Reply #15: Kerry won, but Weld was no pushover.

[MallRat]

Those debates were really outstanding. Substantive, feisty, and there were a lot of them, if I recall. Two very intelligent people going at it, mano a mano.

Ultimately, Kerry's campaign was able to recast the election as a referendum about the national GOP and not Weld specifically. Kerry won re-election by something like 6-7 points... it was stunning how big the victory was. Soon after that, Weld resigned the governorship and had his political career completely dismantled by Jesse Helms.

In retrospect, Weld, on his own, was a pretty decent guy: fiscally moderate, socially progressive. But just as marijuana use can lead to use of stronger drugs, Weld became somewhat of a "gateway" candidate for the GOP in Massachusetts. Once he got into the governor's office, people started voting Republicans into office without thinking about whether they were truly "Weld Republicans."

Our current governor is a beneficiary of this slow and subtle drift. Romney is fiscally conservative and socially conservative- he would have been completely unelectable in Massachusetts 10 years ago. But no one bothers to check credentials or positions anymore, and the Democrats put up a very weak candidate to oppose him. Game, set, match.

-MR