Any Out of Staters Following MA's Special Senate Election? Vol. Coakley v. Brown

[shaunhillftw49]

Should've been Kennedy smh

 

[nostrandave68]

Democrats are the BIGGEST bunch of {}'s I've ever seen.. its the reason I don't associate myself with them. They stay lettingRepublicans pull their card on every aspect. Republicans are the minority in the country yet they dictate every major policy both domestically and foreignpolicy. Democrats KEEP letting Republicans distort the message, scare the public on healthcare, scare the public on economic policy, scare the public onterrorism, their a complete bunch of wimps in regards to politics.

Obama deserves some blame as well, I think honestly he is VERY weak in terms of leadership. He keeps trying to be Mr. Nice Guy... reaching for bipartisanshipwhen the Republicans don't give a damn about him or his policy. Its sad but I actually admired Bush's leadership.. he didn't give a F---- aboutwhat the democrats thought, he just laid out his agenda and past whatever he could. Obama needs to be more firm and stop being a b---- to the Republicans, Fthem!!! theres a reason their the minority so why are you catering to their needs. The Republican Congress passed most of its legislation throughreconciliation during Bush's years so why are Democrats so damn scared to do the same.

Don't let me get started on this weak Coakley candidate, it was so dumb to be complacent in this race. Just because it was Ted Kennedy's seatdoesn't give Democrats the right to put forth such a WEAK candidate. The dumb broad didn't think she would have to campaign for the seat and look whathappened. And the most infruiating thing about it was during her concession speech she totally and purposely didn't thank Obama for campaigning for her onSunday but thanked the Kennedy's & Bill Clinton. Dumb ------ deserved to lose.

 

[essential1]

Mind you after the 2008 election Democrats had 59 seats.. So in total Democrats have lost nothing.

Reason Dems lost the VA & NJ gov. race is the same reason they lost tonight.. Disenfranchised voters.. On the left and independents.. If Obama was moreforceful and pushed through what he said he was (to an extent) we would have won 2 of 3.

But also mind you in NY congressional race the Republicans pushed out a Conservative Candidate for an even more Conservative Candidate, and lost to a Dem. Inthe 23rd District of NY the Republicans held that Congressional Seat since 1870. Yes 1870.. So it shows the Republicans aren't in any better shape..

In 2010 2 arguments to look for; if Obama goes for the public option.. 2. If he really starts going after the Banks.


Prediction for midterm elections.. Democrats lose 4-5 seats in the Senate at most.. 20 seats in the house.. But it is always expected that a majority with suchlarge margin loses seats in Midterm elections. 2012 is a different story.. Today I'm saying (will end up changing opinions as we go along) they winpresidency, either hold seats or get back 1-2 and lose 10 or so house seats

 

[nyvictory45]

I just don't see the advantage of passing the bill through reconciliation. Politically, it would look terrible. Even more, moving to the left doesn'tseem like a good idea to me either. I firmly believe America is a center to center-right country and that there will never be a liberal majority. Liberal ideassuch as medicare may become more popular and accepted with time but I don't think a large majority of citizens will ever consider themselves liberal. Idon't really know what the President should do for healthcare now but it would seem to me that from here on out he try to move to the center and try tofollow Bill Clinton's blueprint.

Also even though I'm not compeltely happy with the healthcare bill, I'd have to give the dems some credit if they manned up and started playinghardball. At least they'd have something to show for it.

 

[Trey Bantz]

Originally Posted by 8tothe24

, Liberal Massachusetts saved the country from a mistake of a healthcare bill. Maybe now we can actually get healthcare reform instead of transform. Democrats would be stupid to force HC through, they fail to realize that the vast majority of this country is not progressive. The change they want is not the same change most voted for.

Back in the time of Brown V. Board of Education the vast majority wasn't progressive and most of the country did not believe in racialintegration, did that mean that it wasn't necessary? Without some sort of change health care companies will continue to jack up insurance rates and denytreatment to the ill because it makes them more money. Some of you are so naive, don't be fooled by these politicians they're getting paid off by theseinsurance companies to make sure that no bill gets passed.

