The wait is over. Did the best man win?
Give credit to the 50% of voters who bothered to come out and vote. 2 plus million, some angry. some wanted the same old thing. Twenty one thousand made a choice for Kennedy. Thank God he wasn't responsible for Coakley's demise. As some of you have said all along, Coakley was not the candidate of the majority of the D's to begin with.
Lets see what impact, if any Brown has in Washington and how much time he will actually be able to be there, as he must do the very same thing, campaign and run, 1 year from now, for the 2012 election.
It's not all good news, for the wind farm off the Cape and in reality he may not be able to serve the Commonwealth as well as the supporters claim. Minority freshman Senators used to stand in the back of the room, not that long ago.
I wish Mr. Brown luck.
posted by Jim Pillsbury @ 10:27 PM
20 Comments
20 Comments:
According to the results, Framingham, Natick, Wayland and Sudbury are still Coakley Blue... by the slimmest of margins.
Lets see if the R's can roll out any competition later this year.
MA politics is one of the most interesting arenas in this country. Elections like this are what make it so interesting. Last night I think we saw a reading of the pulse of the nation. The results impact not just MA, but the entire country. Repercussions from this election will be felt nationwide, watch and see. Is he the right choice? As you say Jim, I guess we have to wait and see. I think there is much about him that is of concern, but I think people voted for him to send a message, not necessarily in support of his views. Lets hope the message gets delivered and understood. You are right, he has a short window to make things happen. The dems of this state will not let such a weak candidate as Coakley run against him next time. Unless he does amazingly well in the next year I think he term as a US Senator will be a very short one, but that does not mean it can not be one that makes changes that we will all feel.
Heard this morning that Brown won Kennedy’s district in Hyannis. That must be a shock to the family. Pillsbury, you mention Brown is against Cape Wind. Is there really anything he can do to stop it at this point? As a senator does he have any say in the process at the point it is at now?
Coakley may have won Framingham as you said Jim, but she lost the race and that should knock some sense into these dems here in this town. They refused to recognize that she was losing, they refused to recognize that Coakley was the wrong candidate for the party, and they have continually refused to hear the voice of the constituents here in town who are unhappy and angered by their representation. They may have won here in town but it was a useless win since they lost the battle. I hope they are all feeling like the losers they are this morning. I am an old man who has voted democrat since 1944, until yesterday. I never would have believed I would vote against a democrat but the arrogance and ignorance that has been exhibited by the democrats in this state drove me to do just that. My vote was against the dems more than it was for Brown and I bet that is true of many who voted for him. I just hope that my message is received by those democrats who have disappointed and embarrassed me with the actions, or inactions, over the last several years.
Complicating the wind farm question is Devals proposal to "fast track" wind turbine applications, which may effect Cape Wind. The negotiations with the Feds and the Indians are on going with some concessions being made on both sides as I understand it. But as Linda and George point out, Kennedy's home town of Hyannis, overwhelming voted for Brown, because of his stand against Cape Wind.
I wouldn't at all be surprised if Brown and the R's somehow block Cape Wind from happening along with many of the great ideas Obama has for this country.
In a few days, we will learn, who, from where and how much money was donated to defeat health care reform. Only then, will the real reasons for his victory be clear. I have heard it could be as much as 6 million, donated just a week before the election by every company who stands against any reasonable regulations and cost saving measures.
I trust the angry mob will not regret their decision a year from now.
Did anyone else find his daughter Ayla to be extremely obnoxious last night? She acted like it was all about her and about her singing, which may I say does not impress me much either. Someone should tell that girl to chill out. The other daughter whose name I don’t even know seems much nicer and more normal. Ayla needs a tighter rein on that leaxh all good parents hold on their children.
You encouraged people to vote against Coakley here and now you will reap the effects of that choice. Hope you are ready for what will be the outcome of your decision. Brown is untested and upknow and unproven, not exactly the logical choice to replace the Lion of the Senate.
Amazing day here in MA, and I think probably an amazing day in Washington where I expect there will be lots of behind the scenes conversations going on about how to deal with this. Coakley was gracious in defeat, and Brown was aggressive about his win. Right or wrong the people have spoken and their voices have been heard. Democracy at its best was exhibited last night and people took advantage of their right to vote and used it to change the political landscape not only of this state, but of the country. The health care bill will suffer because of this election but maybe it will rise again as a better proposal. Brown says we can do better. Lets hope he continues to hold that belief and follows through on it. Only time will tell.
