Another Learning Lesson from Brown – This One for Democrats –
may be developing out of the Mass senatorial race. [Marc’s “lesson” pertained to Republicans.] If Coakley defies certain polls and pulls out a win this Tuesday, the margin will almost certainly not be the thirty point gap she started with two months ago. At that point, a proportionality exercise will, inexorably, flash into the minds of every incumbent Democrat around the country and their campaign consultants:
This is a Massachusetts – worse, Ted Kennedy’s – senatorial seat. Therefore, she should have won by thirty points. She only won by X. I won my last campaign by Y, a lot less than thirty points. What does that mean for my margin this November??
I know a lot of “blue collar” guys from Mass. Among those who listen to the news, they have no great certainty that the Democrats are any longer on their side. Now that they are making very good incomes, they think the Democrats are leaving them. Still, they are not good about voting. They have always thought of themselves as Democrats, and in Mass a Democratic victory was always assured without their votes. I am wondering how many will “turn out”.
This race is all about the most spectacularly inept campaign since Rudy Guiliani’s presidential run. If Brown wins, it’s simply because he ran a better campaign, that’s all.
There’s no room for cockiness in politics. Ted Kennedy understood that, no matter how strong or weak his opposition was. Martha Coakley obviously didn’t.
Absolutely. Campaigns are everything. But it is also important to have a solid message, to stand for things, and to get your message out there – all elements of a successful campaign, true, but things that Scott Brown has done exceptionally-well and Martha Coakley has been awful at doing.
On a different note, the fact that the race is so competitive and draining so many Democratic resources in a state that they really should not be spending a dime in defending fares well for the GOP – no matter what the result is on Tuesday. It also shows that the Kennedy’s are not that special anymore. I think John Loughlin is very happy right now seeing Dem resources get drained in Mass and watching the Kennedy clan scramble to cover themselves for a possible defeat.
If Brown wins on Tuesday, which bridge do you think Patrick is going to be on top of?
It a shame that people of Massachusetts will dishonor the memory of Ted Kennedy by sending a neophyte, conservative Republican, who relishes bringing down the hard fought healthcare bill that Kennedy championed…
Rhody oughta mention that observation about cockiness in politics to his [als Crowley and Jerzyk over at RIF.Crowley in particular has been cackling and crowing and figuratively rubbing conservatives’ noses in the stink of the aftermath of Obama’s election.
Maybe the gloating has a short half-life.
We’ll see in November.Win or lose,Brown has already accomplished something totally unexpected-by anyone,including conservatives.
Virginia hs a history of electing conservative governors,and New Jersey has elected a number of republican governors before.So, obviously,has Massachusetts-but the tought that Ted Kennedy’s former seat would become a desperate battle for the selected Democrat candidate was kinda unthinkable a few short months ago.
Dragging Obama to the scene in person against his better judgment shows how scared the Dems are.
Obama owed Corzine big time-he doesn’t owe the time of day to a nitwit like Coakley.
Blah blah blah blah blah Ted Kennedy’s seat – its great to see these leftist nutjobs idolize a drunk whose biggest accomplishment was a health care bill he didn’t even write? So he’s responsible for this health care fiasco? Its some of the worst public policy in the history of government – a giant unsustainable spending program that helps a MINORITY of Americans while forcing all other Americans to pay a bill that gets higher and higher every year. And what are the merits of a plan that requires bribery to have it pass? And union members getting their health plans without taxes? But ordinary Americans, who don’t belong to a union, have to pay the taxes to support them? How close to Animal Farm are we trying to get, here? Some are definitely more equal than others in Obamaworld. And for us to have to bow to “Marcia” and vote her in so a drunk guy who never worked a day in his life not subsidized by Daddy or the taxpayers, who got drunk, crashed a car, and killed a girl who he left to drown can get his final “legacy” of taxes and unproductive, ridiculously-expensive social programs passed through a Senate which has to be bribed? Please. I hope the voters of Massachusetts piss on the grave of Teddy and catapault Marcia back to her do-nothing AG job where she can fight for on-demand abortion and push phony charges against innocent citizens.
Never met Crowley or Jerzyk in my life.
And I can see somebody has begun gloating before we’ve counted a single vote.
Win or lose, Obama had to go campaign. The same people who criticize him today would be claiming he didn’t have nads if he didn’t go (helluva speech, by the way).
Maybe you haven’t met them in person Rhody,but you pop up there at RIF and Kmareka with the same talking points,so “friends”is a figurative term.
Anything that throws a wrench in Obama’s agenda is good.I’m not even thinking of the health care bill here.SCOTUS appointments are what come to mind first.Then cap and trade,a phony ploy to raise utility costs,and unless you don’t use utilities,Rhody,you better be concerned about that.After that comes the need to deny Obama ratification of any treaty that diminishes US sovereignty.
Health care reform is not something I understand well enough(do you??)to know what to think.
“cap and trade,a phony ploy to raise utility costs,and unless you don’t use utilities”
It’s not a problem, Joe. We can all just use that magic, non-polluting, economical fuel that has yet to be invented. (Probably Halliburton has been sitting on the patent all these years …)
Believe me, I’ve understood from Day 1 that Obama’s election would only make his enemies determined to stop anything he does. That’s the price of trying to bring about positive change – one must be prepared to meet resistance to anything, anywhere.
I kiss no man’s ring – Obama’s, or anyone’s.
There ya go Rhody-you think his change is positive and I think it’s negative.