Wither the Mass GOP

For John, BLUF:  Yes, the Editorial Board of The Boston Globe is correct to be concerned about the current state of the Massachusetts Republicans, but there is hope.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Time to fix the Massachusetts Republican Party

Here is the sub-headline:

It is on life support.  New leadership is crucial to revitalizing two-party politics in the Bay State.

From The Boston Globe, by The Editorial Board, 27 December 2022, 4:00 a.m..

Here is the lede plus two:

It can’t be fun being a Massachusetts Republican these days.  The party experienced not only a disappointing midterm season on the national level but also an absolute blowout in state elections.  The Grand Old Party of Massachusetts is not just impotent.  It has flatlined.

The numbers have been counted, but let’s count them again.  Come January, there will be zero Republican statewide officials; zero Republicans in the 11-member congressional delegation; and the Democratic supermajorities in both the state House and Senate will have actually grown larger.  Today the party has its lowest percentage of registered voters in Massachusetts since World War II and perhaps since its founding: under 9 percent.

No wonder Republican state Representative Shawn Dooley told the Globe earlier this month that “there is either real change on the horizon or there is no Republican Party in Massachusetts.”  Or that Ed Dombroski, who lost a state Senate race last month, wrote in CommonWealth magazine:  “No, we’re not tired of winning.  We’re tired of losing.”

I think The Boston Globe is identifying a problem for the MassGOP and for our Commonwealth.  Yes, our (my) MassGOP does not have enough elected officials to do the job of loyal opposition.  In fact, it is a pretty toothless tiger, and a lot of folks mock us for it.

The article has a rece3nt orientation; Governor CXharlie bwker, Chairman Jim Lyons, President Donald trump.  My experience, which goes back to before 2000, suggests that is a short range view aand ignoores the failures that have been with us for a couple of decades, perhaps longer.  When I ran for State Rep against Incumbent David Nangle (hope over reality) (2000, 29002), I received precious little help from the Mass GOP.  Later, when I was the City Chairman, I have one visit from a staffer, over a number of years.  My successor, Kam Kay, had the same experience.  In fact, the Governor or Lt Gov would come to Lowell, but instead of inviting me to meet them at the Owl Diner, they were off the local Democrats, building relationships  While tht might hve helped them on Beacon Hill, it did nothing for building the Mass GOP.

The idea that this decline of the MassGOP is related to President Donald Trump or the MAGA movement shows poor analysis.  The problems began before 2016.  For at least several decades there has been a divide between what my wife calls the "Downtown (Boston) Republicans and the GOPers in the hinterlands.  The Downtowners are more oriented with the Progressives in the General Court and those in the hinterlands are more conservaataivre.  It is no wonder to me that Jim Lyons was elected Chairman of the MassGOP, as many Committeemen anbd women are from areas disconnected from Boston and Cambridge.

Is there a future for the MassGOP?  In my lifetime a Massachusetts US Rep was Speaker of the Hoouse.  And, when I was youong the Primary Election in a number of Souothern States were determinative, since the Republilcan Party in those States barely existed.  Histoory suggests the Republican will bound back.  If not, it will bw replaced, as the GOP replaced the Whigs in the 1850s.  I expect the power of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts will result in overreach and thus lead to a rebound of the Republican Party in the stte. Regards  —  Cliff