Today is D-Day in Massachusetts. And the seat once held by the late liberal Lion of the Senate, Ted Kennedy, could fall into Republican hands for the first time in 70 years.
These poll numbers have Democrats and the White House on pins and needles, since it signals possible death to the 60-vote Democratic supermajority President Obama has relied upon to stop Republican filibusters in the Senate to pass not only his health care reform, but the rest of his legislative agenda heading into this fall’s mid-term elections. Brown has pledged to vote against the health care bill, and his election would give Senate Republicans the 41st vote they need to sustain a filibuster. This is all quite unexpected to local Democrats, who are most surprised Brown has been able to weather recent revelations that he posed nude for a magazine centerfold several years ago.
Part of the problem is that many Massachusetts Democrats are not at all enamored with the Coakley candidacy. Voters say she has approached this race with a certain sense of entitlement, has failed to connect with the “common guy,” and made inexplicable gaffes, like intimating she would not go shake hands in the cold at Fenway Park, or confusing a famous Boston Red Sox baseball player as a member of the rival New York Yankees. Secretary of State William F. Galvin, Massachusetts’ top Democratic election official, said certifying Tuesday’s results could take more than two weeks, a delay which could give Senate Democrats a dangerously small window of time to push Mr. Obama’s signature health care legislation through Congress. But it’s an extremely risky move that would most certainly make Republicans balk. Incidentally, Massachusetts’ interim replacement Sen. Paul G. Kirk Jr., says he will vote for the bill if given the chance.
Waking up to the news that Republicans won in Massachusetts for the first time in decades, would be a devastating blow to Mr. Obama on Wednesday as he celebrates his 1st year as President of the United States. Still, Democrats are holding their breath at the possibilities. More to come.
The people in Mass. need to realize this race is not only about them but affects the rest of us too. If they have a problem with Ms. Coakley they should take that up with their local party about how she was who they put forward. But right now it comes down to heath care for all or nobody, and thats too important to play with.