By: Brian Genest – Aug. 2021
The sound of silence is stunning. And very telling. From Swampscott and Shrewsbury to Beacon Hill and beyond, some previously-vocal politicos are suddenly biting their lips.
Not one establishment Republican has a word to say about Tom Mountain, the former MassGOP vice chair who stepped down from the party’s executive committee last month. Not one has commented on Turtleboy’s multi-part series or live YouTube coverage of Mountain’s alleged online escapades. Not one has released a statement condemning Mountain. Not one has written a letter to the Boston Globe or done a television interview with Alison King. Not one is demanding Mountain’s resignation from the Massachusetts Republican State Committee.
As you may recall, it was an entirely different story recently when a state committeewoman made private comments that were leaked to the media about a gay congressional candidate adopting children with his husband. In that case, there were demands for the state committee member to resign. There were demands for MassGOP Chairman Jim Lyons to make her resign. There were demands for Lyons to resign. This time, there were crickets.
What conservatives are dealing with here in Massachusetts is a very special type of establishment Republican, most recognizable by its Latin name: Rhinoceros Hypocritae. If it wasn’t for double standards, some of these alleged Republicans would have no standards at all.
How severe is the hypocrisy?
* Last time, Gov. Charlie Baker called for the state committeewoman to resign. This time, his proxy on the executive committee, State Committeewoman Angela Davis of Foxborough, didn’t even bother to show up for the meeting last month to discuss the allegations against Mountain. And Baker has said nothing.
* Last time, State Committeewoman Janet Leombruno of Framingham was one of the loudest voices calling for Lyons to resign. This time, guess who else didn’t show up for the executive committee meeting about Mountain? You guessed it: Leombruno, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito’s proxy. Her absence speaks volumes.
* Last time, House Minority Leader Brad Jones was one of the 29 elected Republicans who signed a letter saying Lyons should resign if he refused to demand the state committeewoman’s resignation. This time, Jones’ proxy, State Committeeman Matthew Sisk of Braintree, was another no show at the executive committee meeting.
Also, this time, none of the 29 have signed a letter demanding Mountain’s resignation from the state committee. Be sure to ask Jones and these other state representatives about their hypocrisy: Peter Durant, Shawn Dooley, Lenny Mirra, Bradford Hill, Paul Frost, F. Jay Barrows, Donald Berthiaume, Angelo D’Emilia, Steven Howitt, James Kelcourse, Todd Smola, Kimberly Ferguson, Susan Gifford, Nick Boldyga, David Decoste, Sheila Harrington, Hannah Kane, Joseph McKenna, David Muradian, Mathew Muratore, Norman Orrall, Kelly Pease, Michael Soter, Alyson Sullivan, David Vieira, Timothy Whelan, Donald Wong and Steven Xiarhos.
* Last time, seven former party chairs signed a letter saying Lyons should resign or be removed by the state committee. This time, there’s no calls for Mountain to resign from Jeanne Kangas, Kerry Healey, Jennifer Nassour, Brian Cresta, Peter Torkildsen, Jean Inman or Darrel Crate. Considering anyone would be hard pressed to name anything any of them did to grow the Republican Party during their tenures, perhaps they should criticize current leadership less—or not at all.
* Last, but certainly not least: Last time, these 16 self-described party donors tried to bribe state committee members, promising to raise $1 million for the MassGOP if we “reorient” party leadership: Jonathan Bush, Bill Carey, Kimberly Dacier, Christopher Egan, Jim Grossman, David Howe, John Kingston, Scott Lemay, Gregg Lisciotti, William McQuillan, Bob Pereira, Daniel Quirk, Kevin Rollins, Victor Romeiro, Ray Stata and Jessica Tocco. (Of course, these people haven’t been donating to the MassGOP in the last couple years; they’ve been giving to the Massachusetts Majority Independent Expenditure PAC, a super PAC closely tied to Baker that donates to both Republican and Democrat candidates.) This time, they haven’t offered any cash for Mountain’s resignation, but who knows how much they’ll offer state committee members to fill the vacant Vice Chair’s seat with their preferred lackey.
One thing is certain: When it comes to establishment Republicans in Massachusetts, the righteous indignation is limited in scope, but the hypocrisy is endless.
— Brian Genest is a member of the Massachusetts Republican State Committee representing the Second Essex & Middlesex District of Andover, Dracut, Lawrence and Tewksbury. ◊