Breaking: Massachusetts Republican Committee Re-Elects Jennifer Nassour as Chair for 2011-2012 Elections

Jennifer Nassour Elected to 2nd Term as Massachusetts State GOP Chair, image MassGOP

On Thursday evening, at the Mariott in Newton MA, the Massachusetts GOP State Committee members gathered to vote by secret ballot for the office of Chairman. Jennifer Nassour, the current Chair won by a vote of 50 to 16 over Worcester’s, Bill McCarthy, considered the more conservative candidate. McCarthy had challenged Nassour for the Chair citing lack of performance in the last election based on the 2010 mid-term returns. The Mass. GOP picked up seats in the Legislature, doubling its membership in the State Legislature and held all seats for incumbents; there were over 200 candidates for state and federal offices, which was the first time in decades that voters had a choice at the ballot box. However, many, including McCarthy, felt that the loss of the top of the slate of 2010 contenders, from the Governor’s office to all 10 Congressional Seats, should have had a better showing.

Rome is not built in a day.

Although there are extreme differences between members in the Republican Party in Massachusetts, from moderates to Conservatives, the growing Tea Party is playing a large role in supporting candidates from a grass roots level, while the State GOP members, for the most part are often referred to as a “county-club”, or RINO’s (Republicans in Name Only), appearing to support candidates that are more “moderate” in nature, and therefore, logically more “electable” in a state where over 50% of the electorate is registered as “unenrolled”. There are also geographic distinctions between those East and West of Worcester, with the more Conservative activist hailing from the Western Part of the State, with pockets of Conservatives in the South Coast. Members of the Tea Party are also played a part in the past elections, beginning with the January 19th election of Republican Senator Scott Brown. Tea Party members most often align themselves with the Republican Party based on a shared ideology of fiscal conservatism, and there is a crossover in Massachusetts. Additionally, there is RHIO’s in the “types” of Conservatives in Massachusetts, both moderates (Nassour) and remained in the hands of the Democrats.

The fact that Ms. Nassour came to the office of the Chair two years prior to the mid-terms, with only 7 state senators and 15 state legislatures in office, to oversee a mid-terms where the number of Massachusetts GOP state legislatures doubled, a gain that had not happened in 20 years – goes to competency. (Boston Globe).
In reality, a moderately conservative estimate would suggest it may take at least 10 years for a competent Chair to bring the Massachusetts GOP up to snuff, or, should the Tea Party be embraced, as well as the Western Massachusetts Republican members, the next election cycle may cut that estimate substation ally. With now 9 Congressional seats up for election (Massachusetts lost a seat in the U.S. House due to fleeing population.) as well as one Senate seat (Scott Brown), and the office of the President of the U.S., with varied state posts up for election, one can imagine Ms. Nassour will have her hands full and it remains to be seen if she will be able to come to terms with those whose ideology is further right, commonly thought to be an anomaly in Massachusetts.

In a Press Release issues by the Mass GOP, Ms. Nassour thanked the committee for the vote of confidence and reiterated her accomplishments in her short-two year tenure: “"I am honored the Massachusetts Republican State Committee has expressed its strong support for the progress we have made in my first two years as chairman and for my continued leadership as we endeavor to further rebuild and strengthen this Grand Ole Party," Nassour said.

"For the first time in a long time, our party entered the November elections with a strong slate of candidates, and when all was said and done, we elected 25 new Republicans and defeated 12 Democratic incumbents. We turn our focus now to helping Senator Brown defend the People's Seat and restoring greater two-party balance to Beacon Hill," she said.”

Ms. Nassour also has a very aggressive agenda for the next two years including:

Recruiting and re-electing Republican incumbents for state and congressional districts,
Fundraising,
A “Get out the Vote Program”, (which would require the cooperation of the individual city and town committees)
Grassroots organization,
Increased cooperation between Republican campaigns,
Increased voter registration,
and lastly, updating the current technology in place, allowing greater efficiency for both the GOP and their candidates.

The aforementioned is a daunting tax, but it is good to set the bar high, considering the following facts regarding the 2010 midterms:
Nine out of ten incumbent Congressional Democrats were challenged, not by well-known politico’s, rather first time candidates, who lost by what would be considered very narrow margins, specifically in the 4th, 10th, and 2nd Congressional Districts. (There were no GOP poll watchers in place or organization which would allow them to counter the Democrats, who will watch the polls, pick up missing voters and get them in to vote. (That will change in 2011.) The Governor’s office was also won by a narrow margin, with the inclusion of a “straw” candidate, Tim Cahill, Democrat turned independent, and who is still working in the Patrick Administration. Even with the third option, the Republican, Charlie Baker, lost by 2 points – not exactly a mandate for the embattled Governor, Deval Patrick.

Therefore, in retrospect, Ms. Nassour, survived what might be viewed by some Conservatives as “Custer’s Last Stand” and walked away with seats at the State level, no mean feat. Granted, one must credit those Conservatives along with the Tea Party and Ms. Nassour in the aforementioned.

