Conor J Rogers, Editor
Republican | Washington, DC
The ‘Era of Obama’ is over.
Now, with healthcare stalled, cap-and-trade completely out of the question and an ineffective stimulus package, the punditry is abuzz: did the Obama’s ‘era’ ever exist at all, save for a few feel-good weeks in January?
Exactly one year after Barack Obama stepped into the Oval Office, America’s most liberal state has elected a Republican – and a somewhat conservative one at that.
As Senator-Elect Scott Brown took to the stage in Boston, Obama’s healthcare restructuring efforts took its final breath. The White House is now thrice electorally embarrassed and congressional Democrats are in full retreat. Already, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) has said he won’t vote on healthcare until Brown is seated – effectively killing the bill.
Twelve months ago, Obama and the Democrats swept into Washington, DC with sky-high approval ratings and an ambitious agenda centered on economic restructuring, nationalizing healthcare and sweeping changes in climate policy.
Now, Democrats have lost the very senate seat that incubated healthcare over the past 30 years – and with it, any hope for any and all major policy changes. The Republicans can now block any piece of the agenda they want – and as approval for Obama’s handling of the economy, healthcare and cap-and-trade all drop below 50% nationally, they aren’t going to face any consequences in doing so.
The ‘anti-change’ GOP is out – and ‘We can do better’ is in.
Virginia may have been returning to its red state roots. New Jersey – perhaps a rejection of Corzine. But Massachusetts? Sure, Martha Coakley didn’t campaign in earnest until this past week – but even a lackluster Democrat should be able to get elected with double digit margins in the Bay State (Sen. Kerry is not exactly hair-raising)
Democrats Have Noone To Blame But Themselves
Scott Brown’s shocking win is not the sole cause of the now paralyzed situation Washington Democrats find themselves in. As their agenda crumbles, DC Democrats have no one to blame but themselves.
They ignored the tea parties, turned a blind eye to the town halls, wrote off elections in New Jersey and Virginia, and arm-twisted their most moderate members, despite the alarms sounding back home in red states. As they pushed their moderate members to the brink, they began to stand down for re-election – faced with an angry electorate back home. As a result, Democratic majorities were in further 2010 danger and Democrats pushed healthcare even faster – after all, they only had a few months left. That’s when the Democrats blew it once and for all. In a vicious cycle, the harder Democrats pushed for a healthcare bill, the more endangered their Senators and Congressmen became.
Scott Brown is the very product of the dysfunctional Democratic healthcare reforms he will end.
By closing the doors on healthcare negotiations, and ram-rodding an unpopular plan through the Senate, national Democrats stoked populist ire in even their most loyal state. In essence, because the Democrats tried to force the cards on healthcare, they’ve lost any real chance they had on ever passing it.
Brown didn’t get elected because the Democrats are in trouble – the Democrats are in trouble because he got elected. Any attempt to re-work the healthcare bill into something that the American people will actually want and accept can now be credited to Republican pressure – and the GOP can steal the mantle of reform from Obama – setting up GOP rising stars McDonnell and Brown as political golden boys.
Scott Brown is not an aberration. The soon to be Senator from Massachusetts is an equal and opposite reaction to a healthcare plan that no matter how the Democrats spin it, and no matter how badly they want it, remains unpopular with the public, and toxic to the touch for any aspiring candidate. No one can successfully campaign on it, Democrats must campaign around it, and Republicans are now three-for-three when campaigning against it.
The people, as they should be, are reacting against a government pushing a plan that is simply against popular will – and the people are now headed straight down I-95 for Washington, in Scott Brown’s beat-up old pickup truck.
Thanks, Conor.
Scott Brown is the anti-Barney Frank. Perhaps Barney had gone “below the radar” as the complete embarassment as the Kennedy outyears were tolerated by the Massachusetts voters. How could they have retired the bloated plutocrat, with all the bacon his Kennedy-schooled staff was able to steer to the people’s Republic of Massachusetts? But Kennedy dies, and Coakley tries. Meanwhile, the lisping simpering keeper-of-a male madam: Barney Fwank becomes the Senior Senator from The state of Concord. The State of Lexington. The state of Bunker Hill. They simply couldn’t stomach Barney Fwank as the senior Senator from that troubled state, without an antidote.
