Typically, the New England Patriots face delicate issues relating to their football tactics. Now, questions have emerged regarding a possible link between political contributions from the family that owns the team and the allocation of federal stimulus money for the construction of a footbridge at a complex near Gillette Stadium.
"We're making these decisions on the merits," Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick said regarding contributions to Patrick's campaign and the state Democractic Party. "There are others who
have asked for investment of Recovery Act dollars or federal bonding
dollars who have contributed to us and we've said no because those
projects did not stand on their own."
Our take? Welcome to the American political system.
Folks in elected office are able to exercise discretion on a wide number of issues, and folks in elected office often reward those who have supported them. If there's something wrong with that, then virtually every elected official in the country should be impeached. Now.
Indeed, decisions far more important than the awarding of federal stimulus money are made based in part on the money a person gives to the cause or, more importantly, the money a person raises. It's the way the system works.
And it's not a perfect system, either. Plenty of people make political contributions in the hopes of securing a favor that simply never comes, as Patrick pointed out.
So move along, sports media. As your colleagues who cover politics for a living will tell you, there's nothing to look at here.
Massachusetts governor dealing with Patriots controversy
Posted by Mike Florio on November 13, 2009 5:34 PM ET
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43 Comments
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Translation: Deval Patrick is a democrat so Florio agrees with him. If his thoughts was truely "move along, sports media", then he himself would have "moved along" to the next story about a coach flubbing an injury report.
Yes because now that democrats are in charge there is no need to pay attention to corruption. Thats only needed when republicans are at the top.
I wonder how many fudged job numbers the foot bridge will create as Massachusetts as many places within the state reported that 100% of their job creation numbers were false.
Mike: After your one-sided Limbaugh coverage one wonders if you would have the same laissez faire attitude if Jerry Jones was paying for favors from Governor Rick Perry.
Kouldn't
Allocated stimulus funds be used for something
Really important?
Money shouldn't be wasted like it grows on
A tree.
BridgeGATE.
@ Florio,
Politicians being politicians? I'd have expected you to milk at least a half dozen whining, rambling posts out of this one!
What's next, you ignoring injury shenanigans?!
Is this a new, grown-up Mike Florio??
Or to write about..........yawn.
I remember living in Massachusetts with their corrupt politics and high taxes.
But now I am in Missouri and......um...........yeah.
Wow you're an expert on so many things...
So the Kraft family predicted this current economic meltdown, Obama being elected and the Federal Stimulus program being implemented back in 2006 when they contributed to the campaign of Deval Patrick.
No.
The fact is that what the Krafts have built in Foxboro (with mainly their own money) rivals most of the rest of the state as far as economic intake and investment over the past 10 years and it only makes sense to apply any stimulus funds to areas that need and deserve them.
95% of our elected officals should be impeached because they dont give a damm about the publics real needs.
What does Patrick care? He is just biding his time for when he loses the Governorship in 2010 and gets a position in the Obama White House.
Hey Florio:
MY take.... Liberals being Liberals....
"So move along, sports media. As your colleagues who cover politics for a living will tell you, there's nothing to look at here."
yea, so get back to trashing Jerry's scoreboard, that's where the REAL scandal is!!
*** eyes roll out of head and across the floor***
Yes, you're 100%!
Rich men should be always be allowed to bribe LAWMAKERS who are supposed to REPRESENT THE PEOPLE!
BUT
Peasents such as OCHO CINCO though cannot donate funds no matter how small or humoress to those our administer the law!
Beyond a doubt the perfect system! And criticism of the system is a no-no just like in Iran.
Wouldn't want to besmirch the Communist Republic of Massachusetts, comrade.
I think Bob Kraft has a gorgeous home up on Lake George. You can see it when you take the sightseeing cruise on the Ste st Delac, or something spelled clsoe to that.
Yes, a magnificent little getaway
re: reward those who have supported them. If there's something wrong with that, then virtually every elected official in the country should be impeached.
