Brown’s win a referendum on Obama’s presidency?
Irony appears to be in the air tonight. The liberal legacy of Edward Kennedy has been replaced by Scott Brown. Who vows to go to Washington fighting against any healthcare bill. All of this after Kennedy installed a new law for a special election for the simple purpose that the Democrats would not have a problem getting 60 votes to pass the bill. If you remember the Obama election the night Kennedy endorsed him his candidacy took a turn for the win. It was a long battle but that truely marked the beginning of when he had a chance of winning. Given Kennedy’s position on healthcare you must wonder if Obama pledged to Kennedy to do his best to get this bill passed for his endorsement.
In deed Democrats must be worried that a Republican won Kennedy’s seat. Massachussetts it can be said is the bluest of blue states. Other analyst point out however that the majority of voters in Massachussetts are independents. However, the missteps that were made by Coakley proved to be devistating to her candidacy. First she belittled Brown for going outside in the cold weather and shaking hands. She herself only attended 19 events in 30 days. She mocked him on multiple occasions and said Kurt Schilling was a Yankees fan. These in my opinion were the serious missteps that led her to a loss.
I don’t personally believe this was any type of referendum on Obama’s presidency. I use one simple fact to back this up. If you look at the polls if Kennedy had been on the Democratic ticket Scott Brown would have never stood a chance. Therefore one must conclude that it is the actual candidate themself that holds the key to the election. However, this being said, it will definitely make people pay attention later this year in the midterm elections. I credit this loss ultimately to Coakley’s feeling of “entitlement” of the seat. She made the same grave mistake that Hillary Clinton made in 2008. Polls showed them both ahead and they figured they could go on vacation. This proved to be deadly and now it will cost Obama a healthcare bill.
1 Comment for this entry
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Definitely a referendum!
Perhaps Brown’s win was a referendum
I wrote a post last week that Brown’s win was not a referendum on Obama’s presidency. However, this week I’m. 
Jeffrey
January 25th, 2010 on 10:43 am