A rocky alliance - Boston Globe- public speaker

Several minutes later, before a room full of scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital this month, Patrick was asked about DiMasi, about his frustrations with the speaker and the slow pace of legislation in the House. The brief embrace - an awkward Kumbaya moment for the cameras - obscured a tense relationship between Patrick and DiMasi, one that has spilled far beyond the personal, and the professional, to affect the direction of state policy in multiple areas. Once Patrick took office, the House speaker almost immediately began taking swipes at Patrick, criticizing everything from his political inexperience to his office redecorating. Patrick's Day breakfast last year - where the state's politicians always throw punches at one another - DiMasi played songs that he said reminded him of the governor's political trajectory. With his signature initiative to develop three casinos in Massachusetts facing strong opposition in the House, where DiMasi has set himself up as the biggest obstacle, Patrick has slowly increased his attempts to put outside pressure on lawmakers. And with his own version of a $1 billion life-sciences initiative last week, DiMasi agreed to the broad outlines of the governor's proposal while putting the House's imprint on the concept with a set of narrowly targeted spending proposals that would spread money to interest groups and regions around the state. read more

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