requiem for a northeastern republican

Christopher Shays, Republican Congressman from Connecticut, was defeated.

Shays' fate was sealed largely by the sort of people he associates with. Republicans. Once upon a time, Republicans were in good odor in the Northeast. But as the Party of Lincoln slowly devolved to the Party of Reagan and, even worse, to become the Party of Helms and Gingrich and DeLay, the Party of Fox News and Torture, the Party of Scare Tactics, voters in the Northeast found it harder and harder to vote for Republicans, even decent ones like Christopher Shays.

So although I am delighted by Barack Obama's victory and by the Democrats' gains in the House and Senate, I am also a little disappointed at Shays' defeat and the extinction for now of moderate northeastern Republicans on the national level. But the GOP will have to change to become competitive in that part of the country again.