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"The state GOP in MA is probably the most abysmal in the nation (perhaps surpassed only by RI's party, which hasn't been relevant since the 'Rat coup d'etat of the mid-1930s), and having to rebuild it in this formerly preeminent GOP state will be an absolutely monumental task (much like the situation in southern states of 50 years ago). The "Republican Governors" (RINOs all) starting with Weld were effectively political independents that consisted of themselves and only their Lieutenants (albeit Weld started out gamely enough, and managed to get a decent number of state legislators elected with him in '90 (16 out of 40, and 40 out of 160 House members), but the gains all but vanished, even as Weld won reelection in a massive landslide in '94, and there are fewer members now than during the '80s under Dukakis). Weld-Cellucci-Swift all made it perfectly clear that Conservatives weren't welcome in the MA GOP, so the numbers in the legislature shrunk to what are now a few pro-abort/pro-gay rights leftist RINOs and, as a result, practically all of the ideological battles are fought within the 'Rat party, which goes from Marxist left to fairly Conservative. If Romney is telling Conservatives they are not only welcome, but badly needed, this is a good start. But the grass roots are dead, and something is going to have to be done about that. A top-down approach will only get you so far."

I understand what your saying. What I'm not really sure about is how to build the MA GOP. How do we win when we put up a conservative candidate, but the generally left leaning electorate refuses to vote for? Or if we put up a moderate, how do we win when conservatives refuse to vote? I consider myself to be politically well informed (and I am politically active) but I have no clue how to win in the heart of "Gore Country", Massachussetts.

Your completely right about the ideological battles in the MA GOP. We should feel very fortunate Tom Finneran is the Speaker of the MA House.

"I understand what your saying. What I'm not really sure about is how to build the MA GOP. How do we win when we put up a conservative candidate, but the generally left leaning electorate refuses to vote for? Or if we put up a moderate, how do we win when conservatives refuse to vote? I consider myself to be politically well informed (and I am politically active) but I have no clue how to win in the heart of "Gore Country", Massachussetts."

That is the question, and this will be very difficult to do. We have to be prepared to lose a lot of races, but we need to start to build a farm team in every township in the state, get more young people involved (since most of the older ones are probably too diehard 'Rat) and also businesspeople willing to donate time and money. This was one of the approaches that was taken decades ago in the south where the GOP was largely extinct. Some of the local GOP clubs might oppose this (wanting to remain exclusive social organizations, which many are), but they still need to press on. Romney needs to encourage this. He has already realized the inherent worth of winning a Governorship in a state where there's practically none of your party, and that's a recipe for disaster. The MA legislature can rule the state (pass legislation and initiatives) completely without the input of the Governor. Well, you get what I'm saying here.

"Your completely right about the ideological battles in the MA GOP. We should feel very fortunate Tom Finneran is the Speaker of the MA House."

Finneran is the firewall for MA leftist politics. The left has been aching to replace him for a long time, and once they do, the inmates will be in charge of the asylum again (of course, they already were in the Senate under Birmingham).