Middleboro Review 2: POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: The future of the MassGOP isn't totally Trump

Monday, May 23, 2022

POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: The future of the MassGOP isn't totally Trump

SEALING THE DIEHL — “Let’s Go Brandon” T-shirts. Satirical “Adiós Chuckles” candy bars featuring a clown-nosed Gov. Charlie Baker on the wrapper. Impassioned vows to uphold election integrity and take down the “radical left.”

This ain’t Baker’s GOP anymore.

The MassGOP convention Saturday offered the first real look at a post-Baker Republican Party. And the immediate future is decidedly more conservative and pro-Trump.

Delegates overwhelmingly endorsed conservative, Donald Trump-backed former state Rep. Geoff Diehl for governor and his running mate, former state Rep. Leah Cole Allen, for lieutenant governor. Baker's name was rarely uttered, though candidates took some veiled shots at his policies, particularly his Covid-19 mandates. It was Trump’s name that got a standing ovation. And Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s former campaign manager who’s now advising Diehl, got the celebrity treatment at the MassMutual Center.

“The party, now that it’s no longer run by the acolytes of Baker [and former Govs. Bill] Weld and [Paul] Cellucci, is going to become a much more Trump party. And there’s not a problem with that,” Haverhill delegate Alex Veras told reporters.

“We’re not going to win overnight,” Veras continued, acknowledging the politics of a blue state that twice produced some of Trump’s worst electoral showings. “But it’s a start.”

Still, some Baker allies walked away feeling hopeful about moderates’ future in the party despite their standard-bearer skipping the show. Chris Doughty, who repeatedly branded himself as a conservative but is viewed as more moderate in comparison to Diehl, went to Springfield unsure if he’d clear the 15 percent delegate support needed to make the ballot. He nearly doubled it, earning 29 percent to Diehl’s 71 percent. His running mate, former state Rep. Kate Campanale, garnered 30 percent to Allen’s 70 percent. And that was from roughly 1,200 votes — half those cast at the 2018 convention that Baker won by a similar margin.

But conservative messaging ruled the day and, for now, the party. Chair Jim Lyons and anti-abortion activist David Bereit railed against abortion. Former Trump “border czar” Thomas Homan riled up the crowd and Diehl pledged to send Massachusetts National Guard troops to the southern border to “stop the lawlessness.” Candidate after candidate delivered alarmist — and in one particular case, vulgar — takes on the state of schools. Baker’s brand of bipartisanship was buried by talk of “evil” Democrats and their “extreme progressive agenda that will destroy our commonwealth.”

The economy offers opportunity for party unity. Nearly every candidate wove soaring prices and digs at Beacon Hill Democrats for not passing tax relief into their speeches. Delegates from across the GOP political spectrum overwhelmingly told Playbook it’s their top issue and the one the party should be wielding to motivate voters.

“When I’m out going to the supermarket or the gas station, the No. 1 complaint is inflation,” Worcester delegate Bill McCarthy told Playbook. “Those are common-people issues.”

From left: GOP governor hopeful Chris Doughty speaks with a delegate at the MassGOP convention in Springfield on May 21, 2022. GOP governor hopeful Geoff Diehl snaps a selfie with convention attendees. | Lisa Kashinsky/POLITICO

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Rep. Lori Trahan will endorse Maura Healey for governor this afternoon, giving the two-term attorney general her third endorsement from the state’s 11-member congressional delegation in less than two weeks as the Democratic nominating convention looms.

Healey will join Trahan for the 1:15 p.m. announcement at the Hamilton Canal Innovation District in Lowell, and the two will then tour UMass Lowell’s Innovation Hub.

TODAY — Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito attends a ribbon cutting for Pickett Plaza in Worcester at 2:30 p.m. Diehl and Allen host a post-convention media availability at 11 a.m. outside the State House.

Tips? Scoops? Comments? Email me: lkashinsky@politico.com.

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CAMPAIGN MODE

— FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo is endorsing former Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell for state attorney general at noon outside Revere City Hall as part of Campbell’s Gateway Cities listening tour.

— CAMPBELL STRIKES BACK: Democratic state attorney general hopefuls Quentin Palfrey and Shannon Liss-Riordan will sign a “People’s Pledge” to limit third-party spending in their race at 2 p.m. outside the State House.

