Knight in Shining Armor having trouble getting horse to gallop

Mass GOP Golden Boy Charlie Baker is already shuffling his campaign. Trouncing Christy Mihos at the State Convention last week was supposed to give him a boost. But it came a week or so after polls came out showing that while Mihos wasn't the lead opponent to Governor Deval Patrick, neither was Baker. Without an established party base or a strong fund raising machine, Tim Cahill has been out-polling Baker.

So, the campaign manager was sent packing. They wanted a local person, not a Washington person, they say. But they didn't know that until now? Ok, sure. Doesn't bode well for a stable cabinet team if Baker gets elected, but why should that worry anyone.

To address Baker's "Cahill problem" some of Charlie' friends at the national Republican Governor's Association made an ad buy going after Cahill. The thought is that they can drive up Cahill's negatives and cause him to spend money earlier than he can afford to.

But is it possible they've misplayed their hand? Some Republicans in today's Boston Herald (of all places) think so.

Anti-tax crusader Barbara Anderson, who endorsed Baker this month, said the ad “appalled” her and she hoped Baker would issue a strong rejection of tactics she fears may backfire. Even a former consultant for GOP superstar U.S. Sen. Scott Brown blasted the ad.

“This could be deja vu for the Massachusetts GOP all over again. Running for governor isn’t about attacking people,” said a former Brown campaign operative.

Here's the ad:

"Reckless" from Republican Governors Association on Vimeo.