 

[friendliest ghost]

Originally Posted by trey ohh five

Originally Posted by 8tothe24

, Liberal Massachusetts saved the country from a mistake of a healthcare bill. Maybe now we can actually get healthcare reform instead of transform. Democrats would be stupid to force HC through, they fail to realize that the vast majority of this country is not progressive. The change they want is not the same change most voted for.

Back in the time of Brown V. Board of Education the vast majority wasn't progressive and most of the country did not believe in racial integration, did that mean that it wasn't necessary? Without some sort of change health care companies will continue to jack up insurance rates and deny treatment to the ill because it makes them more money. Some of you are so naive, don't be fooled by these politicians they're getting paid off by these insurance companies to make sure that no bill gets passed.

 

[JD617]

 

[j burner]

Thank God.

 

[jinkazama]

If I lived in Mass I would have voted for Brown to, the way Coakley ran her campaign was insulting to her constituents. Had she run even a fair campaignshe would have walked to a victory, you don't go from up double digits in early January to losing on the 19th without sheer incompetence. That and thefact that Mass already has universal healthcare is not letting me buy this as a referendum on Obama, so in the span of three weeks these people realized theydidn't like him? Come on now...Obama deserves blame but a lot of this is squarely on Coakley

The democrats would be crazy to kill health reform now. It would be a bloodbath in November if they did so...think about it, the Liberals wouldn't votebecause they didn't get health reform, republicans would use healthcare to say congress has done nothing since they have been in power, and they wouldsplit the independents...this all spells doom for Dems in November if they let health reform die. But knowing these idiots they'll do something stupid.

If played right the democrats could benefit greatly from Brown winning, but I doubt they'll take advantage. As always the republicans are playin chess andthe dems are playing checkers.

 

[lazy b]

[h1]Democrats point fingers after stunning loss[/h1]
From Ed Hornick and Kristi Keck, CNN

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Republican Scott Brown pulls off stunning upset win in Massachusetts
• Martha Coakley accused by some Democrats of running a lackluster campaign
• Other Democrats say they recognize voter anger toward Democrats
• Senate Democrats will lose their filibuster-proof 60-seat majority with loss

Boston, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Even before the polls closed on Tuesday night, Democrats were distancing themselves from Democrat Martha Coakley and blaming her lackluster campaign for her stunning loss in the U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts.

A top adviser to President Obama rejected assertions that Tuesday's vote was a referendum on the president or Democratic policies and instead took a shot at Coakley: "Campaigns and candidates matter."

For weeks, Scott Brown had been the underdog candidate, running behind in the race to finish out the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's term.

Trailing by double digits a little more than a week ago, Brown had edged ahead of Coakley, campaigning as the pickup truck-driving candidate, capitalizing on voter frustrations and vowing to send Obama's health care bill "back to its drawing board."

Coakley, the state's attorney general, had been considered a shoo-in in heavily Democratic Massachusetts, which hadn't elected a Republican to the Senate in 38 years.

But as Brown gained momentum and Coakley's numbers fell, Democrats rushed big guns to campaign for her, including Obama and former President Bill Clinton.

Share your thoughts on the election results

In the hours after Coakley's concession speech, though, Coakley's pollster Celinda Lake fired back at criticism that she ran a weak and misguided campaign and failed to recognize Brown's surge until it was too late.

Instead, Lake warned Democrats that, "There's a wave here. The first shore was New Jersey and Virginia," she said, referring to Democratic losses in the governors races there, "the second was Massachusetts and it's coming to the island now, so we'd better do something about it."

Other Democrats appeared to recognize the anti-Washington sentiment the recent votes represent.

Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia said that the election "became a referendum not only on health care reform but also on the openness and integrity of our government process."

While Democrats huddled to try to figure out a way to get their health care bill passed before Brown is seated and ends their 60-seat filibuster-proof "supermajority" in the Senate, Webb says it would be "prudent" for Congress to suspend further votes on health care reform legislation until Brown is seated.

Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-New York, said Tuesday night that the Massachusetts results demonstrated Democrats have to change their strategy on health care.

