Notes From D. R.

Could we see a split at some point in the future between Massachusetts Governor-Elect Deval Patrick and the operators of the far-left blogs that backed his candidacy?

While conservatives and libertarians who voted against Patrick fear that he will be a captive of the ultra-liberal special interests, it seems self-evident that somewhere along the line, Patrick will have to break with the far left in order to preserve his credibility as governor. (Sooner rather than later, one hopes.) Patrick is a wise man, and he surely understands that if he makes the same mistake former Governor Michael Dukakis made in the late-1980s–i.e., pursuing far-left political objectives instead of tending to the needs of the state as a whole–he’ll be sent packing after one term. 

Patrick is as proud as he is wise; he wants to go down in history as a governor who always held the best interests of the Commonwealth at heart, not as a narrow-minded ideologue like Dukakis (or a complete failure like Jane Swift). While I did not support his candidacy, I do believe that Patrick, once he assumes the reigns of power, may turn out to be a governor who places pragmatism over progressivism–and if that is indeed the case, you can bet the bank that the bloggers who backed him will begin to bash him.

It will be funny to see the lefty blogs react to Patrick the same way progressives reacted to Bill Clinton a decade ago when he signed the Defense of Marriage Act and the Welfare Reform Act into law as a way of preserving his political career. Once it becomes obvious that Patrick is not going to be the liberal Aladdin his "netroots" backers expect him to be, there will be an onslaught of online outrage.

The only question is, how long will it be before Patrick does something that will cause the "netroots" to remove him from their list of favorites?