How would Dems explain loss of Kennedy's Mass. Senate seat?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
What once seemed unthinkable might just become reality: Democrats are in jeopardy of losing the Massachusetts Senate seat held by the late Ted Kennedy for almost five decades.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/01/19/art.t.kennedy.jpg caption="Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) lost his battle with cancer last year."]
It took just about a week for the Democratic candidate and state attorney general, Martha Coakley, to implode... Several polls released in the last few days show Coakley now trailing Republican Scott Brown - by as many as nine points. Coakley led Brown - who was unknown and underfunded - by more than 30 points back in November.
Advisers to President Obama say privately they believe Coakley will lose the special election... they've apparently grown increasingly pessimistic about her chances after a series of missteps.
Some analysts suggest that in some ways the Republicans have already won - by forcing the Democrats to invest the time and money in a race for Kennedy's old seat. The Democrats brought out their big guns in Massachusetts - including President Obama and former President Bill Clinton, but it may not be enough.
This being politics - you can bet the Democrats are already trying to figure out where to lay the blame for a potential loss. Chances are they would paint Coakley as a terrible candidate... who ran a poor campaign.
But it's clear The stakes couldn't be much higher: A defeat for the Democrats could destroy the president's attempts to push through his legislative agenda, especially health care. And - it would send a strong message to Democrats up for re-election around the country in November.
Here’s my question to you: How would Democrats explain a loss of Ted Kennedy's Massachusetts Senate seat?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Albert writes:
Jack, Massachusetts is an enlightened state with universal health care, gay marriage, a black governor and a white majority supporting Obama in 2008. Since then, Obama spoke out stupidly against the police in Cambridge, a city with a black lesbian mayor and a mouthy professor who disturbed the peace yelling "This is what happens to a black man in America." Well, if Ted’s seat is lost, it’s Obama getting slapped upside his head by the majority.
Wyatt from Gales Ferry, Connecticut writes:
I am from Connecticut and I cannot believe that Massachusetts, of all places, might rescue this country from the mistake it made in giving Democrats total and absolute control of government. Hell just might be freezing over tonight as pigs fly over Beantown.
Walt from New York writes:
Hello Jack. Just the thought of losing that particular seat, to a Republican, THIS Republican, is mind-boggling, and depressing. Yet here we are. I am certain that this election is sending chills down the spines (or lack thereof) of the incumbents. I am sure someone will come up with plausible reasons, but there really is only one reason: voter discontent.
M. writes:
I think the Democratic standard of "It's George Bush's fault" could work here. Somehow, some way, this must be George Bush's fault, right?
Pete from Hanson, Massachusetts writes:
I have to say Martha deserves to lose, with her negative campaign and her nonchalant attitude like she is the chosen one. I received at least 10 phone calls from her campaign – all bad, not one stating what she would do for Mass. She has a Democratic arrogance that I also see in Reid and Pelosi, something this country does not need more of. I voted for Brown to end universal health care.
Gary from Michigan writes:
The most specific way to explain a loss in Massachusetts would be to confess that their mascot is not really a donkey, but a jackass.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
Let the spin begin. The excuses will flow and ofcourse it would all be Coakleys fault, not the fault of the disaster they call health care. Even if Coakley manages to squeak out a win, the warning to the Democrats is clear...........we DON'T want the bill you are trying to force on us.
If Coakley wins the democrats will spin it that it is the public’s enthusiasm for heatlthcare and the rest of Obama's agenda. If Coakley loses the dems will spin it that she was a poor candidate and it had nothing to do with healthcare and the democratic agenda. The sad part is either way they will not admit to getting the message from the American public that we have had enough.
They will say that she was an inferior candidate. They will not accept the fact that the people are trying to send them a message. If they keep ignoring/dismissing the people who do not want this one-party health care bill, there are going to be more upsets. The people are fed up with congress passing bills they haven't read, deals done behind closed doors, and the defecit. Most of us believe the government induced the collapse of the economy by forcing banks to make loans to people who could not pay them back. Now, no jobs, no housing market - inflation on the horizon, and years of trying to pay this mess off!
She ....Nancy Pelosi....couldn't care less about the economic suffering, etc. the American people are under because she still gets her hair, nails, (and whatever else she does) and has no conscience about spending, spending, spending....instead of leading this great country out of the mire we have been put in. Smile, smile, smile Nancy.....that is all she is good at. Shop till you drop girl, and then you won't have to pay attention to the real happenings in this great country.
There is only one explanation, Jack: they screwed up big time.
Hoboken, NJ
As a foreigner, I would suggest that the Democrats are getting what they deserve. Candidate Obama promised acute change, and yet here he is shedding his duties now as President while he trots off to support his party's candidate. Every hour he wastes doing that is time he is neglecting to run the country. Change you can believe in, my ass.
I'm sure they will call it a case of a bad candidate. But it really is a referendum on bad Democratic policies along with a completely arrogant Democratic leadership that has lost touch with what's important to the averge American.
Democrats would say it just shows how mean and uninformed some people are and that they beleive people like Rush and what he makes up and not the facts. Maybe we need more Senators and Congress people like Jack Web who give us the facts and just the facts. They will say and push that all of us just do not have the facts.
They would probably say that Glen Beck poisoned the water supply in the Bay Area causing a lot of good Democrats' left brains to shut down and making them all helplessly veer to the right. That would certainly be better than having to admit that they have been trying to cram down a health care bill that most people don't want, doing it in secret, and using every payback scheme they could come up with to scrape together the bare minimum number of votes needed for passage - all without a Plan B.
Jack, Mass. is an enlightened state with universal health care, gay marriage, a Black governor and a White majority supporting Obama in 2008. Since then, Obama spoke out stupidly against the police in Cambridge, a city with a Black lesbian mayor and a mouthy professor who disturbed the peace yelling “This is what happens to a Black man in America.” Well, if Ted’s seat is lost, its Obama getting slapped upside his head by the majority.
There will be no explaining it and Ted's turning over in his grave at the thought it was his seat that halted progress into the 21st century. On the other hand, democrats apparently took a win for granted and thought they could throw anyone in the ring and win.
There are three very good reasons. First, the Democrats at the National level are not attending to our Energy issues. Second, the Democrats at the National level are not attending to our economic issues. Third, the Democrat running for that Massachussetts seat is not of the people. She enjoys the life of the elite, thus is out of step with what the people of Massachussetts actually need. The sad part is that whomever wins that seat, not much will come of it in terms of immediate relief from the political tom foolery at the national level.
I think people who are disallusioned with the democrats will want "change" to the Republicans, as when they wanted "change" to the democrats when the republicans fouled the economy. Back and forth it goes. They have forgotten that it was the republicans that ruined this economy. They just want "change".
Doris
Ojai, California
Wall Street, Financial Institutions, health insurance companies, drug companies are all throwing money and resources at Massachusetts to follow through on Republican Senator Demint's plan of stopping healthcare reform, hoping that defeat of reform might mean a middle class “Waterloo.”
Most likely they will say that republicans obstructed Cokaley and that cost her the election. That seems to be their standard operating procedure. They have a majority right now in both houses and have for a year yet they can not even agree among themselves what to do about healthcare or anything else except to spend money. They constantly claim republicans are obstructing them when they themselves are the biggest obstacle in Washington. The democrats have become their own worst enemy.
They would come up with some kind of lie, afterall they are politicians which is what they do best, lie and blame. It's too bad that the people in Mass can control the fate of millions of people in the area of health care, etc. Washington is not broken, the system is but all in all I would want to live in Haiti, Iraq, Iran, North Korea or any place else.
Jack,
Splain nothing!
Like everything else, the Democrats would shrug it off: It is no big deal (to them).
Then the party wigs would spin it, then spin it ...some more
In the end, they'd welcome and claim Brown as one of theirs!
I think you have already said it Jack, The Democratic Party would blame Coakly for the loss etc. In their mind, they assumed this special election would be a shoe in for the Democrats. But not everybody is to wild about this over priced socialist health care reform bill! Including the state of Massachusetts.
I honestly can only tell you what they WON'T say. They won't admit that if Brown wins, it is because this so called healthcare reform is not reform at all and the people know it, and the people are getting tired of being told "it's the best we can do!" I heard the same line from AARP when Bush handed the pharmaceutical companies their windfall. The Democrats, of which I am one, are sick. They're sick that the politicians, republicans and democrats and independents, cannot separate the almighty dollar, capitalism, from what should be open and free healthcare for all legal Americans.
Ahhhh...more people voted for him? What the hell?
Thom Richer
Negaunee, MI
Jack, this one is easy. The Democrats will do what they always do when they mess up. They'll blame Bush!
Jack,
Pure incompetence. They have had the majority and accomplished nothing. To all you Democrats out there, don't just blame Coakley, blame the man in the mirror.
Independent Joe (Mn)
They should explain that they are simply out of touch with reality.
As a Dem, I admit that both the Congressional Dems and the Dem President have once again failed the voters. GOP's promise of "no" is prevailing. Government is improving but they have forsaken all the promises for "hope" and "change" for the public. Government still is focused on war and huge corp interests; same as always.
They wouldn’t explain it, they’re too dishonest. The reason they will loose Kennedy’s seat to a radical right wingnut teabagger Republican lunatic who will kill passage of any healthcare bill, is because they are too self-centered, myopic and unethical to actually do the people’s work. They're so oblivious of their constituencies that they don’t see the resentment building up. That will not only cost rational people the Democratic filibuster proof majority, but will cost all of us, including the president, meaningful healthcare reform. Sen. Kennedy is crying in his grave.
I am not happy to see the Democrats being pounded by the republicans over an economy that they destroyed during Bush period. No body is telling them that President Obama is just barely one year in the office trying to fix the mess created by Bush and the republicans.
They should be made aware that the world is seeing a positive sign just within one year of President Obama in the office. The Democrats should ask them to compare the optimism in the world today to the pessimism of the people during the Bush period. Will they like to go back to the darkness of the republican administration or should they embrace the light in the tunnel brought by the Obama administration? The Democrats should arise and speak up. Let them not lie down for the republicans to match all over their body as they did during the Jimmy Carter's time. DEMOCRATS ARISE AND DEFEND THYSELF FROM THE INTELLECTUAL BANKRUPT REPUBLICANS. The world will be a better place. Long live Obama and his team. Long live USA.
