Taking a cue from President Trump, Massachusetts Republican Party chief Jim Lyons slammed Democrats for “pushing a socialist agenda” and called the Democratic-controlled Legislature “corrupt” in a blistering attack on the opposition party.
“We stand for freedom and individual responsibility on the other hand you’ve got the Democratic Party who stands for a radical socialist agenda,” Lyons said in an interview on Boston Herald Radio’s “Battenfeld” show.
Lyons last month took over the helm of the state party, replacing the more moderate Kirsten Hughes, a close ally of Gov. Charlie Baker.
The former Andover state legislator is a staunch supporter of Trump, who has been harshly criticized by Baker and other moderates in the state party.
Lyons said U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic presidential candidates, as well as Democratic state lawmakers, have lurched so far to the left that they risk alienating independents and moderates.
“They are pushing a socialist agenda,” Lyons said. “Socialism is not a free society and yet that is what these people are pushing. They believe in control of what we do from the time we get up to the time we go home at night.”
Lyons also singled out House Speaker Robert DeLeo, saying he has rewarded allies with highly paid committee chairmanships while keeping the rest of the Democrats in the Legislature in tow.
“That Legislature is controlled from the top down,” Lyons said. “DeLeo rules with an iron fist and he cares only about his power structure. … Now he has all of this extra money to sprinkle around and tell people to do exactly as they’re told. It’s a disgrace.”
Democratic Party leaders fired back at Lyons on Tuesday, calling him a “hypocrite” who is “out of touch” with most Massachusetts voters.
“While he was in the State House, Lyons sought to strip critical protections from women, members of the LGBTQ community, and working families,” state Democratic chairman Gus Bickford said. “Now he is remaking the Massachusetts GOP in the model of Donald Trump, using fear-mongering and bigotry to achieve his partisan goals.”
Since he took over as chairman, Lyons has already taken the GOP on a more aggressive path, and says he will try to build the party by grassroots efforts and reaching out to independents.
After former Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld announced he was forming a presidential exploratory committee to take on Trump, Lyons blasted Weld, comparing him to Revolutionary War traitor Benedict Arnold.
“What does Bill Weld want to be?” Lyons said in the Herald Radio interview. “He’s a Libertarian one day, a supporter of Democrats another day. Why should any Republican take him serious?
“I think it’s time for Bill to recognize it’s time to get off the stage. As Dandy Don used to say, turn out the lights, Bill, the party’s over.”
