President Obama Says Voter Anger, Frustration Key to Republican Victory in Massachusetts Senate
President Obama warned Democrats in Congress today not to “jam” a health care reform bill through now that they’ve lost their commanding majority in the Senate, and said they must wait for newly elected Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown to be sworn into office.
Dazed Democrats rethink entire strategy
Scott Brown has turned this town upside down.
Usually, the tendency among political reporters and operatives alike is to overreact and overinterpret elections.
And there are caveats to the stunner in Massachusetts. Yes, this was a special election, which often produces unusual results. Yes, Democrat Martha Coakley ran a timid, sometimes terrible, campaign for Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat. And it’s true that Massachusetts is not as liberal as many people assumed.
But none of that counters the stunning reality of an election where breathtaking results more than justify breathless analysis. Here’s why:
1. There is no way for Democrats to spin an upside to losing their 60th vote in the Senate.
2. Any Democrat with even the faintest fear of a tough race in 2010 is rattled. It was easy for some to rationalize the defeats in New Jersey and Virginia last year — and even the flood of polls showing bad news since then.
They are in denial no more: If Democrats can lose in Massachusetts, they can lose anywhere.
3. It has been an ugly 24 hours of blame-casting for Democrats. In fact, it’s the first time in the Obama era that so many Democrats aired their private grievances in such a public way.
The White House blamed Martha Coakley’s campaign. Speaker Nancy Pelosi seemed to fault Senate Democrats. Senate Democrats, in turn, put the blame back on Coakley, who had campaign officials thrashing the White House and Senate leaders by mid-day Tuesday — hours before the polls closed.
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