Posted by
John Caile on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 7:42:53 AM
The deflated and defeated looks on the faces of CNN and MSNBC talking heads said it all - after more than 50 years, Massachusetts voters finally broke the Democratic Party's stranglehold on their State. Like their liberty loving forefathers who dumped tea into Boston harbor, the People had finally had enough.
For those of you who may have been living in a cave, Republican newcomer Scott Brown went from virtual obscurity to winning the Senate seat held for more than four decades by liberal icon Ted Kennedy. Brown beat the Democrat "machine" candidate Martha Coakely, who just a month ago held a comfortable double-digit lead in the polls.
Even more telling, Brown won by a solid margin, sparing the citizens of Massachusetts the pain of a nasty and divisive court battle such as occurred in Minnesota, where very suspicious last minute votes came out of the (ACORN?) woodwork to put Democrat candidate Al Franken (yes, that Al Franken) in the U.S. Senate - and embarrassing the State of Minnesota in the process.
The ramifications of Brown's stunning upset will be felt across the nation, now, and for the next decade. Democrats in particular are reeling, attempting to make sense of it all. Naturally, many are eagerly blaming Martha Coakley herself, while doing everything they can to distance the cataclysmic loss from Democrats in general and Obama in particular.
But there is simply no way to hide from the reality that if an unknown Republican can soundly trounce a Democrat in a State like Massachusetts, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 to 1, something very big is happening. And Democrats had better pay attention.
Clearly, the voters are angry. Polls have shown that they are angry at the out of control spending by Obama and his Congress. Angry at the quadrupling of the budget deficit. Angry at the relentless push for a government takeover of the American health care industry.
And perhaps most of all, like most Americans, Massachusetts voters are angry at an arrogant, elitist Democrat leadership that has demonstrated nothing less than contempt for the "unwashed" electorate. High ranking Democrats such as John Kerry and Obama himself, in stumping for Coakley even went so far as to ridicule Scott Brown for...driving a truck. Apparently, they forgot that a hell of a lot Massachusetts voters drive trucks, too.
But Republicans had also better beware - voters are not merely angry at Democrats. They are angry at all politicians who refuse to listen to them, and more than a few Republicans who have gone along with the Democrats on things like spending, tax hikes, and the "global warming" scam, may soon find themselves in the same position as Martha Coakley.
For too long, Republican "strategists" have been counseling the GOP to "move to the left" on a whole range of issues, and to become more "moderate" - all in the vain hope that a "me too" approach will somehow attract independent voters. But, contrary to the false image portrayed in movies, on TV, and in most news media, America is not a liberal country. While more than 40% of Americans call themselves conservatives, only 19% admit to being liberals.
And a clear majority of Americans want less government intrusion in their lives, even if it means giving up some things. A recent Rasmussen poll showed that a solid "Sixty-six percent (66%) of U.S. voters prefer a smaller government with
fewer services and lower taxes over a more active government with more
services and higher taxes." And when it comes to job creation, an overwhelming majority of voters, including most Democrats, favor tax cuts over government spending.
Scott Brown ran a campaign that mirrored these values - he clearly and unambiguously stated his very conservative positions - he opposed the Democrats' government health care plan, advocates lower taxes, and endorses expanding personal liberty over increasing governmental control. And if even the historically liberal voters of Massachusetts responded with such enthusiasm, then "moderate" Republicans everywhere should rethink their strategic planning.
If they don't, they may once again succeed in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory - as they did in nominating the yawningly "compromising" John McCain.