Brown leads Coakley – The Massachusetts Senate race
Well now, isn’t this a bit of a surprise? When Senator Ted Kennedy passed away last year, it was a given fact that a Democrat would appointed to fill his US Senate seat until a special election could be called. I felt that was as it should be, since Kennedy was a Democrat and he had won the seat in a free and fair election. Even though the Republicans could have used another vote in the Senate during the debate over health care reform, it was the right thing to do for the people of Massachusetts. Once the special election was called however, all bets were off.
To be honest, I have payed very little attention to the race between Republican Scott Brown and Democrat Martha Coakley. The seat has been in Democratic hands since Ted Kennedy won it in 1962 and with the New England area running a bit more liberal than the rest of the country, I didn’t see the seat changing parties. Just a week ago, it looked as if Coakley had a lock on the seat, with Brown lagging several points behind in every poll that was taken. I am not sure what has changed, but there is something in the air and it may very well be a win for Scott Brown and the Republicans.
The latest poll taken by Rasmussen now has the race in a virtual dead heat, with Martha Coakley at 49% and Scott Brown at 47%. The results of this poll were released on Tuesday. If that isn’t enough of a shock for you, consider this. A Suffolk University poll taken Monday through Wednesday, with the results just released today, shows Brown leading Coakley, 50% to 46% and all of the political momentum seems to be swinging in Brown’s direction.
DO THE PEOPLE REALLY WANT HEALTH CARE REFORM?
What I find most interesting in this is some of the details of the poll. We hear nearly every day from someone like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, or even President Obama about how the American people need and want the health care reform legislation that is now in the reconciliation process in Congress. However, looking at the details of the poll, that legislation appears to be one of the main reasons Scott Brown has jumped into the lead.
Yet even in the bluest state, it appears Kennedy’s quest for universal health care has fallen out of favor, with 51 percent of voters saying they oppose the “national near-universal health-care package” and 61 percent saying they believe the government cannot afford to pay for it.
It is worthy to note that if Scott Brown wins the contest, it is unlikely he will be able to take the seat in time to cast a vote against the health care bill. According to William Francis Gavin, the Massachusetts Secretary of State, it will take several days for the election results to be legally and properly certified. Taking that into consideration, you can bet your last dollar that the Congressional leaders will be pushing hard to get the health care bill before their members for a final vote and on to the White House for the President’s signature.
Although quotes and sound bites are really useless in determining a candidates fitness for office and what they will do once elected, Brown had one of the most memorable quotes from any politician in recent history. During a debate Monday night, the debate moderator, CNN’s David Gergen asked him if he planned to sit in Ted Kennedy’s seat and vote against the health care bill. Here is Brown’s respsonse.
With all due respect, it’s not the Kennedy seat. And it’s not the Democrats’ seat. It’s the people’s seat.
That pretty much nails the essence of the matter, right there. The Democrats thought they had a lock on Kennedy’s Senate
seat, but it appears that lock has dissipated, and the reason seems to be the health care reform legislation. The Democrats keep telling us we want and need health care reform, but the people of Massachusetts seem to be unconvinced of that, at least in it’s present form. Could it be they are about to send Congress a message that can’t be ignored?
Since my crystal ball is broken at the moment, I can’t tell you how this race is going to finish, but I will say this. There is every indication that President Obama and the Democrats are worried about the outcome of this race. There has even been reports that the Secret Service now has a presence in the state, which would lead one to believe that the President himself may be making a campaign appearance on Coakley’s behalf. Even if Martha Coakley wins, it is evident that the political landscape has changed in ways the Democrats do not like. In one of the most liberal areas of the country, we at have a nail biter in a race that wasn’t supposed to be close at all. I wonder if the Democrats have a clue as to why?
I am not surprised that things have turned around so fast. Coaxley may yet win, but her having difficulty in this race I think has a lot to do with healthcare.
Even in liberal Massachusetts people see a con for what it is. Ed is dead and with him may go the aspirations of those who would force an ill conceived healthcare plan on the American people.
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This will be a fascinating election. What is really interesting about it is that several years ago Massachusetts installed it’s own version of mandatory health care. The state is far and away the most progressive on the issue and the nearness of the vote is essentially a referendum on that result — and the People’s Republic of Massachusetts is by no means unanimously happy so far.
