The Hiller Instinct: Election Wrap: Blue Massachusetts

But what if that's the only way the governor could win...because every winner here yesterday was a Democrat.

While America went red....Massachusetts stayed blue. And why is that?

"I, John Fitzgerald Kennedy…," JFK said at his inaugural in 1961.

History and tradition are the biggest reasons why we're as blue as we are...and it's not just JFK...it's former House Speaker Tip O'Neill, and former US Senator Ted Kennedy, all national symbols of Democratic liberals.

It’s enough to make veteran Democrats color blind:

"I want to dispel people of any of the mythology of Massachusetts. I think we are subject to the exact same cross-currents that were witnessed everywhere else in the country," Sen. John Kerry said.

Blue runs so deep in our political blood that, somehow, Republican Charlie Baker chose the house of blues for his election night celebration, which turned out to be just another Republican concession.

We do have some red running through our veins, though. There's the Red Sox, but they'll probably win another World Series before state politics are painted their color.

So, if you're a Democrat in Massachusetts today, the blue sky and blue water may look endless.

But if you're a Republican here, watching the nation-wide Republican tide, all you have is the red tide that closes beaches and makes you wonder if you'll ever go in the water again.

Massachusetts Republicans can still get some satisfaction from this election.

If you're feeling out of place here, think how all the Democrats the state is sending to the Republican-dominated Congress will feel when they get there.

I’m Andy Hiller, and that’s my instinct.

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