Northeastern Republicans Envision Comeback

[alp227]

Carl Hulse, The New York Times
January 30, 2010

WASHINGTON — The Northeastern Republican was nearly driven to extinction by political climate change, but the species appears poised to make a comeback.

The successful run of Scott Brown in the Senate race in Massachusetts, coupled with the front-runner status of Representative Michael N. Castle in Delaware in his bid for the Senate and other strong candidacies, could bode well for Republicans in a region that has been shedding them because of a sense that the party had grown too conservative and focused on the South.

In the House, no New England state is represented by a Republican, and neighboring New York is down to two. The Senate’s two moderate Republicans, Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, say they would certainly welcome the company.

“I love the irony that it is Massachusetts that has come to the rescue of the Republican Party,” said Ms. Collins, referring to how the election of Mr. Brown from the deep-blue Bay State is energizing her party and raising the spirits of candidates who now know it is possible for Republicans to win even in Democratic strongholds.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/us/politics/31memo.html

[dkf]

1. My question is why can't we have sane republicans in the south?

[blueworld]

2. And see Jesus' face in bowl of chowder? Good grief n/t

[graywarrior]

3. I have to run the control booth Monday at our town's Republican Committee meeting

It's gonna hurt.

[greymattermom]

4. purity test?

Can these northeastern Repubs pass the purity test?

[Tesha]

5. Massachusetts was a special case and isn't likely to repeat or demark a trend. (NT)

[old mark]

6. It's not that the Republicans won in Mass, but that the Democrats lost.

I hope the GOP is all energized, and spending lots of cash, time and effort and I hope they have thousands of candidates for every state.

They are still fucking idiots and they will lose big in November, but I want it to really hurt them to do it.

mark

[theoldman]

7. There is very little similar between Northeast Republicans and

deep South Republicans. They are like two different parties. People in the Northeast are not very religious and they are far more educated. Perhaps this is why most are Independents who switch back and forth during each election.

[rox63]

8. There are some Northeast Republicans who would be considered Dems in the South

[southernyankeebelle]

9. Yep I would agree with that statement. Look at Brown he is more of a

blue dog democratic.

[jmowreader]

10. MOST Northeast Republicans would be considered Dems in the South

What's the most Republican state up there? Probably Connecticut, and it's all economic Republicanism--financial types who work in the NYC financial industry but live in Connecticut. Jesse Helms couldn't have been elected dogcatcher there, and North Carolina sent him to the Senate for years.

On the flipside, Mike McIntyre would be in any Northeastern state's Republican party. As would Mary Landrieu and...well, most of our Southern Democrats.

[rox63]

11. New Hampshire is still the most Republican of the northeast states

But it has been getting bluer with each election over the last decade or two.