Great quote from Brown!!
>>DO THE PEOPLE REALLY WANT HEALTH CARE REFORM?<<
http://act.boldprogressives.org/cms/sign/natpollresults121809/
What voters seem to dislike is a mandate to purchase health insurance without a public option.
Whatever else is going on in Massachusetts, voters there are upset that there is NO public option.
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I do not get that sense at all, David. The opposition I have been hearing is to government mandating health care insurance, no matter if there is a public option or not. There are a lot of people who simply do not want to be told they have to do that and I have to come down on their side in this. It is not the right of the government to control something like this. Given the chance, there is no doubt it will grow beyond it’s intended use, as is the case with most government programs.
Larry, I agree with much of what you’ve said; but it is an enormous drain on all of us to pay for the emergency room health care needs of people who choose not to buy insurance. They treat ERs as their personal medical facility and pay nothing. That falls on all of us and the cost of that to every state is HUGE but is hidden because we don’t pay it personally or directly. This is like paying for anything where the benefits are long-term and the costs are short-term and it’s an extremely hard sell. But I do beleive a well-constructed health care plan will offer major benefits. Is this one well-constructed? Probably not — to much political wrangling involved but our Congress is incapable of passing a bill any other way. So it will need fixing — and maybe a lot of it over the years. But I am convinced that a first step is necessary even if it’s a clumsy first step. Call the mandate to buy insurance the lesser of two evils — the alternative being we do nothing at all.
Mike, You are right when you say it is interesting that Massachusetts put in their own form of mandatory health care. What I find interesting, is even if you want to get healthcare, there are still some who can’t. My daughter applied and was turned down. I thought the purpose was to insure everyone but as we know even with the h/c bill that might be passed by our government, there will still be those that are not covered.
Anyway, Larry. Great job. I actually think Brown may actually pull this off. His record is stellar when it comes to winning races. He hasn’t lost one yet!
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David – that is not what I am being told by family, friends and extended family in Mass – some of them very liberal. This is a mandate on the health care bill – they don’t want it – and on Obama. They are furious at what he is doing. You should see some of the emails. They feel like they were lied to. They were not looking for a government take over and spending into oblivion. And some of these people are not known for being angry people but they are furious. 4-letter furious. My mom has been shocked at the turn against Obama and this administration by some in our family that thought he was it.
Dominique´s last blog ..FOUR life-lessons my PUGS taught ME
>>Just under 60 percent of those surveyed said they would like a public option as part of any final healthcare reform legislation, which Republicans and a few Democrats oppose.<>doub(‘s)t anything Congress does will lower costs or improve care in the short term, according to a poll released on Thursday.
I think they are just fed up with the Senate playing politics…..
As i am. 60% want government run healthcare, yet the Senate has totally caved to the insurance industry’s lobbyists, and it makes me sick.
David W. Walters´s last blog ..Sell your coat and buy a sword?
I read just today that Rudy Guiliani has been stumping for Brown in Massachussetts lately and has been trying to make a case for this Senate election to turn on national security measures, namely that the US isn’t doing enough to combat terrorism. Good article in Washington Post with some details. Perhaps this is also a factor?
I would agree with that Laurie. Polls are showing that independents are 60 – 20 for Brown. That is a huge swing. I hardly talk to anyone is Mass who just isn’t down right angry about the current state of affairs.
Dominique´s last blog ..FOUR life-lessons my PUGS taught ME
The earthquake that will hit the nations capital and the Obama administration will rival that of the Haiti quake should Brown win. All bets on any future Obama agenda will be off, for the people will have spoken and those who democrats from the red states will think twice on any future votes if they value their seats.
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Looks like the Dem’s are in panic mode! http://michellemalkin.com/2010/01/15/blundermania-dems-attack-scott-browns-greed-using-world-trade-center/
Dominique´s last blog ..FOUR life-lessons my PUGS taught ME
Excellent article and a good overview of why Scott Brown may just win.
The Backlash is Coming! http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704586504574654602781512842.html
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Here we go again! Maybe my friends here on the right of the political spectrum are correct and republicans will run things again real soon!
Republicans do such a good job winning elections though a bad job governing.
