Jennifer Nassour, the Face of the Mass. GOP, image Massgopconvention.com
It began with the hope that Massachusetts would step forward and join the rest of the nation November 2, 2010 by electing Republicans to both state and congressional offices – it did not happen – reality is that change of that magnitude does not happen overnight. From the press, both local and national, to progressive community organizations, to a Democrat organization has roots in every possible nook and cranny in the State; the odds were stacked against the election of Scott Brown in January of 2010. When Brown won, against the odds, expectations for the GOP rose inside the state, however, from the outside, the pundits, specifically Beltway and the Massachusetts Press, continued to pound home the fact that Brown’s win was an anomaly and would most likely not be repeated. When the mid-terms steamrolled into November 2nd, the GOP losses were taken in stride by the press and the pundits, as if the State GOP and the Massachusetts electorate acted in a manner that was par for the course.
The celebratory Press touted the reelection of Democrats from the State and Federal offices without once acknowledging the fact that these incumbents had to fight for their positions, using every means available, the majority of them for the first time in decades. The adjectives used in the press regarding the State GOP were predictably negative and dismissive; most recently an article in the which speaks to the State GOP and finger pointing at party chair Jennifer Nassour .
Smoke and mirrors are in play at this point in the game, along with some local political maneuvering that is typical of any party when faced with a loss (GOP) and the possibility of a trend developing (State DNC and Press). One has to look realistically at the facts about what took place in Massachusetts during the past two years, to understand the magnitude of the state politics – it is far from business as usual – no matter how often the pundits, the press, and the majority party attempt to hammer home a growingly tired message.
This resurgence is said to have begun with Scott Brown and his election to the U.S. Senate in January, however, the truth of the matter is, there were individuals Republicans across the state who had already committed to running for offices (State and Federal) long before the Brown candidacy was announced. These individuals, along with the states individual conservatives, several of the Town and City Committees and a growing Tea Party movement, were specifically responsible for Browns win. What surprised many who had worked tirelessly for Brown’s campaign was how quickly his election was dismissed as an anomaly – these grassroots activists and candidates knew that it was just a beginning, and that, having grown tired of a State that was overburden with taxes and entitlement programs, and a deep seeded opposition party, the road to victory would be long and arduous. The State GOP’s convention in April was shockingly well attended, and the party atmosphere that pervaded was buoyed by the Brown win, a win that was the result of those activists, the majority of whom were not in attendance. The candidates who emerged from the convention to run for the State offices: Charlie Baker specifically, appeared to be more than capable of taking the Governor’s office and then summer barbeque's and visits with local GOP offices began, and despite the constant drumbeat of press releases from the State Party Chair, Jennifer Nassour, the press barely looked at Baker, instead focusing mainly on Patrick and Democrat turned Independent (for the election) Tim Cahill, if the race or any race were mentioned at all. Nassour one must understand, did not control the Baker Campaign, that was left to others, and reports from the South Coast suggest there was little effort put into that area from the beginning to the end on Nov. 2nd. Cahill, who took 8 points, (higher than any other independent running previously for Governor), was the key to Deval Patrick’s victory, and should have been minimized from the outset (Monday morning quarterbacking).
By the time September rolled around and the Commonwealth held its late primary contests, the candidates which emerged had little time to get out and amongst the electorate, raise funds and get out the “vote”. It was not that the electorate was apathetic; it was that Massachusetts was being touted nationwide as a state that was “safe democrat”, across the board. This sends a message that funds diverted to Massachusetts are basically wasted. One race did get national attention and that was the race in the 4th Congressional District, where Sean Bielat ran against a growingly annoyed Barney Frank; Bielat’s campaign did get the money necessary to mount a solid challenge, while the balance of the state’s federal and state challengers had to rely on individual in-state contributions and loans. What is most interesting however, and goes unmentioned is the fact that all 9 offices had to be defended, for the first time in decades, and that the usual 75% or more votes accumulated by Congressmen such as Frank, Neal and Tsongas, were reduced to 50plus% leads over their GOP challengers. They were forced to spend money, the state DNC and the National DNC were forced to spend money as well as bring in the President and former President Bill Clinton in an attempt to buoy up incumbents, who by all reports outside Massachusetts , were virtual shoe-ins.
