‘Nanny State Rules’

Painting by Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)

“Most of Boston’s suburbs have been around for centuries, and they’ve been ingrained with a tolerance for the ‘nanny state’ rules and regulations, the zoning laws and the taxes, that make it possible for so many people to live in a rocky, marshy state that will probably never see cheap land again. It’s not really a surprise that candidates who thrive here don’t do so well in the sprawling suburbs of Georgia or Texas.’’

— Robert David Sullivan, senior editor of America magazine