Campbell won’t attend because she’ll be in Revere for her Gateway Cities tour. But at first she wasn’t invited. Palfrey’s campaign alerted members of the media to the event prior to sending Campbell an email invitation Sunday evening, and emphasized to Playbook that her campaign had not responded to any of the Palfrey team’s prior emails or repeated public calls to sign the pledge.

That’s because, as Campbell argued on WCVB’s “On the Record,” Sunday, “there is no super PAC money in the AG race.” Palfrey has been trying to get Campbell to disavow the “Better Boston” super PAC that supported her Boston mayoral bid, which remains open but has taken no action in the AG race. But Campbell, without naming Palfrey, accused "my opponent" of "spreading lies" about super PAC involvement, or lack thereof, in the contest.

Yet Campbell declined to denounce super PAC spending. She said super PAC money is "not a possibility" in this race, except for the Environmental League of Massachusetts, which endorsed her, has been active in prior elections and "might be" involved in this race. Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited sums, but they cannot coordinate with candidates.

Campbell also hit back against Liss-Riordan’s accusation that she “flip-flopped” on supervised drug consumption sites, after supporting the concept as a mayoral candidate but opposing it in a Progressive Massachusetts AG candidate questionnaire earlier this year.

“Any municipality that wants to do safe injection sites, I as attorney general would not stand in the way of that,” Campbell said. “But if we’re talking about doing this as a statewide effort, we need to have the difficult conversation and the thoughtful conversation about cost, site location.”

All of this is fodder for tonight’s attorney general debate, hosted by Boston Ward 4 and Ward 5 Democrats online at 6:30 p.m.

DATELINE BEACON HILL

HOW DOES REDUCING THE ESTATE TAX & CAPITAL GAINS TAX HELP LOW WAGE WORKERS?

— “Senate budget debate on tap – gas, estate, capital gains tax relief offered,” by Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald: “The state Senate on Tuesday will begin to dispense with over 1,100 amendments to their version of the state’s fiscal 2023 budget, with nearly $50 billion in appropriations already predicted and more possible. … Not included in the budget, but expected to be debated on Tuesday, are the tax cut proposals [Gov. Charlie] Baker sent to the legislature along with his budget.”

— “Lawmakers urged to make prison calls free in wake of SJC ruling,” by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: “State lawmakers are being urged to make phone calls for prisoners free following a Supreme Judicial Court decision that allows county sheriffs to continue charging inmates and their families for the communications."

— “South Shore lawmakers want to pay lobstermen during months-long conservation closure,” by Mary Whitfill, Patriot Ledger: “State senators Patrick O'Connor and Bruce Tarr have filed a budget amendment that would allocate $12 million to pay lobstermen $1 per week per trap they are licensed for during time they are not allowed to fish.”

— BOOK REPORT: Gov. Charlie Baker’s book, “Results,” co-authored with his former chief of staff, Steve Kadish, is out Tuesday. The Boston Globe published an excerpt. The Pioneer Institute will release “Back to Taxachusetts?” on Wednesday, which will make the case against the so-called millionaires tax on the ballot this November, reports the Boston Herald’s Matthew Medsger.

VAX-ACHUSETTS

— “Omicron variant caused more deaths in Mass. in shorter period than delta did, new study finds,” by Mark Herz, GBH News: “The omicron variant of SARS-COV-2 caused more ‘excess deaths’ in Massachusetts in eight weeks this year than the delta variant did in 23 weeks when it was the dominant variant. Excess deaths are a measure of how many more deaths occur in a given time period than would normally be predicted for a population.”

— WATCH: “‘Faces of COVID’ account serves as reminder of lives lost during pandemic,” by Jon Keller, WBZ.

FROM THE HUB

— “For the first time this year, Boston city councilors have the power to tear up the mayor’s budget. Will they?” by Emma Platoff, Boston Globe: “Armed with broad new power to rewrite Boston’s annual operating budget, the City Council has so far treaded lightly. More than a month after Mayor Michelle Wu proposed a $3.99 billion budget, the council has yet to make any changes to it, and it remains to be seen whether the body will pitch any major shifts at all. That’s in part due to the logistical difficulty of doing so. The council continues to operate under significant limitations even after a successful ballot measure gave the body new budgeting powers.”

