Victory for America
As you have no doubt already heard, a political apocalypse recently transpired in the Bay State as Republican Scott Brown defeated Democratic opponent Martha Coakley by five percentage points in the special election to replace the late Edward Kennedy in the United States Senate. Although some blame Martha Coakley for running a poor campaign, this gigantic upset is largely a referendum on Obama and his radical, liberal colleagues.
Having been in my home state of Massachusetts for the past month, I was able to witness Coakley and Brown’s campaigns first hand. Coakley’s ads were effective but nothing special, as she attempted to link Brown to George Bush and other Washington Republicans. It was Brown who ran a first rate campaign, which he had to do to have any chance of winning. Brown made himself look like a regular guy while he portrayed Coakley as out of touch. Massachusetts voters knew that a vote for Brown was a vote against Obamacare.
Coakley’s double digit lead evaporated once Harry Reid bought Senator Ben Nelson’s vote for three hundred million dollars in order to break the GOP filibuster on the health care bill. Voters in Massachusetts thought that paying for Nebraska’s Medicaid went too far, and support for the health care bill plummeted. In addition, Massachusetts voters were turned off by Obama’s soft stance on terrorism. This election, unlike the gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia two months ago, was a referendum on Obama, Reid, Pelosi, and the rest of the radicals in Washington because a Republican was able to win in the bluest of blue states. In New Jersey and Virginia, GOP victories did not come as a surprise; Corzine was unpopular and Virginia usually votes for Republicans.
The Massachusetts special election should have every Democrat that is up for reelection in 2010 worried. Senators Christopher Dodd and Bryon Dorgan recently declared that they would not seek reelection while a handful of other Democrats are trailing in the polls. Pollster Scott Rasmussen has Arkansas Democrat Blanche Lincoln trailing four Republican challengers by at least 10 points, Colorado Democrat Michael Bennet trailing by 12, Pennsylvania Democrat Arlen Specter trailing by 4, and majority leader Harry Reid behind by at least 12 points. Even California Democrat Barbara Boxer is in jeopardy of losing her job, as her lead is down to 4 points. Washington politicians need to decide whether they want to continue to push their own unpopular, extremist agenda or if they want to listen to their constituents and enact real, constructive change.