--
youre saying if lots of people might get away with drunk driving for example by paying off some cop or judge or juror it would be alright too because lots do it?
and only rich men have the funds to bribe those officials working for pay that the common taxpayer pays to then get a chunk of the money for themselves that those same politicians force taxpayers to hand over? is this like the caste system in india?
there are more people in us jails than the rest of the world combined but these thieves participating in this criminal behavior are there to steal more? well at least plaxico burress is in jail - GREAT NEWS the country is safe.
poor son of bookmaker rooney supports obama pubicly and probably financially too so elected obama names rooney ambassador of ireland! OF COURSE paid by taxpayers.
Tsk tsk.
"virtually every elected official in the country should be impeached. Now."
------------
I agree with that part, anyway
FOOTBALL? Was the money spent on a camera?
liberal democrats watching out for liberal democrats - it's the NBC AND PFT WAY!
Beth Stern receives "stimulus" from Howard.
Oh geez. Here we go.
You know we make liberal and democrat jokes, me included, but lets face it, regardless their side of the aisle they are all corrupt liars. Term limits anyone?
@ Bob S.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
Hey Florio, thanks for PROVING anththing Patriots related will draw a hit....
Nice to know that the Patriots OWN sooooooooo many lost souls.....
I hate to break it to you guys, but the Bob Kraft, his companies employees and every employee of the New England Patriots contribute MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of tax dollars to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts every year. Unspeakable amounts of money. Boo hoo if they want a little back for a freaking bridge to make it safer for people to get to the stadium.
I'm not quite sure what all this is about just yet, but are we talking about Gillette Stadium, which, unlike nearly every other billion dollar stadium project out there, was built WITHOUT taxpayer funding, and financed by Kraft himself?
Did the owners of the Jets or the Yankees finance their statidum projects out of their pockets, creating thousands of jobs and revenue while doing so?
Or did they have the taxpayers foot the bill?
So if the state or federal government picks up the tab for a road or bridge around such a project that creates so many jobs and pays so many taxes, I'm sorry but I don't think I have a big problem with that.
In fact, if they didn't get some level of state or federal support for an industry that important to the local economy, I think I'd be pretty pissed.
And I'd REALLY be pissed if I lived in another state where I as a taxpayer built an owners' new stadium AND my taxes went to the roads, bridges or other projects.
Kraft's financed the stadium on his own. Other owners tend not to do that.
Democrats, Republicans, it doesn't matter, they are all corrupt. Your kidding yourself if you think otherwise.
It was both Republicans and Democrats that bailed out the Banks.
Duval Patrick is a corrupt fraud... Living in Massachusetts for 4 years now I must say this is the most ass-backwards place politically. This is the only place I've ever been where people vote to KEEP state income-taxes so that they "don't lose the programs". Nobody can tell you what the programs are that will be lost if the state-income tax is done away with, much less how much they cost.
I just don't understand how Massachusetts kills citizens on income taxes, 8% sales tax, high property taxes, and toll roads and the state needs MORE money... Not to mention the high fares to take the MBTA, which is also out of money, with overcrowded, outdated trains and buses.
But wth, lets have another 4 years of Duval Patrick/Thomas Menino who facilitates it all and lines their pockets with under the table cash.
"State Treasurer Timothy Cahill, who is challenging Patrick for re-election, and other government officials have questioned giving state and federal assistance to Kraft because he is tied for number 468 on Forbes magazine's list of the world's billionaires."
"Patrick said the development project would create 4,500 permanent jobs and 4,000 construction jobs. He also billed it as "the largest shovel-ready commercial space in the commonwealth."
The above is from the linked article. I'm sure plenty of you meat-heads didn't read it. It's a footbridge over the highway there and it will link further parking to the stadium as well as to the industrial park.
Frankly, the Kraft's have put up waaaaay more money of their own in comparision to other NFL teams.. or even any other sports team to develop Patriots Place and it's surroundings. Cahill using the arguement regarding Kraft's wealth is typical of the petty politics of finger pointing.