— “Mass and Cass community groups call for decentralization, Engagement Center closure,” by Sean Philip Cotter, Boston Herald: “A group of Mass and Cass-area neighborhood groups is planning to bring the city a list of proposals designed at reining in the issues flaring up in the area, including pushes to permanently close the engagement center, further decentralize services and set an end date for the use of the Roundhouse Hotel services.”

— “State has given Boston Public Schools draft report on receivership, progress,” by Marie Szaniszlo, Boston Herald: “The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has delivered a draft report to Boston Public Schools about whether the district has made progress over the last few years or whether the state should appoint a ‘receiver’ to take control of it, a city official said — though the contents of the document remain tightly under wraps.”

— "Kim Janey to lead nonprofit targeting poverty," by Emma Platoff, Boston Globe: "Decades ago, as a young mother striving to finish her high school education, former acting Boston mayor Kim Janey received support from the Boston-based nonprofit Economic Mobility Pathways. Soon, Janey will lead the organization, EMPath announced Monday."

— LISTEN: “Walsh hopes union pushes at Amazon and Starbucks signal 'long term' labor revitalization,” by Zoe Mathews, GBH News.

HAPPENING WEDNESDAY—A WOMEN RULE TALK ON THE MIDTERMS : Join POLITICO’S Women Rule for a conversation with the women running the midterm campaigns and how they are shaping messaging and strategy for their candidates. The program will look into what a win for either party could mean for access to reproductive health care, economic advancement of women, and how the final stages of the Covid-19 pandemic are managed. REGISTER HERE.

HEALEY WATCH

— LISTEN: “Healey calls on Everett city councilor to resign over racist comments,” by Hannah Reale, GBH News.

— More from Healey’s GBH interview: “Healey says rent control is not ‘the solution’ to state’s housing crisis,” by Matt Stout, Boston Globe: “Attorney General Maura Healey said Friday in a radio interview she does not support reestablishing rent control as a ‘solution’ for the high housing costs in Massachusetts, where progressive Democrats, including Boston’s mayor, have pushed for forms of it. But almost immediately, Healey’s gubernatorial campaign sought to refashion the meaning of her comments, saying she doesn’t support ‘requiring’ rent control statewide but is open to allowing individual towns and cities to pursue their own policies.”

— Related: “Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz calls for an end to the state’s ban on rent control,” by Chris Van Buskirk, MassLive: “Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz called for an end to the state’s ban on rent control Friday afternoon, hours after competitor Attorney General Maura Healey said she would not support a statewide policy requiring rent control.”

ON THE STUMP

— DATELINE SPRINGFIELD: Republican Party activists delivered a pair of GOP primaries and also endorsed Anthony Amore for auditor, Rayla Campbell for secretary of state and Jay McMahon for attorney general. Here’s what the gubernatorial candidates had to say about what’s next:

DOUGHTY’S SURPRISE ENDING — Halfway through the convention, Chris Doughty told Playbook in between pitching delegates that he still wasn’t sure if he’d secured the 15 percent support to get on the ballot.

“I’m shocked and delighted,” Doughty told reporters after winning 29 percent. “We called every delegate multiple times. And so many of them told me that’s what made the difference. … We just moved to the next step, which is the primary. And we’ll do what we just did, which is work.”

That “absolutely” will include appeals to independents, who make up 57 percent of voters in Massachusetts. And it could include investing more of his own money in his campaign, he said, depending on how fundraising goes.

LET'S MAKE A DIEHL — Geoff Diehl also said he plans to pitch independents. “We've got an economy that's coming out of the pandemic, but a massive inflation, huge gas costs and nobody on Beacon Hill seems to be willing to try to give some relief to the average folks who are just trying to make a living here in the state,” Diehl said. “We cannot afford to keep bleeding out all these great people who are trying to make it here in Massachusetts. So we're gonna give them a better future.”

FROM THE DELEGATION

— TRAVEL BAN: The Massachusetts delegation won’t be traveling to Russia anytime soon. The Russian Foreign Ministry has updated its list of sanctioned Americans, barring Sen. Ed Markey and Reps. Katherine Clark, Lori Trahan, Ayanna Pressley, Bill Keating, Stephen Lynch, Richard Neal, Jim McGovern, Seth Moulton and Jake Auchincloss from entering the country.

