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itsonlyastrongbuzz t1_j643e7e wrote

They had one of the most liked governors in the country and tried to pass the torch to Diehl, which was like when NBC tried to spin off Friends into Joey.

Except Matt LeBlanc would probably have been a better governor.

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XHIBAD t1_j658atq wrote

A party full of Charlie Bakers would have crushed the midterms and be barreling into 2024. Instead we have this shit

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mrlolloran t1_j660gze wrote

Pretty sure even the state GOP party doesn’t really like him. I worked an event years ago when he was supposed to get nominated for something (possibly to run for Senator?) and they had to do a ridiculous amount of rounds of voting (not as many as McCarthy needed) to get him through.

It took so long my work partner needed to be relieved and then his replacement had to leave and they paid us a bunch of money to stand around all day and not actually do the thing we were hired to do because it was supposed to happen at the end of the event, which at the point the replacement left was running hours behind schedule.

It was a fucking embarrassment. Student run college groups had better organization than those bozos.

Amazing planners

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All_The_Nolloway t1_j64340v wrote

live within your means, drink less Starbucks, eat less avocado toasts..

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ginns32 t1_j64vf7w wrote

Sounds like they need to pull themselves up by the bootstraps.

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[deleted] t1_j6419qw wrote

[deleted]

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Maxpowr9 t1_j646rtz wrote

Yep. I imagine if NY Democrat Party gets its shit together, the GOP will lose the House in 2024.

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TheTallGuy0 t1_j64f80g wrote

Oh, that would be just lovely. Two years of their idiotic BS will definitely be enough

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gayscout t1_j64inpp wrote

After all of the bs around LaSalle and Eric Adams just wasting money on more cops, NY Dems have a lot of work to do. (Not that MA is perfect either).

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thomascgalvin t1_j64z39g wrote

The people who vote in GOP primaries don't make decisions, they lash out with blind hate, and vote for anyone who will do the same.

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KenOfEarth t1_j63rdpr wrote

Thoughts and prayers.

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youarelookingatthis t1_j641vml wrote

Well well well, if it isn't the consequences of their own actions.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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KV1SMC t1_j64zrvj wrote

I forgot about that. Really played themselves on that one.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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ginns32 t1_j64vzxd wrote

I think you're spot on with this.

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SomeDumbGamer t1_j643zb5 wrote

Idk what they expected. The people of MA have made clear that if they’re going to elect a Republican it’s going to be a Mike Soter or a Charlie baker and they said nah let’s get the trumper in. That shits not gonna fly in New England and especially not in MA. Maybe NH

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HumanChicken t1_j64e0wk wrote

It’s like the MA GOP said, “Hmm, the voters like Coca-Cola… They’ll LOVE this toxic sludge just as much!”

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50calPeephole t1_j6544lq wrote

Trump: "Elect Jeff Deihl, he'll rule MA with an iron fist"
MA voters: Last time we were ruled with an iron fist we started a war and made our own country with hookers and blackjack.

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I_am_BEOWULF t1_j67b980 wrote

MA Voters: "T'was a time we were so pissed we threw precious tea overboard into the sea. And we liked tea. We DO NOT like Jeff Diehl."

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0xRay t1_j64f1o8 wrote

All my republican friends now vote democrat. They aren’t happy with all dem policies, but they also don’t want the crazy cult to thrive

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Tempest_1 t1_j66ewdx wrote

Good to see some people not drinking the kool aid

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ButterAndPaint t1_j64o3dp wrote

Those are not Republicans.

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memeintoshplus t1_j65pcrb wrote

I mean, we exist, I'm not exactly thrilled with Markey and Warren as my Senators for instance. I would gladly vote for a Charlie Baker/John Kasich/Mitt Romney type over them but the Republicans are so far off the wagon that I voted to reelect both of them.

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111unununium t1_j65flf4 wrote

Why would a republic vote for someone that would damage their platform. Diehl was DOA in the election and was also an election denier and a trump supporter. Both are showing they will hurt the party. Seems like something an informed citizen would do.

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jojenns t1_j647gjc wrote

I dont think it can be said enough here. The most popular governor in the country was a republican right here in Ma. And you ran Geoffrey f ing Diehl when he retired. That is not even the most ridiculous decision even by a long shot. The dems are literally spoon feeding you the house and senate and you decide to take on Roe. Trump ate them from the inside out and they didnt even feel it coming

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DocPsychosis t1_j64p28l wrote

>Trump ate them from the inside out and they didnt even feel it coming

Sure they did. Most Republican insiders were castigating Trumpism in 2015/early 2016. Then his cult of personality crescendoed with the braindead zombie masses (and some help from Russian bots) and they felt forced to jump on the wagon or be left behind. Now they are trapped, can't win many R primaries without Trumpism and can't win a general with it.

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SomePolack t1_j64472p wrote

Just dissolve the party and let it be a grassroots scene. If Y’all-Qaeda wants to put someone up for election, they’re gonna have to do it without any political organization.