Sam Hill
First of all, Jack, it's not "Ted Kennedy's Senate seat." It belongs to the people of Massachusetts. Secondly, the Democrats will try to explain their loss by blaming Coakley for not being a good candidate. They will say that Sen. Brown's election is not a referendum on health care, bailouts, spending, Cap and Trade, taxes etc but that is EXACTLY what it is! The people of Massachusetts (Massachusetts!!) are telling Obama, Pelosi, Reid and the Democrat controlled Congress ENOUGH! However, they turn a deaf ear to the American people but come November, they will be driven out of Congress and in 2012, Obama will be heading back to Chicago!!
They can spin it anyway they want and make all the excuses in the world, but we all know the truth. This is a clear message to the Democrats that the country does not like the change being forced upon us. The health care bill does not have the support of most Americans and this is the only way we can stop it.
The Kennedy legacy was laid to rest during Ted's funeral. Martha Coakley felt entited to this seat and did not campaign in the same fasion as someone like Scott Brown did. Martha went strickley negative at a time when people are fed up with Washington and the tactics that are so common there. Obama won selling us a bill of goods with promises he refuses to keep proving he is just more of the same. We never got the change and it is showing. Scott Brown went out more as an indipendent than a die hard republican. With MA being 50% indipendent it will play to his favor. Maybe now we can finally see the bipartisanship we so badly need.
Jack, it seems that Massachusetts voters have very short memories, and no desire for a working healthcare system, consumer protections, oversight of pollution in drinking water, and the list goes on. Ted Kennedy fought his whole life to make their lives better, yet they are swayed by a sports gaffe and more empty rhetoric from the right.
Well, well, the champion of Socialized Medicine, Ted Kennedy, passes away and the big hoopla for the Health Care Bill prsently in Congress is to name it after him? Imagine now that a Republican is elected to fill his seat! What a statement on all the time that Senator wasted, but still collected hundreds of thousands of dollars, while supposedly championing the care of the poor and needy of his constituency, and country. Maybe this will be a signal for all the Kennedys to just retire and fade away and quit collecting taxpayer money for their supposed saintly causes. Too much to hope for that President Obama or the other members of Congress will take the hint and shape up for the good of the people.
I thnik at loss in MA for the Democrats says a lot more about our country than it does for the Democrats. When you look at what Brown is for–water boarding, Wall Street, tax cuts for the rich, posing (almost nude) in a magazine years ago,etc.; and against health care for the uninsured and tax cuts for the middle class it reflects the mind set of many disillusioned people of this country. It is sad, scary, and disgusting! It is time for people to read, do research, and find out for themselves what is happening in our country, and not rely on being spoon-fed information. Of course this is the easy way out and we are becoming a lazy, uneducated society.
Simple: Candidate Obama, who promised change and open government, lied. We taxpayers noticed. Payback is hell.
The Democrats will blame the republicans for any reason they can scrape out of the gutter. We can only hope they will dig their hole a little deeper. I have never seen such a unconscionable group in Washington and this is my party affiliate. I am ashamed to say I voted for these hooligans! They are not about "by the people and for the people" This all about them. They have lost me! Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
There is no doubt that losing the seat of Senator Kennedy will hurt the democratic party. Especially when they need 60 votes to pass bills. Along with the fact that it has been held by Ted Kennedy for over 40 years. Who fought every day for a healthcare bill. I guess it is easy for Brown to boast that his vote will stop healthcare for everyone in the United States. When his state has Health Care coverage for everyone in it.
Bad Karma ! "Change is in the air?"
Real Reasons:
Voters are concerned that changes in Washington are being rushed and pushed through.
Voters have many concerns and questions on how this Massive Heathcare Reform will impact them. (Increased taxes on medical and less service)
Voters are fed up with behind closed door deals and bribes
Voters are concerned about the deficit and see lots of pork and wastefull spending. ( Example : Pelosi's trip to Coppenhagen)
The failure of politicians to realize that the economy and jobs are our number one priority.
Lastly: voters are sick of "know it all" totally arrogant politicians like Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi , Barbara Boxer, Maxine Watrers and a list of others I could provide on the other side of the isle..
Oh by the way:
Brown is a better candidate and ran a postive superlative campaign
Coakley ran a very negative campaign
Maybe you have already discussed this- but if this Health Care bill is so great why do Congressmen have a separate health plan for themselves? It should be law that whatever they want me to live under- they should be required to live under too.
The loss of the Senate seat in Massachusetts will mean the loss of National Health Care and the loss of the National Democratic Party.
I won't miss them much, I don't think they could find their ass with both hands and a flashlight. Anyone who couldn't shine like a diamond in a wildcats ass after George W. Bush/Cheney should be ashamed of themselves.Thanks
The Dems won't explain the loss. They will simply plod onward defying public sentiment and perpetuating all the faults they accused the Republicans of doing in the last administration.
What goes around comes around.
Ken, Downers Grove, Illinois
What the dems should consider is this: those folks up there in Mass. hated their State's Health Care Reform Bill before it got passed. Now 97% of them like it. Most of the country hated the idea of Medicare before the dems pushed it through. Now they scream holy murder if anybody even mentions taking it away from them. If Coakley loses, they should just have the house pass the Senate bill. Once people know what it's going to give them, they will like it - A LOT. No more 'lifetime caps' no more denial for 'pre-existing conditions' a guarantee that 85% of what you pay in will be paid out in health care costs? These are great things. Get it done.
Jack, first of all, they never have the needed 60 votes at least to get the healthcare bill passed; however, George bush had way far less votes, but got every thing he wanted.
Welcome back! People will make a statement here and vote Republican because so far,there has been no change nor transparency in this Administration. Too many campaign promises haven't been kept and the American people want change and will try the other side. Most Americans did not like this version of health care reform and will stop it passing. Obama just wants to get it – the American people want them to get it RIGHT.
Why should they need to explain it? The people vote, a party loses. Thats the way things work. No explanation needed.
Jack, hopefully they aren't smart enough to accept the real reason, which is they are losing support everywhere, because of their tax & spend agenda, and their increasing the deficit by 3 times. If they don't accept that, they will keep doing what they are doing, and really pay the price in November. That is how I pray it works out.
Dems can always blame global warming. Much as the polar bear cannot find a seat, so too for Martha Coakley.
This is all George Bush's fault.If he had only campained more in the state side by side with Brown,Coakley would have won by a landslide !!
Jack,
What's happening in Massachusetts is the continuation of an anti-incumbency movement that started in 2006, where the party of the sitting President will suffer the greater losses.
It is more pure reflex than a cognitive decision. Perhaps voter discontent can reignite a movement for both term limits and spending caps for all campaigns.Candidates can save money by adopting the universal slogan, " you'll be rid of me in 12 years, I promise". Now wouldn't that be refreshing.
No party nor any one family "owns" a US Senate seat. The Dems lackluster candidate and her low energy campaign may very well loose. If this was such a "must-win" race she should have worked harder and hired a sports adviser.
If Coakley loses it will be for two reasons. 1. She's an awful candidate. Sometimes it seems like she's never even lived in Massachusetts. 2. We are a knee-jerk reactionary society. Congress was far right, we didn't like it so we made it far left. Now we don't like that so we're going back to far right. This plan can't possibly fail.
Cause independant turn tea bagger
Jack I been a democratic for 50 years but am ashame to call myself a democratic there is no reason to feel pride these democratic are what we fought for years communist and trying to destroy our america Obama even killing people in haiti because he put the wrong person in charge the genera;s of are army could have made more helpful choices.Obama my be smart to you but he is a moron to the rest of us georgev c paree anderson.
We were promised Hope and Change and got Hype and Chump Change. That simple.
Easy. The Democrats promised change, but nothing has changed.
The health reform bill has been so watered down by special interests and Republicans who call themselves Democrats that it's almost meaningless even if it does pass. It has become a gift to insurance companies: the government will pay whatever premiums the insurance companies want to charge to cover poor people.
There's nothing in the bill that will lower costs or increase competition.
Congress doesn't even have the cojones to take away the insurance industry's antitrust exemption.
Now, the Republicans are even bigger corporatists than the Democrats, but at least they don't even pretend to be looking out for the interests of the average American.
She ran a lackluster campaign, nothing more, nothing less. She also made a huge mistake by assuming that because she is a Democrat, she'd be a shoo-in in Massachusetts. She's the one who'd have some explaining to do.
We were served by Ted Kennedy, we knew Ted Kennedy, Ted Kennedy was a friend of ours. Martha Coakley is no Ted Kennedy.
Win or lose the Democrats have lost the momentum they had just after the election. The President's noble attempts at bi-partisanship went on too long and allowed the Grand Old Slime Machine time to get going. Health care reform was doomed by the awesome power of the health care "industrialists" with pals like Senator Aetna, synthetic Democrats like Bayh of Indiana whose wife knocks down 2 mil a years as a "consultant" , and the host of opportunists floating around the Democratic side with their hands out. Last but not least are Poor Loser Maximus McCain and the Republican choir with music arranged by the Fox Nonsense news network. At least this guy Brown has a plan. He can make the deadlock in Congress a thing of beauty.
The Dems are continuing to be consumed and spit out by the GOP and related .orgs' fear mongoring machines. Forutnately for the GOP, there's enough airheads in this country that will buy into it. Perhaps it's a wake up call for the Dems to slime down to the GOP level.
The fact that the Coakley camp and the DNC initially ran a "cake walk" campaign certainly doesn't help the effort.
Todd
Taunton
Blame it on a weak candidate who took the win for granted.
Hi Jack –
I find this very similar in some respects to the James Buster Douglas upset of Mike Tyson in 1990. Mike Tyson, like Ted Kennedy both utterly dominated their opposition (Boxing and the Mass. Senatorial Chair) until their reign was over.
The Democrats in Massachusetts felt it was impossible for anyone other than a Democrat to land the role of senator ... it always goes to show that when you are in competition (whether sports or life), never underestimate the opponent, their skills to succeed and perseverence could change history.
I do not know if the Democrat or the Republican will win. I do hope that the Loser wishes the best to the Winner though ... this will be an important first step to win over the constituency in the future. If the Democrats do lose, and they are not honorable in defeat, it may be another 40 years before they hold this title again.
