Tom Reilly remembers he's from Springfield

Nothing brings a candidate back to his roots like the opportunity to hammer one of his opponents. Thanks to a pretty good gaffe by Chris Gabrieli, Tom Reilly has gone on the offensive to stand up for his otherwise neglected home city of Springfield.

First, Gabrieli compared Springfield to one of the most dismal, crime-ridden, downtrodden cities in America in yesterday's Globe:

The towns around Springfield are doing fine. Springfield is Detroit. It's just the city is being abandoned for the nearby suburbs, and you know, and then all those suburbs are saying, we should get 25 percent of our aid on Chapter 70 because we just should.

Hoo Boy! If that's not enough to get a Springfielder going, I don't know what is. Reilly, who hasn't lived in Springfield for decades but knows an opportunity when he sees one, was off and running, first with this response:

SPRINGFIELD --Attorney General and Springfield native Tom Reilly today demanded that Chris Gabrieli apologize to the people of Springfield for mocking the city -- Mitt Romney style -- and comparing Springfield to Detroit.

"Just because Springfield is more economically diverse than Louisburg Square doesn't mean it's a bad city or something to mock," Reilly said. "I'm proud of my home city, I believe in its future and what it needs is a Governor who cares about Springfield, not another out of touch Governor who mocks it."

"Mitt Romney infamously called Lawrence 'Kennedy Country.' Well I'm proud to call Springfield 'Reilly Country.' This is an insult to Springfield and Chris ought to publicly apologize to the people of Springfield."

Heh! A bit of a stretch to compare Gabrieli's remark to Romney's 'Kennedy Country' remark, but a decent retort nonetheless. The reilly campaign then decided to have a little fun with it, and twist the knife a bit further:

CHRIS GABRIELI SHOULD DO HIS SPRINGFIELD HOMEWORK
Side-by-side comparison shows Springfield is no Detroit

Chris Gabrieli today refused to publicly apologize to the people of Springfield for his remark to the Boston Globe comparing Springfield to Detroit. Gabrieli, one of the founders of a Massachusetts'think tank, might want to do some deep thinking over the final weekend of the primary before he mocks Massachusetts again.

To help, the Reilly campaign offers a side-by-side comparison for Gabrieli:

DETROIT..............................................................................SPRINGFIELD
Population of 911,000 people..................................................Population 152,000
Home of the Aries K car....................................Home of the classic Indian motorcycle
Ranked the most dangerous city in America...Wasn't Dubbed "Murder City" Birthplace of Basketball
Will close 95 schools by 2009.............................Home of favorite kids author Dr. Seuss
Epicenter of the Rust Belt..................................Epicenter of the lush Pioneer Valley
16,000 houses left abandoned in 1999..................................Called the "City of Homes"
Birthplace of Kidd Rock.............Birthplace of the next Governor of Massachusetts, Tom Reilly

This probably won't add one vote to Reilly's total (certainly not mine), but it's nice to see them add a little snark to an otherwise routine campaign.

Tags: Massachusetts Election 2006 Governor Democrat Primary Chris Gabrieli Tom Reilly Springfield Detroit