Posted on 01/23/2024 5:43:00 AM PST by cotton1706
The two-person race to top the New Hampshire primary between Donald Trump and Nikki Haley has been encouraging for MAGA-leaning Republicans in Massachusetts but deeply disheartening for those in the local GOP who still cling to a more liberal kind of Republicanism.
Why it matters: If Donald Trump wins a third New Hampshire primary in a row, it could be the death knell for the style of politics that dominated New England Republicanism in the decades before his arrival in 2016.
The days of the "fiscal conservative/social liberal" could be over.
Flashback: It wasn't long ago that Republicans in Massachusetts and our neighbors up north preferred a more moderate GOP standard-bearer.
Mitt Romney and John McCain followed George W. Bush's wins in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire before losing to Democrats.
Trump steamrolled over former Ohio Gov. John Kasich in 2016 and blew Massachusetts' own former Gov. William Weld out of the water in 2020.
Polls suggest Haley could finish closer to Trump this year, which would please many of the anti-Trump GOPers still active in Massachusetts.
What they're saying: "[Haley is] obviously more conservative than most Massachusetts Republicans but she is within the bounds of mainstream, normally accepted candidates," former Gov. Jane Swift told Axios.
Weld told Politico this week he likes Haley and expects to hear more from former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the future.
"He spoke truth to power, as far as Trump is concerned," Weld said.
In 2024, the idea of a "Massachusetts Republican" would match the contemporary definition for that of most any other state: devoted to Trump.
The former president dominated the 2016 and 2020 Massachusetts Republican primaries with even bigger wins than in the more competitive New Hampshire races a few weeks before.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
In addition to Trump winning NH and MA by large margins in the 2016 and 2020 primaries, the New England electorate, in 2022, chose conservatives over moderates for House, Senate, and governorship.
Now, none of them won in November, but the point is that we Republicans in New England are not voting for the worthless candidates anymore. And it's frustrating the higher-ups to no end.
There was NO difference between Charlie Baker and a Democrat, and little difference between Chris Sununu and a Democrat.
So the trend is a more conservative Republican electorate, as the moderate/liberal Republicans become the Democrats they always were anyway.
“So the trend is a more conservative Republican electorate, as the moderate/liberal Republicans become the Democrats they always were anyway.”
Looking at the electoral map, it’s not as if they were doing any good anyway. Why not give conservatives a shot?
I watched Steve Garvey go at it with 3 rats last nite-debate. Adam Schiff accused him insulting him. Garvey’s response: “You just lied to 300 million people and you can’t take it back”. Still Garvey would not defend Trump.
“Looking at the electoral map, it’s not as if they were doing any good anyway. Why not give conservatives a shot?”
I think that’s our collective thinking. And as I watched the primaries happen in 2022, it was confirmed. The Establishment put up their usual milquetoast candidates and they were defeated, to the shock and horror of people like Chris Sununu and Charlie Baker.
So we’re openly abandoning their talking point that “a conservative can’t win here so we might as well nominate a moderate, who MIGHT win, but probably won’t.”
We’re replacing that with “to hell with it, we’re voting for somebody who ACTUALLY intends to fight the Democrats, not go along with them on every policy item. And if they lose in November, it’s no different than a worthless pantywaist losing in November.”
We must fight with our wallets and purses.
Do not buy a new house. New houses are mainly built by invaders.
Mass Republicans are not going to win. Period.
No one in MA believes that.
We in MA recognize that the Republican Party has become the Populist Party. Thats not going to change for at least four years.
Garvey is 75 years old.
He is a nice guy and a great ball player.
But 75 is too old to start running for Senator.
a ‘fiscal conservative / social liberal’ is just a cheap trannie.
America first and stand against the perversion of our kids and society.
Garvey is 75 years old.
He is a nice guy and a great ball player.
But 75 is too old to start running for Senator.
Yes, but who do you put up in a state like California. Tom Brady is not walking through that door to run for US Senate in California. Could he win in his home state?
“...for those in the local GOP who still cling to a more liberal kind of Republicanism.”
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It’s easy to be that kind of Republican when you live in an area free from crime, tension caused by cultural differences, and brimming with economic opportunity. But increasingly the US is finding that these bad tendencies are creeping in everywhere with no place to hide.
Honestly in a state with that population if the GOP cannot come up with someone under 60 who can be elected…they deserve to lose.
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