Nativists or NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yarders)?

Via Boston Herald

Massachusetts’ candidates for governor will find out soon what Democrat Steve Grossman learned firsthand yesterday — voters even in liberal Massachusetts are angry.

On our Boston Herald Radio show live at South Station, Grossman was in the middle of a passionate defense of Gov. Deval Patrick’s move to house 1,000 illegal immigrants in the state, when a couple of voters decided to intervene.

“We have enough problems with our own kids,” said one woman from Brockton who was waiting to catch a commuter rail.

The state treasurer countered by talking about opiate abuse — a standard political dodge — but another woman wanted to chime in.

“These people are not my responsibility,” she said. “We have homeless veterans here for God’s sake. What are you doing about that? We owe these people more than we owe immigrants.”

Grossman tried again.

“You’re expressing concerns — ” he said before the woman corrected him.

“I’m expressing anger,” she said. “I’ve had it up to here with most of you.”

Welcome to the new political climate in Massachusetts, Mr. Grossman. The stories and pictures of kids, teenagers and others streaming in illegally across the Mexican border — and Patrick’s decision to embrace them in the Bay State — have touched a raw nerve. And Massachusetts, much to the surprise of many liberals, is no different.

It looks like Grossman and the other candidates for governor will be getting an earful from thousands of other voters just like those women at South Station.

In one of the most comically contorted poll stories ever, the Boston Globe reported that much to its shock and dismay, Massachusetts voters are not all on board with President Obama and Patrick.

The Globe poll showed voters are split on the plan to put 1,000 illegal immigrant children on a local military base — even after the pollster helpfully told the respondents the feds were picking up the tab and the kids would be here for only a few months.

No doubt the Globe erred by including too many people who don’t live in Lincoln or the Berkshires and will never have to see the illegals in their communities.

But the real shocking result was that more than 80 percent of voters are paying some or a lot of attention to the illegal immigration problem. That is not what Globe editors or Democrats want to hear. What about the GOP war on women? Aren’t voters more concerned about that?

Well, just ask Treasurer Grossman after he found himself in the middle of the spontaneous debate on Herald Radio.

“I hear that anger. I feel that anger,” he said. “That anger is palpable.”

Give Grossman credit for hanging in and answering the questions, even though an aide was trying to usher him to another event.

“Will you have me back?” he asked me and my “Trending Now” co-host Adriana Cohen.

Yes, we will, Mr. Treasurer. And we invite all the candidates to come to our Wednesday shows live from South Station. But they are going to have to come up with better answers.