They have nobody to blame except themselves. As more and more Americans decrease their personal debt to sustainable levels they see their government doing and planning nothing that will bring the national debt under control. They see a government that can't pass true bank reform even after the lack of oversight that, in part, led to the current economic crisis. They see a congress that uses public monies to bribe its members to pass healthcare reform that isn't true reform but rather a gift to lobbyists.
Hi Jack,
Let's start with the zero transparency promised by President Obama, during his campaign. Then there's the health care disaster the Democrats are trying to ram down our collective throats, with secret, pay offs, for support and closed door sessions. There's always the $300 million Louisiana Purchase deal to Sen. Landreau (D), for her support or the Medicaid funds for perpetuity "Cornhusker Concession", to Sen. Nelson (D). The list goes on but we get the point. Obama did not bring any CHANGE we can live with. It's the SOS Jack.
This is an easy one. A Pretty-boy yelling tax cuts and appealing lies, aided by the usual sexism that makes it an uphill slog for any woman to get a high political position. The Romney-Healy ticket for governor of MA was a prime example of pretty candidates promising tax cuts, etc. The first time I saw them on TV I knew they would win. Ad to that the complacency of starting out way ahead in polls.
Most people don't vote wisely. When a fellow named Chet Atkins ran in MA you knew he would win, cuz people knew the name (-8 no matter that he was a worthy person.
Templeton MA
Explain it to who? Jack you have to get better at asking these questions.
If Democrats wanted to tell the truth, it would be because the people of Massachusetts thought the Republican candidate would better represent them.
I am bored to death with the blaming and fingerpointing and scoring points going on in Washington. The children in the House and Senate just want to play games and let the country go to pot. Democrats and Republicans alike are more interested in proving themselves right than solving problems, and I think Congress is just too far out of hand to accomplish that anytime soon. Democrats and Republicans switching places would accomplish nothing.
Jack,
democracy always boils down to one very simple fact : it is up to the person in front of you that shows up and talks to you to win your trust!
If this was not so important, I would laugh and think how the dems deserve to loose this one. Once again their cocky attitudes may cause them to loose one of the most crucial seats in the senate. Coakley is an idiot, and where did she learn to campaign? If the dems loose this one, they can put Coakley right beside Sarah Palin on the intelligence scale without the sizzle, and bend over and kiss healthcare for millions of Americans goodbye. How dumb can they be??!!
i believe they will explain it as bad republicans buying votes and conspiracy instead of facing the truth that voters don't want this health care bill as written.I am frankly surprised that Ted hasn't jumped out of his grave to choke pelosi and reid for their incompitance.
Pikeville, Kentucky – The Dems were a day late and a dollar short by assuming a Democrat Party win in Massachusetts just on the coat tails of Kennedy. They missed the fire raging around the country and did not anticipate it's influence in Massachusetts. You simply can not take things for granted. Every election is an all our war. The Dems were ambushed.
Should Scott Brown beat Martha Coakley, the Democrats will give the same explanation they give for anything they do not like or that does not go their way: Right-wing Republican perfidy. They will say the Republicans stole the election or played to anti-Obama racism or are in the pockets of entrenched interests that oppose reform, yadda, yadda, yadda. If she loses by fewer than 10 points, they will threaten to litigate and demand a recount. If she loses by fewer than 5 points, they will follow through to see if they can preserve their 60 votes the same way they secured them in Minnesota - in the courts rather than the voting booth. Barrington, Rhode Island
should read "all OUT war", not "all OUR war" Thanks!
If Coakley wins, it will be a huge victory. If she loses, it will be spun as no big deal.
Jack you never pick an early e-mail but I'm going to tell you what I think.
The Democrats have only themselves to blame. They have let the GOP and the cable news pundits keep them off track. When you let someone else define you, you loose.
The real damage will be done to the American people. The GOP is not for the working class and will destroy the rest of what country we still have!
I don't know that it would be an explaination they'd make, more like a concession and the begining of similar instances soon to follow.
BocaRaton Florida .... How will Democrats explain a loss of the Senate seat ...they can't ...To do so would be to understand the will of the people !
Jack, they would never say it, but the reason is an attack of mass sanity breaking out in MA.
Two reasons, Jack. First, apparantly, Ms. Coakley just assumed she would win the race because she is a democrat. As I understand it, she hasn't put a lot of effort into it. Second, President Obama has not been able to bring the economy out of the Bush recession. In fact, he had to spend all his political capital in staving off a depression, losing much of the Independent vote in the process.
Lack of voter turnout. Only an estimated 40 percent of registered Bay State voters showed for this election. A small number when you consider all the noise that's been generated. So if the Dems lose, one might assume that it took only about twenty percent of Mass voters to put Obama's health-care package in jeopardy. Sterling Greenwood/Aspen Free Press
With the obstructionists blocking everything on the books it;s easy to see how they paint the Democrats as failures.
I think the Dems blew it again, being too confident, about how things are really going out here for the working class or should I say; "non working class!" People realize this administration has had a very difficult transfer of office, and an almost impossible task of getting this economy out of the gutter where the previous party and administration made a total mess of this country. However, time is of the essence as people are losing their houses STILL because the banks are not cooperating, employment is ridiculous and numbers keep rising, seems no one is listening or really doing anything about it, taxes somehow are increasing for the people who are still hanging on to their jobs, infrastructures are STILL crumbling, manufacturing is STILL threatened by American companies insisting on out sourcing American workers, and credit card companies STILL making record profits by their "loan sharking practices," and WALLSTREET giving themselves record bonuses at tax payers expense. AND last, but not least people are getting VERY disturbed, frightened and nervous at what, exactly CONGRESS would be passing off onto the middle class with regard to the HEALTH CARE REFORM! We don't want the insurance companies getting an even BETTER UPPER HAND and twisting Americans around like a GUMBIE doll, MAKING it a LAW people HAVE TO pay for their own insurance plans, when people can't get insurance as it is, and IF they do, the insurance won't pay for anything anyway, and perhaps making things even WORSE by endorsing such a stupid plan int he first place! What we REALLY don't understand, is why anyone in their right minds, would want to vote for either party right now! BUT especially for the PREVIOUS PARTY, that got America in this spot in the first PLACE! She should have paid attention to this matter, and gave it a WHOLE lot more thought and careful consideration in her campaign program!
K.
Tacoma,WA
The Obama team will have difficulty explaining the loss of a senate seat that was held by Kennedy for so many years. (Note: I did not say Kennedy's seat because it is the people's seat.)
The answer to your question is easy. The day before the election the spin had started.
It was ALL Martha Coakley's fault. They already have rented another bus that she will be thrown under. Obama's other buses are presently full.
Obama was able to fool many with his great oratory skill. Unfortunately, voters finally woke up.
ALL of my MA relatives and friends voted today for Scott. If Martha wants to become an independent, I know she would be welcomed. We do not throw our people under a bus.
Phyllis
Formally of Malden and Danvers MA
Presently living in Philadelphia
The most specific way to explain a loss in Massachusetts would be to confess that their mascot is not really a donkey, but a jackass.
People want change and Teddy was the last hold. There will b change for the Rep. soon . McCain may have a problem in AZ.
Bottom line the majority elected Obama for no less than a four year tour..“A bad thing to do.” What ought to be the prize for doing that? Good things? I think not.. “So now no matter what or how you turn or twist it.” The prize for doing a bad thing is still bad things to come. When are people ever gonna learn. But.. But.. But nothing. What hopes..! What audacity!
Don't know Jack. But I do know that the citizens of MA should be ashamed of themselves for even "thinking of voting for a tea bagger" Where's the respect for Senator Kennedy? They sure mourned him, though. We are digging a very deep grave for ourselves as a people.
Hello Jack,
Just the thought of losing that particular seat, to a republican, THIS republican, is mind boggling, and depressing. Yet here we are.
I am certain that this election is sending chills down the spines (or lack there of) of the incumbents. I am sure someone will come up with plausible reasons, but there really is only 1 reason. Voter discontent.
What those politicians should do is this: Beg for forgiveness, ask for a second chance, and deliver, SOMETHING. Then maybe, they will survive the storm. None should.
The republican obstructionists and spineless greedy democrats should all hang their heads. There simply IS no reason, to offer, other than tremendous discontent of the people.
I for one, have never been SO discontent with my government.
They might explain it by saying they are sick and tired of LIBERALS like Ted Kennedy trying to TAX America to death!
Mark
OKC, OK
The Dems will, most likely, put the blame for this squarely at the foot of the president. They don't really support the guy anyway. in my opinion, the Dems just wanted Obama in office as a proxy. A Proxy that they are now going to scapegoat to save their own political skins.
The real issue here is that democratic voters have a nasty habit of not sticking to their guns. After Obama was elected, we all thought everything would be ok and we could "Go home now...".
Republicans, on the other hand make voting a priority.
Just like they have co-opted our game by using social networking to further their message, like President Obama did to get elected.
We have to co-opted their game and make sure to vote in mass.
No one can explain the American people. When people get mad they don't think clearly. They just get even. It will be no feather in the cap of "we the people" if the democrats loose. It will just be 4 more years of Bush/republican party in control. And if we haven't suffered enough we will after 4 more years of nothing but catering to corporate America.
I would use a fable:
Once upon a time there was a railroad. The train had run from Podunk to Bugscuffle for almost 50 years and the engineer had never had an accident. When he died they hired an engineer who was smart but arrogant. She fell asleep at the switch. The train went over a cliff. Moral: That's no way to run a railroad.
I do not know the answer to this question jack, but we the American people need to pass this much needed health care reform. It is in a desperate mode. By hook, or crook, we need to pass this much needed health care reform, here in USA! It is a mush for us to pass with public option.
What kind of "swiftboat" ads have Republicans been airing in Massachusetts? We know what has been done in the past when otherwise unexplainable political voting results occur.
Simple, they will say she ran a terrible campaign (which she did) and it has nothing at all to do with health care, 10% unemployment, higher taxes, soaring deficits or anything else put forward by a group of people that have never, NEVER worked a day in the private sector. People are hurting and the Scott Brown vote is there only chance, right now, to throw the bums out.
Jack,
I voted for Brown today primarily because we have had a version of universal health care in Massachusetts for over a year. Our family's health care has deteriorated during that time - long wait times, unable to see specialists, higher out of pocket costs, still crowded emergency rooms, and higher costs to tax payers. I don't want the same thing for the nation.
