Lessons for the MassGOP from Air Jordan

What can Massachusetts Republicans learn from Michael Jordan?

 In the early 1990s, Jordan was A1 sauce, a three-time champion and MVP. A ubiquitous Gatorade ad campaign urged his fans to “be like Mike.” But then Jordan stepped way out of his lane, leaving the NBA for a short-lived baseball career that flopped.

At that same time the MassGOP was on a roll too, holding the governor’s and treasurer’s office and, briefly, a veto-sustaining number of state Senate seats, by offering a popular blend of fiscal moderation and social tolerance. But they also abandoned a successful formula to try a new sport: competitive political suicide.

Jordan returned from his baseball misadventure to win three more titles. But Massachusetts Republicans remain a pitiful footnote, with all signs pointing toward another round of humiliation on Tuesday.

What went wrong? How did a brand — still viable as recently as 2018 when Charlie Baker breezed to re-election — become as popular as an algae bloom on the local lake during a heat wave?

The current fiasco offers some answers.

Most obviously, a decade of Agent Orange transfusions into the party’s bloodstream has led to renal failure. After seeing Baker — at times rated the most popular governor in the country — eviscerated and driven out of politics by rabid Trumpers, why would like-minded moderates and pragmatists want any part of the party? Skepticism of the Democratic establishment and its tax-and-spend governance lives on in the form of ballot questions and Proposition 2 1/2 override rejections, but few of these voters seem interested in supporting Trump acolytes. 

Voters beg for competence, but despite the earnest efforts of party chair Amy Carnevale, all they get from the GOP is red ink, mismanaged conventions and “candidates” who can’t even get on the ballot. Organizing the Democratic grassroots is famously like herding cats, but dealing with Republicans activists is like persuading flesh-eating zombies to eat more vegetables. “In the Republican Town Committee bubble they’re very hopped up on fraud, they’re watching Fox every night,” notes a veteran Republican activist. One problem: with Trump and company stealing everything in sight, fraud is not a persuasive GOP talking point.

Poor Carnevale inherited a financial disaster from the preceding party chair, Jim “The Cowardly” Lyons. Without a potent organization and facing hurricane-force national headwinds, the party establishment understandably gravitated to candidates willing to invest personal wealth, clearing the Senate field for John Deaton and trying to force Brian Shortsleeve out of the gubernatorial race. That was a disastrous miscalculation. Deaton, who might have done better running for governor instead of another hopeless Senate bid, struggled to get attention. The free publicity a primary attracts might have helped the gubernatorial nominee nickname himself before Maura Healey and the Democrats did it for him: bald Donald.

Still, there may be value in the GOP cataclysm if some of its lessons are internalized.

Jon Keller is a MASSterList columnist. He can be reached at [email protected].

9:00 | Joint Committee on Public Service accepts written testimony on eight bills affecting individuals in Charlemont, Heath and Haverhill, plus employees at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Department of Correction and the Hampshire County Sheriff's Office | More Info

9:00 | Supreme Judicial Court hears oral arguments in six cases, including a case against the Mobile Home Rent Control Board of Chicopee | John Adams Courthouse, Room 1, One Pemberton Sq., Boston | More Info | Livestream

10:00 | Secretary of State Galvin holds a media availability to discuss voter turnout, the complications of multi-page ballots, and other matters relating to the election, per his office | State Library, Third Floor

10:30 | Gov. Healey makes a campaign stop at the Belmont Council on Aging, followed by a 3 p.m. small business walk in Boston and a pre-election rally with other Democrats at 7 p.m. | Contact [email protected] for details

1:00 | Republican candidates John Deaton for Senate and Micah Jones for Congress greet patrons at New Brothers Restaurant & Deli | 31 Maple St., Danvers

1:30 | GOP nominee for governor Mike Minogue holds a meet-and-greet at Murray's Tavern | 118 Broadway, Revere | Register

6:00 | Boston Mayor Wu and former Mayor Ray Flynn participate in a conversation about the city's political history on election eve. The event also features Don Gillis, author of "The Battle for Boston: How Mayor Ray Flynn and Community Organizers Fought Racism and Downtown Power Brokers," and Flynn's former policy director Neil Sullivan. The discussion will explore Boston's history surrounding housing segregation, tenant rights, neighborhood development and political divisions that shaped the city during Flynn's tenure as mayor | Massachusetts Historical Society, 1154 Boylston St., Boston

6:00 | Mike Minogue rallies with supporters. John Deaton is among the attendees | Great American Beer Hall, 142 Mystic Ave., Medford

6:00 | Micah Jones, Republican nominee in the Sixth Congressional District, holds a pre-election rally | Toscana Forno, 139 Lynnfield St., Peabody

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TREASURY MAP: A 12-minute mini-debate between state treasurer candidates featured heated moments as the candidates sparred over unclaimed property and the marketing of iLottery games. Treasurer Deb Goldberg said she has "nothing to do" with and does not condone a super PAC's ads and texts targeting Republican challenger Elizabeth Dionne. | CBS Boston

FINAL COUNTDOWN: Gov. Maura Healey and Mike Minogue hit the trail this weekend to make some of their final pitches to voters before Tuesday's election. | WCVB

GUN SHOW: As the vote over whether to keep or repeal Massachusetts' 2024 gun law approaches, the public firearm data dashboard the law created shows numbers that are too new to determine clear trends. | Worcester Guardian

A DIFFERENT MARKEYVERSE: As Sen. Markey campaigns for what he's said would be his last term, he's been supporting other progressive candidates around the country. | Boston Globe

DRONE HOME: Local lawmakers announced Friday evening that Amazon dropped its controversial push to bring drone delivery to Westborough, which sparked spirited pushback and a call to give the community a say. | State House News Service (gift link)

IN STRIKING DISTANCE: Brigham and Women's nurses plan to start an open-ended strike on Nov. 12, if no deal is reached when negotiations with Mass General Brigham pick back up next Monday with a federal mediator. | NBC10 Boston

SCHOOL'S OUT: Charlestown High School could shut its doors in 2028, if the Boston School Committee approves the closure in a vote expected next month. The committee is also set to learn this week about two other potential closures, along with relocations, expansions and reconfigurations. | Boston Herald

FULL COURT PRESS: James E. "Jeb" Balise, the developer who's sued over the plans to develop a new Springfield courthouse, gives his first extensive interview since his courthouse proposal was passed over. Balise says his opposition is not about his own plan but the future of a "fragile downtown." | The Republican

SPONSORED Preparing for Winter, Putting Massachusetts Customers First: National Grid is helping customers manage energy costs while investing in the gas and electric systems that keep homes warm, businesses running and communities connected. | Learn more

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