Fuck em.

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BlaineTog t1_j64clnr wrote

With only $35k in the war chest, they're already, "grassroots." Though even that's overstating them. More like, they're grass seeds that can't even seem to sprout and may be actually just dead.

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SomePolack t1_j64evri wrote

This is true. I’d personally just love it if all the conservatives took their own advice and left for somewhere that better aligns with their values (Florida and Texas come to mind).

“You don’t like it here? Then get out!”

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deathmaster13 t1_j645vkn wrote

Burn the party, let it die. Go somewhere else GOP.

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BlaineTog t1_j64cosx wrote

Preferably into history books on failed parties.

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Robot_Tanlines t1_j64uouw wrote

As much as I would love that, I still want them to stay. My dream is for Trump to form his own frothing at the mouth party, and assuming they could win a few seats which seems likely, it would actually open the door for us to get out of this horrible two party system. Trump will blow it for sure like he does with everything.

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Tuesday_6PM t1_j65acs4 wrote

Two party system is a byproduct of first-past-the-post voting. We’d need to change that (preferably to Star or approval voting, imo) to have any decent chance at a different system sticking

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Efficient_Art_1144 t1_j644gaz wrote

Look at the bright side, MassGOP: at least your chosen candidates played the hits from Fox News like you wanted.

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peteysweetusername t1_j64b764 wrote

The slow drip drip drip of bad news for the mass GOP is being done to push Lyons out. This is a good thing. Have the GOP wash it’s hands of the MAGA wing and hopefully things improve

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spedmunki t1_j64nefb wrote

I assume they will pull themselves up by their bootstraps, right?

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Robot_Tanlines t1_j64s12e wrote

They knew Diehl had no shot, they should have just punted on the race and saved money for more winnable elections in the state. Frankly I’m happy they didn’t do that, until Republicans can come to their senses they have no right to win anything so the less money they have to flip something the better.

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KayakerMel t1_j64utl9 wrote

The Mass GOP put its efforts (and money) behind the Question 4 ballot initiative to overturn the Massachusetts Work & Family Mobility Act. First getting it on the ballot, then attempting to get No to win. They stirred up anti-immigrant fervor and spread misinformation about how state driver's licenses will work for residents without proof of citizenship or immigration status. They were far more successful, as 46.3% voted no compared to the 34.9% who voted Diehl.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j64trpr wrote

maybe they should work harder and get a better job if they want more money

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SublimeApathy t1_j654sbl wrote

Good. I hope we see the party vanish into obscurity in our life time. The entire party holds this country back from it's full potential.

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vinvin212 t1_j653z8k wrote

I wouldn’t vote GOP even if they ran unopposed. I’d just not vote.

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mapinis t1_j64cmnp wrote

Eagerly waiting for this version of the party to fall apart in Mass and be replaced by the Baker/Weld types. Or just have them form a proper center party and see how they fair in state elections.

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Large_Inspection_73 t1_j64g0d5 wrote

Despite the (R) next to their names, Diehl is quite different than Baker and Romney

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irondukegm t1_j651ae3 wrote

I'm a New England republican type (if such a thing still exists) and I won't give this party a nickel until all of these assholes are gone

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Comfortable-Scar4643 t1_j6534q8 wrote

“Dig up dirt on Healey”? That’s how they spent their money? Presumably that was a Jim Lyons initiative.

What an out of touch dip.

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Sayoria t1_j68va7m wrote

Good. Fuck them. I hope the MassGOP completely dies out.

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Shemsuni t1_j655u6g wrote

That free market !!!

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memeintoshplus t1_j65ph6l wrote

Not surprised, maybe don't drink the Trump kool-aid when you need literally hundreds of thousands of Biden voters to vote for you to have any level of electoral success.

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koebelin t1_j6642f3 wrote

Why did they have to go full tinfoil? The old MA GOP was just financially conservative without the hallucinatory hysterics.

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[deleted] t1_j66gmhz wrote

Yeah, turns out that running all those MAGA wingnuts while kicking out their successful incumbent governor was, you could say, a bad Diehl for them.

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Wizard_of_Rozz t1_j689qz7 wrote

I’m surprised anyone falls for their grift anymore!

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bigdickwalrus t1_j68he6o wrote

God; they are such fucking losers. All that money being funneled into their useless campaigns. They forget what state they’re in?

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americanhysterics t1_j696b73 wrote

Good that's what yiu get for having your members threaten to commit acts of domestic terrorism at places where trans people receive their Healthcare

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es_price t1_j64so5l wrote

Read that as Boston Globe has only 35,000 in its coffers.

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fatnoah t1_j64y89h wrote

There's no way The Globe has that much cash.

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RailRoad_Candy t1_j691f3n wrote

Five times this week Ive had someone try and tell me how Republicans control things in this state...

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PuritanSettler1620 t1_j68vdor wrote

It would be nice if we had at least two at least functional parties in this state so we don't end up like Southern California. Hopefully the MassGop gets its act together however I am not holding my breath.

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