What's the plan?

For years I have watched very capable, extremely well qualified Republicans in Massachusetts put themselves through the wringer of the election process only to get their clocks cleaned by Democrats. Anybody remember Jim Coffee? I’ll give you a hint, he is not the State Senator from Framingham. But he should have been.

13% of Massachusetts voters are registered Republican, 37% Democrat, roughly. Yes, the Un-enrolled are 50% of the voters, but Republicans must sway three times their number just to break even with the number of Democrats. Put another way, if the Un-enrolled break for the Republicans 70/30, the Republicans would lose overall 48% to 52%. The Democrats are not going to vote Republican. Democrats in this state would be members of the socialist party in any other state. So the Republicans must energize their own 13% to get out and vote, and then win MORE than 70% of the un-enrolled.

Can that be done? Well, Mitt Romney did it, so it is possible. But all 10 US House seats and both Senate seats are held by Democrats, as are both houses of the state house. Scott Brown and a few other exceptions aside, the State House is OVERWHELMINGLY in the hands of the Democrats. This state votes to the left. A lot.

So here we go again - two very capable people are gearing up for a run for Governor: Christy Mihos and Charlie Baker. Both will fight the good fight (Christy Mihos has fought it before), and in all likelihood the unions, the elected politicians, and the Boston Globe will work like the well-oiled machine they are to cut the legs out from both of them. By election time Charlie Baker will be held personally responsible for Michael Jackson’s death (he’s in the heath-care biz, must be his fault, right?), and Christy Mihos it will turn out was responsible for months of rain in the summer of 2009. They’ll be lucky if they aren’t thrown in jail.

And what assets do Mr. Mihos and Mr. Baker bring to the battle? There are no elected politicians in the state that will hold a fund-raiser for them. Heck, there aren’t any in all of New England. All the newspapers will editorialize against them, but perhaps the Herald might call a fair game. They don’t have the army of union volunteers ready to man the barricades to defend their state pork. They will be out-gunned and out-manned. The small group of Republican activists will help, as we always do, with time and money. But we are too few.

The biggest asset they have is that Governor Deval Patrick is the Governor, and he’s not doing much to rate a second term. The economy is shrinking, so Governor Patrick goes to the “raise taxes” well again with the sales tax. He’s cutting when forced to, but he has no idea how to nurture the state’s economy. To him, it’s a piggy bank from which to fund more and more state programs. And to be fair, he always said he wanted to spend money. Unfortunately for him, the economy did not cooperate. He didn’t get to be Santa Claus handing out gifts to every special interest who campaigned for him, he gets to be the Grinch, taking away goodies. The special interests aren’t real happy with that, and that makes him vulnerable.

To win, both Republican candidates must focus like a laser on the economy – what programs, what processes will they institute to put the state back on a growth path? Here’s five suggestions that could form the core of a Republican platform in Massachusetts:

1. An income tax cut. Tax cuts have proved time and again to drive economic growth. The money not sent to the politicians is spent in the private sector, driving growth. Not only is it good politics, it’s the right thing to do. "Your money, you decide."

2. Massachusetts used to be a technology powerhouse. It could be again. Most states have delegations in California right now convincing business to move. California is out of money, water, and time, and the tech companies there are open to alternatives. Streamline regulations to facilitate such company moves. Make the business environment more friendly, and this state could lead the nation once again. Technology/Healthcare/Green Energy – make these the financial and employment pillars of the state. "Massachusetts will lead."

3. Remove the tolls, raise the gas tax to fund a public infrastructure upgrade, particularly roads. Money spent on infrastructure facilitates business. "Rebuild Massachusetts."

4. Endorse charter schools as a way to make our public schools more efficient. "Education choices."

5. Reduce the size of the state government to free up dollars to flow back to the cities and towns. List 5 key programs that would be cut, and the dollars that could then go back to the local communities. Convince the fire, police, and school unions that this is in their best interest (because it is). "Power to the communities."

Write down a plan – a simple, easy to understand platform along the lines of the “contract with America” that gets repeated over and over. Not some pithy “yes we can” slogan that means nothing, but a platform of action. Lead with ideas, and people will follow.

Nobody asked, but that's my two cents.

See you in the trenches.

Author: Mark