Q&A #8: Beacon Hill Bad Apples

"Beacon Hill Gossip," a real troublemaker, asks:

Of Beacon Hills current crop of Legislators, which do you think have either overstayed their welcome, hit the glass ceiling, or are just plain ineffective, and should take a hint and look for a new career?

Well, let's start with my stated opinion -- and I'm serious about this -- that we should shut down the house of representatives and send them all home.

In the state senate, you've got a (fast-shrinking) group who have been there more than 10 years. That includes senate president Therese Murray, who presumably will leave after her term as president maxes out in less than three years; frankly it's a mystery to me why she's bothering to run for one more term. Some of the others are doing real work -- Dick Moore on the health care payment bill, for example -- but will probably be winding down soon too.

Then you've got some middle-grounders, like Jack Hart, who are fine but in my mind are too stuck in the old senate (you're not supposed to get jobs for people at probation? what else is it there for?).

And then there are a bunch of newcomers, a few of whom might turn out to be better than drawing names out of a big basket, like in the Hunger Games, to pick legislators. Oh, and there are a few Republicans, or so I've heard.

I guess I'm avoiding your question, because instead of naming names of who should go (*cough* Marc Pacheco *cough*) I'm saying I'm not really sure whose presence or absence makes that much difference one way or another.