Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles Baker has selected state Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei as his running mate in the 2010 election. As Boston Phoenix political reporter David Bernstein notes, “I think this pretty much makes this the most socially moderate Republican ticket in the history of ever. We’re well past the classic ‘Rockefeller Republicans’ here.”

This selection isn’t sitting well with everybody. Tisei certainly seems qualified and competent–far more competent than some past candidates for lieutenant governor, to be sure. However, one wonders if the controversy (such as it is) over Tisei’s personal life will be an issue in this campaign.

I will say this: Tisei on his worst day will likely be better than Tim Murray on his best day.

Let me state for the record: I forgive Christy Mihos!

Eric Fehrnstrom obviously doesn’t. Fehrnstrom, the senior communications adviser for Mitt Romney’s 2008 Presidential campaign, insists that Bay State Republicans won’t soon forget Mihos’ rhetorical burial of 2006 Republican gubernatorial candidate Kerry Healey.

“What is surprising is that Mihos is back and running for governor in 2010, this time as a Republican,” Fehrnstrom writes. “If he learned anything from his off-beat [2006] campaign, it’s that independent candidates rarely win. Without the organizational strength and fund-raising network of a major party, a statewide candidate faces very long odds.

“In 2006 Mihos finished a distant third. He wasn’t even the spoiler he wanted to be,” Fehrnstrom continues. “His 7 percent of the vote, added to Healey’s total, wouldn’t have made a difference in the contest against Deval Patrick, who won with 56 percent of the vote to Healey’s 35 percent.

“So how does Mihos convince Republicans to overlook his disloyalty and make him their standard-bearer? After all, Mihos used to seethe resentment about a Republican Party that he felt was unworthy. ‘There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between Democrats and Republicans,’ he told voters. And he’d complain that ‘people are checking out because what the Republicans are selling people aren’t buying.’ Even more problematic are Mihos’ positions, which are poles apart from those of most Republicans.”

Fehrnstrom asserts that Mihos’ past will surely come back to haunt him. “Mihos committed enough gaffes to turn his last campaign into a running joke. He started the race with a groan-inducing joke about his wife. ‘My wife says I’m awful fast, so I’ll try to stick to that,’ he told biotech executives. He ran a vulgar TV ad depicting animated characters with their heads up their rear ends.

“Because Mihos was a long shot, the media overlooked his many missteps even as they gladly lapped up his criticisms of the GOP. The good news is that Massachusetts Republicans have strong potential candidates in the wings…But so far, Mihos is the only declared Republican candidate, a demoralizing prospect. Last year, in a TV interview, Mihos wondered if it makes sense to run for the GOP nomination, given that he spent the last election riding shotgun for Patrick. ‘I don’t know if the Republicans are going to embrace me,’ he said. It’s a point worth pondering, since he refused to embrace them.”

Fehrnstrom is correct to note that Charlie Baker, Michael Sullivan and Scott Brown would make great gubernatorial candidates. However, if these men opt not to enter the race–or, if they do, and Mihos manages to conquer them in the 2010 GOP primary–then what sense does it make to continue to hold a grudge against Mihos?

Yes, Mihos was obviously had issues with the state Republican Party in the mid-2000s. Yes, he was more aggressive against Healey in the 2006 gubernatorial debates than he was against Patrick. It’s all true. It’s also all in the past.

Mihos is not perfect. No one is. However, if he can oust Patrick from power and return some semblance of fiscal responsibility to the Commonwealth, then it’s not really constructive to bash him for past errors, is it?

By the way, that Mihos commercial wasn’t “vulgar.” It was quite funny.

Could Christy Mihos save Massachusetts from Deval Patrick?

The former Mass. Turnpike Authority official has announced that he will run for Governor in 2010–as a Republican. Mihos says he will bring fiscal responsibility to the Commonwealth, an achievement that the current hack in the Corner Office has not been able to pull off.

Mihos, of course, ran as an Independent in the 2006 gubernatorial election: since then, he has drawn fire for supposedly siphoning votes from Republican challenger Kerry Healey, allowing Patrick, a Democrat, to win. (Even during the race, he caught heat for allegedly weakening Healey’s chances; virtually every time Mihos appeared on WRKO-AM star Howie Carr’s radio show in ‘06, callers lambasted him for supposedly attempting to engineer a Patrick victory to punish the Bay State GOP for various perceived sins.)

Of course, it can be argued that Healey would have lost anyway, and that Mihos was not really the Ross Perot figure his staunchest critics make him out to be. In any event, does it make sense to continue holding a grudge against Mihos for his supposed role in helping Patrick become governor? If anyone deserves a second chance, it’s Mihos, who worked tirelessly on behalf of the taxpayers during his Turnpike Authority days.

Considering the recent controversy over Mass. Republican Party chair Jennifer Nassour’s declaration of neutrality on so-called “culture war” issues, one wonders if Mihos’ social libertarianism will become an issue. In 2006, Mihos made it clear that he was pro-choice on abortion and a supporter of same-sex marriage. Will the same folks who attacked Nassour give Mihos grief over his social stances (assuming, of course, that he has not modified his views between ‘06 and ‘09)? Let’s hope not. Fiscal responsibility is an issue that can transcend political boundaries; it will be wise for Mihos to place this issue at the forefront of his campaign.

We haven’t heard much in the past few weeks as to whether Harvard Pilgrim Health Care CEO Charles Baker actually plans to get in the game and run for governor as a Republican. If he does, Baker vs. Mihos will be a very interesting primary fight. One thing’s for sure: if Mihos beats Baker and challenges Patrick in the general, he’ll come up with some unforgettable ads–and the state will witness an unforgettable campaign.