Anything that could add to the potential of increased permenant jobs should be welcomed in these days shouldn't it Cahill?? This is exactly why you shouldn't be running the show. People like you don't realize that it's a "you scratch my back I'll scratch yours" agreement. You don't want to help me out on this small project.. well then I won't help you out with providing jobs.
Explain that one to the people who are jobless and facing forclosure as they head to the ballot booth genius.
What they don't tell you is that Kraft's money led to allowing him access to a new satellite that can read lips from 10,000 feet and intercept and decode radio signals from inside defender's helmets.
Championship.
I agree with you 100%--impeach every politician in America NOW.
We'll deal with the lawyers next.....
Why not just video tape another teams footbridge?
No need to waste taxpayers $.
Kraft built the stadium with his own money but all of the rework to US Rt 1 was paid for by the taxpayers. On game days, some of the roads in Foxboro are closed to traffic and the back way into the stadium is only open to VIPs so they don't end up in the traffic of the tax paying commoners.
Duval is a slimy business guy who has had a lot of shady conflict of interest decisions.
As the rest of the country is finding out, the Liberals are a "Do as we say not as we do" crew. Government employees don't participate in Social Security and they won't be participating in the Government Health Plan even though it is called the "Government" health plan.
Wouldn't want to besmirch the Communist Republic of Massachusetts, comrade.
Never a truer statement.
Cadillac Duval is a one timer.
Why isn't ESPM running this story? whaaaaa
Much ado about nothing! Kraft didn't take public funds to build Gillette or the surrounding Mega-Mall attached to the Stadium..
If, you've ever been to a Patriots game you know Foxborough is a little town! The main Rte 1 to Gillette is in between most of the parking and the Stadium. The footbridge would allow traffic to move a little better and probably keep a few inebreated patrons from being run over!
Kraft built everything else, the State can kick in a little for a walkway over Rte 1....It isn't like GB or Minn., were public dollars, stadium tax!
Mass. should pay for the bridge, at least that way the people of Ma. will benefit, otherwise the stimulus money will go away! Nobody I know has benefitted from the government bonanza....Does anyone really know where all that money went? I don't think even Obama knows...
Florio, you are still an idiot. Impeached, now. Maybe or impeached now. But not impeached. Now. That Now is a new thought. I would still like to see the mail order diploma you received.
Yes... this has "scandal" written all over it.
Bob Kraft paid/financed the $325 million stadium out of his own pocket, and tens of millions more for "Patriots Place" center.
For comparison, the Jets and Giants are having the taxpayers foot the bill for a $1.3 billion stadium complex.
BUT - Kraft is getting $9 million for a footbridge paid for by the federal taxpayers. AND he and his wife each gave Deval Patrick (is everyone sitting down?) $500.
Um... why is the scandal about the state and feds investing $9 million on a bridge when in NYC the state taxpayers are footing the bill for $1,300 million?
Does anyone really think Deval Patrick was bought off by Bob Kraft for $500?
While I don't believe there is any scandal here, I still believe Deval Patrick and Thomas Menino are scumbags. (i.e. Deval Patrick signing a bill to raise taxes on alcohol only to be seen buying tax-free alcoholic beverages the next week in N.H.)
If you want a scandal you should look into why back in 1995 Thomas Menino and Thomas Finneran worked so hard to kill a deal to build new privately financed stadiums for both the Patriots and Red Sox on the Boston waterfront. A project all the citizens wanted, and all it required from the city was to sell vacant land (still vacant to this day) to Kraft and Red Sox ownership... Maybe Kraft didn't line Menino's pockets the way he wanted.
Kiss Bills Rings says:
November 13, 2009 8:42 PM
Hey Florio, thanks for PROVING anththing Patriots related will draw a hit....
Nice to know that the Patriots OWN sooooooooo many lost souls.....
________
Meanwhile, all you and the rest of your fellow pathetic Pats fans OWN are tiny little pee pees...hence the fact that outside of your cheering for a soon-to-be loser team, you have no life whatsoever, KissBillsDick.