"Large numbers of independent voters saying they're upset about health care, that's not just their fault, that's our fault too. And we have to think about what we're doing wrong here, and to have a conversation as if nothing happened, whether you're in Massachusetts or not, is being tone deaf."

Brown warned in his victory speech that Democrats will face the same factors in the midterm elections in November that led to his win in Massachusetts on Tuesday.

"We had the machine scared and scrambling, and for them it is just the beginning of an election year filled with surprises." he said. "They will be challenged again and again across this country. When there's trouble in Massachusetts, there's trouble everywhere -- and now they know it."

Heading into the race, few political analysts believed Brown, a state senator, had a serious shot at beating Coakley, the state's attorney general.

Brown was underfunded and unknown statewide. No Republican has won a U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts since 1972. Democrats control the state's congressional delegation. They also hold the state's governorship, along with overwhelming majorities in the state legislature.

But Brown, who is in his third term in the state Senate, charged forward on a pledge to end wasteful government spending and hand politics back to the people.

Before he was in the state Senate, Brown served three terms as a state representative. He's also a member of the Massachusetts National Guard.

"He's branded himself brilliantly. He has run as the people's senator," said Jennifer Donahue, a political analyst and contributor to The Huffington Post.

Asked in a debate last week if he was willing to sit in Kennedy's seat and block health care reform, Brown replied, "With all due respect, it's not the Kennedys' seat, and it's not the Democrats' seat, it's the people's seat."

Donahue said that was the game changer for Brown because Coakley "didn't have an effective answer against that."

More so than a statement on the candidates' strength and weaknesses, it's discontent among voters in Massachusetts that swung the election, said David Gergen, a political analyst and CNN contributor.

"Scott Brown turned this into a referendum on what's going on in Washington, especially with health care. His campaign began to gain traction when he said that, 'I am going to be the 41st senator, the one who can stop a lot of this,' " Gergen said.

Gergen also pointed to a major sports gaffe that might have hurt Coakley's image in Red Sox nation. In a recent radio interview, she suggested that former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling is a Yankees fan.

"When she was clueless the other day about who Curt Schilling was ... you can imagine what that did," Gergen said.

John Avlon, author of "Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics," says in the end, the results of Tuesday's election rested in the hands of independent voters. Democrats far outnumber Republicans in Massachusetts, but there are more independents than Republicans and Democrats combined.

"Independents asserting their real power even in Massachusetts should be a huge wake-up call to Democrats and Republicans."

But no matter what the outcome, Avlon said this shouldn't be viewed as voters turning on Obama.

"I don't think it's a referendum on Obama necessarily personally, because he is still personally popular with many independents. It's the Democratic Congress that's being reacted against.

"Independents like the checks and balances of divided government. They dislike the ideological arrogance and legislative overreach that comes when one party controls both the White House and Congress. That's what you're seeing," he said.

CNN's Ed Henry, Jessica Yellin, Paul Steinhauser and John Helton contributed to this report.

Her career as a politician is over. She'll be lucky to get a nomination from the Democrats after this.

 

[queencitysneakerqueen]

So no health care bill

 

[thytkerjobs]

Originally Posted by JD617

 

[j burner]

The funniest/most pathetic excuse I've seen by democrats so far: "we lost this election because we didn't push our agenda fast enough..."LMAO, these idiots really, really don't get it. Yea, people thought you were moving too slow, so they elected someone who's going to bring you to ascreeching halt, oh that makes perfect sense...a least some of the senate democrats are starting to get it, though.

 

[essential1]

Originally Posted by J Burner

The funniest/most pathetic excuse I've seen by democrats so far: "we lost this election because we didn't push our agenda fast enough..." LMAO, these idiots really, really don't get it. Yea, people thought you were moving too slow, so they elected someone who's going to bring you to a screeching halt, oh that makes perfect sense...a least some of the senate democrats are starting to get it, though.

so what were they elected for?............ Exactly........... They weren't doing what they said they would, so they voted one of them out...The public has supported the public option in every poll... So if you don't give them what they want they will vote you out..

And Coakley also lost for incompetence..

 

[shaunhillftw49]

Screw them both. Kennedy>. Joe Kennedy.

