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senate
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| ack ... massachusetts senate special election next week, that is... |
| posted by: simplicissimus |
12:50 1.15.10 |
wow, quite a story.
familiar enough tale, in both parties (see illinois): entrenched, top-heavy political organization chooses "next in line" hack to run, "next in line" hack is a terrible candidate, insurgent underdog with no chance gets a little traction and rides a wave of out-of-power enthusiasm.
and, kaboom: teddy kennedy's seat could be in republican hands.
i still think it's coakley's to lose, and that she wins by 3-4 percent. there are just too many institutional forces favoring dems in a state like massachusetts. it's a lot to overcome.
i will say this, though: tea parties should take note. the republican, brown, is putting his best moderate face forward. which is exactly how it should be.
i've seen this with the dems in the last 4 years, and it's funny to watch again with the republicans: everyone is going coo coo to support this guy brown, though his stance on social issues (including abortion) would normally garner the scorn of the republican base, for now he can win which is enough. 2-3 years from now, when he's taking all sorts of moderate positions to get re-elected in massachusetts, the republican base will hate his guts.
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Want a reason to care about this (and I have to admit, it's hard to: the more races you watch, the more you realize how little it really matters): if brown wins, the dems LOSE a vote in the senate, which means health care will be (a) rushed through before he's seated, which looks awful; or (b) health care will be dead.
Like I said, I don't think it will come to this. But I wouldn't put any money on it.
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| posted by: simplicissimus |
12:43 1.15.10 |
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