Death of a Party?

With the election now behind us (sort of) and most people’s attention focused on the “Red Wave” that turned into a “Purple Bruise” on the national GOP’s butt, let’s take a look at the sorry state of the Republican Party in the Mill City.

Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” is a feel-good comedy compared to the death of the Mass GOP as a legitimate force in our state’s politics, and the news is even worse for them in Lowell.

The year after year forgettable performances of Republicans in Lowell’s State Senate and State Representative races are already well established. You know, those races where if the Grand Old Party doesn’t lose by a 70-30 margin or better, it’s considered a moral victory. This year’s ballot questions paint an even more dire portrait of their prospects for winning a local seat in our lifetimes. (Well, at least my soon to be 57-year old lifetime. Perhaps my 5 and 3 year old children live long enough to see a “red tide” in the Merrimack)

Questions 1 & 4, the millionaire tax and drivers license ballot initiatives, held a certain level of statewide drama, the final results being 52%-48% and 54%-46%, respectively. Here, the Yes votes came in 59%-41% and 56%-44%. Closer than the elected office races, but yet another sign the Democratic Party has a firmly established death grip on Lowell’s electorate.

Lowell’s Republican Party, like the state party, has a lot of work to do to become relevant again, and they need to be patient in doing it. The current situation will not turn itself around “next time.” This is a decades long process just to become relevant, let alone get to a veto proof minority level. (that’s how low the bar has been set)

First thing that needs to be done is to stop the infighting. When you can fit the entire party membership in a Volkswagen Buggy (that’s only a slight exaggeration), you can’t afford to be fighting each other. Rally behind a state leader who can unite, not seek to further divide your already dwindling membership. It should be clear by now that leader is not the current Chair, Jim Lyons.

The next thing that has to happen is lose the “Trump or die” mentality. Take it form one of the original Trumpers; you cannot win in Massachusetts demanding allegiance to all things MAGA. To paraphrase the Serenity Prayer, the next GOP Chair needs to instill in the party membership the serenity to accept the issues they cannot win in the Commonwealth, the courage to change those they can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

And lastly, back to the long game. Grow the party from the ground up. Stop putting inexperienced candidates on the ballot just to have a name next to the blank oval. Concentrate on Council and School Committee races in Lowell and all communities across the commonwealth. People serving in those positions develop name recognition, a better grasp on the issues, and the ability to better articulate their positions to the electorate. Experience shows, and it makes a difference.

The situation for local Republicans has gotten so dire, there’s no guarantee anything will work. But there is a guarantee the way things are going, the only election night drama will continue to revolve around the extent of the bloodbath.

Lowell Can Count….and Quickly!

Lastly, a tip of the cap to the City of Lowell Elections Office for doing what it took, in this case working till after 3am, to get the votes tabulated and reported. Greg Pappas and his crew should serve as an example for many surrounding towns, and much of the United States for that matter.

I’m sure this will upset a few folks in the other Voke communities and I get it. Election day and the lead up to it in this time of early and mail in voting is a challenge. So, too, was the Voke write-in bleep show.

But come on, Lowell was somehow able to do it with their nearly 21,000 ballots. Did it really require three days to allocate the 18 votes in Tyngsboro cast for one of the write-in races?

Count the votes in a timely manner. The people deserve it and the candidates do, too. You can rest from the middle of November till the next elections.