The Case for Change at the Mass GOP

Recently, the Boston Herald featured an article entitled "State GOP Chief Pleads to Keep Her Job". 

You can read it yourself - http://bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1305784&format=comments#CommentsArea

In this article, Jennifer Nassour cites reasons as to why she should remain head of the Massachusetts GOP.  One reason Ms. Nassour cited is that the House delegation has doubled in this last election cycle.   While Ms. Nassour takes full credit for the State Rep victories, she neglects to admit that the State GOP had very little to NOTHING to do with those victories.  The money given to those campaigns was just about nil, with even less resources directed to those in House and Senate races.

Here is a quote from Ms. Nassour about the Governors race  “I think it’s unfair for them to blame anyone but the candidate and their campaign staff (for the losses),” Nassour said. “The party chair has nothing to do with the candidate’s loss.”  Yet, Ms. Nassour directed almost ALL of the State GOP's resources at the Governors race.  Why?  A job in the Baker administration perhaps?  Only she can answer that question.

The point is that Ms. Nassour has taken full credit for races in which she did NOT recruit candidates for, and is trying to distance herself from the ONLY race that she threw ALL of the party's resources behind.

The EXPECTATION this election cycle, regardless of the spin out of Boston,  was Republican victories for Governor, Lt. Governor, Auditor, and Treasurer, a Congressional seat, and many more than 16 House seats.  So let's not change history to erase the failure of the State GOP.  And while the Baker campaign is truley responsible for its own colossal failure, the Mass GOP's fingerprints are all over the State GOP's failure this election cycle.

Many of the winners in the House races actually ran two years ago, before Ms. Nassour took the helm of the State Party.  Their success in this election cycle came from hard work two years earlier during the 2008 elections and a continued campaign over that period, to keep them relevant and electable this cycle.  Nothing of which the State GOP can claim credit for.

The Herald article demonstrates clearly why the Mass GOP needs to get rid of Ms. Nassour and bring in a leader who really knows how to run a campaign and what it takes to get elected and how to include a CONSERVATIVE base in the State platform.  The Mass GOP also needs a leader who is more concerned about the candidates and their success and less concerned about their own self promotion. 

During one of the most dynamic election cycles in the last fifty years, the messages generated by the Mass GOP featured Ms. Nassour in her red dress with her title and Esq. abbreviation following it, and NOTHING about the men and women running for office at the GRASS ROOTS level.  Shameful self promotion.  Wouldn't a weekly or daily email featuring the candidates running for House, Senate, Sheriff, and Governors Council races have been what a real grass roots leader have done?

Now, with some resistance and calls for her resignation, Ms. Nassour wants to lead a "grass roots" effort to rebuild the State GOP.  The problem with this is that Ms, NAssour has made it very clear by her ACTIONS that she has no interest in building a grass roots organization.  Everything that Ms. Nassour has done in her first term illustrates that she has no interest in a grass roots GOP.  It's just not in her.

Ms. Nassour also cites as a reason to keep her at the helm of the State Party as
“It’s a really important time to have someone who is already a strong party chairman,” Nassour said of the inside power plays as lawmakers redraw voting districts across the state. “I’m the perfect person to be that watchdog.”  Folks, a strong leader doesn't have to tell you they are a strong leader.  And we don't need a watch dog, we need a junk yard dog that is willing to get into the fight and never stop fighting and doesn't care how they look as long as they get people elected.

Don't be fooled by any upcoming grass roots symposium sponsored by the Mass GOP.  A tiger can't change their stripes and neither can the Chair of the Mass GOP.

Time for change!

P.S.  I don't expect the State Committee to make the change at the top, so we're going to have to change the State Committee from the bottom up!