Should Ms. Nassour come to terms with and encourage the corporations of the Conservative Republicans as well as the Tea Party members, she just may pull off a miracle in 2011-2012. It is convincing hard-liners that Michael Steele’s “big tent” philosophy is worth embracing, which may be successful, especially with the diversity in the Tea Party.

Not for nothing, but Ms. Nassour, as a strong woman, managed to do what her male predecessors had not accomplished in 20 years. There isn’t an organization standing where members will not play “Monday morning quarterback”. Therefore, kudos to Ms. Nassour on her reelection to the Chair, and the hope that next round of elections in 2011 and 2012 brings the Republican Party in Massachusetts additional gains, including a Federal seat or two. That would be icing on the cake.

The Reading of the U.S. Constitution: 10:30 AM January 6, 2011, From the U.S. House Floor – The Law of the Land in it’s Entirety.

Much has been made of the reading of the U.S. Constitution from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives as the Republican Party has now taken a majority in that body and has pledged to the American People a leaner, Constitutionally correct government. From the opening words to the last of the amendments, the reading (C-SPAN coverage) might be viewed as symbolic, and by some even highly partisan in nature, the blog politicsdaily.com calling the Constitution a “weapon” of the GOP. There are those journalist who just don’t understand the document calling it either arcane due to its age and the language used, or a “sacred secular text”, which underscores how deeply the lack of civics classes taught from an early age in the U.S. has given a large majority of the nations citizens, no understanding of the document.

The Constitution, simply put, is the foundation of our government, the document on which all laws of the United States of America are to be based, how our government is to be apportioned and how it operates, and it includes instructions for the three separate bodies (Executive, Judicial and Legislative) on how to conduct their duties. Guidelines, certainly, the law of the land, absolutely, which, the reading from the floor of the House where all laws of the land are generated, makes this reading more necessary than symbolic. The necessity arises from very lack of understanding on the part of the populace, which extends to lawmakers themselves, and certainly to those who hold position in the media who are viewing the reading as a “stunt” of sorts.

In the 1950’s and before, by the time a student was in the 4th grade, they were able to cite the Bill of Rights, and indeed had, in most instances, read the U.S. Constitution as part of the curriculum. Those who are of that generation as well as those who have, out of either curiosity, or alignment with the Tea Party Movement, taken to reading and discussing the intrinsic value of the document as it relates to our daily lives are the millions who have driven the nation to take a long second look at what it is that defines each of us.

The founding fathers, although hardly clairvoyant, were far-seeing in their establishment of a government that would be by and for the people, limiting the powers of the Federal government and deferring to the States more frequently than has been the case in recent years. The Constitution, simply put, is not always convenient in instances where political party aspirations are trumped by a 300 year old document. Historically, the one President who is lauded at once as a hero was also one who “played fast and loose” with that same document: one Abraham Lincoln, and who also, incidentally, was the first Republican President.

For one, the nation should be proud of the Congress, regardless of party affiliation, as they take up the task of reminding both the U.S. citizens, and the world, the reason why our nation has stood for centuries, and will continue to stand by a set of laws that was haggled over by the founding fathers for over a decade before it was finally signed and put into practice. Therefore, today is historical in once sense whereby newly elected Speaker of the House John Boehner, will go where so many before him have failed to go, back to the basics of what made our nation a magnet for those who were seeking relief from oppression. It is perhaps why, those who are desperate for an opportunity to grow within the boundaries of a land that guarantees its citizens rights beyond those found in any other word government, will take any measure, and face any hardship to gain citizenship within the boundaries of the United States.

Therefore, this first generation American extends gratitude and thinks to the members of the 112th Congress for reading the Document and further, for the promise (rather rule) that insists all future Bills before the Congress of the Unites States must cite the proposed laws Constitutional Authority. It is, perhaps, one of the greatest moments in the history of the modern Congress, and for those who don’t’ understand, or politically feel constitutionally challenged (how’s that?), perhaps it is an opportunity to embrace this unique set of laws, and to learn more about this document that holds us, all American’s, regardless of where we come from, or where we stand in society or politically, to a higher standard of protection from the very body (as well as the other two that complete the systems of checks and balances incorporated within) that will read the document.

Suggested reading: The Constitution of the United States
and to understand the making of this document
The Federalist Papers

Mass. GOP To Elect Chair January 6– Jennifer Nassour Challenged by, William (Bill) McCarthy of Worcester – Will Nassour Hold the Chair?

Jennifer Nassour Mass GOP Chair under Fire - image Boston Herald

The Massachusetts Republican Party will elect a Chairperson on Thursday, January 6th, at the Newton, MA Marriott. The current chair, Jennifer Nassour, will be challenged by William McCarthy, a Republican State Committeeman.. Mr. McCarthy called for the removal of Nassour as Chairperson at a meeting held in November immediately following the mid-term elections. Mr. McCarthy cited the lack of attention and support to the majority of Republican races outside of the Governor’s race by the State GOP as reason for Nassour’s ouster as Chairperson. There was no vote taken at that time. (WBUR).