My second reason is that the President promised C-SPAN and then gave us "behind closed doors" instead.
My third reason is that Coakley is a poor candidate running a poor campaign.
I don't know who will win today, but if Brown gets more than 45% it will send a message to Washington that there are a lot of regular people that don't like what is happening there.
As an active voter from MA, I say:
1) In the past, I voted for Kennedy because of the power behind his name and his senority – Coakley has neither.
2) Our nation cannot afford to police the world and provide Obama's health care reform. And, since we are sending more troops to Afghanistan, health care must go by the wayside.
3) A democratic President and a democratic Congress is scary-I already pay enough taxes.
When us Democrats (That can't stick together) get down to 40 Senate Seats, maybe we can have as much power as the Republicans have over us now. We may soon get there, if we don't do a lot better. Thanks
They will say that it was a local race run badly, which is exactly how the Republicans explain similar losses. Both parties though miss the point, which is that the majority of Americans are moderate and want the county governed that way. Therefore they will turn out either party who tries to govern from the fringes all the while being frustrated that the only way they can get moderation is by switching parties out every few years and arranging split legislatures rather than actually having candidates who are truly aligned with them.
Jack:
Well if the seat was lost and I was "dems" they should explain that they screwed up. To continue and paraphrase a sixties song....
We'll stone you when you work behind closed doors,
Well stone you when we catch you with your..."smores"
Ah, but you should not feel so all alone,
Republicans do the same as they have shown.
And, that is how I feel, Jack!
This is Bush's fault
Not as a referendum for the obstructionist agenda of the right, but as a statement of frustration for the lack of coherent action from the left.
The only way it could be explained is arrogance and complacency both of which seemed to be in abundant supply up there. If Scott Brown wins, it's because he worked for it the old fashioned way; shook hands and connected with the voters.
Easy, the people don't care about the 40 million Americans without health care and have decided to punish the Democrats for trying to do the right thing. The public has never cared about the poor and it's about time the Democrats understant that fact of life. If they can't afford health care, then they should go without or beg on the street like they do in South American countries.
Mountain Home ID
this guy brown want even identify himself as a republican ,yet all he wants to do is stop health reform ,whats his proposal ? they the republicans want to make every thing a referendum on obama .we should not give in to the conservative right ring racist opinions , just because they are loud ! Ican't believe that hard working poor people don,t want to lower there health care cost or how we as nation can tolerate the intorable rush and sen mcain the later a sore bitter loser ,he 's no partisan and obstuctionist would be a better definition ,where are the real statesman in this country ? can we only count on Keith oberman ? is there anybody who can take up the mantra of ordinary americans ?
They'll blame it on Bush, of course.
If Brown wins, this will be a HUGE wake up call to all Democrats in the house and senate! Yes and including you Mr. President!!! The Democrats right now do not understand how they are signing their own pink slips.
I would say that it foreshadows what may happen next November–the political winds will change on Capitol Hill as the Democrats will lose many of their seats in the Senate and House. Republicans will score their points and show their rebound in national politics on a missed opportunity for the Democrats in Massachusetts to show their power still exists. Unfortunately, the Democrats there, have let us down in failing to preserve Ted Kennedy's seat. The loss would be certainly bad news for the president and his Democrats in Congress who would have all the more to worry about in this year's midterm elections. Let me prepare, in the meantime, to enter the Situation Room, which will tell me how I must abandon a party of losers.
Jack,
If the Democrats don't blame Martha Coakley, they'll blame the Republicans. Never mind that the Democrats are not listing to the American People. Never mind that a high percentage of American's are still unemployed. Never mind that the housing market is still in trouble.
I guess it would mean that the misinformed people were led blindly by a Republican that has posed naked.
Can you believe the Regligious right and the independants would vote for someone like hiim?
Come on Democrats don't let it happen, Ted Kennedy worked for you for many years.
The seat is being lost because obama and the dems have given us bailouts for the banks and wall street , increase defense spending, higher drug prices and subsidies for pharma and health insurance. The dem voters believed that if you had the presidency, the house, and the senate you would be able to get something you voted for, change. All we got was more excuses like "change takes time, democrats don't all think alike and the most arrogant of all leadership is not always doing what the voters want". So why vote for your self destruction.
How sad to see Obama's efforts to bring America's status in the world to a high they haven't realized in years by the loss of support to the greed of individuals/political opportunists and corporate lobbyists.
The loss of this great President will perpetuate the growth of America's poor.
Voters in Mass. voted to elect Obama in hope that he would change the system. Navigating through all the mess left by Mr. Bush, Obama is attempting to change the health system among many other pressing things , during some very trying time and he needs his majority votes in the House, but once again the people will "send a message". In electing a republican congressman because of endured frustration it's like shooting oneself in the foot for silly petty reasons. The Country has been tremendously damaged by the presence of the republicans for 8 years but the voters of Mass. are ready to give away the seat of a well respected man who fought so hard to better the system. I find this appalling, shocking, foolish, and very disrespectful towards Ted Kennedy, his family and the rest of the country who have suffered so much under the republican control ( loss of jobs, investments, sons and daughters, etc). What have you learned from the Bush era. Your political games will continue to grind at the foundation of this beautiful dream that America used to be. Here in Canada, we can only chuckle at your childish behavior but we also pray for God to continue to bless America despite this huge disappointment...
If Senator Ted Kennedy's seat is lost to a Republican; although this would be a "gut punch" for the dems to lose such a long held seat; they- the democrats will spend this as Martha Coakley not running the best campaign possible as was run by Senator Kennedy and other senior dems across the nation; that she was lulled into complacency in believing that no one in Massachusetts but a dem. could win. How naive. I am sickened to see this happen because this may be just the early 2010 wake up call for Dems and the nation. Jacque in Maryland
Going hard left was a colossal mistake and they should have played to the middle like promised during the campaign.
I would tell the American people that the Republicans are here to stop your affordable healthcare and I would hand it over to them and tell them to fix it. Everything happens for a reason and be careful what you wish for cause it could come back and bite you in the behind.
Jack,
The Democrats...as well as President Obama need to step back, clear their throats and say...hey...we get it. While we fought the noble battle to reform healthcare, the people are saying that we need to be more focused on jobs, the economy and the national debt...so...we hear you and starting tomorrow...that will be the primary focus of this Party
They wouldn't. Ms. Pelosi would declare "victory."
This was a warning shot across the bough of the Democratic mother-ship. The message?
Brazenly ignore the "little people" of the electorate...and we will collectively ignore the "little check-box" next to your name.
the only way to explain whats going on in mass is apathy on the part of dems we should not assume that people have accepted pres. obama these are the same folks who did'nt vote for him in the first place .lets not get complacent .
"They're already writing those excuses. They will have many, many, many...."
Simply fall back on their old excuse, "It's Bushes fault!' After all, you can't blame it Obama, he's only been spending like a wildman for one year. His "transperancy" is as opaque as a lump of coal. His bi-partisanship is "bye bye Republicans, we don't want or need your vote." The other excuse could be "It's Nancy and Harry's faults."
I think the (REP) paid a bunch to win that seat. Jack I about give up on AMERICA There are just too many crooks.
I'd say that the loss would be a effect of being ineffectual. The Dems had a chance to take this country in a completely different direction after the '08 election, but decided to tiptoe around the idea of change instead of acting on the immense political capital they had following the Republican Collapse. Instead of trying to be all things to mostly conservatives they should have tried being all things to the center left.
The answer is a combination of things. Obviously it is the fault of Coakley for not trying at firdt, and then messing up on top of that. It is media bias for asking such hard questions of her. Her local advisors allowed the Tea Baggers to distort her message. Moles in the Post Office stole absentee ballots. Massachusetts voters are short sighted about the issues. Lack of party loyalty.
What it is not is the fault of any federal politician. It is not the fault of dissatisfaction with national policies. It does not show any national trend against democrats or their policies. It will not affect the voting patterns of any current congressmen and will not change how politicians will run in November. It is meaningless on the national level. And the tooth fairy will convince Olympia Snow to take several billion dollars worth of earmarks as a total coincidence to her vote to pass the healthcare bill.
I think it is a combination of things,but first it shows the power of "good candidates". The Democratics did a better job of fielding good candidates in 2008, and so far I think the Republicans have learned something and have out-done the Democrats. However, certainly the anti-obamacare has fueled the whole conservative movement and Obama and the liberal democrats mistook the last election, which they will pay for through the 2010 election.
I guess the ol' saying goes"don't cast your pearls before swine" seems to ring true here
The party was overwrought with sorrow regarding Sen. Kennedy’s fight with cancer. As sad as it was and as cold and impersonal as it feels, the Democratic Party should have been working in the background, laying the foundation for this election day as soon as the Senator was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Apparently the party’s leaderships made a mistake in this respect. Regardless, I hope the good people of Massachusetts have sense enough to go out and vote for Coakley so we can get back to running the nation.
Rather simple Jack. How about the outright stupidity of the American voter who would rather have an expensive health insurance system that gouges them constantly instead of a chance at a single pay user system sometime in the future. Since the future of the US, due to ongoing fiscal lunacy, is in a state of probable deterioration, the voting patterns at any time remain an almost comical sidelight to your ongoing 'theatre of the absurd' !!!
all politicians need to wake up. Americans need to wake up. Left, Right, blue and red. vote out incumbents or the special interest will continue to govern our country. That's REAL; CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN!!
They would probably blame Bush. That seems to be their go-to
Easy 'nuff Jack: The usual GOP scare tactics: "Whatever is wrong (or you are scared about) is the Democrats fault." Truth is, when they get in office, they set the stage for disaster, then blame the Dems. Unfortunately, our electorate is generally not that well informed with the complex issues at hand, so they believe 'em. Easy enough, heh?
WHAT ELSE.....SPIN IT and Blame it on George Bush.....they do it all the time....even after a year out of office.....Never Fret...they "always conjur up a story to try and make them look ok ".....We just hope they get their Bureaucratic BUTTS kicked today....teach them a lesson ...that elections EVEN IN MASS...are not to be taken for granted...believe it or not...DEMS...."THE PEOPLE DECIDE THE ELECTIONS"....OH i know you thought the ACORN THUGS did...not any more.
