How Republicans can come back in Massachusetts

Peter Morin knows something about how to get elected as a Republican in Massachusetts - he served as a state representative from the Cape between 1985 and 1991. On Wave Maker, he discusses ways Massachusetts Republicans can climb out of the basement (and admits he voted for Patrick because he seemed far more human than Healey): Basically, local, local local - the party has to do a better job than Romney did at recruiting likable, intelligent candidates at all levels, but especially for beginning positions like state rep.

... People saw something in Deval Patrick that they liked and in Kerry Healey something they didn’t like. Even if most voters disagreed with Patrick on one issue or another, he connected with them in a way that made them trust him. I understand that -- I am one of them. There is probably not a single bellweather issue on which I would agree with him, and yet I confess that I, a former "conservative Republican" member of the House, voted for Deval Patrick. I voted for him because he exudes a persona that is very appealing. The same could be said of Mitt Romney when he first came on the scene. ...

Hub Politics agrees on the grassroots angle:

... This state is full of people who stand with Republicans on the issues, but have a horrible habit of voting for Democrats anyway, and this election was proof of that. The party needs to begin selecting a fine crop of candidates to put on the ballot, and run strenuous campaigns. It's going to be tough in 2008, being a presidential election year, but if it's not a year we're electing a President, we're electing a governor. No more excuses, it's never a good year. John Kerry won't be a factor in 2008, so get cracking. Start raising money now so the local level candidates don't get burned like they did this time around. There is no excuse for it. ...

Mass. GOP News says packaging is everything and rejects the idea of a centrist GOP:

... A move to the left, or center, would be a disaster as it would give the impression that our message was wrong all along. The message is right and there is two hundred years of history to prove it. Instead let's build a party with a different face to it. Instead of Mitt Romney, Kerry Healey, and Darrell Crate being the poster-children of the Republican Party let's use someone more approachable. Someone without a seven digit income might be wise so voters could relate. "NO" there is nothing wrong with being successful, but it does make it hard for folks to believe you understand their plight of living from paycheck to paycheck. ...