MA-3: After Tsongas

[smoltchanov]

Really hoping we can get a more liberal democrat in there. Nikki Tsongas was never my least favorite MA Dem but I don't find her to be a particularly good congresswoman.

I understand it's Massachusetts, but it's not a D+30 district...

[smoltchanov]

Really hoping we can get a more liberal democrat in there. Nikki Tsongas was never my least favorite MA Dem but I don't find her to be a particularly good congresswoman.

I understand it's Massachusetts, but it's not a D+30 district...

So? It's not like a Republican can win there. What matters is how liberal the Democratic primary voters are.

Yes. But AFAIK not every Democrat in this district is a "flaming progressive". There are enough pragmatic moderate liberals too..

[smoltchanov]

IMHO, Tsongas was very adequate representative of this district, which is liberal, but not extremely liberal. So, i don't see a need for the next congressman from this district being "ultraprogressive". Somebody in Tsongas mold would be absolutely fine with me, and, what's more important - correlate with district's basic political leanings...

[smoltchanov]

Really hoping we can get a more liberal democrat in there. Nikki Tsongas was never my least favorite MA Dem but I don't find her to be a particularly good congresswoman.

I understand it's Massachusetts, but it's not a D+30 district...

It doesn't need to be D+30 to elect a progressive candidate.   MA-3 could easily get someone more left wing in office.

Republican will definitely not be winning here in 2018 either.

IMHO D+9 district is better represented by "normal" pragmatic liberal (Tsongas-type) then a loonie...

[smoltchanov]

Really hoping we can get a more liberal democrat in there. Nikki Tsongas was never my least favorite MA Dem but I don't find her to be a particularly good congresswoman.

I understand it's Massachusetts, but it's not a D+30 district...

It doesn't need to be D+30 to elect a progressive candidate.   MA-3 could easily get someone more left wing in office.

Republican will definitely not be winning here in 2018 either.

IMHO D+9 district is better represented by "normal" pragmatic liberal (Tsongas-type) then a loonie...

I say we have more "loonies". The pragmatic liberal types haven't been doing a good job so far.

From MY point of view - they did..

[smoltchanov]

Walsh COS Dan Koh will run.

Not bad. Probably - pragmatic style liberal, whom i generally like...

[smoltchanov]

A lot of crazy talk here.

Does not matter, this seat is not flipping in 2018 on the congressional level even in your wildest dreams.

Especially with a well-known conservative Green as a Republican candidate. Republican party in heavily blue states (like Massachusetts) more and more becomes a "puristic sect" of far-rightists, not the really "broad tent party" it generally was few decades ago. To be honest - parallel process is going in Democratic party in solidly red states (Utah, for example, and many southers states), where Democratic party becomes representative of only minority (religious in Utah case (mostly - non-Mormons), racial - in most of the South), not a "full spectrum" of people...

[smoltchanov]

A lot of crazy talk here.

Does not matter, this seat is not flipping in 2018 on the congressional level even in your wildest dreams.

Especially with a well-known conservative Green as a Republican candidate. Republican party in heavily blue states (like Massachusetts) more and more becomes a "puristic sect" of far-rightists, not the really "broad tent party" it generally was few decades ago. To be honest - parallel process is going in Democratic party in solidly red states (Utah, for example, and many southers states), where Democratic party becomes representative of only minority (religious in Utah case (mostly - non-Mormons), racial - in most of the South), not a "full spectrum" of people...

yep, this is correct. When you are in a state that has one dominating party and the other with a tiny minority party(like HI, or UT), the moderates, even if they lean to the minority party, will join the dominating party. This causes a cycle where the minority party becomes more and more extreme. When the South made the flip, the ones in control of the party were the reactionaries, which, now that they were given power, were able to enact their agenda. Its also the same reason that states like CT, WA, VT and NH have some of the most progressive D state senators and legislators, while states that have been D forever, like RI, and MA have a lot of moderates and conservative Dems.

So, TX, AL and OK will have considerable number of moderate Republicans in legislature soon?

[smoltchanov]

A lot of crazy talk here.

Does not matter, this seat is not flipping in 2018 on the congressional level even in your wildest dreams.

Especially with a well-known conservative Green as a Republican candidate. Republican party in heavily blue states (like Massachusetts) more and more becomes a "puristic sect" of far-rightists, not the really "broad tent party" it generally was few decades ago. To be honest - parallel process is going in Democratic party in solidly red states (Utah, for example, and many southers states), where Democratic party becomes representative of only minority (religious in Utah case (mostly - non-Mormons), racial - in most of the South), not a "full spectrum" of people...

yep, this is correct. When you are in a state that has one dominating party and the other with a tiny minority party(like HI, or UT), the moderates, even if they lean to the minority party, will join the dominating party. This causes a cycle where the minority party becomes more and more extreme. When the South made the flip, the ones in control of the party were the reactionaries, which, now that they were given power, were able to enact their agenda. Its also the same reason that states like CT, WA, VT and NH have some of the most progressive D state senators and legislators, while states that have been D forever, like RI, and MA have a lot of moderates and conservative Dems.

So, TX, AL and OK will have considerable number of moderate Republicans in legislature soon?

TX’s departed House Speaker was a moderate Republican who I believe had some Democratic support.

Straus? Yes on both points. But in general i would call  only about 10% of Republican state legislative caucus in Texas "a moderates" (read - "pragmatic conservatives"), especially - on social issues. Such persons, as consistenly liberal on most social issues Sarah Davis, still mostly stand alone..

We shall see. May be "big tent" will still be preserved in "one-party states". Heavily competitive states, with very developed 2-party systems (Wisconsin, Michigan and so on), became too ideologically polarized for my tastes..