Scott brown is the antidote. God bless him.
Barney: watch out! We’re comin’ for you, too!
OD – let’s be honest. its not the lisping or the simpering or the male madam that are the problem with barney frank. it is his complete lack of understanding of the financial sector that he believes is his area of expertise. speech impediment and personal life aside, he has done more to create our present financial problems than any other single individual. that aside also, scott brown is the loudest shot from massachusetts since lexington and concord. both clinton and bush were much chagrined and made changes after their midterm problems. lets see how obama responds. george w fired rumsfeld, will obama fire rahm-bo?
yoda: correct you are. I overflowed with personal repugnance(it’s so easy to do) without making the case of his unsuitability for leadership. His protection os Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and sponsorship of the ruination of the banking system should warrant hearings, and shame and ignominy. But not while Demos still have the majority.
yes–What will happen in White House?
Most liberal state in the country? I think the good people of Vermont might have something to say about that..
You mean the only state that has never required permits to carry concealed? I’m pretty sure the people of Vermont would have their doubts as to how “liberal” they are in the modern, American sense of the word.
As someone who is from Massachusetts and goes to Vermont frequently, let me settle this: Massachusetts and Vermont are both very liberal states that saw the same (high) amount of Obama stickers in 2008. Only difference is that Vermonters put them on the back of their Subarus, and Bay Staters on their yachts. Simple as that!
That’s hilarious, Michele, even if true!
Tyler: The state of Calvin Coolidge?
Massachusetts is now the “most liberal state” in the country? Are we talking about the same Massachusetts? Of Massachusetts’ last 4 elected governors, 3 of them were Republican.
this is what i heard on liberal talk radio last night. the republican’s “obstructionist” tactics have prevented obama from implementing his agenda. (no mention of large majorities in both houses). because of lack of accomplishment on dear to the heart liberal initiatives, the left’s anger at obama manifested itself in the election of brown in MA. therefore, if obama wants to fufill his destiny, he must tack hard to the left, regain his base and take his place in history among FDR, johnson and of all presidents, lincoln. they said a health care bill must be passed even tho the country doesn’t want it in its present form and that after we see what’s in the bill we’ll all very happy……. stunning arrogance! i believe the president has to focus on the economy and jobs in order to regain his popularity. unfortunately, the only way to stimulate an economy is by giving the people their money back thru tax cuts and obama simply can not do this given his ideology. he’s really stuck.
MA has only 12 percent of its population registered Republican. Argue all you want about about liberalism in Vermont, but any win by a Republican seems pretty impressive in a state with such a small amount of registered Repubs. Methinks that’s what Mr. Rogers wanted to convey…
Yoda, you were listening to liberal talk radio? You must have doubled their numbers!
Sorry if I made something out of nothing with my Vermont comment. I was commenting facetiously and am aware of this article’s larger point.
Nonehteless, O & D, Coolidge was actually from Massachusetts.
TYler: From About.com: “oolidge was born on July 4, 1872 in Plymouth, Vermont. His father was a storekeeper and local public official. Coolidge attended a local school before enrolling nin 1886 at the Black River Academy in Ludlow, Vermont”
Took the Oath of Office in a town with no phone, only a telegraph. His Father administered it, as I remember, as he was the local magistrate.
Yes, I believe he was also the Gov. of Mass. but he wasn’t from there.
Much more egregious, but not yet pointed out, was my error in thinking Barney Frank was now the Senior Senator from Massachusetts. When I penned the above, I really did think that was true. Alas, the senior Senator is now the Viet Nam veteran John Kerry, married to the ketchup widow, and the failed Democratic presidential nominee in 2004. It’s just that ever since Kerry slid into relative ignominy, Frank has kept a much larger news profile, intoning regularly on what we should expect from the banks and finance agencies(but very little on what we should expect from the regulators, or their overseers). He, like Dodd in the Senate, has used the current politically corrupt atmosphere to escape the tarring-and-feathering he deserves.
My apologies to the board for my misidentification of Barney Fwank as the Senior Senator from Massachusetts. It’s not true. Kerry’s another we have to retire!