As a glaring example of how badly the Democratic brand has been damaged in the year since President Obama was inaugurated, the Democrat in a U.S. Senate race in perhaps the most liberal state in America is in trouble.
After her December 8, 2009 primary victory, Democrat Martha Coakley, Massachusetts Attorney General, was considered a shoo-in to win the January 19, 2010 special election to fill Ted Kennedy's seat. Several media outlets described Coakley's primary win as akin to gaining keys to the Senate front door. An electoral slam-dunk in blue-state Massachusetts.
After all, Republicans represent far less than 20% of all registered voters in the Bay State. And Massachusetts hasn't elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since Ed Brooke almost 40 years ago.
But a not-so-funny thing happened on Martha Coakley's way to formalizing her senatorial win: President Obama and Senate Democrats bobbled the ball on health care legislation, on abortion rights, on transparency, on terrorism, on the economy, on unemployment and jobs creation, and on so much more.
In short, as I observed earlier this week, President Obama squandered precious Democratic politcal capital in 2009, and the Democratic brand has gone south, particularly over the past month.
As a result, two long-time Democratic senators, Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, startlingly dropped their 2010 reelection bids this week. And even more startling, the well-respected Democratic candidate in Massachusetts is fading in her bid to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat.
The New York Times reported this morning:
"... the dynamic has changed in recent days. The news that two senior Democratic senators will retire this year in the face of bleak re-election prospects has created anxiety and, even in this bluest of states, a sense that the balance of power has shifted dramatically from just a year ago..."... a new poll... showed a competitive race between Ms. Coakley and Mr. Brown has generated buzz on conservative blogs and energized the Brown campaign...
"A Brown win remains improbable, given that Democrats outnumber Republicans by 3 to 1 in the state and that Ms. Coakley, the state's attorney general, has far more name recognition, money and organizational support. But a tighter-than-expected margin in the closely watched race would still prompt soul-searching among Democrats nationally... "
As the Times observed, A.G. Coakley should still win the contest next week.
But the Massachusetts Senate race should... and must... serve as an urgent warning sign to President Obama and his pals he's installed at the DNC that:
- continually letting down liberals,
- continually going back on the campaign promises that catapulted Obama to the White House, and
- continually kowtowing to and compromising with the conservative minority in vain hopes of garnering their support...
... is most assuredly not a formula for Democratic success. It is a formula for Democratic weakness that guarantees failure and loss. Ted Kennedy must be rolling over in his grave...
- Essential Reading
- Obama Squandered Democratic Political Capital in 2009
- Profile of Martha Coakley, Senate Candidate from MA
- Five Top Liberal Issues for 2010
(Photo of Martha Coakley taken on Jan 7, 2010: Darren McCollester/Getty Images)
Comments
This office supports Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown in his run for the United States Senate. Refreshingly, Senator Brown articulates his positions on even the most controversial issues openly and with no double speak. Do you support Brown or Coakley? We welcome your comments and votes: http://eyeonthelaw.blogspot.com/
Obama was voted into office because of support from Independents and even some Republicans~who voted for him because he portrayed himself as a more moderate candidate than he actually is. Those of us who were dissatisfied with the spending/earmarks of Republicans are now horrified with what the Democrats are doing. If you want to keep our vote, I would recommend more attention be paid to us rather than the more extreme faction of your base. Read the polls~they alone do not have the numbers to keep Dems in office.
Pres. Obama has doomed his party to failure by forcing socialistic and unpopular programs like Gov’t sponsored Health Care and Cap and Trade (aka Cap and Tax) down the throats of the American people. Elections like the one in Massachusetts Senatorial race are opportunities for us all to show those who are not listening to us in Washington D.C. how we feel. If it were possible to march on Washington with pitchforks and run them out of town, we would, but that is not feasable. This is our way to get rid of the scoundrels who are ignoring us. “Anyone but Obama’s guys in 2010″.
The bigger problem for Coakley is that she ran a very poor campaign. She ran a campaign similar to that of Hilary Clinton in 2008. She ran as though she could count on winning just because she had name recognition and party affiliation. She forgot the two primary philosophies in American politics, first all politics is local and second voters want to be asked. She seemed to think that she didn’t have to make appearances at local meetings, factories and the like. Her failure is her fault not the Democratic Party.
Deborah –
You are to be given props for recognizing the importance of this race almost before anyone lese.
Wow Deborah -I have to admit you got it wrong again but I guess a lib you’re so used to being wrong, you think you’re right. Obama kowtowing to conservatives…? {Blink-Blink} Are you really that ignorant?!!! Obama is radical and you all your lib buddies better wake up to this fact. He was associated with the Pentagon bomber, a radical and obscenely blasphemous “pastor”, and a whole slew of radical and politically “motivated” socialists! Yet I have yet to see you address these issues -you why ’cause you’re a fool! You liberals lost the People’s Massachusett’s seat because America is finally realizing what radical “your” president is and what a liberal agenda really is: higher taxes, government in our everyday lives, and all of us waiting for handouts from Big Government! Maybe you want to be on government cheese but I don’t!!! And I’d say most of America agrees, be they liberal, independent or conservative. With the “upset” we told you libs where you can stick!!! I hope you heard that… or maybe you still have your finger in your ear!!! Wake up libs -we’re taking our country back!!!