Notes From D.R. | Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene

If Deval Patrick does win the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, I won’t be happy with the result, but I won’t assign blame either.

I will not blame Howie Carr, Mitt Romney or anyone else if Patrick emerges victorious. The only person who will be "responsible" for a Patrick victory will be Patrick himself.

When Patrick announced that he would run for Governor, it was my estimation that he was too liberal even by Massachusetts standards to win. I concluded that his alliance with ethically questionable corporations and his controversial 1994-1996 tenure as US Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights would be issues that would sink his campaign.

I still believe this to be the case…but if he does win, then my estimation was wrong, and I’ll have no problem acknowledging it.

I would advise other conservatives and Republicans in Massachusetts not to engage in the politics of blame in the event that Patrick wins. The last thing I want to see is conservatives and Republicans acting the same way the left did after the 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections–i.e., making excuse after excuse instead of simply acknowledging defeat. We’re better than that.

I believe that when the voters cast their ballots on Election Day, a majority of voters will, in fact, support Kerry Healey. If, however, they do not, I urge fellow conservatives and Republicans not to attack Romney, Carr, third-party candidates, or the voters. Assigning blame won’t change the result. Once the voters speak, we have to abide by what they say–which distinguishes us from the left.

Conservatives and Republicans in this state have to be unified. We literally cannot afford divisiveness. The left, already mocking us because of "unfavorable" polling data, will be rolling in the aisles if our response to a Patrick victory is to fight amongst ourselves. If Healey wins, let’s celebrate–but if Patrick wins, let’s acknowledge the result without blame, and move forward.

A Patrick victory would be bad enough for those of us who object to his political agenda. It would be even worse if we attacked each other in the wake of such a result.