Originally posted on Facebook...
The reaction was immediate. Facebook, always a lively barometer of the mood of my contemporaries was suddenly spotted with variations on a single theme: somewhere in heaven, Ted Kennedy was crying. Some were sad for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the World- some were so outraged by stunning Democratic incompetence to be entertaining offers from the Green or Socialists Parties in an attempt to find a new, more comfortable political home for themselves.
Whatever the platitude- the Liberals, the Lefties, the entire left end of the American political spectrum was suddenly awash with ennui and melancholy the likes of which I haven't seen since Senator John Kerry failed to win the 2004 Presidential Election.
What happened, did you say? What titanic event could have plunged the Platoons of the Left into gloom and despair? Well, Scott Brown, Republican- managed to get himself elected to a seat in the United States Senate in the deep, deep blue State of Massachusetts. Stop the Presses, because I think the sky might just be falling...
So what does the election of Scott Brown mean for me personally? Well, I have finally abandoned my brief foray into political conformity. Yeah, I was one of those die-hard independents that hated both Republicans and Democrats with a passion and wanted a new, more representative system with parties that actually stood for what I believed in and didn't just whore themselves out to rich corporations or special interests. Then Senator Obama, however captured my attention. (At the time) he represented a true break with the previous eight years of Republican catastrophe- the wars aside, the out of control spending of Bush The Younger, combined with the criminal inability of the Republican Congress to do their damn job and act as a check on executive power had done incalcuable damage to the system. Obama seemed new, different- and an actual, honest-to-goodness change.
One year later- not so much. So, I'm heading back to the barricades and declaring myself open to socially libertarian and fiscally conservative candidates who want to make a pitch to me about getting my vote. I offer no campaign contributions, no quid-pro-quo, no special interest giveaways- just one honest vote. Up for grabs to the whomever persuades me, the informed citizen, that they've got my back more. Republican, Democrat, Independent, Green, Whatever.
The finger-pointing has already begun- and here's what I take away from that: yes, Martha Coakley ran a terrible campaign, full of the arrogant presumption that she was going to take this thing in a walk. When she noticed she actually had a real race on her hands, it was far too late. She got the drubbing she deserved.
Secondly, is this the death of health care reform? I doubt it- everyone knows that something needs to be done, it's just a question of what. I'm not saying I like Republican alternatives that I've seen vaguely floating around out there any better- but let's face it- when you slap together a 2,000 page bill that messes with 1/6th of the American economy and will affect absolutely everyone and pass it, while simultaneously asking the American people to 'trust you' don't be surprised if they turn around and ask you, 'Well ok, but what's in this 2,000 page bill?'
When your answer is: 'We don't know, we haven't read it.' It neither inspires confidence nor trust and it seriously pisses people off. It seems like driving a school bus blindfolded after doing a line of shots at the local watering hole.
Thirdly (and perhaps the most tiresome point of all): how much trouble is President Obama in? The short answer is that we don't know yet- but the election of Mr. Brown seems to be a harbinger of a potential return to divided government- and the true political genius of his Democratic Predecessor Bill Clinton did not truly emerge until the voters forced the cause of bipartisanship upon both him and the Republicans in Congress. Perhaps President Obama will rise to the occasion, perhaps not- but the opportunity is his for the taking. Either way, I have a feeling that come November, we'll have to see if the Republicans can do any better. (And I say 'better' in the comparative sense- the way chlamydia could be seen as being perhaps better than herpes.)
In the end, as we emerge, blinking into the aftermath of the latest political earthquake to shake the establishment we can take some comfort: Mr. Brown seemed to go out of his way to emphasize that this was 'the people's seat.' He seems, at first blush to know exactly who he's beholden too- whether he'll continue in that vein once he reaches Washington D.C. is another matter entirely. People may also be willing to dismiss the Tea Party Movement as 'cranks and coots' funded by the Right Wing, as some of them undoubtedly are, but this should underline a hard truth for incumbents in 2010: People are pissed. The days of cynically shaking our heads and cursing socialism for the rich and free enterprise for the rest of us poor bastards out here in the boonies are gone. People want honest-to-goodness results...
To paraphrase another famous Bay-Stater, this year may not be about what we the voters can do for whomever rises to claim the mantle of Mr. Brown in our own states, but instead, the question will probably be, what can the Mr. Browns of 2010 do for us?
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