I don't think the Democrats have to explain anything. The people of Mass have to explain why they would vote for a Republican. It amazes me that they have forgotten the 8 years of Bush and what he handed off to Obama. How could they give that shrub 8 years. I suppose because they have health care in Mass they don't give a damn about anybody else.
Perhaps the Democrats were so tied up behind closed doors, playing health care gods, that they didn't realize there was a special election going on in Massachusettes.
They would explain it the way that the local political pundits are explaining it. That Coakley ran a terrible campaign, and that she was a terrible candidate. That's not spin, but reality. Many of the national reporters have said that the voters they have interviewed have told them that they are voting against Coakley, rather than for Brown. The spin won't be coming from the Democrats, but from the Republicans who will try and make more of it than they should. Massachusetts already has a universal health insurance plan, and so its voters are not typical of the rest of the nation on that issue.
Obama's extreme socialist policies are alarming most of US(A). Coakley was also a weak person for most voters apart from real partisans. Coakley wasn't even campaigning, but was acting an elitist, treating voters w contempt by not even trying, just arrogantly expecting to become senator. Capuano may've been a better more electable campaigner, but no prob let moonbats blow off some toes. 😉
Rob, MA
Jack, Mass. is an enlightened state with universal health care, gay marriage, a Black governor and a White majority who supported Obama in 2008. Since then, Obama acted "stupidly" against the police in Cambridge, a city with a Black lesbian mayor and a mouthy professor who yelled at police who were trying to protect him. Well, if Ted’s seat is lost, its Obama getting slapped upside his head by a majority who he needs more than they need him.
The Dems will certainly point to Coakley ... anything to avoid looking into the mirror. They have ignored the American people on health care and have essentially wasted an entire year working on the issue. When the dust settles, after one year of controling both the executive and legislative branches, the Dems will be faced with the reality that they have accomplished nothing, and accomplishing nothing is not what the American people sent them to Washtington to do.
The loss is simple Massachusetts already has health care reform that covers nearly all of their citizens. So the message from them is is if you want health care like ours tuff luck .
Jack: If Brown gets more votes he wins that is how the Democrats explain it. But the votes have not been counted, yet. Polls can be wrong, but the Democrats need to get the House ready to vote on health care reform without going back to the senate. Health care reform really revolves around two phrases: "pre-existing conditions" and "canceling health insurance for no reason."
Easy! win some lose some. I have difficulty finding words to describe my dislike for the republicans. they are the most hateful, liars, and have no intention of ever doing anything that will help the American people.
Jack,
Maybe they were texting instead of keeping an eye on the road ahead.
Jim
Reno, Nevada
I'm sure that they will place the blame on someone other than the Democrats. Maybe they can blame George Bush, just like they blame him for all their problems.
They should say that Kennedy was elected all those times because he was a Kennedy, not because of his work in Congress. With the Kennedy, and Ethel _?Kennedy old money...and Ethel's family was far richer than Joseph Kennedy. That's all it took. But they won't say that.
They should say this is a new day, and he either ran a better race (not likely) or that the Dem candidate wasn't as forward-thinking as the voters wanted.
If it goes the way of the GOP, you will far more bleating and chest thumping from GOPs and Dems will be fairly quiet.
Maria
Brunswick,MD
Hard to tell but we can be sure they won't blame it on themselves, their attitude toward the desires of the majority of the American people, or their radical socialist agenda. I'm no fan of Republicans either but if Brown wins, I'll be singing "Ding dong the witch is dead".
They wouldn't. I live in a neighboring state and never heard of Coaxley until last week. I then received text messages from barack obama dot com asking to call voters there and endorse her. Nobody knows her, her constituency doesn't trust her, who thought to put her on the ticket? They should have chose John King, would have been a shoe in. 🙂
The bottom line is this, when coakley won in december in the democratic primary, she should have immediately start campaigning around massachusetts. But she disappeared while Brown continued meeting the people around the state. There is no excuse for her running a poor campaign. Kennedy always talked, shook hands and meet the people of that great state no matter how far he was in the polls. He never took for granted the voters in that state. Nothing is owed to you, you have to earn it and she thought she was a shoe-in. There is no excuse for her losing this race. She was up 31 points in December yet she is about to lose by double digits. This isn't a reflection on washington this is a reflection on her arrogance in thinking she is owed the seat.
One word Jack. Arrogance. The local politicians were arrogant and naive enough to believe that because Ted Kennedy held that seat that it would forever be a shoe-in for future Democrats. Obviously, the Massachusetts electorate is a lot more fickle. Ted is gone and no new Kennedy to fill in behind him – so as far as they are concerned it's time to move on.
The finger pointig is already in full swing, wonder who will be the first one to blame GB.
It is not Ted Kennedy's seat. it's not the Democrat's seat. it's the peoples seat, Jack.
But hey, don't ever let anyone tell you you're biased.
Jack, explain to who? Ted's not here, and the rest of you have had it explained to you by the media........
As always, they will say its not that important or that its a Republican conspiracy. And if the shoe was on the other foot, they Reblubicans would respond in kind. I am so tired of polictics.
No point explaining..basically the fear mongering and lies are what will cause health care to falter. I don't trust either side regardless, but the stupidity of people believing lies and false rhetoric is pathetic. Apparently people haven't learned jack since the bush years...
Mr. Brown's wide appeal is due to what we Americans see as rampant corruption in Washington. Holding secret meetings, having closed meetings with one Party alone is the exact opposite of the bipartisan transparency then-candidate Obama ran on. This is a nationwide referendum on corruption as well as the Democrats' insisting on ramming a health care "reform" bill down the throats of an American populace which overwhelmingly does NOT want it!!!
Jack, the vote in Massachusettes is a long overdue civics lesson for all Americans. All politics are local. Great coverage.
Jeff & Jen S. Ansonia, Ct
I would hope they wake up some time & don't take any seats for granted. They need to campaign as tough as the Republicans do. Taking the moral high ground doesn't work.
Why would they need to explain it. They think they are the elite and the people don't matter. They are so out of touch, any perception of surprise would be laughable.
I'm sure they'll say this happens to the incumbants party every time and that she was a weak candidate just like Corzine in New Jersey and Deeds in Virginia. They lost two major Gubernatorial elections last time and all they wanted to talk about was the district they won in New York in which Republicans split their ticket.
This White House, Senate Majority Leader, and Speaker of the House either live in a shell or just think they're that much smarter than everyone else. There's no way that they'll admit this has anything to do with Obama or his agenda but that's what it's entirely about. Last year at this time Coakley would've won by 30 points. What's different? The President. It's ironic that in an election just one year after Obama takes office an unknown candidate has a chance of winning Ted Kennedy's seat because he's running for change.
They must be look like: "What would Ted Kennedy do is this particular predicament?" "Would he throw in the towel?" Heck no! He would persevere until his mission was accomplished!!! The Democrats must think of how Ted Kennedy would do it and use his example to get the job done.
There is no doubt the loss would be blamed on George Bush. After all, Scott Brown was already alive when Obama took office so he inherited the problem.
This is an outrage! How dare Coakley walk in to this race thinking that it would be easy? Coakley needs to win this seat. It breaks my heart to see so many struggle with health care. Our country needs reform and if Brown wins, we will be back to allowing so many Americans suffer without coverage. We are the United Sates of America and we should not stand for poor health care coverage. How can we sit aside while our people suffer? We need Coakley not Brown!
Seth
Raleigh, N.C.
its interesting that the typical liberal wants universal health care as long as someone else pays the price. Not in their backyard! Because they already have it in Mass and dont want to pay for the rest of the Nation they will sell their souls. Was this not their biggest challenge? (Healthcare).
Of coarse they will say she was a terrible candidate – what they should be is looking at the tidal wave thats coming. When they robbed the bank and our pockets such as Pelosi, Obama and all the rest have done they did not stick to the two minute rool. Rather ,they went for everything at once and now the bank is surrounded. I'm so proud that all the liberals in Mass acted like true liberals with no backbone because they defeated one of the most socialist plans every put in place. I can't wait until they are all voted out.
I am sure they will tie Ms. Coakley to the tracks as they did the New Jersey Governor, instead of looking at the reality of how their agenda is so bad that even a state that is as far liberal democratic will vote in a Republican to save the country from this open checkbook spending on all the wrong stuff. Cut taxes, reduce the handouts, and please stop this mess they are calling health care reform, it is nothing more than another way to tax the public.
Jack, The reason liberal Massachusetts has turned against the Democrat has to do with the economy and especially health care. Americans simply do not like the corrupt bargains being struck in the healthcare arena. Kicking our economy into gear is much more important that health care reform.
She is not going to lose today
A person that is elected to represent the people of a state, and this person is not corrupt, in any way, and has every intention to represent the people of their state.
They will eventually become just as corrupt as all the others, because every man every woman has their price.
Special interest groups and their lobbyists know that. So lobbyists do a lot of back scratching to get what they want.
The old saying, if you scratch my back, I will scratch yours, and the people on the Hill do a lot of scratching.
There is only one solution to this problem regulate and control, special-interest lobbyists and revise ethic laws.
(And the ethics laws revised by the American people, and with the help of the Supreme Court,) Not by Congress or Senate!!
New Mexico
It is a new day. They should stop insisting that a Democrat take the seat to honor Sen. Kennedy. The Democrats should realize that the people are tired of not being heard by the people they put in office to do just that. The Democratic Party is now being looked at as the party of arrogance and they have nobody to blame but themselves when Mr. Brown takes his seat in Congress.
If the Democrats believe in justice, they would realize that this is the penalty for leaving the world with the impression that they in fact do not stand for "change you can believe in". Every hour that President Obama wastes electioneering in Massachusetts is an hour that he is shirking his duties as President of the USA. Ditto for the secret health care reform "negotiations" with only friends of the Democrats invited. Such glaring conflicts of interest have come back to harm the Democrats today.
Jack, If they do lose it, they'll just "song & dance" for each one's air time, then blame Coakley for everything short of 9/11. With as mad and disillusioned as voters are right now (see polls), every current politician in the country is busy trying to get reelected themselves and are not going to be too worried about someone else's butt. Same-old, same-old. Layne A. Antioch, Il.
