FROM OUR PRINTED OCTOBER 1, 2024 EDITION

DON’T WATER-DOWN CONSERVATIVE IDEOLOGY JUST TO WIN

by Geoff Diehl

As some of you loyal Broadside readers know, the Republican whose name appeared on a ballot opposite Elizabeth Warren six years ago was yours truly. It was an expensive, bruising race but I was honored to represent the conservative voice in the state. And even though our “Republican” Governor didn’t support me and the “lamestream” media kept the race as quiet as possible, I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

As someone who’s been there before, let me offer some unsolicited advice to the new guy who’s challenging Warren for United States Senate: You’re not going to win the race unless you offer a stark contrast to the incumbent.

Unfortunately, John Deaton is doing just the opposite.

Fresh off a convincing Republican primary victory, a Pro-Deaton PAC has raced to the airwaves to declare that he has “two things in common” with Elizabeth Warren. First, he opposes Donald Trump. Second, he supports abortion rights. In Act II, John told a reporter that he might write-in Charlie Baker for President. There won’t be an Act III.

I’m guessing that more than a few GOP primary voters are dealing with a heavy case of buyer’s remorse after hearing those words.

Sadly, this isn’t an isolated case.

Over the past decade or so, Massachusetts Republicans have become increasingly milquetoast, or ashamed, or just downright scared when it comes to running on conservative principles. I say that’s a problem for the once “Grand Old Party,” which now finds itself as a hollowed-out shell searching for relevance in the Bay State.

I know what you’re probably saying. Look at the election results – The numbers just don’t add up! You’re saying a Republican can’t win in Massachusetts as a conservative.

Trust me, I understand the math. I’ve lived it. But, even as a conservative candidate who lost to Elizabeth Warren and to Maura Healey, I remain convinced that our party is only worth fighting for if it offers a clear alternative to everything we criticize Democrats for every day.

When I was challenged in the 2022 Republican primary for Governor by Chris Doughty, he believed that his having voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 was a feature, not a bug. To the Democrats and establishment Republicans that suffer from TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome), he thought selling out one of our greatest Presidents would usher him into the swampy corner office that Baker was exiting. My convincing win in September dispelled any notion that the party base wants to make deals with the supermajority devil that controls Beacon Hill.

One-party rule in this state is leading the Commonwealth straight off a cliff. Our state budget is hemorrhaging as Democrats race to provide more and more benefits to migrants they lured here with every conceivable incentive. The wind turbines they scarred our oceans and fishing beds with to “fight climate change” are now littering beaches with hazardous debris as they fall apart. Speaking of which, do you like your gas car? Don’t get too attached to it, it’ll be outlawed soon. Parental rights? You wish! I could go on and on, but you get the gist.

Even Boston media outlets have voiced concern about the dangers of one-party rule and the unhealthy consolidation of power in the State House. And yet, they believe the answer is to water-down conservative ideology so that GOP candidates present a ‘Democrat-lite’ alternative that is, supposedly, more palatable to the masses.

In other words, ‘if only Republicans were more like Democrats, it’s possible that we liberals might vote for them sometimes.’

Huh?

I’ve got news for you. When given a choice between a tried-and-true Democrat and a Republican masquerading as a Democrat, Democrat voters in this state are going to vote for… the Democrat. Every. Single. Time.

If the Republican party is to be relevant, it must have the courage to advocate for a profoundly different direction, then offer those new ideas and new policies to Bay State voters to consider.

Conservative principles are worth fighting for. They are supposedly the values and ideals we believe in. If we truly believe in individual freedom and limited government, then I say don’t stop fighting for conservatism in Massachusetts.

Don’t give up, don’t give in. And by all means, don’t water down conservative ideology just to pander to the woke liberals who got us into this mess in the first place.