The Democrats were sent a signal last night as voters in Massachusetts went to the polls to vote in a special election. For the first time in decades Massachusetts will send a Republican to the Senate as Scott Brown beat Martha Coakley 52% to 47%. The difference with Scott Brown is that he touts himself not as a party hardliner rather he is an independent thinking that is looking for accountability and change in Washington D.C. The ramifications go further than the health care reform for Democrats. Over the past few election cycle, the special election in Massachusetts and governor races last November, the luster is off President Obama. President Obama who stumped for the New Jersey Governor Democrat, Virginia Governor Democrat, and now the Massachusetts Senate Democrat race, all three races went to the Republicans. Ironically, President Obama did not stump for the Democrat in the upstate New York House race last November which the Democrat won.
Has the shine come off the apple in regards to President Obama's aura? Is this a single to Democrats heading into the midterm elections? Is the vote in Massachusetts applicable to the rest of America? It will be interesting to see how this special election result will alter the backroom health care dealing going on right now. I wonder if President Obama and Democrat Leaders on the Hill will finally allow C-SPAN camera's in on the conversation. Republicans should learn something as well. The Tea Party movement is real and if you have political asperitations it best include smaller government, less taxes, defeating Al Qaeda, and being honest with Americans. The results in Massachusetts by no means open the door for a Republican landslide; rather it does open the door for true Conservatives to move into office.
Why does the shine that Obama had after his election seem to be such a stinking point for conservatives?
ReplyDeleteAfter 9/11 Bush could do no wrong...and then did.
Clinton always seemed to have a strong public opinion, but he did lose his first mid-term election pretty bad.
Reagan even rode a stream of popularity into office, and then was forced to raise taxes in the early 80's giving him lower opinion numbers.
I guess I don't get it. The president is just a popularity contest. People now say they don't like the job Obama is doing because "I'M not getting any benefit from it!"
They used to call Clinton a "poll-driven" president. Now I guess nobody in that office has a choice...
obama is losing his luster and political power. If you count the Olympic bid, obama is 0 for 4 when doing last minute campaigning. Doesn't that reflect on him directly?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the initial problem is that the situation is at a point where he has to do last minute campaigning. Meaning, it was already desperate and he was viewed as the best chance to save it. And no, the Olympic bid doesn't count. So no, I don't see it as a reflection on him. I see this loss as the candidate thinking she had it in the bag and not campaigning enough and totally failing to encourage the union vote or, pretty much any dem base vote.
ReplyDeleteI agree...if you follow polls you'll find that most americans are losing faith in democrats...but republicans fare worse. Special interests and money are the most influential things in government now. There is nothing that Obama or anyone in congress is going to do to stop that. The supreme court case that came down is going to make it worse in reference to campaigns.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't blame Obama directly. Personally, he seems more sincere than most politicians, but there really is very little he can do. Do you think McCain would've done any better?
I will be bringing up the Supreme Court decision on campaign financing tomorrow but you really do not see a trend with Obama's last ditch efforts and failure? You do not see how this can have a ripple effect abroad?
ReplyDeleteWhile I have been a bit out of touch with the foreign press since being in Arizona all last week but I'd guess that many in the foreign press crew are questioning the power of Obama. Obama is 0-3.
As for McCain...we would have had a different focus that would have been for sure. The focus would have not been health care; rather we would have seen greater focus on the economy.
Blaming Obama for those losses to me is like giving a relief pitcher who comes into the game down by 3 runs in the 9th inning the loss for the game.
ReplyDeleteI find it funning Anon that you use a baseball analogy as Obama believed that he had enough clout in all three races to push the Democrat over the finish line. The citizens responded accordingly and Obama's street creed took a hit.
ReplyDeleteNow he has enlisted David Plouffe to oversee all critical races in the mid-terms. I wonder if we will see more Democrats reading from teleprompters to ensure the message is said correctly.