I recall Reagan’s victory. I opposed him, liking few of his policies except on defense. But i said, “…..let’s give the ol fart a chance and see what he can do!” Though i never saw a “welfare momma in a Cadillac”, i hear he got rid of ‘em. He got rid of Carter’s solar panels, rolled back Cafe standards and got us totally addicted to Arab Oil. Good job! Bush senior was a bit more competent (…..in spite of falling asleep in his food), but he showed some responsibility by trying to manage the budget by raising taxes. But his son was truly a gem. He made the hard choices of cutting taxes, going to war and indebting us to China.
But at least “W”, his dad, nor Reagan got any Oval Office blow jobs that we know of…..thank god!
So what is the plan for Obama’s successors? I s’pose they could end Medicare and Medicaid, cut spending on all that wasteful VA spending and once again cut taxes for the wealthy. Would that end China’s days as our creditor?
David W. Walters´s last blog ..Sell your coat and buy a sword?
David,
It’s pretty clear that you are very cynical when it comes to Republicans, but I suppose the same could be said of me or any other conservative when it comes to Democrats.
Do we conservatives want wasteful spending to be cut? Yes, we do, but I don’t recall anyone saying something about cutting spending for the Veterans Administration. There are a lot of areas that need looking at, from both sides of the aisle.
I know you may have been a big fan of Bill Clinton and his policies, but in spite of any good thing that may have came out of his administration, I find it hard to trust the man. He is a good speaker and a good manipulator of people. As for his antics in the Oval Office, I will ask you to keep them to yourself. There is no need to go into specifics, as you did above. I will let it stand this time, but not again.
Since I don’t live in MA, I can only stand by and watch the politics play out. It’s an interesting match from the “referendum” standpoint. Nobody has mentioned this on this site, but there is a 3rd party candidate running, last name Kennedy. Wonder if that will play into this?
As far as governing…I think both parties have a recent dismal record when allowed to govern unhindered. A fun fact about “liberal Laurie”…In ’08, I strongly supported our incumbent Republican Senator, who had done a good job for our state, often teaming up with our Democratic Senator to represent our state’s interests well. But there was another reason for my support: Americans benefit from balance within our political system. Again, recent history: Bill Clinton’s policy successes were almost non-existant until after the GOP regained Congressional control. The entire political system was forced to compromise with each other, and some very good policies (and a few notable stinkers, of course) benefitted Americans. Compare that to the 6 years of unhindered years with Bush and the GOP (and we could go back even before Clinton for other examples)where the Democrats were not consulted on the many of the same issues that the GOP is now locked out of…Unhindered power, recently applied, is a disater for our country.
I am invested in health care reform to begin. I do feel like, if the current bill isn’t passed, that we’ll be waiting another decade for any steps to be taken, a travesty for the system and out country. Would I love to see it passed before the MA election is certified, assuming Brown wins? Sure. But I also won’t mourn the loss of majority in the Senate, should it happen now or later, as I think moves to the center will follow.
Laurie, it would be best if Brown wins, then this lame bill written by the insurance industry will will be voted down and the republicans can be blamed in entirety for health care reform’s demise.
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Bill Clinton? That republican masquerading as a democrat? Yes, he joined with Rep. Phil Gram (R-Tx) to repeal the Glass–Steagall Act, you know the one that allowed investment brokers to turn toxic assets into something that looked like a safe investment…..and we know how that turned out.
I brought up Bill only to highlight the waste of time a republican congress spent looking for dirt on his personal life instead of governing this once great nation. My point is that there has been about 30 years of republican domination of our government, and i can only ask….
“Are we better off now than we were 30 years ago?”
-Are the more manufacturing jobs that one can raise a family on? Did we move to energy independence?
As for funding the VA, “W” funding levels simply didn’t factor in all the returning wounded and increases in claims filed, as if the numbers should remain the same in the face of an ongoing war! “W” was supposed to be a business man and as such should have factored in such as this. But he didn’t. Why?
Cynical? Yes, i am. All politicians, republicans and democrats sell their souls to the highest bidding lobbyist. It may even be true that Obama is a sell out to the Wall Street crowd, just as his predecessor did…..time and stock prices will tell.
David W. Walters´s last blog ..War sucks