Tables covered in empty beer bottles and drink glasses at Liir’s Pub reflected the crushed hopes of the Massachusetts Republican Party Tuesday night.
Raucous cheers from a watching party of feminists a floor below infiltrated the silence that surrounded the Massachusetts Republicans as they watched John McCain concede the presidential race to President-elect Barack Obama.
Tears were shed, extra drinks were poured and McCain supporters held their faces in disbelief.
Suffolk University graduate student Krista Robinson summed up the feeling of the room after the concession.
‘I feel . . . dismal,’ Robinson said. ‘I am fearful of the future. The American people don’t know what they’ve gotten into. Voting was a flavor of the week for many, and now I fear the worst.’
While the election results came in, the attendees of the Massachusetts Republican Party expressed both anger and sadness at the direction of the election.
Massachusetts Republican State Commissioner Committee Chairman Peter Torkildsen said it was difficult to find good news on election night in such a liberal state, but the Massachusetts GOP does not plan on staying quiet.
‘It’s just the way it is in Massachusetts,’ Torkildsen said. ‘Tomorrow we will crunch the numbers and continue working on promoting two-party competition.’
Boston resident and software consultant Jay Johnson likened America’s vote for president to that of a spoiled child.
‘Over half of the country has just had a pathetic, immature, temper tantrum,’ Johnson said. ‘Spoiled voters chose by how it feels to cast their vote than what it will do and stamped their feet.’
Haverhill, Mass. delegate to the Republican convention Jack Roy said the election results both shocked and saddened him.
‘One party will rule the nation, and Americans will get what they deserve,’ Roy said. ‘The world is a dangerous place, so it is up to us as Americans to get behind Obama and appear united to the world.
‘It’s difficult to understand how we [Republicans] could not gain in any of the local legislative elections,’ he said.
Taurus Rachel, who recently moved from Florida to Massachusetts, said the success of Obama has shown elections have become like episodes of ‘American Idol.’
‘Now is a sad time when it’s not about accomplishments or what you’ve done,’ he said. ‘The MTV generation just got duped.’
Ellen Rooney, who is on the Republican State Committee and is executive director of the Beacon Hill Business Association, said the losses sustained by the GOP were not due to lack of effort.
‘We’ve been working so hard that I haven’t been able to think about what will happen tomorrow,’ Rooney said as she stared at the local results flashing out of the nearest television.
‘We’ll make our voices heard,’ she said. ‘Besides, now there is no one to blame but Democrats for problems. We aren’t the scapegoats anymore.’
Tom Meyer, a McCain volunteer from Quincy, said that he can only hope the future will not turn out as he sees it.
‘I really hope Obama turns out to be more than I think he is,’ Meyer said. ‘I really hope so.’
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these people are insane…. who are these people? really?
Wow! It’s okay for these people to feel “dismal” but it’s just ridiculous for them to question the motives of a clear majority of voters! This was not American Idol. Look back at video clips from 1960. This is the first time since JFK that people have felt so energized.
Its sad but not surprising to see how some people still think in the progressive state of Massachusetts. If voting was the flavor of the week and half of Americans were spoiled children, what do you call the choice that McCain made for his VP? He met her twice. She’s ignorant of the world outside her door. Now that’s picking the beauty err flavor of the week!