Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Welcome to the Ranks, Senator Brown

In the race for the Massachusetts Senate seat, Brown (Republican) has emerged victorious. This means that the Democrats have lost their sixty seat majority, and could possibly overthrow the healthcare changes President Obama has been working so hard on. This is an hour that Obama is probably mourning.

From the article, "In a race that became the center of national attention, Brown’s win is widely seen as a vote against the president’s agenda from one of the most reliably Democratic states. "

The article also notes the irony that Brown won, considering that the Senate seat in question belonged to Ted Kennedy, who dedicated his life to healthcare reform.

7 comments:

Jack Rogers said...

He hasn't been "welcomed to the ranks" quite yet. Health care reform very well may pass before Brown is even sworn into the Senate.

Talia Y. said...

Since MA voted for Brown, and many people turned out to vote even during a slight snow storm, does that mean the majority of people living in MA are against the health care reform? I read that this was an unexpected voter turnout, especially considering the election was a special one and not during a normal election. Perhaps this is a sign that not everyone is for the health care reform as many would have though? What are your guys' thoughts?

Katie Jensen said...

Needless to say, this is a huge blow to Obama and the Democrats. And very, very ironic Sam. Also ironic that your last name is Kennedy too! haha, jk.

I think Talia brings up a good point. MA is pretty Democratic as well, which is more cause for concern for Obama and the Demos. The high turn out suggests that either people REALLY didn't want health care so they all came out, or it could be that they REALLY wanted it but just fell short. I was talking to Jack about it today and he said that he heard high turnout would allow the Democrat to win, so perhaps that was what sparked so many people's interest.

I feel like the majority of people are still very scared of health care. They've heard many rumors, and they don't know what or who to believe. I'm definitely unsure of what to believe. I don't think I could vote on my preference. I would think that when people are unsure, they'll vote no.

Another aspect is one I was talking about with my dad today. I hadn't been following this special election, but he said something about how Coakley (D) was ahead in polls but has been steadily slipping due to her own problems.

In some quick research I did, I found this quote in a Yahoo! article: "I voted for Obama because I wanted change. ... I thought he'd bring it to us, but I just don't like the direction that he's heading," said John Triolo, 38, a registered independent who voted in Fitchburg.

I feel like whether it's a lack of understanding or something else, the people aren't happy with this direction, and Obama should listen.

-Katie Jensen

Ari said...

What's particularly compelling about this special election is both how politicized it became (and FAST) but also more the significance as a reflection of public opinion and as what may be viewed as "wasted" political capital.
If the House rushes through with the Senate's bill, or the Senate goes through with the process that allows slight adjustments to be made with a 51-Senator majority (called "reconciliation," and pretty complex to maneuver, IMO), I think that will be a sacrifice of more political capital. This would definitely exacerbate accusations from both sides of the aisle about lack of collectness and rushing to push through not fully-formed legislation.

The new Kevin (a.k.a Kevin Kwan) said...

Perhaps saying that MA voted for a conservative because the voters are too apprehensive about healthcare is too arbitrary. When prop 8 was passed here, did that mean that a lot of Californians are homophobic? Certainly not given the political force involved in trying to overturn the proposition; it has even managed to reach the Supreme Court. That should alone tell you that elections and votes aren't arbitrary. This conservative victory could even be attributed to Coakley's incompetence or perceived incompetence. The balance of power in politics is extremely dynamic and fluid; what favors the conservatives may quickly shift towards the liberals.

I had to delete one of my earlier comments to make room for this one.

Andrew said...

I'll just keep it simple:

The majority of people voted for Brown and he won. They obviously didn't vote for Coakley, for whatever reason, but possibly due to her being a Democrat. Silly, but people think the Democrats, especially Obama, are pretty silly also.

This is a bit ironic and I wonder what that tells us about humanity? We forget ever so easily what we were fighting for and want a change. Ouch, the recurrence of history is killing me.

Katie Jensen said...

In response to Kevin's post:
"Perhaps saying that MA voted for a conservative because the voters are too apprehensive about healthcare is too arbitrary. When prop 8 was passed here, did that mean that a lot of Californians are homophobic?"

Yes, I do think it meant a lot of Californians were homophobic and not "ready" for homosexuals to have to legal right to marry. What is your point about MA & health care being arbitrary?
-Katie Jensen