The special election in Massachusetts is in the history books……state senator Brown has won a traditionally Dem seat, the one the late Ted Kennedy held for 45+ years and now it is in the hands of the GOP….
The analysis will be that it is an indictment of Obama and his policies…they will point to Christie and that other dude as the wave of the things to come in politics, especially the elections this Fall….
It is not an indictment at all….it will be because Coakley ran an atrocious campaign….she pissed away a 20+ percent lead in last than 2 months….it will be her arrogance, not ideology, that defeated her….why would I say such a thing…well Obama approval rating in Mass is at about 60%….Kerry’s approval is at 70+%….so Dems are still strong in Mass…it was nothing more than a anemic campaign strategy…The Dem brand in Mass is still as strong as it ever was….
To blame any defeat, especially in Mass on Obama is just plain stupid!…..Coakley is an idiot and her campaign staff are morons…..it is all that simple….the whole arrogance thing, that being that the seat was a gimme because she is a Dem was myopic……Just because a Dem was running for Teddy’s seat does not mean that it was a given…as the arrogant dicks have found out…..
A final note to Repubs….do NOT think that this is an embrace of the GOP ideals….because they have NO ideas…just opposition….this will be billed as a GREAT win for the GOP agenda…the only problem there is No one would watches politics is sure of what those ideals are……
The people of Mass. have spoken….
By (mid term) elections occasioned by death or resignation are LOCAL events.
Haven’t they all figured that out yet?
To answer your question Quin…nope….the TV pundits want to paint it as something more than it is…and your statement is a correct one……
I agree that Coakley ran an atrocious campaign, but I also think the election clearly revolved around national issues, and, at least in some respect, reflected dissatisfaction with Obama and America’s present direction.
The narratives coming from both candidates – in ads, speeches, etc. – were heavily focused on national issues like health care (it was Ted Kennedy’s seat, after all), bail outs and economic policy in general. Plus Obama himself came to Boston only a few days ago to give a major speech supporting Coakley.
So yeah, I think there was a rebuke to Obama, though not a death blow as some would claim.
Hi Clint and welcome back…..Obama’s approval in Mass is at about 60%, according to a recent poll……but the policies that he is pursuing are suspect to the voter…but I do not think it is from knowledge but rather hype….
Campaign incompetence may not be the only factor but it was likely a big one in Massachusetts. Let’s see how long it takes for Mass. voters to realize their mistake.
Probably about 4 years or so….even Glenn Beck is saying that this guy will need watching….
Something else is at work here. To take it from a European perspective, I would call this the real beginning of the Berlusconiazition of American politics.
Berlusconi is really a buffoon. But he’s also a pastiche politician, he stitches together all the other disaffected groups that don’t identify with any of the ruling ideologies: angry workers who feel abandoned by a Left with no new ideas, rightists who hate immigrants, corporatists who feel it’s their righ to own and run the state and for whom the right is both too obvious and too slow. This is also Scott Brown. I think he would have won no matter who ran against him. I think the celebrity politcs of Clinton, Bush and Obama was a prelude to this moment.
I will literally eat my shoe, a la Werner Herzog, if the Republicans don’t run this guy for president in the next election. For them the dream ticket might be Brown/Palin. Welcome to Italy. Next up, let’s have America vote for president through American Idol’s dial-in system. Ridiculous. And terrifying.
TOG
Well…. I have to agree with a lot of that, but your suggestion of the American Idol voting system is probably a good one because that’s all politicians almost everywhere are these days (and have been for a long time) – self interested celebrity seekers!
Lobotero’s right in something he says – take the politics out of politics and you might finally get something worthwhile!
Hiya TOG nice to hear from you again…..The Brown /Palin ticket is a no go for me…I do not think that Palin would settle for second spot again….Brown should scare people….why?…even Glenn Beck is afraid of hime….now that is scary to me….
Hello, great post. I look forward to your next article. Thanks, Jane