I can’t predict an official explanation, but what I see is the right wing controls the messaging. They scream, are obnoxious, harassing, and just plain ugly, as we say here in the South, which attracts reporters and cameramen like moths to light. News morphed into infotainment with the secret hope of conflict thrown in for good measure. It must pay well; it’s replacing journalism at an alarming rate.
Democrats would love to lay the blame on Sarah Palin resigning as the Gov. of Alaska, or maybe they could blame Republicans for not voting for the Democratic candidate. Either way you spin it, the loss would not be the fault of Democrats. The sad thing is that I am a Democrat saying this from another state.
I think the Democratic standard of "it's George Bush's fault" could work here. Somehow, some way, this must be George Bush's fault, right?
The media has confused the public so much that people are scared of voting in their own best interest. The GOP wants power for power sake, and they have repeatedly demonstrated that they don't intend to help the American people by smart reform. They have convinced the media and voters that inaction in the best policy on health care and people are silly enough to believe them. The people of Mass. might elect the Republican, and all they will get is the Republican CAN'T DO ATTITUDE, and more fear mongering. I sincerely hope enough people are brighter than that.
Have'nt you noticed Ted Kennedy is dead, its awhole new ball game, its the peoples seat and they will speak.
If healthcare dies today then so should the Republican Party traitors to the average American people. Until I draw my last breath I will fight to thwart the unholy greed of the fat cat bastards. We only want to live like human beings equal and free helping our brothers and sisters who are less fortunate than us as all ...good human beings should. We should not suffer the fools and puppets of big business any longer.See More
Why do the Dem's have to explain a loss? As much strategy as they place in the elections, sometimes it comes down to dumb luck.
There is but one explanation: "we screwed up, but we're gonna change"
Scottsdale, AZ
Stop sounding the alarm and whats the big deal Jack, this is what happens to EVERY sitting Party in an off election year. We're all acting as if this is something new.
Maybe " Democrats in Massachusetts don't care for the health care bill"? Duh . . . .
Jack, being a member of the Democratic party myself I think we need to look at a loss as a wake up call. We as a party need to buckle down and work hard to win big this November, especially if we lose tonight.
The Democrats will do just as you stated, Jack. They'll blame the candidate and the campaign. But they'll do more. They will continue to blame the Bush years for lingering malaise in Massachusetts. Ignorance and arrogance is a fatal combination.
How to explain a Coakley loss? Blame it on BUSH, what else??!!
They would blame Bush.... It has been at least a year since Bush... they need a new campaign message.
Jack- The only loss that's going to happen is that the people will no longer believe the pollsters when they name a leader in the polls. We will lose our trust in polls tomorrow.
I am from Connecticut and I cannot believe that Massachusetts, of all places, might rescue this country from the mistake it made in giving Democrats total and absolute control of government. Hell just might be freezing over tonight as pigs fly over Beantown.
Wyatt K.
Gales Ferry, CT
Jack: It is the people's seat #1. Kennedy kept it warm for far too long. #2 Have you seen the polls of what the people DO NOT want? So why are you and the left trying to promote pushing the agenda no one wants? The DEMS are too arogant after the last election, like the REPUBLICANS were. Let's see who has the audacity to listen to the voters and do THEIR business.
First and foremost, it's NOT Kennedy's seat...the seat belongs to the people of Massachusetts. I'm a staunch liberal, but if the people don't feel a democrat would work for them in the ways they need him/her to, they have the right to vote someone else in. Yes, it would be bad for the democrats and the President if Coakley doesn't win, but the people employ the person who sits in that seat. They will choose the right employee.
Jack, what a silly question. It's Bush's fault of course.
No matter what their excuse, Democrats can't blame anyone but themselves. By ignoring their base, they stifle turnout and in their own strongholds. The Democrats haven't proven the can lead. As a Democrat (I say that hesitantly, now) I would venture to say they've failed.
How would Dems explain loss of Kennedy's Mass. Senate seat?
They'll blame it on the 'previous administration.'
Progressive change has always came with resistance in the United States. Sometimes legislators have to go against the stream to support what is right, not what is popular. It is right to pass healthcare reform but it may not be popular with some people. The Democrats are standing on principles, not public opinion polls.
It's a clear case of political instability brought on by climate change, Jack, don't you think??
Easy; they will blame Hillary Clinton for losing to Obama in the primaries.
How sad for a state with healthcare not to allow the rest of the country the same benefit...they will blame the media....it is the thing to do..
Vancouver Island
Canada
Maybe they could explain it this way Jack, the American people arent the dumb sheep Obama thought they were. Change has come to America, AGAIN!
How would I explain an election of a Republican?
Too many anencephalics in the US!
Blame it on Bush. Why change tactics now.
The dems have nothing to say, but hopefully take off the blinds and learn from this lesson.
I don't CARE how they explain it. The corruption in Washington has
got to stop! The voters' only alternative is to use their vote to tell
our representatives how we feel, and the people are speaking. This
is the first of a long line of disappointments for the Democrats.
The only answer is to go back to a strong feeling of patriotism in
America, where people are not PAID, only REIMBURSED for their
service to the country.
How will the Democrats explain Coakley's loss? Simple: like everything else, it's George Bush's fault.
they would do what they always do, when in dought, they blame BUSH
In order to recoup and gear up for the upcoming midterm elections, democrats will have to denounce partisan rhetoric. Brown's success is based on his ability to tap into public discontent in the Massachusetts government as well as his vocalization of conservative talking points–scrap heath care, less big government, etc... Bipartisanship in Massachusetts and in Washington is necessary to avoid the problems of corruption that have plagued the Massachusetts state government during its long period of one-party rule.
Stuttering...sputtering....and spinning like cotton candy!
If Brown wins it will show just how forgetful so many people are in the us...that said the crank machine will have won...stuck in the dead of winter and spring will not be in the near future
Unreal..how stupid people are
They fully expected things to change in ONE year!!!! Look what the republican have done to help you the past year
NOtHING and they are sending a rep that ran on ...I will vote NO
Stupid people....look at his record
I GIVE UP already
See PBS/NOW shows look at the truth as to what is happening
SICK at heart for the country
Cottage Grove, MN
The Democrats will use the loss of the seat as an excuse to make more cutbacks in the Healthcare Bill until it benefits only the insurance companies and becomes, in effect, just another stimulus package.
How would I explain it? How would I explain Sarah Palin? I believe we're going back to the Know Nothings. It's not a good time to be a Democrat, but it's also not a good time to be educated, to have ideas, or to promise change. The general public wanted change yesterday, and thought it would come immediately. No one remembered the state of the country LAST January, so the attention span is about as long as the amount of time people are willing to wait for the hard work to show results.
The Democrats will probably still not get it - but it's about this - they're not listening to the American people. They are shoving their socialist agenda down our throats and spending our great grandchildrens' fortunes. Enough is enough. It's not going to stop here. Harry Reid will be defeated in Nevada. Possibly Barbara Boxer in California. The American people will only be pushed and ignored so far. We no longer feel we have representation. No longer feel we have a voice. We are taking back our country.
Its simple, Jack. They'll blame it on George Bush. Its the only thing the Dems know how to do.
Rather than admit that the majority of Americans are opposed to the health plan, were opposed to bailouts, tax increases, etc., they will blame the loss on anything ( but probably on the weather) to avoid the truth. The American people, apparently, are not worthy of the truth, just spin.
I don't understand why people are so ignorant as to why the Obama Administration has been unable to move forward with its agenda. It's simple, folks: greed. They've all been bought-off—especially the "Republicans," and it's a nasty mix of the Republican Spin Factory and the mainstream media that have brainwashed people into thinking that America's recovery was going to be immediate and miraculous.
Jack, This is Appalling. Do These "GROWN UPS" really THINK that Change Comes in "A Minute"............ Kennedy should be turning over in his GRAVE.
Since Obama has been in office he has blamed Bush foreverything so I guess he would be trying to find someway to blameBush again.
Roland
Overconfidence, Jack. Democrats got too comfortable with the notion that no Republican could get this far ahead this quickly. If this is any hint of things to come, I don't expect the health care bill to pass at all.
If the Democrats loose the Senate seat, guess they will just have to blame George W. Bush since they blame him for everything else!
Jack you're inherently paranoid of late. You're peddling false fear and everything about Obama almost everyday.
It's really very simple, Jack. Our undereducated electorate bounces back and forth between one party and another looking for solutions to their problems. Sort of like a man who is unhappy at home and then feels guilty about being with his mistress.....
Coakley ran a lousy campaign, the other guy didn't. And not to forget, he's got great hair!
Jack,
I am a lifelong Democrat and I am so ashamed of the Democratic Party right now. My party has turned complacent and arrogant. Martha Coakley should be ashamed of her poor campaign and lack of planning. Now, we all pay for it.
The republicans trying for a "Waterloooooo" with their saying NO NO NO NO NO had our public option removed, so the dems will take the blame
The same way the they have been treating the majoriy of the american people on a number or issues. IGNORE IT !!
The shame is not in the winner or loser the shame is that America has let politics come down to we against them with no regard to the issues or the people. Neither party deserves to win but we the people are not to bright because we only vote "our" party. Time to NOT vote for any incumbent or Democrat or Republican until they start representing the people. Really how can any issue get all Democrat or Republican votes unless some vote their party ONLY because it their party regardless of the issue. Shame on American voters.
If you look at the governors races in n.j. and va. and the republican in n.y. state whose seat was held by the GOP for 100 plus years, this year is not the year of the republicans . It is the year of throwing out the Incumbents as was the case of the above 3. This will be the largest turnout of incumbents in history.
why do you keep calling it kennendy's seat ? it is the people's seat.
The Dems in Mass. continue to have an abundance of stupidity.
This is sickening.Republicans complain about things not moving fast enough in Washington and then they turn right around and the Republicans are saying things are moving way to fast and Washington should slow down. The people of Mass. are cutting off their noses to spite their faces and the big loser will be the people of the United States. Thanks for nothing. Doesn't even make sense to vote any more. We voted them out and they are still running the show. Stinks to be in America right now.
They must say, "This is change we now can believe in'
As a Democrat, I have been thorough disgusted with the payoffs, bribes, lack of Senior Citizen concern, lack of transparency, deceit and just plain old bad behavior by my party.
