I don’t know about you, but I had a blast watching the results of Massachusetts’ Senate election last night. Living in California, I had never heard of Scott Brown or Martha Coakley, until last week. That’s when I started hearing the importance of this Senate race being a referendum on Obama’s health care takeover, and big government in general.
Imagine, Scott Brown, a Republican, winning a Senate seat which for 37 years went to a Democrat. Brown’s win breaks the 60-vote filibuster-proof Democrat majority in Washington. He actually campaigned on a promise to not vote for health care reform. I can just imagine Dems in the U.S. Senate today singing, “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to.”
Everyone will be analyzing what went wrong with Coakley’s campaign. The blame game and finger-pointing started even before the election was over. My impression was that her attitude in general was one of sheer condescension toward the people. She came off as having an elitist, holier-than-thou, arrogant sense of entitlement; as though the Senate seat was owed to her. It was as if that capital “D” after her name made her a shoo-in; insulating her from the need to “go out in the cold” to meet people and actually campaign. (She elected instead to go to Washington for a fund raiser where her thug shoved a reporter to the ground.) That same elitism is on garish display in Washington in the form of broken promises and backroom deals. People just don’t like it.
I loved Brown’s line that this open Senate seat wasn’t Ted Kennedy’s seat or the Democrats’ seat; it was the people’s seat. I think that resonated with a lot of people who have eyes and can plainly see what is happening in Washington. It doesn’t matter if you are a conservative or liberal, a Democrat or Republican; nobody likes being lied to. Nobody likes being ignored. Nobody likes broken promises. Nobody likes to see some special interest union or specific state get preferential treatment. It just doesn’t fly. Well, here’s to hoping this so-called health care reform dies a quick and merciful death. And let’s hope when Mr. Brown goes to Washington he remembers his promises.
