Source: Politics Alabama
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Analysis: Lessons Learned From Brown Win
Scott Brown did it, he turned the world upside down and won his race for the Massachusetts Senate by a margin of 109,425 votes... 52% to 47%. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31674.html
So far, EVERYBODY is analyzing the election and drawing this or that conclusion as to what it means. I will be doing the same today, looking at this or that aspect of the race.
The first thing I want to cover is what this election showed us, what lessons we should learn from this.
There are those who believe that Coakley was simply a bad candidate and Democrats simply have to pick better candidates. Wrong lesson.
No, Coakley wasn't the best candidate, and no, she didn't run the best campaign in the world. However, exit polling clearly shows that the most important issue on the voters minds was health care reform.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31708.html
Scott Brown's opposition to congressional health care legislation was the most important issue that fueled his U.S. Senate victory in Massachusetts, according to exit poll data collected following the Tuesday special election.
Fifty-two percent of Bay State voters who were surveyed as the polls closed said they opposed the federal health care reform measure and 42 percent said they cast their ballot to help stop President Obama from passing his chief domestic initiative.
"A plurality of voters said their vote was to stop the president's health care plan — more than those saying it was a vote against his policies in general," Fabrizio wrote in a memo that accompanied his exit polling.
According to Fabrizio's findings, 48 percent of Massachusetts voters said that health care was the single issue driving their vote and 39 percent said they voted for Brown specifically because of his vocal opposition to the measure.
Brown promised to be the 41st vote against healthcare and the voters elected him primarily to do that.
Add to that the fact that Obama flew in on Sunday to campaign for Coakley, and it's clear that her defeat wasn't a "local issue" because she ran a bad campaign.
Democrats, in most cases it won't matter which candidate you pick. As Scott Brown said in his victory speech:
"When there's trouble in Massachusetts, rest assured , there's trouble everywhere."
If the national liberal agenda can lose in ultra-liberal Massachusetts, then it can lose anywhere. The concept of a "safe seat" will be limited to those Senate seats not up for reelection this year. You can rest assured that moderate Democrats are now realizing, with a sick feeling in the pit of their stomach, that THEIR state is more conservative than Massachusetts (not hard to do) and so THEY are in serious danger of losing their reelection bids. Some may try to fool themselves, but most are being realistic. Look for a few more retirements to be announced.
The lesson to be learned from Brown's win is that independent voters are fleeing the liberal agenda of the national Democrats. And if they continue pursuing that liberal agenda, they become increasingly vulnerable to huge losses this November.
The American people DO NOT WANT the healthcare reform that national Democrats are selling. Massachusetts voters said this loud and clear yesterday, and Democrats would be wise to listen. Passing the legislation as it is right now will make things worse for you than if you passed nothing at all.
And THAT is one major lesson to be learned from Scott Brown's "historic" win.
The lesson to be learned from Brown's win is that independent voters are fleeing the liberal agenda of the national Democrats. And if they continue pursuing that liberal agenda, they become increasingly vulnerable to huge losses this November.
The American people DO NOT WANT the healthcare reform that national Democrats are selling. Massachusetts voters said this loud and clear yesterday, and Democrats would be wise to listen. Passing the legislation as it is right now will make things worse for you than if you passed nothing at all.
And THAT is one major lesson to be learned from Scott Brown's "historic" win.
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