I hope Brown wins to show us just how important we voters are and for the Obama Administration to clean up their act. I am sure the Democrats know very well that their behavior has been deplorable and I am sure they can explain Brown's victory by being honest with the public and reverse all the bad things they are and inted to do.
As always the Dems will blame BUSH for the loss !!
I don't know how they would explain it, but here's how I would explain it. Republicans love to win. They stick together even behind the weakest candidates. Democrats are weak and buckle at the first sign of pressure.
Isn't it amazing that the American people were so patient for 8 years while we were all going down and now they are so impatient for solutions. The economy will come back but not tomorrow. Frustrating yes but no way to do it tomorrow.
Jack...I don't know how the Dems would explain it, but I would lay the blame at the feet of the Independents who will have shown how short sighted and impatient they are. Obabma has had barely a year to effect change and after the 8 years of the Bush mess, it's going to take longer than that to fix it. How soon they forget.
Explain what? Ted Kennedy served for over 30 years. Maybe the people just want a change. Nothing to explain.
Democrats should have known that Massachusetts would never elect a senator with that little knowledge about the Red Sox.
Blame Martha Coakley for not knowing the difference between a Yankee fan and a Red Sox fan. That's how picky it's gonna get.
If they are honest (good luck) they will admit that the flawed socialist policy direction of the administration has not been lost on Republicans, Conservatives, moderate Democrats, Independents and the Tea Party. This is why elections are going the way of the Republicans lately. It's not because of Oakleys bad campaign. That's a real bad and pathetic excuse. Massachusetts knows failed health care programs when they see it. They have one. They have also created a candidatge who may very well be in the White House in 2012 along with Sarah Palin.
They'll blame it on Bush.
There are several things which are to blame. First, there has been too much emphasis on health care reform and not enough on the economy.....our fault. Second, Democrat voters behave like bad football fans when the going gets rough. They tend to be "fair weather friends" and cheer only when the team is "winning"....our fault. I can't think of anything positive to say about the GOP except that they have a sense of loyalty. We need some of that.
Jack, can't we count the votes first?
Just tell the truth, that Americans have very short memories if they have already forgotten what the Kennedys have done for MA and the rest of the country. If they can't honor his memory to keep a Democrat in office to assure the passage of health care, then they deserve what they get.
They would explain it like they explain everything else-Blame Bush....
I agree that the Democrats & Obama are real disappointments, but who in their right mind would think that the Republicans will be more responsive to the needs of middle America? They're more protective of the financial status quo that got us into this mess. I keep wondering why average Republican keep getting hoodwinked into voting against their own self-interests.
Jack, there is no explanation necessary to this voter. People in my state are suffering just like the rest of the country and far too many of us believe what the Republican candidate is promising. Of course, he will never come thru on those promises of "more jobs" & lower taxes" but far too many Democrats & Independant voters believe him.
I, for one, really do not believe that it really matters anyway since the poor will remain poor, the rich will reamin rich & the working, middle-class will, as usual, pay for everything.
Their explanation will be we (the democrats) didn't fix the economy first.
There is no explaining it. This loss will fall totally in M. Coakley's lap. I can't believe attention was not paid to the way she was running (or not running) her campaign until it was too late to revive it. I am a die hard Democrat, never voting Republican, but as lack luster as Coakley is, my vote would have been a toss up this time around.
Not in the history of this republic has a country given a president less than a year to achieve an agenda, especially when inheriting a a
monumental mess. Could it be electing a black president was just
a momental feel good for the country, with no intentions of giving him the help and cooperation he would need to succeed? It sure looks that way!
Jack the People do not realize, that the country had been going down for over 8 yrs. How in the world can any President solve all problems with INSTANT COFFEE. It's like putting a bandaid in an amputated limb. I am sorry for America, not long ago the people were crying that the Republicans were not doing anything, a year later, the
Democrats have not solve all the problems that has besiege the country.. so then they go back to the Republican whose biggest help since Obama became is to deny all ways to help the country. Is the country this Blind?
You said it,Jack. Poor canidate,poor campaign. But the Republicans made this mess over 8 years. Obama is trying to fix it and the citizens of Massachusets owe it to the Memory of Ted Kennedy after 46 years of service to them Not to ruin healthcare for the entire country
Pelosi and Reid started the down hill slid by not prosecuting Bush and Cheney for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
If the Democrats lose Kennedy's seat, then the blame goes all the way to the top – President Barack Obama. How could the President not have been on top of this? Isn't it ironic . . . Ted Kennedy's endorsement made it possible for Obama to become the first Black president and President Obama made it possible for Massachusetts to lose Ted Kennedy's seat in the US Senate. I am a Democrat and I am so disappointed.
Jack its simple: Martha Coakley, martha coakley, martha coakley. She felt it would be a slam dunk, Ran nothing but negative, out of date ads and as zero personality. The real kicker came when she called Curt Schilling a Yankee fan.
I think it's time for a BIG CHANGE,give REPUCLICANS a chance 47 years please that is not fair to the people.Iam praying for Massachussets Iam 37 years old and Iam thinking that's a long time for one part to be in power.
The same excuse they've used for everything else - BLAME IT ON BUSH!
The short answer to your question is that we despise Communists.
The Obama Administration has mangled the health care reform debate the way Bush mangled the Iraq war. They got snookered by the obviously manipulated Tea Party last summer, and had no answer to that onslaught. Who's to blame for the fiasco in Massachusetts and the coming defeats in 2010? How about Tim Kaine – the supposed strategic leader of the Democratic Party. Heads should roll.
Simple. The people aren't giving the Dems Carte Blanche, anymore.
Does it really matter how they explain it? This country is on its last leg anyway. All the Republicians know how to do is steal from everyone to give to their rich friends, and the Democrates are so incompitant they couldn't run a flea circus.
The usual finger pointing, etc, etc..I'm sick of repubs, democrats, liberals, etc..when will the sheep wake up and see that none of these "politicians" are for the people and only for themselves? Seriously, people need to wake up and stop listening to the double tounged dialect.
Republicans to pick and chose what issue that everyone would be talking about, they forced the Democrats to caved in on health-care when they abandoned a single payer health-care plan, they allowed the Republicans to focus the whole health-care debate on trivial things to make people afraid, than at every turn they stopped them cold by saying that the very things that the Republicans did to the American People the Democrats did too, when they clearly did not.
So basically the Republicans used fear-monger to run the Democrats into the ground, the Democrats never took the point on anything, they were running scared during the whole year, they were afraid to make hard choices, afraid to challenge themselves! All the Republicans had to do was say no to everything!
I believe this election upset in Mass. is a result of the disillusionment the people feel toward BOTH parties. Of course, the party in power has to pay the penalty this time around.
When are the members of the House and the Senate going to wake up and smell the coffee? They are supposed to represent us, not special interest groups. My husband says we desperately need term limits and I say we need campaign reform. A few more political parties might help to break the power of the lobbyists by diluting their influence. Our political system isn't working in this very critical time in our history.
The people of this country think by changing mates, they will solve all their problems... Let them get the Republicans again, they don't give a darn about the people, only their pockets.... Depending who is our God at this time, may she or He help this country!!!!
Jack,
The Democrats would be the last people I would ask. They have demonstrated little more than a stunning lack of wisdom, gross incompetence and self-congratulatory hubris since winning the White House in 2008.
The person I'd ask would be Jimmy Breslin, who wrote several books about incompetence – political and otherwise. At they had genuine humor.
The wisdom and leadership we so sorely needed after Bush-Cheney is now a fading dream.
If the Republican ( Party of No ) candidate wins it just shows that you can not outlaw stupid. The people of Mass. have universal health care. They don't care about the rest of us poor slobs who pay out 1/3 or more of our income for health ins. They have it. They ( like most spoild brats) just want to make a statement and get attention. To Hell with the rest of us.
Why should people in Massachusetts have any interest in universal health care? They themselves are for the most part insured. Putting a Republican in office may ruin it for the rest of us ... but clearly the well-being of their fellow Americans is not a priority. Selfish bastards ... that what it boils down to.
It is simple
transparancy was never there and neither were the JOBS
its no ones fault but the government.
Honestly Jack, what do people expect the white house to accomplish when these neanderthal republicans say no all the damn time! After one year people already want the republican agenda, which has led this country down the drain.If anything I wouldn't mind seeing an independent or someone different than a repubican take that seat. If this clown wins I pledge that I will never vote again because politicians just don't get it anymore.
The Democrats would explain their loss exactly as the Republicans would: By blaming each other. Seems that's the only thing either party's good at.
Once upon a time..... the press was absolutely, positively sure, that DEWEY had beaten TRUMAN....... and the papers printed "DEWEY WINS!"
Why not allow the people of Massachusetts to go to the polls, the only poll that really matters?!
Her opponent must be a closet Democrat.
Its a lesson that people can't be taken for granted. We can't give the enemy fodder and might is not always in right.
Americans were promised "change" from Obama. He alone could not achieve it by himself but he did wind up with a Democratic congress and still no change. AMERICANS are finally catching on and we will see it tonight in Mass. Come Nov. I would place a bet that every incumbent, Dem or Rep. will be voted out of office.
There is no reason to explain the loss when the Republicans will be explaining their win and nothing else.
She is no Ted Kennedy.
I see a loss in Mass. today as a vote against Health Care Reform. As
an ICU nurse, I don't understand it. The working taxpayer is paying for everyone who can't afford healthcare right now. I have ICU patients whose bills are close to a million dollars and they don't have health insurance. What does everyone see affordable healthcare as such a threat. I just don't get it.......
It is a disgrace that a republican would win ted kennedy's seat. If healthcare is fillabustered then both Ted and I will role over in our graves. I dont belive the party will be able to handle a blow as low as this one.
Jack, where they will place the blame and where it should go are two different things. As an (I) that's always voted (D), I can point out my disgust within the party that I have always voted for; broken promises, a health care plan that was idealized to help the struggling uninsured that will now only help health insurance companies, etc. All of this lies on the democrats' own hands. So, before they start pointing fingers, they should realize they'll have three pointing back at themselves.
Gray, Tennessee
Wrong question Jack ! The question SHOULD be : How do Americans explain the fact that after only ONE year, they seem to be prepared to go back to the mismanagement of the previous 8 years ? If Americans are THAT short-sighted, then they get what they deserve. I find it unbelievable that people are willing to support the idiots that got them here in the first place. Talk about a short-term memory......
