We know that Charlie sometimes has trouble with the truth. We saw another example of that during last night's debate. We are used to Charlie not telling the truth about his role in the Big Dig, but last night he applied the same logic to what happened during his time as a CEO at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.
During the debate, Charlie denied Harvard Pilgrim had received any state aid:
Unfortunately for Charlie, the facts in the real world just don't match up. Find out why after the jump:
"Frankly, many people in state government made a bet on me, and on the organization that I was involved in"
Media reports also contradict Baker's statements from last night (Sorry, not all of them have links):
"State aided Baker's business triumph... many see a less heroic story line, noting that Harvard Pilgrim probably would not exist if the state had not created a public-private alliance to save it from bankruptcy"
Boston Globe, 8/5/09"State OK's HMO bailout $147M plan designed to help stem Harvard Pilgrim Losses"
Boston Globe, 12/8/99"In what the press referred to as a 'bailout' at the time, Baker worked with former colleagues in state government to negotiate the terms of the state's triage and cut a deal to prevent the company's bankruptcy."
Boston Globe, 12/3/99"Bailout defended by state agency; Harvard Pilgrim would get $140M"
Patriot Ledger, 12/3/99
We are used to seeing newspapers (which are, after all, located in the real world instead of Charlie Baker's World) disagree with him, but the most shocking thing about Charlie's claim last night is who else he disagreed with him:
"Frankly, many people in state government made a bet on me, and on the organization that I was involved in"
Charlie Baker, State Board of Education Meeting, February 2002
Sometimes in Charlie Baker's World, you just can't catch a break.
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Oh, I didn't know this website still existed. Your traffic must be through the roof. Good use of MA Dems resources. BTW, you lost the PR battle on this issue. If you had half a brain you would have let the story fizzle out, but by leaving the story up and continuing with your silly accusation you've kept the news cycle going. It only damages your preferred candidate and makes him look untruthful. Once again - John Walsh and MA Dems losing Constitutional, Senatorial, and Congressional offices one seat at a time! Keep up the good work!