In the late 1980s, my small manufacturing business was on the brink of collapse. At the time, state policy allowed for nearly unlimited employers liability settlements, which were driving insurance premiums beyond my business’s ability to pay. Fortunately, in 1990, Massachusetts voters came to my business’s rescue and elected William Weld governor and enough conservative legislators to push a conservative, pro-business agenda that included an early rewrite of the state’s employer liability policies.

Why would one of the most progressive, liberal leaning states in the country elect a fiscally conservative, tax-cutting, pro-business governor? And why would the majority of voters continue for most of the next three decades to elect liberal legislators for their districts and fiscally responsible Republicans as governors?