By now you've probably heard that Republican Scott Brown defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts special election for U.S. Senate. Admittedly, I'm not an expert on the internal workings of Massachusetts politics, I'll leave that to others. What I do know a little bit about is incompetence. (Some would say that my blogs are proof of that.)
My contention that the only group more incompetent than National Republicans are National Democrats has proven true. Let's tally.
- Control of the Executive Branch.
- Control of the House of Representatives.
- (Brief) Super-majority control of the United States Senate.
Not since Jimmy Carter have the Democrats been in such a position of power. And not since Texas Republicans blew it in the Aughts has a party wasted such a strong majority. After the election of Al Franken you would have thought that policy priorities such as the expansion of Government into healthcare and severe restriction of the oil & gas industry would have been a given, but the Democratic leadership couldn't push the ball across the goal line.
You'll hear a lot in the coming days about "angry voters" and "change" but the real reason the Democrats are in trouble is plain old-fashioned arrogance. The same arrogance that led Karl Rove to declare a "permanent majority" and the same arrogance that led to Coakley (possibly the worst, serious, major party candidate for Senate ever.) deciding that "Kennedy's seat" was hers for the taking.
Now the US Government is looking down the barrel at gridlock, or moderation through true, bipartisan negotiation. A fact that should bring big smiles to the faces of America's moderate majority. Ironically, this event could end up helping Democrats in 2010 (provided they play their cards right, hardly a given). One thing the market likes is certainty. Now that some of the more onerous bills are close to being scrapped, it's possible that a small economic bump is on the way.
Granted, "we lost and things improved" isn't the best of campaign slogans but, heading into the mid-terms, it might be the best card the Democrats have left to play.**
**Unless you're a Texas Democrat or a member of the CCTT, who will probably spin this to somehow be a win for Bill White.**
1 comment:
Mostly agree. This isn't so much a "W" for the Rs as it is a MAJOR "Lose" for the Ds. And, while much of the blame can be laid on the shoulders of the DNC and the candidate, there is also plenty for Reid, Pelosi, and the D leadership in the Congress. I would say that their hubris, and the brazen manner in which they tossed aside the hopes and desires of a large part of the national electorate in order to conduct "business as usual", led to the perfect storm which gave Brown "the Kennedy seat".
Oh, yes, and the fact that the Ds were so arrogant as to believe that seat was "theirs" in the first place. ( Hint: it belongs to the people of the Commonwealth of MA.)
And, I wouldn't be too smug if I were the Rs, either. Yes, they now have "41", and can filibuster any legislation they choose to in the Senate. At the same time, they also have the reputation (deservedly or not) of being "the Party of NO", and if they exercise their right to filibuster too often, they may find their numbers shrinking further come Nov. Plus, Sen. Brown first and foremost represents the Commonwealth of MA, which is admittedly a very blue state. Should he decide he would like to remain in the Senate past 2012, he will have to keep this fact in mind, and he will be walking a very tight rope.
I'll blog more on this, later, at my place. Once I have a chance to digest it a bit (as well as my breakfast.)
~EdT.
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