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Melanie's
Bill The breathtakingly ill-advised pre-Halloween legislative sojourn to the Portuguese Riviera should be the last straw for voters who have reflexively returned undeserving Democrats to office year after year. The lark began hours after the House of Representatives gutted “Melanie’s Law,” a bill named for Melanie Powell, 13, who was killed when struck by a repeat drunk driver. After several legislators, with the complicity of House Speaker Sal DiMasi, convinced their colleagues that “Melanie’s Law” was too punitive, The House voted 114-22 to remove the following provisions: - to allow prosecutors to use court records to demonstrate that a drunk driver is a repeat offender - to lengthen the suspension period for drivers refusing to take a breathalyzer test - to increase the prison sentence for manslaughter by vehicular homicide. Guess how many of the six Democrats who initially eviscerated “Melanie’s Law” are lawyers making fees by representing drunk driving offenders? The answer is: Five. Voters should take notice when lawmakers aid lawbreakers. The Shameless Six who gutted the bill include Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, who celebrated masquerading his self-interest as the public interest by packing his bags for sunnier climates. When asked who benefited by the weakened bill, Ron Bersani, Melanie’s grandfather, said simply: “Drunks and their defenders.” Now guess how many of the 22 legislators who voted against weakening “Melanie’s Law” are Republicans? The answer is: 22. Governor Mitt Romney ultimately prevailed upon the legislature to restore the essential enforcement elements of the law, and the sun-struck solons returned from their junket to face the wrath of the electorate. Romney signed the strengthened bill into law in late October, and, fatefully, within 48 hours, two allegedly intoxicated drivers killed two people and seriously injured another in separate accidents in Boston and Methuen. Hours after the Governor signed the bill, Milton police arrested a Hyde Park man, Jerry Taylor, who is likely to have the distinction of being the first suspect prosecuted under the provisions of “Melanie’s Law.” Guess how many times he has been convicted for drunk driving? Five. Perhaps he had a good lawyer. After the tougher version prevailed, and subsequent to the tragic accidents, Senator Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester), the bill’s co-sponsor, observed: “The events of this weekend are just another example of why we need stronger laws for repeat drunk drivers. “It’s a pattern that’s been going on for years, and hopefully the very strong steps that we’ve taken are going to begin to change that.” Voters need to make their own decisions about the conduct of individual legislators, and the increasingly arrogant behavior of the legislature as a body, but it is clear that the judgment of more than a few legislators is transparently compromised. The day is coming when the movement to re-establish a two-party political system in Massachusetts will succeed, and the last gasp of rusted Democratic machine politics will wheeze its concession to a more balanced, and, by definition, more rational and responsible state legislature. It is unfathomable to those who witnessed a handful of lobbyists posing as legislators undermine “Melanie’s Law,” followed by the spectacle of our clueless leaders slinking off to the Portuguese Riviera, that political scientist Paul Reins once wrote glowingly: “The General Court of Massachusetts is in all respects nearest to the people, and most responsive of any American legislature to public opinion.” That was, however, in 1907. The civic pride of our legislature has deteriorated into a smug monopoly where leisure golf, a deep tan and public payroll careerism are principal pursuits. Ben Kilgore is a public relations consultant based in Boston. *Send your questions
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