Four years ago, one had a Dickens of a Time finding an active Town or City GOP, today, there are more in place, some of them functioning, some not. One local Western Massachusetts City Committee, held the last meeting in the Spring, and decided to sit out the summer and the election, in order to “help the candidates”, where reason would dictate that time would have been better spent coordinating with local Tea Party groups, and recruiting new members, knowing full well that Democrats were registering as Republicans by the hundreds, and had been since January of 2010. How much of an impact did that have on the races? It is hard to tell, however, one can bet an engaged City Committee coupled with grassroots organizations could move Massachusetts towards a purple hue in a matter of two election cycles.
The grass roots are neither disheartened nor disbanded; of course, there were the usual few days of angst over having worked so hard to find that one’s chosen candidate had fared well, but missed the mark – it is a natural course of events. However, the State GOP, including the Chair Jennifer Nassour, would do well to understand that those grassroots actives are now meeting and looking towards 2012, with specific goals and targets in mind. The word is out on the ground - hold onto those signs.
It is naiveté on the part of those grassroots organizers? Hardly as they understand how close so many came with so little financial backing to unseating deeply entrenched incumbents, and how, within a matter of 13 hours Democrats, aided by Community Organizers managed to rouse thousands to the polls in order to ensure the State remained blue.
Although it is also natural to blame the “head coach”, in this case one Jennifer Nassour, the State Party Chair, one must also take a moment to understand that Ms. Nassour came into an office that had previously done little to nothing, with the exception of electing Mitt Romney to the Governor’s office. There was no base, or a small base to energize, coupled with a group of city and town GOP Committees that may or may not get involved (other than an annual barbecue, golf game or cocktail party). No mean feat to pull off an election to the position of dog warden under those circumstances, given the time frame. Therefore, if the State GOP and Ms. Nassour are remotely interested in taking the gains made in 2010 (and yes, there were gains, considering the overall results), then it is time to tap into every single group, regardless of how the Tea Party may play in Boston, or Northampton, or Amherst, or the Log Cabin Republicans may play in Worcester, or if a candidate might not be up to the Country Club sniff test – they all need to be incorporated into one machine, given a good deal of attention – including listening to ideas that are sound on how to roll out the 2012 elections to win more seats, even Congressional seats – it is possible, but it takes time to build an organization, and one has to have the will and the ability to work with every available hand on deck.
So to those who think someone else may be better suited to Chair the State Party, they had best have the interest of all the Bay State Conservative factions in mind, or the party will self-perpetuate. That is the Party infrastructure, not the individual grassroots candidates and organizations forming in more cities and towns by the day (there are an astounding number of these conservative committees in Massachusetts), and those will be taking the credit for moving a state legislative, senate or Federal Congressional candidate forward to victory in 2012.
In conclusion, it is easy to play the Monday-Morning quarterback, however, looking at the overall results, given the restrictions of time (both as Chair and in the general cycle form the primary to the election), Nassour performance was just fine. She worked with what she was handed, and although one can agree more could have been done to take advantage of grassroots and attempt to get those existing Committees to organize on the ground to get out the vote for all candidates, one must also agree that type of herculean effort takes a bit more time. Yes, Virginia, there is a conservative base in Massachusetts, one that has grown to be competitive with the Democrats, one that has watched tactics and is prepared to follows suit, but one that must be acknowledged and given the tools necessary to get out the vote – and it can be done, in 13 hours, on both sides – if instead of bickering or finger pointing, the work begins today. If not, then, like the Brown election, it will be those grassroots standing alone, who will, office by office, stand up to business as usual in Massachusetts. It will not happen overnight, it will take decades if the various factions in play do not work together.
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