“You said it
very well,” he said to Steve Kass – the former full-time-now-fill-in talk radio
host who gave Carcieri such favorable attention at the time that the governor
finally just dropped the pretense and made Kassman his communication director
in 2005. Seriously, that’s who was conducting the interview – the guy’s former
communications director.
“Every business person I knew was looking at their business an seeing sales decline and figuring out how they could reduce their costs and be more efficient and it was pretty obvious government needed to do the same,” Carcieri continued. “We couldn’t say we need the same amount of money or more when all of our citizens and all of our businesses are hurting.”
Kass’ probing
follow up question? “And also deliver quality services as well,” he tacked on
to Carcieri’s defense. To which the former governor added, “Well of course that
goes without saying.”
Riveting radio,
indeed. Nothing more interesting than listening to a politician make
unchallenged talking points.
But then it got,
if not interesting, at least bizarre when Kass actually blamed the legislature
for his former boss’ crowning fiscal legacy. Carcieri, knowing he would be
tossed only softballs, played right along.
“You kind of get
painted with whatever happens out of the legislature it’s something you have to
live with,” he said.
Yeah, you
especially get painted with that brush when it’s your legislative proposal that
the General Assembly passes. Never mind that later in the conversation, when
Kass tried to blame Congress for the nation’s deficit, Carcieri kept the onus
on the executive at the helm.
“It takes
leadership,” he said. “You know that.”
Kassman knew
that, of course, after Carcieri told him he did.