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Title: 1990 Massachusetts gubernatorial election Post by: soniquemd21921 on June 30, 2013, 06:56:11 PM I thought Weld getting 70% of the vote in 1994 was remarkable, but this election is truly unique: Democrat Silber carried the reliably "blue-collar" Catholic areas like Fall River, Fitchburg and Holyoke, but Weld actually carried Cambridge, Amherst and Provincetown!
From what I gather, this was sort of a Goldwater/Johnson-type election where the Democratic candidate was too extreme for many so they switched to Weld. Title: Re: 1990 Massachusetts gubernatorial election Post by: tpfkaw on June 30, 2013, 07:05:32 PM Silber actually ran well to the right of Weld, which wasn't exactly unheard of in MA (see the 1978 gubernatorial and senatorial races, for example). He won all the yellow-dogs and white working-class SoCon towns, while Weld won all the wealthy or socially-liberal parts of the state (including Cambridge, which is insane*).
*The "People's Republic of Cambridge" makes San Francisco look conservative. The last three mayors IIRC have all been black lesbians. Title: Re: 1990 Massachusetts gubernatorial election Post by: RedSLC on June 30, 2013, 11:05:47 PM Indeed. Silber running to Weld's right cost him many normally democratic liberals, many of whom defected to Weld. Cambridge voting for Weld is probably the most obvious proof.
Here's some proof of how far to Weld's right Silber was. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Silber (I am aware this has been posted in another thread, BTW.) Quote In 2002, Silber ordered that Boston University Academy disband its gay-straight alliance, a student club that staged demonstrations to publicize the deleterious effects of homophobia. Silber dismissed the stated purpose of the club -- to serve as a support group for gay students and to promote tolerance and understanding between gay and straight students -- accusing the club of being a vehicle for "homosexual recruitment." Silber denounced the group for "evangelism" and "homosexual militancy" with the purpose of promoting gay sex. Title: Re: 1990 Massachusetts gubernatorial election Post by: Bandit3 the Worker on July 01, 2013, 12:46:36 AM Why did the Democrats even let Silber run as their candidate?
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