Not at all true – he ran as a Republican – that’s what it says on the ballot. Kennedy (no relation to the more famous family) was the only Independent on the ballot.
Brown tried to hide his Republican status, though, calling himself “an Independent thinker” in radio and TV ads that didn’t announce his REpublican status, in a gambit to grab the Independent and Undecided vote. Which apparently worked. I wonder how they’re going to feel when they learn they’ve elected a Republican.
Well, considering I (in Canada) know that they’ve elected a Republican, I would say that’s not a valid point. It sure is making the news here too.
It makes sense to me: the Republican victory that is. Health care in Mass. is already at a fairly decent level, and given the state of the economy ANY thought of a tax increase to support the federal proposal is scaring the crap out of people. Hell, I probably would have voted Republican in this election, given the opportunity.
As I’ve mentioned before, and in another post on this topic, Massachusetts has a very peculiar tradition of not putting the candidate’s party on campaign posters and ads. If I drive through a town and see the names of candidates for local office, I will have absolutely no idea which party they’re with. Neither Coakley’s nor Brown’s stuff identified them by party. The radio commercials I heard for Brown that called him “an Independent thinker” didn’t say he was Republican, either.
I’d say the strategy was perfectly effective. Yeah, you may know in Canada that he’s Republican – they certainly note the parties on your news broadcasts and print. But the campaign materials here don’t. And too many people pay no attention.
His daughters look like normal girls. The brunette is attactive to me, the blonde less so. Neither is what I’d refer to as very good-looking - maybe you just have lower standards in Massachusetts? Ditto Scott Brown himself. He’s good looking enough for a politician and his age, but he’s not the sort of guy I’d expect women to throw their panties* to. Maybe his charisma or power add something for you.
Ditto for the Obamas. Neither Michele or Barack is super model material, but people tend to fawn over their looks. Not saying that any of them are ugly, I just always find it amusing that politicos and other celebs seem to get a few points added to their rating.
*If the word panties squicks the mild-mannered reader out, please substitute your own word here.
No. As in a core competency of the GOP is obstruction of anything that Obama wants to do.
Which number is this on the Republican “stock comments” page is this one?
But the real question is, would I want to have a beer with him?
There is some good news. Joe Lieberman’s fifteen minutes is over. His sorry ass is now officially useless. Fifty-eight votes is as good as fifty-nine. The Democrats should be able to find the stones to expel him from caucus and from his ‘majority’ committee assignments.
Here is what cracks me up regarding what passes as a pale excuse for “bi-partisanship.” Apparently, for all the checks and balances to check and balance, Democrats need 60 of 100 seats, but Republicans only need 41 0f 100 seats.
Nice fuzzy math … 50/50 is no good; and 41/59 is a backbreaker for the 59 and a clear majority for the 41.
I’m moving this from MPSIMS to Great Debates, since it’s turned into a discussion about the implications of the election for both a couple of immediate issues, like health care reform, and the nature of the electoral landscape in general.
twickster, MPSIMS mod
I don’t think 4 million people in Chicagoland consider themselves as small towners. Sure there are suburbs that have small populations, but the the non-stop patchwork of suburbs and the city itself mean that you have to move pretty far out to recapture that “small town” feel.
Despite the bazillion ads of his I’ve seen, I don’t know anything about the guy. I had to go to Wikipedia to find out what his positions on various issues were.
The only think I gleaned from the ads is that he’s an “independent thinker”. How towing the party line qualifies as “independent thinking”, I’m not sure, but Ol’ Scott has lots of it apparently. :rolleyes:
But if you saw or heard any of the Brown ads, you absolutely also saw or heard Coakley’s ads, which were very, very clear in identifying Brown a Republican. If you’re saying voters will be surprised that he winds up voting straight Republican in the Senate, I can agree with that. If you’re saying voters will be surprised that he’s a member of the Republican party, that’s just crazy talk.
Coakly blames Obama’s capitulation with the bankers more than anything else. It was not about health care as much as mixing everything up in the sausage grinder of politics. Mass. has a better health care system than the one we spent a year on ,making no one happy. except Pharm and Insurance Companies. Was it a repudiation of Obama or the horrible process that politics has become?
That Brown voted for. Go figure.
What makes you say that? Are the Republicans going to stop pouting and whining and suddenly start to participate in government instead of just elections?
When asked about that, his replies have been along the lines that it should be a state-level matter, and other states can do the same.
What that omits is that the MA system was implemented by reallocating the state budget money already being appropriated to compensate providers for treating the uninsured. A state that doesn’t already have something like that will, like Congress, run afoul of the “taxes bad” contingent.
You entertain us. Watching people try to defend Bush and Palin was particularly entertaining. The torture, less so.
*: happydance :
: happydance :
: happydance :*
Fuck it.
I just don’t give a shit anymore. Enjoy your victory Senator Brown. Give the whole damn thing over to the republicans and let them run it for awhile, the democrats sure as hell can’t get their shit together to get anything passed.
Let the pubbies have it, some of the stuff they’ll pass will be good, most will be bad overall for the public, but it’s apparently what much of the public wants, so go for it.
Maybe the democrats need to get our asses handed to us in the next election so the NEXT batch that gets in will nut up and actually GET SOMETHING DONE and not just argue amongst themselves while the opposition builds.
I think I need a vacation. At least from American politics.
Mark
Those of you celebrating, can you please share with us some fuller explanation of exactly what you think you’ve won?