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The Ballot Box: No We Can’t?

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

One of former President John F. Kennedy’s favorite sayings was “success has many fathers. Failure is an orphan.”

What would the assassinated President make of this week’s special election in Massachusetts, where a little-known Republican won the seat held by John and Bobby Kennedy’s younger brother Teddy for 47 years?  What would they make of the GOP sending one of their own to sit in the US Senate for the first time since 1978?

A Republican winning the “Kennedy seat” would have been a joke a few weeks ago, a fantasy so preposterous that not even FOX’s Glenn Beck would have spoken of it on his program.  That one of the most liberal states in the country, a state Barack Obama carried by 30 points in the 2008 election, would vote a conservative into office is devastating for the Democratic party, certainly, but particularly for Barack Obama, the candidate enthusiastically endorsed by the Kennedys – the closest a Democratic contender can get to being touched by the Almighty himself.

Given the huge embarrassment of this debacle and the potentially devastating effect this election could have on crucial pieces of legislation like national health care, the Democrats have done what they excel at in times of crisis: Form a circular firing squad.  Exhibit A: The Kennedy family’s frantic CYA behavior.  Not a pretty sight for sure.

So why did the Democratic contender for the seat blew a 30-point lead?  Many silly theories abound. She wasn’t “exciting” enough (I’m scanning my brain trying to come up with a Massachusetts politician who can be characterized as “exciting.” None come to mind.  John Kerry?  Uh, no).  She misspoke when she said Boston Red Sox legend Curt Schilling is a New York Yankee fan – a heresy comparable to a Pakistani politician telling a journalist that Imran Khan roots for India. But the actual reason Coakley’s loss was her her baffling indifference to campaigning. When asked why she was taking such a passive approach following a hard-hitting debate, she testily responded “As opposed to standing outside Fenway Park? In the cold? Shaking hands?’’  Coakley has learned the hard way the answer to her arrogant “let them eat cake” quote is a definitive yes.  Too late now.

There are other more bizarre theories being bandied about to explain the upset. Winner Scott Brown is good-looking. He posed nude for Cosmopolitan magazine (although if a journalist dug out a photo of a Democrat posing in the buff that campaign would be over).

Absurd.

The reality is that the Massachusetts result is a canary in the coalmine for Democrats.  The GOP is in the minority.  The chairman of the Republican Party, Michael Steele, is frequently ridiculed for his unpredictable and embarrassing behavior and flagrant expenditures that have left the party with less than $10 million in the bank.  The party still suffers from a terrible image problem thanks to 8 years of Bush-Cheney.

The Democrats, meanwhile, are sitting on a hefty war chest. They control the executive and legislative branches of government.

And now they’ve lost a Senate seat in a traditionally liberal state.

The results of this election are a harsh rebuke to Democratic leadership, including Barack Obama. Particularly Barack Obama.  He is the public face of the party.  The man who promised hope and change, the president who was elected with the slogan “yes we can,” is now learning maybe we can’t. Not unless we do what we promised to do.

Handing out taxpayer dollars to Wall Street and standing by while that money is distributed in bonuses rewarding spectacular failure and lapses of judgment is not change. Guantanamo remains open for business.  American homeowners continue to foreclose on their homes at a rapid clip.  Banks aren’t loaning money to potential homebuyers.  Refinancing is nearly impossible to obtain.  Unemployment is hovering at around 10%.  So what are the Democrats doing about this?

Clearly the voters of Massachusetts would answer “not enough.”  And if the Democratic party doesn’t start taking care of business, the midterm elections of 2010 could make the upset in Massachusetts look like child’s play.

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This entry is the first of “The Ballot Box,” an occasional series about American politics.


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