Here’s a remarkable announcement on Twitter from Mass. Republican Party chair Kirsten Hughes:
Support the MassGOP tonight at our first fundraiser of the year w @ScottBrownMA, LG Healey and Gov Weld
Wow. So the three big draws for the GOP’s first fundraiser of 2013 are, respectively: (1) the one who just lost a big Senate race and then shocked his party by deciding at the last minute not to run again, thereby dramatically lowering the GOP’s chances of winning the seat and leaving it scrambling to find candidates; (2) the one who got slaughtered in her last run for elective office, who also declined to run for Senate, and who just took a job that will require her to step away from partisan politics for the foreseeable future; and (3) the one who got so bored as Governor that he not only left the job early, he left the state, embarked on a bizarre series of adventures, endorsed Mitt Romney, endorsed Barack Obama, endorsed Mitt Romney again, and then ambled back to Massachusetts for reasons that remain unclear (he, too, declined to run for Senate).
One is hard-pressed to come up with a lineup that sends a clearer message along the lines of “we don’t really care whether the Massachusetts Republican Party succeeds or fails.” Just who’d you want headlining your fundraiser … unless you were a political party in the business of trying to win elections. Of course, whether that description accurately characterizes the Mass. GOP is open to debate.
Christopher says
The last two members of the US House delegation were defeated and at least one was tainted by scandal as I recall.
Charlie Baker lost his bid for Governor.
Paul Cellucci is probably not available for health reasons.
Mitt Romney just lost what was supposed to be a winnable presidential race given the economic climate and seemed to not care much for MA anyway.
TRG Joe Malone recently failed in his effort to come back via the US House.
Richard Tisei couldn’t beat John Tierney even with the latter’s family issues that threatened to bring him down.
David says
And there you have it. 😀
fenway49 says
They really don’t have anyone else. Bruce Tarr? Jane Swift? The two House members to whom Christopher referred were elected in the “Gingrich wave” of 1994 and sent packing in 1996. Scott Brown’s the only Republican U.S. Senator they’ve had since 1978.
I don’t imagine this will go on forever (though it would be nice!) but they really have nobody right now.
David says
That’s true in the sense that there’s nobody with a high-profile win streak going. But it’s not true in that there are lots of people who really do want the MA GOP to do well and are committed to doing whatever they can to make that happen. It just happens that Brown, Healey, and Weld are not among them.
SomervilleTom says
Hey, Barbara Anderson just endorsed Daniel Winslow. Maybe she could be a headliner. Right?
jconway says
He is their best shot at the Senate seat after all
kbusch says
Why restrict themselves to Bay Staters?
johnk says
fenway49 says
their oh-so-funny St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast.
johnk says
I thought it was a group of the town committees.
fenway49 says
I don’t think so, strictly speaking. But she attended and performed.
Mark L. Bail says
was anything to laugh about. It was duller as hell. At least the GOP breakfast can always be used as a bad example.
fenway49 says
ain’t what it used to be. Every now and then someone has a great routine, but most of these people are just not very good at standup. That’s OK, they’re elected to do something else.