JUST WHAT Governor Deval Patrick needs during an election year.
A well-organized group of passionate liberals begging him to resurrect a concept that every governor since Michael Dukakis tried to bury.
Taxachusetts.
It’s true. Some Massachusetts taxpayers are outraged. Not because state government is taking too much of their money, but because the recession and declining state revenue mean government has less of their money to spend.
“We have spent 300 years in this state building the public structures that educate our children, keep our water clean, protect our environment, and protect the elderly and the disabled,’’ said Judy Meredith, a longtime human services lobbyist. “We need the resources to repair them and reform them.’’
Meredith and her group, ONE Massachusetts, is calling upon like-minded citizens to e-mail Patrick this week and demand “balance’’ - what they define as “a combination of federal funds, rainy day funds, minimum cuts, and more revenue options.’’
About 2,500 community activists are part of the ONE Massachusetts network.
Their message - raise taxes, don’t cut state programs - could be enough to launch the next Barbara Anderson on a new, antitax crusade.
It could electrify the burgeoning Anyone-But-Deval political movement. That would be good news for state Treasurer Timothy Cahill, who plans to challenge Patrick as an independent; and even better news for Republican gubernatorial candidates Charlie Baker and Christy Mihos.
Or maybe the message will connect in another way.
Maybe Massachusetts citizens will focus on a transportation system in financial distress; a judicial system that is so underfunded it can no longer deliver justice, according to the chief justice of the state’s Supreme Judicial Court; and safety net programs so threatened that the mentally disabled and their advocates are reduced to holding vigils in the governor’s office.
If they focus on those needs, argues Meredith, more citizens may conclude that increasing the gas tax is the only way to solve the transportation crisis; reorganization isn’t enough. It’s OK to lift sales tax exemptions on cardboard boxes and cement mixers. It makes sense to do away with film tax credits, even if it means seeing less of Cameron Diaz in Boston. Why not tax professional services, such as those supplied by lawyers, accountants, hairdressers, manicurists; and political consultants? And how about repealing those tax breaks given to Fidelity and John Hancock back in the 1990s?
Still, it seems like a tough time to sell new taxes to many people, including the governor.
Patrick faces a challenging political environment, illustrated by low approval ratings and the need to call in his friend, President Obama, to help raise money and fire up supporters.
Now, he has to weigh pressure from a tax-loving liberal base against the antitax sentiments of more moderate voters.
Over the past year, much of the news out of Beacon Hill reminded Massachusetts of everything they dislike about state government.
A House speaker and a state senator were indicted on corruption charges.
Outrageous examples of state pension abuse raised the rhetoric level of radio talk show hosts and the blood pressure of average citizens.
The governor’s attempt to slide a state senator and supporter into a $175,000 job in a state bonding authority became such a flashpoint, the lawmaker walked away from the job. Meanwhile, state troopers still collect overtime as they direct traffic around construction work sites.
When the public is periodically enraged by examples of patronage, waste, and corruption, it’s harder to engage in a rational discussion of how much money should be spent on health care, human services, public safety, schools, and local aid.
But we should have it. With Bay State unemployment at 9.3 percent, the highest rate since 1976, there is an argument that more people need help from government.
The theme plays right into the hands of a candidate like Baker. The Harvard Pilgrim CEO promises no new taxes, as well as the repeal of the sales tax increase that became law this year.
Meredith calls Baker “the most charming slash-and-burn artist that this human services advocate has ever seen.’’
Slash-and-burn versus balance. Patrick, then Massachusetts voters, must choose their course.
Joan Vennochi can be reached at vennochi@globe.com. 