Ms. Nassour, considered a moderate or “RINO” (Republican in name only) by the more Conservative Republicans in Massachusetts, has held the Chair since 2009. In the past election, there were over 200 Republican candidates for State and Federal offices, with Republicans picking up a gain of12 seats in the State Legislature – period, but a pick-up at the very least.

William McCarthy, hails from the Western (Worcester) section of the Commonwealth, where there is an active and growing Tea Party presence. Those members are extremely focused on grassroots development, and played a large part in the victory of Senator Scott Brown in the January 19th special election, with little or no visible input or support from a variety of local or State GOP Committees until the final week of the elections. It was the energy carried over from the Brown election that the State Party failed to capitalize on, including efforts to recruit new members to the Republican ranks. McCarthy, who sources indicate was part of the Massachusetts Huckabee for President 2008 Committee, would have bucked the State GOP trend to support former Governor Mitt Romney.

Additionally, his willingness to acknowledge and support the growing Tea Party in the Commonwealth will put him in good stead, depending upon the number of delegates who are like-minded this Thursday. One might wonder how the Tea Party fares in Massachusetts, of all States, however a link to a partial list of active Tea Party groups at www.teapartypartriots.orgshows the growing interest in the fiscal conservative movement. It is this movement that has attracted not only disenfranchised Massachusetts Republicans, but Democrats, Libertarians and Unenrolleds as well over the past two years. Many of the Republican Congressional Candidates in 2010 were either members of or affiliated with the Tea Party movement, a fact not lost on those who failed to receive any support from the State GOP.

Playing “Devil’s Advocate” for a moment, Ms. Nassour came to the job of State Chair with a monumental task of attempting to solidify the “country club” Republican City and Town Committee’s (word most often associated: dysfunctional). In addition, with less than a year into her tenure, she was expected to pull off a major win across the board based on “a climate”, yet with no discernable grass roots support outside of the Tea Party movements which felt disenfranchised from the State GOP - the collision of the two schools of thought (Ms. Nassour appears to embrace a more moderate, inclusive philosophy, which makes it difficult for those who are conservative to tell the difference between a moderate Massachusetts Republican and a Massachusetts Democrat.) is at the crux of the challenge. Additionally, the false logic that a Conservative is simply not electable in Massachusetts, while more moderate, specifically socially moderate Republicans stand a chance, is cleanly the issue at hand.

Nevertheless, this Thursday, with almost Machiavellian secrecy, and no news coverage outside of the Boston Herald, the Worcester Telegram and Gazette (Bill McCarthy’s Home Town Paper), and one or two blogs, either Jennifer Nassour will remain as Chair or one Bill McCarthy will be the new Mass GOP Chair. Although there is no mention of the Chair’s election on the official Mass. GOP Website there is a list of local State Committee Persons, who one might contact if one feels they may prefer one candidate over the other. The list is available at www.massgop.com/site/c8hJHTLKMFKqKWe/b.5817745/k.6AF3/State_Committee_Members.htm. This is part of the problem the Mass. GOP (and one could also note the secret society of the Massachusetts Democrats), has in recruitment, which may be why the Commonwealth is overwhelming “unenrolled”.

Regardless of who is elected to the State GOP Chair, that individual continues to face the daunting task of putting a solid grassroots program in place (and possibly working with the Tea Party activists in order to get his accomplished), holding town and city committees accountable for meeting and holding recruitment events, (that do not exclusively involve cocktail parties and golf games), rather get a message out to the many disenfranchised democrats and independents who would be willing converts, and finally, recruiting Republican’s to run, either first time, Tea Party, Log Cabin, or what have you, in order to ensure there is a body for every race in 2012.

One has to ask, is either one of the candidates up to this task? Baby steps are fine, however, the road to success in a politically progressive state is not going to paved with a slew of backyard barbeque's, rather with a loud, rambunctious, in the trenches and in one’s face, fiscally conservative message of less government. In other words, whoever is elected to the Chair should embrace all aspects of the party (Big Tent Theory) in order to move forward with the speed necessary to get the candidates in place for 2012. All Congressional Offices, (9 now) will be up for reelection, there is simply no reason why Massachusetts cannot send a Republican to Congress, and send Scott Brown back to the Senate. The organization needs to be tight, and that requires attention to details right down to the precinct poll watchers who will ensure a get out the vote to rival the 13 hour push by the Democrats in the waning hours of the 2010 midterms, a move that gave them all 10 congressional seats and the Governor’s office. Rome was not built in a day, but the Mass. GOP Chair must be able to accomplish a similar feat, or be challenged for not doing so.