“If Vladimir Putin thinks permanently banning me from Russia is going to change my support for Ukraine, I’ve got bad news for him. It’s not,” Trahan tweeted . “The United States stands with Ukraine.”

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

— "National Grid spars with nearby officials and activists on the banks of the Malden River," by Jon Chesto, Boston Globe: "Political leaders and advocacy groups who represent the cities of Everett, Malden, and Medford are upset with the utility because of something the company won’t build: a half-mile 'riverwalk' along 28 acres it owns overlooking the Malden River."

THE LOWELL CONNECTOR

— “In storied New England mill city, Cambodian Americans make political history,” by Don Lee, Los Angeles Times: “At a time when Asian Americans are facing hostility in many parts of the country, Lowell’s Cambodian community is up and coming — thanks in large part to its perseverance, help from public interest attorneys from Boston and painstaking alliance-building with Lowell residents and other disenfranchised groups, who now are also benefiting from the city’s dramatic changes.”

FROM THE 413

— “Faces of the Northampton VA: Veterans share their stories, fears of what they will lose if the hospital is shut down,” by Will Katcher, MassLive: “There are more than 20,000 patients of the VA spread across the region who rely on the medical center in Northampton’s Leeds village. They fought in Normandy, Khe Sanh and Kandahar; trained and served at Fort Leavenworth, Camp Pendleton and Naval Air Station Pensacola; and settled in Western Massachusetts nearby a nationally-known veterans hospital. These are the stories of just eight of them.”

— “No Dems step up to challenge Rep. Neal in primary,” by Dusty Christensen, Daily Hampshire Gazette: “During the past two election cycles, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal has been the target of progressive challengers looking to oust the Springfield Democrat. As campaigns for Congress take shape this year, however, no other Democrats appear to be mounting campaigns to challenge Neal."

THE LOCAL ANGLE

— “The last abortion clinic in Mississippi only employs out-of-state doctors. Two are from Massachusetts,” by Hanna Krueger, Boston Globe: “The Jackson Women’s Health Organization, known colloquially as the Pink House for its flamingo-colored stucco exterior, is the only abortion clinic in the state of Mississippi. It will almost certainly be the last. ... [For now] the Pink House remains open, kept afloat by countless volunteers, dedicated staff, and seven out-of-state doctors, who perform the abortions that local doctors refuse, often for fear of harassment or the loss of local job opportunities. Two are obstetrician gynecologists from Massachusetts. Once a month, they set off from Logan Airport and land 1,255 miles away in Mississippi’s capital…”

— “‘Giving care to caregivers’: Mass. Planned Parenthood employees look to unionize,” by Abby Patkin, MetroWest Daily News: “Workers at Planned Parenthood clinics in Marlborough, Boston, Worcester and Springfield are looking to unionize, citing the need for better recruitment and retention in the face of ongoing challenges to reproductive rights and abortion access nationwide.”

— “A 'Jaws' actor is named police chief in the town where the iconic movie was filmed,” by Rina Torchinsky, GBH News: “Former Jaws actor Jonathan Searle is set to become the next police chief of Oak Bluffs in Martha's Vineyard — the same town in which the iconic movie was filmed.”

— “The Mass. job market weakened in April,” by Larry Edelman, Boston Globe.

— “As affirmative action decision looms, colleges look for alternative ways to achieve diversity,” by Laura Krantz, Boston Globe.

CONGRATS — to my Massachusetts Playbook predecessor, the supremely talented Stephanie Murray, who capped off her incredible four-year run at POLITICO with a final edition of Morning Score on Friday. Can’t wait to see what you do next!

TRANSITIONS — Kim Corbin is joining Pioneer Public Affairs as a partner. She most recently was senior adviser to Rep. Jim McGovern.

— Boston Business Journal’s Steph Solis is now the second reporter for Axios Boston, which launches June 13.

— The Boston Globe’s Laura Krantz is joining The Chronicle of Higher Education as subscriber products editor.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — to Gerald James Holton, who is 100; Andrew M. Cable, state Rep. Jim O’Day, Stephanie Slysz and Dorchester Reporter editor and publisher Bill Forry. Happy belated to Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy, who celebrated Friday, and to Peter Weissenstein and Arthur Brooks, who celebrated over the weekend.

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