Keller @ Large: Scott Brown weighs in on state of Mass. GOP
BOSTON - If the polls are right, Republicans could see big gains in Washington and in many states across the country. But Massachusetts is looking like it may be an exception to that trend.
Former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Senator Scott Brown tells WBZ-TV in an interview that "the out-of-control spending in Massachusetts, the constant overregulation, giving driver's licenses potentially to people that are here illegally" create a vote-rich environment for Republicans. So we wondered: Why is gubernatorial nominee Geoff Diehl trailing by a landslide in every poll?
"He's gonna live and die by the things he's done and supports, and I encourage Charlie [Baker] and others, quite frankly, to get involved," says Brown.
That's a reference to the fact that Gov. Baker is conspicuously not endorsing Diehl after months of divisive demonization by party Chairman Jim Lyons and his allies of Baker and the one statewide GOP candidate he is backing, Auditor nominee Anthony Amore.
We asked Brown what he made of what Lyons has done to the state GOP. "Well, that's up to the Republicans and the delegates to make those decisions," he said, pleading ignorance of Lyons' behavior.
A staunch Trump supporter, Lyons has antagonized many local Republicans by tolerating homophobic and racist comments by some party candidates, part of a national political climate Brown finds distasteful. "I am aghast at what's happening; the discourse since I got back from New Zealand, quite frankly, is just out of control."
And it leaves Brown making a lesser-of-two-evils argument for his party's nominee.
"You have a choice - you can have someone who's 70% friend or 100% enemy when it comes to the economic issues," he says. "It's pretty crystal-clear to me; it's a no brainer."
You would think a debacle on election night would bring change to the GOP. The party's performance in recent elections has been so poor, Lyons nearly lost his job as chairman two years ago. And there's been a pattern in both local and national politics over the past few decades - one-party rule always leads to voter backlash sooner or later.
But it'll be hard for the Massachusetts Republican Party to remake itself as more centrist if the rest of the party - regionally and nationally - is moving to the right.