If there were any question that Franklin County has become a liberal enclave, it was largely erased in Tuesday’s Democratic presidential primary.
I think most Happy Valley denizens expected Bernie Sanders to do well against Hillary Clinton, but I’m not sure anyone, outside of the “true believers,” counted on such a decisive victory, which included a three-to-one beatdown in Greenfield.
Strong Bernie support in this area isn’t surprising given his populist message that has always been aimed squarely at low- to middle-income voters frustrated with a political system increasingly dominated by the super-rich. Clearly, that message resonated not just with Democrats, but also a lot of equally fed up unenrolled voters who ordinarily might never think of casting a ballot for an admitted octogenarian socialist.
I know, because I’m one of those who did.
I’m not usually in the habit of revealing how I vote — mainly because it’s no one’s business — but I freely admit that I cast a ballot for Sanders. I think it actually may have surprised some people at the polls when I pulled a Democratic ballot, among them my old high school soccer teammate John Dempsey, now a Montague Police detective, who was providing security at Hillcrest Elementary School that day. Although he didn’t know how I voted, John joked that he was going to post on Facebook what I was doing, but I knew he wouldn’t because he’s too much stand-up to dime me out, so I’ll save him the trouble.
I voted for Sanders not because I agree with all of his policy proposals, most of which would never get past this Congress. And I didn’t vote for him as a protest against the clown car of other “choices” made available to us. I voted for Bernie because he’s the only one in the race I truly believe is concerned about the little guy.
Every candidate talks about the need to protect the middle class and working families, the key word being “talks.” Sanders clearly means it, as evidenced by decades of consistent positions on such issues, even when they weren’t the most popular views in the room.
Based on the results outside of Massachusetts, not that many voters elsewhere agree with me. This leads me to wonder whether Bernie will stay in the race as an active candidate or if he is angling to have a larger role in shaping the party platform at the convention. Either way, his decision to run seems to have energized a somewhat dormant section of a Democratic base that will be crucial come November.
On the Republican side, if Donald Trump’s pursuit of the nomination is successful, the “grand old party” may wind up losing one of it’s most stalwart local voices.
“I’m seriously thinking about leaving and going unenrolled,” Greenfield Town Councilor Isaac Mass said. “I can’t believe what’s happened to my party.”
Mass is an unabashed supporter of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and who can blame him. There’s a reason Kasich finished second to Trump on Tuesday. From an experience and maturity standpoint, Kasich looks like a giant among pygmies compared to the opposition. Unfortunately, his poll numbers are also somewhat stunted. This means the best he can hope for at this point is a VP nod. This might actually be one of the smartest moves the party could hope to make in what’s looking like an increasingly bleak year.
What seems to be freaking mainstream Republicans like Mass out the most are the number of otherwise intelligent, politically rational people who seem to have caught “Trump Fever.”
“I’ve talked with several people I respect who are all voting for Trump, and they are all conservative independents,” Mass said. “They tend to be in law enforcement and labor and own small businesses.”
Independents apparently aren’t the only ones in The Donald’s camp. The Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office reports that close to 20,000 Democrats left the party in the weeks leading up to Super Tuesday, of which roughly 16,000 have switched their status to unenrolled, while the remainder have joined the GOP — an exodus that state officials say is unusually high, and is almost certainly because of Trump.
I sure hope those people know what they are doing, because I’ve yet to see much evidence that their candidate does, or will, if he ends up making it to the White House.
Chris Collins, who worked in local radio in a number of capacities, has observed political life in Franklin County for years. He also is a former staff reporter for The Recorder and a Greenfield native.