE is considered because the villain by most Democrats and most liberal Massachusetts voters.
But it surely’s no shock that Healey is successful this battle within the Bay State.
When it was politically expedient for her and she or he wished to draw Democratic votes, Healey inspired unlawful migrants to flock to Massachusetts. However as quickly because it turned a fiscal nightmare that was hurting her administration, Healey scaled again and started to limit how lengthy migrants might keep within the non permanent shelters.
Whether or not it’s spinning a basketball on her finger and waxing poetic about her enjoying days in school, or posing with a child bear cub in her arms, Healey has all the time ruled with public relations in thoughts.
“These cubs are so cute I can hardly bear it!” Healey wrote on Instagram final 12 months when she spent the day tagging bears with wildlife employees.
Utilizing bears as props is one factor, however utilizing a human being is one other.
Healey quietly introduced on board one among her prime political advisers, Corey Welford, to the governor’s workplace final 12 months at $140,000 a 12 months. Welford is an skilled hand and adept at campaigns.
Gov. Charlie Baker was not so centered on PR as Healey again when he was within the Nook Workplace. That has not all the time helped him, however he did land a profitable job heading the NCAA after leaving workplace.
