KV1SMC t1_j64gof0 wrote
Lots of people are keying in on MassGOP running Diehl after Baker “retired”, but I think there’s more to the story. For a long time MassGOP was run by Kirsten Hughes, who was fairly moderate; at least, she and Baker have a lot in common. MassGOP shifted far right like the rest of the GOP, and in 2019 it was clear Hughes wouldn’t have the votes to continue on, so she didn’t run. She was replaced by Trumpian Republican Jim Lyons. He truly represents the Massachusetts Republican Party. He and Baker have always had a frosty relationship, so I suspect Baker “retired” because he knew he wouldn’t have the support of MassGOP. So he went out on top. He didn’t lose a primary or otherwise suffer any embarrassment from his own party and left the Governorship with a winning record. Strategically a great move. He’s completely untarnished by any of this. But I think it’s important to recognize that Baker “retired” because he knew that the politics of continuing would harm him and put him in a position that would make him weaker. For himself, and I believe for the benefit of the Commonwealth, he stepped aside, knowing the GOP would self-destruct one way or another. I hope this doesn’t come off as a criticism of Baker. I think he did the right thing for all the right reasons. I really just want to emphasize that the cancerous nature of the GOP has been influencing the decisions of policy makers for several years. Baker didn’t just get tired and decide to retire; he made strategic decision based on what was happening in his own party and found that the best route was to retire. That was probably a difficult realization for him. I’m grateful that he didn’t try to fix the unfixable, and chose the best path for Massachusetts.
itsonlyastrongbuzz t1_j64v5zv wrote
Not for nothing but there were MAGA protestors in Swampscott constantly harassing Baker during COVID.
I don’t know where those hillbilly’s came from, how they got their menagerie of Trump flags, or what they thought they were trying to accomplish, but I can imagine Baker just saying “this isn’t worth it” pretty quickly after that.
Comfortable-Scar4643 t1_j6518gg wrote
Baker couldn’t bring himself to suck up to the MAGA people. I remember a bunch of Trump supporters in Falmouth waiving flags and signs before 2020. I stifled a laugh. They looked ridiculous. And then last October, the frowning older white men and their sad looking wife waiving Diehl signs in Sudbury. Boy those people looked they’d bought into the “chaos in the streets” rhetoric of DJT. Just melancholy people longing for the 1950s.
ekpyroticflow t1_j658egw wrote
I still remember the wizened tanning-bed denizen, bedecked in Trump regalia, who took over the inside of a Honey Dew donuts in Methuen hours before a New Hampshuh Trump rally. Was she yelling in support of Trump? The earned income tax credit? Nah, just shrieking about Hillary and jail.
This was in 2020.
KV1SMC t1_j64zrvj wrote
I forgot about that. Really played themselves on that one.
Robot_Tanlines t1_j64tte3 wrote
It just goes to showing how screwed up the Republicans have become. I don’t know for a fact the Baker would win again, but I think the odds would absolutely have been in his favor. The Republicans would rather throw away a winnable governorship than pick a moderate in their party, so they end up with the first dual women as the heads of the state and a lesbian to boot, it’s priceless. I’m real liberal but the Baker impressed me on multiple occasions and blew me away with his handling of the pandemic, especially when compared to his fellow Republican Governors. The odds are low that I would have voted for Baker over Healey, but I would have at least contemplated it and have been fine with it if he had won.
KV1SMC t1_j64zpht wrote
Yeah, if MassGOP was living in the real world, they would have supported Baker and would have likely held on the Governership and picked up a few down ballot positions, as well. Who knows? But, instead, they chose to indulge their fantasies and run a guy who embodies their darkest desires, but can’t actually manage to get elected to anything ever. Going all in on bad judgements. I’m a democrat, who almost always votes for democrats, but I was generally happy with the work Baker did. But MassGOP has managed to make themselves completely irrelevant to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
BrindleFly t1_j65sc20 wrote
I think you nailed it here. But the most interesting plot twist is what a political disaster GOP chairman Lyons and his MAGA policy has been. In addition to the campaign debt and allegations of campaign finance violations, all of his candidates were absolutely decimated in the election. The national media always talks about the DeSantis “landslide,” but he only won by only 20 points and Healey won by 30. So Lyons short tenure likely has set the GOP in MA back a decade or more in a state in which moderate business friendly Republicans can usually win. I will be surprised if he is chairman after the January 31st election.
Sheol t1_j6dcmpr wrote
The DeSantis landslide is important because Florida used to be a.major swing state. Massachusetts is solidly democratic, with a weird tendency to elect republican governors for divided government.
Justin_636 t1_j652sw5 wrote
And he got to become Pres of the NCAA, just an all around win for Baker. College athletics is in a rough spot so he probably saw a lot better opportunity there. I think he’ll do a good job
Comfortable-Scar4643 t1_j650cm7 wrote
This sounds correct. I remember a couple of years ago when Jim and Marjorie asking Baker if he’d vote for Trump. Big sigh. He couldn’t support Trump. That probably pissed off the AWM in the Mass GOP.
ginns32 t1_j64vzxd wrote
I think you're spot on with this.
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