Massachusetts: The People Have Spoken, All Hail the People
Regardless of your outlook in the wake of Massachusetts’ special election — whether you’re celebrating Senator-elect Scott Brown’s victory, mourning State AG Martha Coakley’s loss, or wishing we’d all just pay attention to more important things — this much is clear: Democracy did what it’s supposed to do. It gave the people of Massachusetts an opportunity to make their voice heard and select who would represent them.
Of course, for at least several more days, if not weeks, those of us (including yours truly) who resist paying attention to more important things — because we have a very serious problem; a sad, tragic disorder, really — will be asking each other what exactly the majority of voters in Massachusetts had to say.
Were they primarily upset about the health care bill, the Democrats’ overall agenda, the economy, or all of the above?
Or did those voters simply provide more proof for the summation of politics offered by legendary, former Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill — who, in case you forgot, was from Massachusetts and knew something about vying for a seat vacated by a Kennedy. Net: Was this more about local/state matters than national matters?
One Mass. voter, interviewed by John Roberts on CNN this morning, claimed that Ms. Coakley simply wasn’t doing her job as State AG, so why should anyone elect her to the U.S. Senate? We’ve also heard multiple times how uninspiring Ms. Coakley’s campaign was, including those jaw-dropping gaffes. (Curt Schilling a Yankees fan? You don’t even joke about that.) In contrast, Mr. Brown ran what is widely reported as a highly energetic, take-nothing-for-granted campaign. And just how much did Mr. Brown tap a Mass. “all politics is local” nerve when he essentially argued that the national health care equation didn’t matter, because Mass. voters already had their reform?
Bottom line: Some of us may not be able to let this moment go quite yet, but no matter how much we try to keep it front-and-center, it will be a historical footnote soon enough. Hence, the more important question is not “What happened?” but “What’s next?” Some will argue that the political class (elected and otherwise) cannot — and perhaps should not — move to what’s next without first studying the lessons of what just happened. Fair enough. But there’s also a risk, I fear, of dwelling too long on the recent past, of paralysis by analysis.
So consider this a gentle nudge, an echo of a sentiment already expressed — an unsolicited and maybe unwelcome encouragement to study what happened in Massachusetts for a day or two, but no more, and then, please, let’s move on.
In the final seconds of the TV series The West Wing, Stockard Channing’s First Lady Bartlet asked Martin Sheen’s President Bartlet what he was thinking about. His one word reply: “Tomorrow.” Though fictional, it’s the right attitude, I think, for the current circumstance.
19 Responses to “Massachusetts: The People Have Spoken, All Hail the People”
the system worked!
Now the majority in the Senate will have to bear their teeth. They're forced to. They don't have a choice to compromise any more.
What? You mean you didn't see this coming?
It's hardly a surprise that there are some who want a return to the downward status quo our last administration proved so adept at. What is surprising is that so many people seem to have already forgotten where that was taking us. In any case, I expect something good to come out of this of this Brown/Coakley silliness. Maybe the guy can do another cosmo spread.
You mean they will actually be forced to compromise now that they can no longer steamroll legislation down the taxpayer throat without any power to stop it.
Like John Stewart pointed out, the GOP hasn't had the majority the Democrats enjoyed since 1923, yet democrats whine about what the GOP has done and bemoan losing their filibuster proof majority. They need to get a grip.
An election that likely can affect the entire agenda of health care reform, and that may or may not be a bell-weather of the American people's current feelings towards the issues Congress and the President have chosen to spend their efforts (I believe it is), and that has the possibility to change the entire direction of Congress for the rest of this session and may also portend another unthinkable surprise in November, Republicans recapturing control of the House, all make this fairly important to me, and to many others it seems.
What steamrolling are you talking about?
Dems had more power last year than they could have ever dreamed of, and they have squandered it through gross misuse of it. Of course they and their ilk will not reason, but attack others and concoct excuses for their own failures.
You know, those items that tripled the deficit over the last year. The porkulas, cash for clunkers, the omnibus, etc.
Donnie has “amnesia” when it comes to Dem left-lurching and their various, numerous improprieties.
At least the cap and trade scam (part of legislation the public insisted the House not pass, but the House pressed it through, anyway — now the object of the likes of Boxer and Kerry in the Senate) hasn't been put into practice yet. (I wonder if this is imperiled now and the eco-fascists standing to benefit financially as intermediaries in this scam are worried that they may not enjoy windfall profits.)
“those items that tripled the deficit over the last year.”
Do you have Faith in Obama's proposed bipartisan (for political cover) deficit panel? (the one that no doubt will discover the need for new and higher taxes, in order that we become more “responsible”)
The New York Times mentioned Dubya first, then Obama less prominently, when referring to the deficit and the deficit panel proposal. Funny how the lesser offender gets top billing in this case.
Sorry to rain on anyones parade, but this is looking more and more to be referendum on Coakley and not a lot else. To the extent that liberals contributed to her defeat (quite a bit) this isn't exactly the beginning of a “conservative” groundswell. Plenty of liberals are not going to be disappointed if healthcare reform doesn't pass in it's current incarnation since they saw it as too little help for those who need it and too much given to the industries that resist it.
“this is looking more and more to be referendum on Coakley and not a lot else”
Your vision, as gauged by what you express on this site, often is distorted. There's more to it than that. The whole episode is more like Upstate New York's contest than the one in New Jersey.
“Plenty of liberals are not going to be disappointed if healthcare reform doesn't pass in [its] current incarnation”
That is true. It's not just progressive temper tantrum throwing but because of what's left in the bill, period, and what may have to be taken out.
My lib buddies with me are feeling lousy today, and I told them that it's not the end of the world. Their response was, “Why isn't it, now?” They are aware that to go through budget reconciliation, some of the best features of what's left in the bill (pre-existing condition restrictions, subsidies for low-income insurance customers) will have to be removed. They agree with me that there really is nothing wrong with starting over and working just on sound reform, no other baggage or gingerbread. At this point, it's stripped close to bare, and nobody likes what's left of the legislation. There's no shame in starting over — and as I reminded them, if they can get something passed that's decent before November, it will be to their advantage in the elections.
It's no tragedy for them to start over any more than it's a tragedy or scandal or outrage that Guantanamo isn't empty and closed yet.
Sorry but exit polls disagree.
Exit poll: Health care mattered
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31708…
Lots of sunshine on the parade grounds I'm afraid JSpencer, not a sign of rain.
“Lots of sunshine on the parade grounds” [No lefty land mines or sniping at the parading Americans, please.]
Lots of sunshine — as opposed to, say, behind the closed doors where the health legislation was made.
More:
Health Care Is Hurting Democrats
New polling data show that voters know exactly where candidates stand.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240527487…
Thats because sunlight kills vampires, even those that suck tax dollars instead of blood.
“sunlight kills vampires”
They seem to believe C-SPAN does, too.
You know, the network doing what NPR and PBS ought to be doing, and insisting on doing. (HA)
Please, we have already had this conversation, the Deficit is a Bush creation…
There has not been any steamrolling, what we have had is a standard legislative process in which the majority party passed legislation, it's unfortunate that the minority party refused to participate in the legislative process bit it's their choice. We can argue as to the quality of the legislation that has been passed, but that's a different issue.
Here is what Steamrolling would look like:
The President-elect gets the Congressional leadership together, they write a bill, the day after the President is sworn in, the bill goes to the House and Senate gets passed by 50 Senator plus the VP, a majority of one in the House and is then signed into law by the President on the same day.