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Charlie Baker angers conservatives with Planned Parenthood decision

The Boston Globe: Conservatives have bristled against Governor Charlie Baker’s pledge to replace Planned Parenthood funding with state dollars if Washington pulls its support for the program. But even the most disappointed do not expect Baker to face a primary challenge from the right next year.

Baker’s Planned Parenthood announcement last Friday has won plaudits from Democrats, the latest overture toward the center that has chilled the opposition across the aisle. But it has also irked those on his party’s right wing, long leery of the governor’s moderation. Grass-roots activists warn that Baker will not have their support if, as expected, he runs for reelection next year.

“Conservatives are not happy,” said Mary Lou Daxland, president of the Massachusetts Republican Assembly, which bills itself as “the Republican wing” of the state party. “It’s one more nail in Governor Baker’s coffin. I can tell you right now, the conservative base did not vote for him in [2010], he barely won in [2014], and he’s not going to win in [2018].”

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