Obama's Agenda at Risk with Brown Victory in Massachusetts

Posted by Bobby Eberle
January 18, 2010 at 9:22 am

Barack Obama and the Democrats in Washington are beginning to think the unthinkable. In the race to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat that was held by Ted Kennedy for decades, none of them thought that a Republican could possibly win. Think again!

With State Sen. Scott Brown surging in the polls, Obama and company are in panic mode. What happens if Brown actually wins? What happens to the health care bill? What happens to their filibuster-proof Senate? All of these questions have moved from the theoretical to the possible, and Obama doesn't like it at all. That is why the Democrats are pulling out all the stops in order to put their candidate over the top. If Brown does win, look for things to get very ugly in Washington.

On Sunday, Obama made a special trip to Massachusetts to help save the campaign of struggling candidate Martha Coakley. As noted in the AP story on GOPUSA, "Obama fought Sunday to save a struggling Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and the critical 60th vote needed for his health care plan. The White House and congressional Democrats scrambled to find a way to pass the bill quickly if Martha Coakley loses a special election Tuesday."

"Understand what's at stake here Massachusetts. It's whether we're going forward or going backwards," Obama said during a rally for Coakley as he tried to energize his dispirited base in this Democratic stronghold. "If you were fired up in the last election, I need you more fired up in this election."

Note to Obama: People are fired up. They are fired up because they see the direction you are taking the country, and they don't like it.

The AP surprisingly summed things up correctly by stating, "No matter who wins, the shockingly close contest in one of the country's most Democratic states is likely to put a lasting scare in Democrats, raise questions about Obama's political strength and test his party's resolve about his agenda, particularly health care."

Thousands Of Energetic Supporters Attend Scott Brown's People's Rally

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5384C5oa ... r_embedded

Red Sox legend Curt Schilling was referring to a gaffe that Coakley made during a radio interview on Friday in which she called Schilling "another Yankee fan." Of course, she was taking at dig at Schilling (who supports Brown) by reminding voters that the Yankees are hated by Boston Red Sox fans. I guess she forgot, however, that Schilling played injured during the 2004 playoffs and helped the Red Sox beat the Yankees on their way to winning the World Series.

In a new poll released on Sunday, Public Policy Polling shows Brown with a 51%-46% lead over Coakley.

Brown's lead comes thanks to an overwhelming advantage with independents and the ability to pick off a decent number of Democrats. He's getting the support of 19% of voters in Coakley's party, while she is winning just 8% of the Republican vote. The lead with independents is 64-32.

Republicans continue to show much more enthusiasm about the election than Democrats, with 89% of them saying they're 'very excited' to go vote compared to 63% of Dems who express that sentiment. Brown has a 59-40 lead among voters in that category.

The likely electorate for Tuesday's election continues to express skepticism about the Democratic health care plan with 48% saying they're opposed to 40% who support it. President Obama's approval stands at 44/43.

If Brown does win, the Democrats are already considering options on how to pass health care and bypass real negotiations in the process. The Associated Press reports that a "panicky White House and Democratic allies scrambled Sunday for a plan to salvage their hard-fought health care package in case a Republican wins Tuesday's Senate race in Massachusetts, which would enable the GOP to block further Senate action."

The likeliest scenario would require persuading House Democrats to accept a bill the Senate passed last month, despite their objections to several parts.

When the House passed its version, members assumed it would be reconciled with the Senate bill and then sent back to both chambers for final approval, even if by the narrowest of margins.

A GOP win in Massachusetts on Tuesday would likely kill that plan, because Republicans could block Senate action on the reconciled bill.

Byron York, writing in the Washington Examiner, highlights two factors that will determine the Massachusetts Senate race: health care and one-party government.

York notes that Massachusetts has near-universal health care coverage already, so Obama's nationalized health care plan does little for Massachusetts residents except for raising their taxes. In addition, York writes about the fact that Massachusetts, despite being dominated by Democrats, still tries to find some hint of balance of power. Four out of the last five governors have been Republican. As York observes, both factors favor Scott Brown.

How are Democrats in Massachusetts responding to Brown's surge? They are trying to blame George W. Bush. The National Journal cites some reactions following Obama's rally on Sunday.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), speaking with a gaggle of reporters after the event, said that while state Sen. Scott Brown (R) offers voters a quick fix, in reality, the problems created by "George Bush and his cronies" are not so easily solved.

(Curiously, Kennedy mentioned Coakley repeatedly during his remarks to reporters, each time referring to her as "Marcia," not "Martha.")

After a year of Obama, and several years of Democrats running the Congress, the idea of blaming former President Bush is more than silly. It just sounds desperate. But, that's exactly what the Democrats are, and after Tuesday's election, they may just see their filibuster-proof Senate slip away.

http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/?p=213