Mass.: Unbecoming a Governor

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by Michael Crowley

Republican Mitt Romney's victory in the Massachusetts governor's race tonight wasn't a big surprise--but his (apparently) wide margin of victory was. There are two lessons to draw from this, one of them broad and one narrow.

The broad lesson is that Massachusetts, although typically considered one of the most liberal states in the country, has grown quite comfortable with Republican leadership. The Bay State's last Democratic governor was one Michael Dukakis, whose tenure ended twelve years ago. Bill Weld succeeded Dukakis and, over six years, became one of the most popular governors in the state's history. Still, until tonight, the five additional years of Republican rule following Weld's 1997 departure--for an ambassadorship to Mexico that Jesse Helms denied him--had seemed like a possible fluke. Weld's lieutenant governor, Paul Cellucci, beat a Democrat in 1998--but Cellucci struck many people as a cipher who merely coasted on the Weld legacy. And when Cellucci left to become ambassador to Mexico, his lieutenant, Jane Swift, filled out his term in hapless fashion.

Thus Democrats seemed poised to reassert themselves this year. But Romney's romp suggests that Massachusetts voters are happy to have a GOP check on an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature that constantly finds new ways to disgrace itself through patronage, arrogance, and fiscal mismanagement. And all those mostly prosperous years of Republican leadership have taught them that the GOP isn't as scary as they may once have believed. Mitt Romney should send Bill Weld a thank-you note.

The narrow lesson is that Romney's opponent, Shannon O'Brien, was a lousy candidate. O'Brien is Massachusetts's state treasurer, but a more accurate way to describe her is a political-machine hack who has never shown much in the way of creativity or political courage. O'Brien hails from an old Democratic political family, and you always suspected she was simply playing the family game for its own sake--and not very skillfully at that. Her campaigning grew so inept in recent weeks that O'Brien was forced to fly in top party consultants like Bob Shrum for a crash reinvention course. Then in a sign of her desperation in the final days of the race, O'Brien tried pathetically to make an issue of Romney's allegedly sexist complaint that her attacks on him were "unbecoming." Meanwhile, Romney skillfully cast her as a cog in the state Democratic machine. Given the inclination of Massachusetts voters to put a Republican check on that machine, O'Brien needed to prove him wrong. But she couldn't do it--because he was right.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2002

Answers

Yup, it was quite a campaign.

(Actually, I ran into O'Brien in the ladies room here at work about a month ago. Just the two of us. I mentioned that, didn't I? Fortunately, didn't tell her what I really thought about her.)

I had an epiphany last summer where I realized I could no longer vote for anyone with even a whiff of a socialist agenda any more, although the worst of them in Massachusetts are enscounced at the statehouse and it probably doesn't matter much who is governor.

The other points that turned me off to O'Brien in her final weeks were the blow jobs she was giving both the Clintons (I think she took credit for getting him into office) and her disasterous final debate with Romney. Accused the most honest (non)politician we have ever been offered with lying. Squarely in favor of 16 year old girls not needing parental consent or knowledge for abortions. (Hey, I'm pro choice, but this is way too far.) Romney has a real loser for a lieutenant governor, so he better not bail the way every elected governor has for the past 12 years. I wanted to vote third party but by last week that was no longer appropriate. At least I was able to cast a vote for Romney without holding my nose.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2002


Any woman who rants over being accused of "unbecoming" behavior and says it's a sexist term is an idiot. If you haven't heard 'conduct unbecoming an officer/soldier/police officer" whatever, well, you're not well-rounded enough to become a political leader.

-- Anonymous, November 06, 2002

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