A poignant email (no link) from Red Mass Group, the surreality-based blog that its founders named after us, with our blessings (see historic email/2001 obelisk in Patrick’s comment below), and which is one of a surprisingly large number of color-of-Mass groups (for example, Green Mass Group). The website reached its high point after the Senate election of Scott Brown, now working as a diet pill salesperson — when it was briefly renamed The People’s Blog — and has subsequently fallen on hard times: infrequent posts, fewer comments, and the spam which, like forest fungus, encroaches on untended blogs:
I am pleased to announce that late last year, ownership of RMG was transferred from longtime Editor Rob Eno to an ownership group led by me, Republican State Committeeman Steve Aylward. I want to thank Rob for his many years of hard work helping to keep Massachusetts Republican and conservative politics in the forefront. As the new Editor, I hope to continue that tradition.
The reasons I purchased the blog are many, but most important is my strong opinion that grassroots conservative Republicans need a voice to express their ideas and their concern in a media where it can be viewed by the public, news agencies and politicians alike. Without RMG, the most convenient and pervasive medium for conservative comment and opinion would be lost forever. And in a world where absurd liberal notions ranging from never-ending minimum wage increases to transgender bathrooms to legalized marijuana seem to be forever in the news, RMG becomes more important than ever. Without RMG we as common sense conservatives lose our voice, perhaps our only voice.
A hearty congratulations on Rob as he advances to the next stage of his career. You can follow his adventures at RobEno.com. Long may he prosper. He deserves especially sustained applause for getting Aylward and his group, apparently, to pay him for RMG. Lets hope it was a big enough number to keep him in Moxie for the rest of his life.
As to the new owners, they appear to be hewing closely to the state GOP’s socially oppressive and fiscally perverse platform: a key reason Republicans can’t get the educated and progressive population of Massachusetts to vote them into the legislature. First, according to Aylward, they want to keep the minimum wage low, which forces all of us to subsidize corporations that don’t pay enough to keep their employees off welfare. A higher minimum wage allows people to come closer to a living wage for their work, cuts welfare expenses, and builds prosperity. Second, they oppose transgender bathrooms, an issue that affects almost no one. In fact, their #2 priority reveals more about the insecurities and political opportunism of Republicans as they struggle, respectively, to keep up with a changing society and look for vulnerable groups to isolate and attack than anything else. Third, they oppose legalization of marijuana, which would increase personal freedom, boost tax revenues, cut law enforcement expenses, and create jobs.
Its management may be changing, but it appears that “the most convenient and pervasive medium for conservative comment and opinion” will remain as surreality based as ever.
…that MA would be one state where the GOP platform would not be “socially oppressive”. Are they the mirror image of the Dems in that regard since our platform is progressive, but not necessarily our elected officials?
In my view, Romney throttled whatever was left of the “New England Republican,” in its last refuge, in order to help himself out in the presidential primary. I do think that there may be an element of the pointlessness of the Dem platform, but do not know for sure.
The gun toting Texans I spent a week last April were pro-pot Republicans, as were nearly all the Republicans I went to Chicago with. This is the one issue locally where they could swiftly move to the left of the Democrats to appeal to millennials without compromising their stated commitment to getting government off your back and keeping it small.
Not hijacking the thread to debate this policy, simply pointing out it’s dumb politics to do this in Massachusetts. And opposing gay rights and choice in addition to pot is a non starter here, as their Governor and the majority of their elected officials in the state have realized.
I am actually a Founding Rodent of RMG.
I was harassing people here in the early 2000’s, and saw what a great networking and information trading vehicle this is. I addressed the Friday Morning Group, and recommended creation of a similar forum (which I wanted to call Red Specks, after Romney’s remark about being a Red Speck in a Blue State). Patrick, a sometime poster here, a guy named Paul, and I were the early contributors, but it was a part-time thing for us so Rob Eno took it over and RAN with it.
It’s long time viability is remarkable, and I am glad it continues.
I think my ID was in the teens or 20s. (I posted here for years under a different screename too) and I saw it start as a more libertarian-leaning group that valued discussion and intellectualism, and eventually devolve into a with-us-or-against-us socially conservative echo chamber. It was sad. It made me sad.
I am not a social conservative, and these days I shake my cane at the kids on my lawn calling me a RINO when I have been a registered Republican since before they were born. FEH! THEY are the RINO’s…
When I was in CR’s in college. Do you still write for the cape cod times?
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Rob Eno was a hard worker. The guy put his all into campaigns. I had to unfriend him on facebook because his political opinions gave me nosebleeds after the age of 25, but he is the type of guy you want working on your campaign. Trenches.
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I loved it. Comedic relief.
and he contributed to the demise of the site. He, about a half dozen idiots, and a collection of people who thought “be more conservative” was the way to win an election in MA. Really fun to debate.
FYI Steve Alyward is an incredibly nice person to have a beer with (and I have done this), but his views are not realistic for MA.
for keeping track of Charlie Baker’s “traitorous behavior.”
Email from David:
While I appreciate the evidence that you were, in fact, an RMG founder, I wonder what the point of your post is.
They make stuff up!
It just jogged my memory. I met 2 of 3 of the BMG people at the time what supposed to be a massive blogger forum. I recall the emaul to us saying there’d be 12,000 people there. Maybe 12 at most showed to our talk.
Good times.
I’ve updated the post to the more general “the surreality-based blog that its founders named after us.” 🙂
This all makes perfect sense, having an extreme right-winger buy RMG so that Massachusetts Republicans have a place where they can come together to
1. Kill public transportation
2. Destroy organized labor
3. Oppose LGBT rights,
4. Oppose legalized marijuana
5. Oppose same-sex marriage
6. Oppose immigration and immigrants
7. Ban Muslims
8. Oppose any new taxes on anybody
9. Reduce government (except the expansion needed to implement 1-7)
10. Reduce taxes at any opportunity
11. Whine about “liberal media” who have the audacity to report about items 1-10.
Indeed, these make perfect sense.
After all, these innovative new proposals are EXACTLY what is needed to attract unenrolled and Democratic Party voters in Massachusetts and restore the political standing and capital of the Massachusetts GOP.
I’m sure this newly-invigorated RMG will play a vital role in leading the return of the Massachusetts GOP to a majority party in Massachusetts.
What could POSSIBLY fail?
Maybe they can borrow space from the MA Democratic Party, since they have such similar goals and values.
We Democrats take a firm stand against the GOP on items 3, 4, 5, and 7.
We talk an excellent game on 2 and 6.
We take exactly the opposite position on 11, whining about the right-wing media.
We join the GOP in doing the correct thing on items 1, 8, 9, and 10, with the exception that lie about our support for 9.
Besides, we’re talking about about blogs rather than actual governance.
Surely you don’t expect our Democratic super-majority to actually GOVERN in accordance with the values and priorities that the Massachusetts Democratic Party has espoused for more than forty years.
That would be overly idealistic, and we’re pragmatic and idealistic.
We don’t lie, we practice “realpolitik”.