Harry.. I encouraged people to think about their vote. The D's did themselves in as many here have said. The R's benefited from public outrage over the status quo, entitlement and health care.
To sum this up, I quote someone much smarter than me who wrote this on a CNN page. “Independents like the checks and balances of divided government. They dislike the ideological arrogance and legislative overreach that comes when one party controls both the White House and Congress. That's what you're seeing.”
good find 6th.
Nice response to Harry Jim. You told us to think and think we did. Now lets see if what we thought was right. Brown is a big risk but I think we can survive any thing that he can do in the time until he will have to run for reelection. Unless he proves to be exactly what he claimed to be, someone who is taking the seat as a representative of the people, then I doubt he will be reelected. But they I doubted he could get elected in the first place, so what do I know. He should give you lots to write about here for the next year thats for sure.
Kennedy got an awful lot of votes a lot more than I would have expected. Guess you were not alone in your support of him Jim. But even with such a high voter turn-out it is still a two party system at least here in MA. Anyone not in one of those parties really does not stand a chance.
My question is what does this mean for me as a resident of Framingham? Is this going to benefit me, or hurt me? Your ideas on that question Jim?
I have been fascinated with this race and spending lots of time on line looking for information and people’s take on this election and the results and came across your blog in those searches. Seems that this is more of a local focus on the issues and how they impact people in your own community and although I don’t live in that community I bet many of the issues you look at here apply to my community, and many others in the state as well. Great idea to sort of bring all of this down to the local level and how it really does make a difference in our own back yards, what happens in the nation’s captial, as well as in our state capital. I see lots of people who are upset about the outcome of this election, and lots of people who are elated by the outcome. I think what we should all be is aware of this outcome, and attentive to how this all plays out. No one can say how good a senator Brown will be, he has no track record at the national level. And I think all would agree, including Brown himself, that no one is going to be able to do for this state what Kennedy did. But lets give this guy a chance to show us what he can do before we judge him. The majority rules and the majority voted for him so lets see if the majority rule works before passing judgement. Will check back here again, really enjoyed reading these posts.
It showed me Worried.. that most of my neighbors are staunch D's and is my guess that they will try even harder to support their own in November. Deval is perhaps looking at the same fate as Coakley with a host of R's, maybe a D to challenge the party and the Independent.
The win for the R's may lead to more challengers come this November at the local level, but without moderate or centrist type players, I think the locals will reject the just say no to new taxes as the way to fix our economy. We already have healthcare so they can't ride that point to the ballot box.
Look for more interest in how ineffective, corrupt and secretive Beacon Hill is this year. Another round of tax increase, perhaps a gas tax increase to rev up the anger towards the ruling elite. More revelations will come out during DiMasi's trial, implicating more unethical behavior. Another scandal would probably push this whole state to the red side. Whether that is better for us, remains to be seen. But as Soldier points out the sheer arrogance of the ruling party around here may be their undoing.
Our town will suffer like the rest this year, in terms of financial support from the State. The economy may be slow to rebound and unemployment will probably be double digit for years to come. The locals will be forced to reduce spending at some point and I'll bet, spending tax dollars on everything will be scrutinized. more.
Look for the entitlement crowd to mount a fierce fight in November for the status quo.
Not to placate any of our readers here.. .but I'm very impressed with the level of intelligence and in depth thinking our readers have here. Unlike the angry insulting comments on some web places, our readers really do make good points that advance the discussion on many topics. But nothing stirs emotions more than talking about politics and for those of you who contribute to this blog, I really thank you.
You got what you deserved people and now you will pay the price. Brown is going to be absolutely a disaster. He is an inexperienced legislator who thinks he knows more than those who have been at it for years and he will step on toes and anger people with his abrasive attitude that he knows more than anyone else. Stay tuned for the next chapter in the long running dark comedy series about politics in MA. On the positive side, Coakley did not get elected, and the turn out for the election was very high, and those are both good results if you ask me.
Who will serve the remainder of Brown’s term in the state senate now? How does that person get elected/appointed/annointed?
This is what we know as of today on Browns replacement. I hope to see an idepedant also.
Rep. Lida Harkins, D-Needham, said today she would run for the position.
Reps. Richard Ross, R-Wrentham, and Elizabeth Poirier, R-North Attleborough, say they are considering candidacies as well.
There's nothing in state law requiring a special election to fill the position, said Brian McNiff, a spokesman for Secretary of State William Galvin's office.
But a Senate rule requires the chamber to schedule a special election within 14 days of a seat becoming vacant, said Dave Falcone, a spokesman for Senate President Therese Murray.
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