For which was 91D-60R (and 19R-17D in the State Senate) as recently as 1996 (and even still 94D-57R going into the ‘04 elections). Republicans have held the Governorship that entire time, what will be almost 16 straight years, and shoulder the blame for gains or losses (and they’ve been virtually nothing but losses, except for ‘02). Grassroots is fine, but leadership comes from the top. In the state parties where the liberals hold control, Conservatives often don’t bother participating because they’re forced out, so many even stay out of organized party politics. That’s why I always said that despite how bad off MA is with their dead GOP, you’ve still got over a million or more people that could be organized and mobilized on behalf of Conservatism, it’s just a matter of getting things rolling.
Rell has never been interested in the Republican party ... so there is no reason to believe she is dismayed over the situation. She is not a Republican.
The process is open. If the conservatives want to get involved in the party and put people on the state central committee, nobody is stopping them.