SLUSH FUNDS: How Deval Patrick secretly diverted millions to off-budget accounts. “Former Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration secretly diverted nearly $27 million in public money to off-budget accounts that paid for a $1.35 million trade junket tab, bloated advertising contracts, and a deal with a federally subsidized tourism venture backed by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, a Herald investigation has found. . . . State lawmakers never approved the funding plan, and it’s not clear who even knew about it, but it is clear who orchestrated the end-around the budget and got state agencies to contribute.”

Deval was the template for Obama, in imagery, in bypassing the legislature, and in massive crony socialism. Not surprisingly, his administration ended badly.