Jay Fitzgerald has been making the case for what's left of the Massachusetts Republican Party to basically secede and recast itself as the party of fiscal restraint to keep Massachusetts from descending into one-party despotism.

But why wait? We've already got Democrats ripping into Sal DiMasi (over the whole Cognos affair, which the Globe has turned into a daily feature).

Jay Fitzgerald marvels at the slow-motion coup unfolding in the House of Representatives.

The Globe: DiMasi refuses to provide records:

House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi is refusing to comply with a demand for records from the state Ethics Commission in its conflict-of-interest investigation, leading to a secretive legal showdown that has yet to be resolved, according to officials familiar with the matter.

In this post-Wilkerson world in which we live, Mike Ball doesn't get it:

Contemporary with Sen. Dianne Wilkerson's protracted disgrace — and her unwillingness to live in the same world of laws and consequences as most of us — Salvatore F. DiMasi is likely blowing up his on scandal in the making.

The Outraged Liberal wonders if DiMasi really has something to hide in the case involving former DiMasi confidante Richard Vitale and the way Cognos (now part of IBM) got a state software contract:

... The circumstantial evidence surrounding DiMasi, Vitale and the software manufacturer Cognos is not pretty and needs to be properly sorted out. But that can't happen when principals decline to provide the material investigators say they need to do their job. ...

The Globe just keeps digging up more on Sal's pals. Maybe the Globe details explain the Herald story about the continued strife between DiMasi and the other bulls in the herd.

Death threats targeted DiMasi.

Jay Fitzgerald: I'm trying to figure out how Sal gets out of this mess.

Quick! Who is Matt Viser talking about in this story in the Globe today?

They stood several feet away from one another, but their eyes rarely met. They did embrace briefly.

But did they retire somewhere quiet after to talk things over in private?

Think state leaders will re-examine the gas tax and our crumbling transportation infrastructure? Nah, didn't think so.

Speaking of the legislature, Cognos sure seems to pop up in the news a lot for a company only the people who read Network World would normally have heard of (yes, that was a blatant link to my day job; however, I can assure you there is no quid pro quo). The Outraged Liberal says:

Coming on the heels of DiMasi dispensing committee vice chairmanships for votes to defeat the casino gambling bill, the Speaker has a definite appearance problem.

WaveMaker is loving Sal DiMasi's claim that nobody was pressured during yesterday's committee vote on the Patrick casino plan, which almost became a tie vote, even though the committee has an odd number of members:

... On the most controversial and far-reaching public policy issue to come before the legislature since gay marriage, one duly elected representative of the people couldn't pull the trigger. Unless Rep. Rice has a clear and obvious conflict of interest that would lawfully prevent him from voting, he should be taken into the public arena and flogged. ...

And then there's the Republican who changed his mind and voted against the bill. Wave Maker, himself a Republican, has more to say about him, but let's turn to the left, where Massachusetts Liberal wonders:

Fashion mavens in the Statehouse today will be checking to see what Wrentham Republican Richard Ross is wearing with his suit. In particular, they will be checking to see if the sling for his twisted arm matches the fabric. ...

Back to Wave Maker:

... There is another element to this vote that should deeply trouble observers of democracy. Legislative Committee votes are to be taken in open sessions where the public and the press are able to observe the process. In this instance, however -- for reasons yet unexplained -- "two votes were taken by email and phone" and counted inside closed offices instead of committee rooms.