 

[j burner]

Originally Posted by Essential1

Originally Posted by J Burner

The funniest/most pathetic excuse I've seen by democrats so far: "we lost this election because we didn't push our agenda fast enough..." LMAO, these idiots really, really don't get it. Yea, people thought you were moving too slow, so they elected someone who's going to bring you to a screeching halt, oh that makes perfect sense...a least some of the senate democrats are starting to get it, though.

so what were they elected for?............ Exactly........... They weren't doing what they said they would, so they voted one of them out... The public has supported the public option in every poll... So if you don't give them what they want they will vote you out..

And Coakley also lost for incompetence..

So, your logic is that democrats didn't do what they were elected to do, so the people of massachusettes elected someone who will do the opposite ofwhat they elected the democrats to do? Damn man, seriously, you liberals need to get out of your bubble. People were sick of this underhanded, back doordealing, secret bribe meeting, 1 am Christmas eve voting, cram it down ur throat if u like it or not, BS. Your logic is for lack of any better description,purley ******ed. It couldn't possibly be that people don't like the direction this administration is heading...no, that would be too simple to grasp.

Lets put your logic into a different scenario: I went to buy a new car, I wanted something fast. The salesman told me this Camaro is super fast, so I boughtit. When I got home, I realized it wasn't fast enough, and I wanted a faster car. So, I traded in my Camaro for a Prius.

jeezus

 

[debso]

Howard Dean seems to be sick of Democrats' bipartisan attitude.

In sharply worded comments Tuesday night following the loss of former Sen. Ted Kennedy's (D-MA) Senate seat, the former chairman of the Democratic Party asserted that party leaders needed to bypass their quest for sixty Senate votes.

"We've got to be tougher," Dean quipped. "I've said the Democrats are not tough enough. Bush would have had the health care bill done a long time ago. He would have gone through reconciliation."

Under reconciliation, Democrats can move to pass parts of their healthcare reform bill with a simple fifty vote majority, evading the need for a 60-vote filibuster-proof supermajority. Liberals lost their sixtieth vote with the defeat of state attorney general Martha Coakley in Massachusetts to Republican Scott Brown.

Brown has promised to vote against a healthcare reform bill. The bill has passed both chambers of Congress but would need to pass both again after the House and Senate versions are combined.

Some Democrats have proposed a House-only vote on the Senate's version of the bill, which would obviate the need for it to pass the Senate again. But House Democratic leadership seems reluctant to take up the idea anytime soon.

Dean says Obama should start by simply proposing a bill that allows all Americans over 55 to buy into Medicare. Such a bill could be passed through the Senate with 50 votes, a margin the Democrats can easily muster.

There's not much "real" reform in the Senate bill either way, Dean said.

The former top Democrat added that he believed it would have been better had Democrats only had 59 votes from the start, since it would have forced his party to make tougher choices and push the bill through reconciliation in the first place.

"I think we would have been better off if we had had 59 senators to start with," Dean remarked.

i'm with dean.

 

[friendliest ghost]

Let's pass the Health Care Bill in Kennedy's honor and then lose his seat to a republican. Democrats are a laughing stock.

 

[nicedudewithnicedreams]

Wow. J Burner sighting... LOL.

 

[reduce523]

I hate how the Democrats have become so %%%$@%% spineless. And as a fellow democrat I am tired of all the pandering they have done.

 

[Trey Bantz]

Originally Posted by Friendliest Ghost

Originally Posted by trey ohh five

Originally Posted by 8tothe24

, Liberal Massachusetts saved the country from a mistake of a healthcare bill. Maybe now we can actually get healthcare reform instead of transform. Democrats would be stupid to force HC through, they fail to realize that the vast majority of this country is not progressive. The change they want is not the same change most voted for.

Back in the time of Brown V. Board of Education the vast majority wasn't progressive and most of the country did not believe in racial integration, did that mean that it wasn't necessary? Without some sort of change health care companies will continue to jack up insurance rates and deny treatment to the ill because it makes them more money. Some of you are so naive, don't be fooled by these politicians they're getting paid off by these insurance companies to make sure that no bill gets passed.

Nice rebuttal