Jake in Windsor, Ontario.
I'm sure they'll find lots of excuses but I don't think they have a clue.
Jack-
Know that if the democrats continue to get spanked across the country, it has nothing to do with the presidents agenda.
The democrats benefited from a presidential campaign starring a man all about change who gave "Pookie" something to vote for. But "Pookie" continues to lose faith in a majority party that allows a handful of "blue dogs" and a minority party to lead the majority. If the democrats continue to cower, I will be joining Pookie and will retire to the couch. Let the democrats continue to get what they deserve. This is not what I voted for. That's how angry I am Jack. Thanks!
Sam, I am not sure that his success is just merely tapping into public discontent. It is the unbridled power that democrats have exercised without reason. Pres. Obama promised transparency and bipartisanship and there has been none on either front. Just ask C-Span how transparent they feel this administration has been. Moreover, it is backroom bribes to secure votes in Nebraska and Louisiana for a health bill that people rightly find goes too far in terms of cost and the danger of reducing service. It is the reckless spending that exceeds anything before it which scares the public into rightly believing we are headed for Banana Republic status. It is the constitutional rights of US citizens extended to terrorists that is troubling. And, it is cap and trade at a time when the economy is in tatters and the science is questionable. Also, it is the potential of a nuclear Iran that has become more real of a threat in this year that was lost to Obama's experiment to reason with maniacs. It is the cash for clunkers program that cost big money and only robbed future auto sales. It is the stimulus which is nothing more than a near trillion dollar slush fund. It is the exemption for union members when it comes to Cadillac health taxes. These are just a small sampling of things that are on the minds of the public. Our people, if it is not too late, will surely learn that you cannot destroy the traditional values and institutions that made this country great and expect to hand your children and grandchildren a better place. This administration has revealed in so short a time its threat to the values we hold sacred above all else.
Coakley had ZERO energy and enthusiasum compared to Brown. Just listening to her voice, you would not need any anesthesia for a colonoscopy. I reluctantly voted for Coakley, but only because I want to see the health care bill get passed.
Jack , if they were honest and they're not, they would have to say, no matter who wins were all a bunch of Losers. Jack From Nice Ca.
Well, they won't say the Democratic Party screwed up, that's for sure. The blame should fall on Coakley, but their is enough blame to go around. The real blame is the increased expectations, when we should all know by now that the only real change that happens is in small increments, anything more and we risk making nothing work. Oh, right, 10% unemployment, what a coincidence.
I haven't heard a word about the "Kennedy Effect". Maybe Camelot is over. Maybe a lot of folks were voting for a Kennedy out of reverence. They were, after all, like a religion. Especially to the last generation still voting.
Being outside the U.S looking in. You Americans amaze me.... When your moron past President
(Bush) spent billion and billion went to war for nothing, and ruin your country , social and economy in disaster. And voted for him twice.
Now, that you have a good President that is trying so hard to fix the mess. Everyone is after him, give him time. He want to help you, to have health care for everyone but no!!! you like better to lose your house and job and everything before looking into his plan to help you, but no. You can not fix it all in less then a year. Thing for a while what he is saying.
So far as the general aptitude of the country goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
You sure can't blame the democrats for the out of control health care system failure.Although republican spin for the last 30 years would tell you different.
Well I've heard the Dems, say because she is a woman and mass. has never voted in a woman before,and I heard Jesica Yellen say because change is not happening soon enough. Which both of these explanations are crap.America is tired of the out of control spending, the health care bill we don't need 85% of americans have health care.We don't like the Democrats saying we know whats best for you, you don't. And we don't like the secrecy going on behind closed doors. We hire these people to work for us.This job is not for you to pretend that you are our Kings and Queens. You are just the people we have chosen to represent us.And that is the major point they are supposed to be there for us and they are clearly in it for them selves. And were sorry Ted the power went to our heads. Jerry / Iowa
If the democratics lose its because those who needs heath care because they canot afford did not show up to vote they forgot what the obama said it its not about him he and his family has health care he better remind those people again
The only explanation is that the people of Massachusetts are fed up with the liberal elites in Washington. And so is the rest of America.
The Scott Brown phenom is just part of the landslide conservative movement - first came the Tea Parties, then the governor elections in Virginia and New Jersey. Wait until November, all the liberals will be out of a job.
The dems are guaranteed to find a way to blame this on the "crazy" right wingers that would rather debate health care instead of running through a bill that represenatives can't even understand. I hope that the left will take stock in what is happening and realize that the people of this country are fed up with dems telling us what is best for us and trying to ram through bills and additions to those bills that ultimately only help their biggest fundraisers... When does the debate on job creation start? Maybe when blue collar workers can start donating millions to the Dem's and their party
It's clearly a case of the suppression of the civil rights of an entire class of people. The most popular candidate was not allowed to run, merely on the basis that he was deceased. If not for this gross violation of the rights of a growing class of Americans Ted Kennedy would still hold the position and the Democrats would still be cozy.
I understand that in the past when such compassionate liberals as Lyndon Johnson or Richard Daley tried to rectify this gross inequity and encouraged major turnouts among the recently-deceased that Republicans would object strenuously and attempt to disenfranchise these salt-of-the-earth voters because polling always showed them to be overwhelmingly Democrats in their political affiliations.
The only arrogance I see comes from the losing Republican Party. They lost the presidential election and have spent the whole year attempting a coup, instead of focusing on fixing the economy, health care and other real issues. She might lose, but most of us understand that Pres. Obama is fighting for us. And by the way "arrogant" is what racists call any educated well spoken African American, watch out your ugly is showing.
I am from Massachusetts, and it is inconceivable to me that we would elect scott brown, who has voted with the republicans on 96 percent of the issues. Most of us have healthcare, so that is not the biggest issue. Do we want to only give the dems one year after the eight year disaster of the last republican admin? Meanwhile on fast money the health insurance companies stock looks more attractive to wall st as children are still being denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
If the Democrats in Massachusetts do not win the Senate seat – then all Americans deserve what they receive in the future! You Americans have a President who is prepared to help you in every which way, and all you Republicans and quasi Democrats can do is to bring him down – Shame on you. You have been given a gift and you discard it. You WILL pay for your decisions.
I guess no one can remember that the Republicans were in complete control for almost 8 years and got us into this mess. Do they think a miracle will occur by changing how they vote and the party of "no" will regroup and have a heart for everybody in the US instead of their big fat cat pals. We need to be progressive and courageous and not stay stuck in the 50's.
Here's how the Dems/White House will try and spin a Coakley loss:
1. Cite another famous Mass. politician, Tip O'Neill: "All politics is local." It is in this vein that they will blame Coakley's terrible campaign, especially her Schilling/Yankees slip.
2. They will say that the President understands the "frustration" in the country and "hears" the voters "loud and clear."
3. They will try and portray the loss not as a vote against Obama's agenda but as a sign that the voters actually want the White House and Congress to do more to enact his policies.
4. They will admit that Brown ran an excellent campaign but point out that he masqueraded as John F. Kennedy (particularly in his tax-cutting ad) to mask his true political beliefs.
5. They will change the subject (most likely, to Obama's new favorite issue: jobs).
In other words, they will say/do the same thing the GOP would do under the same circumstances, which is indicative of what's wrong with BOTH parties.
I didn't know about the importance of this race until late last week. It was too late by the time Obama got there. Obviously,something was taken for granted here and the Dems would have no one to blame but themselves if they the Rebublicans win.
YoHo John!
The Dems can explain it up, down, and lengthwise, but they cannot explain the plain fact that the result of the Mass. election is directed straight at Barack Obama, who has promised everything but has done nothing to alleviate the anxiety of the voters who elected him. Maybe now he will finally have to listen to what the American people have been trying to tell him for a whole year!
Jack, Mrs. Coakley's horrible campaign is not an explanation if she loses the election. The explanation would be that President Obama didn't care about that senate seat because he almost didn't campaign for Coakley. The other factor is that people in Massachusets dont care about the Kennedys, the nation neither Health Care Reform. Juan Esposito, Dominican Republic.
The prospect that Senator Ted Kennedy's former Senate seat will go to this Republican is a sad one, even if the Democratic candidate seems to have stumbled along her way. I'm amazed at the vindictiveness of the commentary. Republicans have thrown roadblocks in the way of every good thing that Barack Obama has tried to accomplish. Count on them to vote "NO." And then they call him "arrogant." Good grief. What have they done to improve the jobs situation? What have they done to bring health care to the ill and uninsured? All they seem to be able to do is shoot arrows at the other party and vote "NO." Their idea of bipartisanship is Republicans-in-charge.
It will all be blamed on Coakly!! But, it will be, in fact, a reflecvtion on the Obama administration and Congress. Both seem to think they can run the country without any repercussion to their arrogant, dishonest, and perhaps illegal operations. I think, right now, we could easily compare Obama to Nixon (mebbe Nixon was more honset) . The congress should be, by the constitution, be dismanteled and replaced. They are shaming this great country and the constitution and will eventually pay the price.
the democrats took things for granted , they are to be plamed for not campaing and ask voter to vote for , dont take things for granted as a blue states democrats
Ted is turning over in his grave for sure. The GOP has landed in Blue Mass. Get out the muskets !! The Redcoats are coming!!!
The Reds are attacking in an old truck with 200,000 thousand miles on it being driven by a centerfold. - Cue central GOP casting.
.....the Dems respond by sending sentries on mules.
Look out Mass. Here comes the GOP aka God's Own Party.
Obama, Pelosi & Reid will get what they deserve for their arrogance, total disregard for people's opinions and their blind ambition.
Obama will be a one-termer. Reid will be defeated (if he dares to run again) and Pelosi MUST be retired.
Did I just hear those 2 "independents" from Massachusetts say they were voting Republican because nothing has been done during the last year? Give me a break - Obama gets one year to fix the mess of the last 8 years!
There is no explanation other than the winning side's spin was better than the losing side's spin. Man, this is politics, American style, what the heck does anything else (issues, truth,reality) have to do with it?
I am not a member of any organize party , I am a Democrat
It is a disgrace that Ted could lose his seat. It deeply angers me. I might be a loyal Democrat but i fear the worst for my party.