Surprise! Romney's Death Penalty Plan Rejected

When you live in a Commonwealth headed by an anomalously conservative governor with an eye both eyes firmly fixed on the White House, and an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature that pretty much runs the show, a lot of the headlines are, to say the least, predictable. Case in point, the House of Representatives yesterday gave a mighty "No, thank you" to Romney's much-touted proposal to bring the death penalty back to Massachusetts, voting it down 100 - 53. (Remember? This was the failproof, scientific-accuracy-required, no-innocent-people-will-be-executed-anymore-ever version of the death penalty. The legislature still wasn't buying.) By now, of course, this is part of a well-practiced dance in which legislators go about their usual business while Romney buzzes annoyingly about their heads, building a resume of demonstrable conservatism and enduring periodic swats. Bostonist sometimes wonders whether legislators ever feel frustrated, having no option but to take the role of the villain in this weird political play, and we wonder how long Romney can carry on like this before he has to decide which nearly unwinnable election he'll devote himself to.