The Message Of The Scott Brown Senate Victory In Massachusetts

The solid victory of Scott Brown for the Senate seat held for more than half a century by the Kennedy family is a major blow to the Democratic party and President Barack Obama.

Several thoughts come to mind immediately after the announcement of the Brown victory.

For one, a politician needs to work vigorously to gain public support. When Martha Coakley went on vacation after winning the Democratic primary, she left the message that she was unwilling to put the maximum effort into the campaign, and was assuming entitlement to the Senate seat, which obviously enraged many Massachusetts citizens.

Secondly, the message is really what it was when Bill Clinton ran against George H. W. Bush in 1992–“It’s the economy, stupid!” The Democrats MUST bring about a massive economic program to create millions of jobs sooner, rather than later, or else they will lose control of the House of Representatives in 2010, and see the Senate majority, now 59, dwindle dramatically!

Third, the goal of a massive health care plan must face reality, and what is likely to happen now is accomplishment of aspects of the plan that can be agreed upon, such as protecting people who have preexisting conditions from being denied coverage, raising the age for young people to be still covered under their parents’ health care plans, and attempting to initiate health insurance exchanges to promote competition.

Fourth, the Democrats must face the fact that as the incumbent party now, they face the wrath of voters who are impatient at the slow pace of improvement of the economy and angry at the assistance given to banks, auto companies, insurance companies, and Wall Street, instead of large scale emphasis on saving people’s homes from mortgage foreclosures. In other words, a populist rebellion has emerged, and if the Democrats do not tune in to it, the Republicans may be the beneficiaries of this anger and rebellion.

Fifth, it seems obvious that despite President Obama’s personal popularity remaining high, that his attempt to bring about major environmental and energy reforms, as well as immigration reforms, and many social initiatives including gay rights, will have to be at the least delayed for now, subject to the election results this fall and in the presidential election of 2012.

Finally, it guarantees a very busy, fascinating election year of 2010, as the Democrats attempt to keep most of their seats, and the GOP dreams of another 1994. It is too early, however, to say that one race is a projection of the nation at large.

What it ultimately comes down to is that Scott Brown ran an excellent race, a model for what all politicians have to do to expect to gain the people’s vote. So anyone in politics who thinks he or she will sail into office, take warning: It is not going to happen!

4 comments on “The Message Of The Scott Brown Senate Victory In Massachusetts

  1. Chris January 19, 2010 10:52 pm

    It is very disappointing that a seat held by the late Ted Kennedy for all those years has now been lost. If the Democrats don’t start taking the races seriously we will have a problem in the senate. Now with only 59 votes and the republicans being extreamly partisan we are susceptible to a filibuster. The Republicans will use this victory as how the population thinks instead of just seeing it like it is a small sample in a big country. Hopefully the other senators will think before taking a vacation in the middle of a race.

  2. Jonathan Reiter January 20, 2010 3:49 pm

    I have to agree with your entry. The Democrats arrogance in regards to the Massachusetts race is a indication that complacency will only undo all the hard work put into earning the Congressional majority. I do not feel that the the Republican victory in Massachusetts means that the Democrats are going to lose the midterm elections and White House in 2012. However, one can conclude that the Democrats need to restructure the party leadership and go back to the grassroots/ progressive campaigning and reaching out to the people. The Republicans one strength is their ability to distort,manipulate information, and rally their base. The Democrats have been very successful in alienating a good percentage of their base and something’s gotta give.

  3. David January 20, 2010 5:12 pm

    The Democratic Party is gone. They are the equivalent of a coalition government between various groups in a parliament, rather than a united party. The only thing we can hope for now is that the Democrats are smart enough to go for reconciliation in the Senate. Otherwise, they will get nothing accomplished in terms of healh care. The Democrats delaying their agenda is why Massachusetts voters voted Republican. They are tired of delaying and if the Democrats don’t start to do something soon they will get voted out of office in November.

  4. Jon January 21, 2010 6:19 pm

    Reconciliation would be a terrible strategy for the Democrats. It would only anger the American people more and continue to play into the Washington culture of no compromise. It is disgusting to watch the two political parties continue to attack each other for the nation’s problems. The fault lies with both parties’ unwillingness to work together and combine differnet solutions and ideas in order to solve the issues of the day. It is always “my way or the highway” in Congress and frankly it does not work and is extremely distasteful. Nevertheless, I do not see any compromise in the future unless power is evenly balanced between conservative and liberal politicians. By having this balance, blame will be evenly distributed amongst the politicians and there will be more desire on their part to work together.

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