Massachusetts Republicans have no one to blame but themselves for a disastrous 2022 performance. But Jim Lyons is going to try anyway.

Jon Keller
Jon Keller has been covering Beacon Hill for nearly 40 years, giving you a candid take on what’s going on up there. From calling out politicians to the common voter, he shares his take in a weekly column published every Tuesday with MASSterList.
The straight poop on housing
For the new Healey administration and thousands of homeowners with septic systems, it’s gut check time. New regulations in motion could soon require costly upgrades in the name of environmental protection, but at a potential cost to the state’s housing goals.
Why Barbara Anderson can’t rest in peace
Citizens for Limited Taxation once spoke for those who believed in small government. If Barbara Anderson could only see what’s become of her life’s work today.
What kind of Jake is Auchincloss?
From crypto defender to disparager in just one short year, Congressman Jake Auchincloss has to decide whose side he’s on.
Uncool on COVID
It’s tempting to pretend that the COVID-19 pandemic is over. But Gov. Charlie Baker’s making a big mistake if he ignores the warning signs that the virus is still very much here.
Will NH lose its cash cow?
Granite Staters are furious that Democratic Party leaders, including President Joe Biden, want to strip New Hampshire of its first-in-the-nation primary. Oh, please.
Stupid is as stupid does
Billionaire Elon Musk has owned Twitter for a month, and it’s been nothing but an avalanche of bad headlines and questionable business decisions since then. Maybe Musk is exactly what Twitter and many of its users deserve.
Keller’s turkeys of the year
It’s that time of year to sharpen the carving knives and roast the “turkeys” who have made the past year in Massachusetts politics one to remember. Or maybe for some a year they would rather forget.
Engraving the MassGOP tombstone
The Massachusetts Republican Party had a bad night last Tuesday, losing even more ground in the Legislature, not to mention its only standing in statewide or Congressional offices when Democrats Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll punched their tickets to succeed Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. It was a fitting end to a cycle during which the MassGOP tried to embrace the far-right conservatism, and even election-denialism, that has worked in the past in other parts of the country, but not here and not this year.
Where insiders reign supreme
There are no “outsiders.” Despite claims from voters about frustration with the political system, it’s insiders that they continue to elect. And that applies the same in Massachusetts to Attorney General Maura Healey as it does in New Hampshire, where neither Maggie Hassan nor Don Bolduc can claim to be anything but insiders.