As his party debates the role of former President Donald Trump, Gov. Charlie Baker defended his brand of Republicanism Thursday, saying centrist viewpoints aid a state government dominated by Democrats.
"I still think here in the Commonwealth, which is where I spend my time, the Republican Party is an appropriate check for, lack of a better word, a one-party majority," Baker said on GBH's Boston Public Radio. Host Jim Braude had asked Baker about why he remains part of a conservative Republican party that is often at odds with his own moderate politics.
Baker said he hopes national leaders from both parties will temper their rhetoric and policies when more in-person meetings resume in Washington or when they come face-to-face with constituents back home.
"Let's hope that a lot of the folks in D.C. go home and actually have the ability to go out and talk to the people who live in their communities and find out that there's a lot more to the middle than you would think there is," Baker said.
Baker said having active Republican input in the legislative process generates "creative friction" that has improved initiatives like last year's police accountability law.
"Having two parties in Massachusetts engage in that conversation, in a variety of points of view, not only gave us a bill which many other states never did, but it gave us a good bill to solve a lot of very difficult and challenging problems that needed to be addressed and dealt with," Baker said about the police accountability law.
Asked about the state's reopening plans, the governor said the next phase of ending the pandemic will come in the form of surveillance and testing to make sure the virus isn't spreading in schools, nursing homes or other group settings when no one can be sure who is vaccinated and who is not.
"Surveillance is a really good way of continuing to determine whether or not, in fact, you have issues or problems and being able to act on those as quickly as you possibly can," Baker said.
Throughout the pandemic, Baker has often spoken about his experience having to maintain physical distance from his 92-year-old father and change from in-person visits to video and phone calls. Giving Charles Baker Sr. a hug, the governor said, was a highlight for him since his vaccination and the pair have resumed meeting in person.
"I actually took him out to lunch, which was pretty weird for both of us," Baker said of his father.
