It’s great to see Scott Brown becoming the senator-elect of Massachusetts. But it sure is entertaining to see the Democrats and liberals in an epic crap throwing contest. Against each other!
Even before the polls closed, word got out that a Coakley adviser sent out a memo blaming the Washington Democrats for acting too late:
National Dems Failed to Aid Coakley Until Too Late
– Coakley campaign provided national Democrats with all poll results since early December
– Coakley campaign noted concerns about “apathy” and failure of national Democrats to contribute early in December. Coakley campaign noted fundraising concerns throughout December and requested national Democratic help.
– DNC and other Dem organizations did not engage until the week before the election, much too late to aid Coakley operation
Brown Capitalized on Concerns About National Democrats
– From the beginning, Brown labeled President Obama’s health care and cap and trade plans as tax increases. Polling throughout the race showed this to be the most effective attack on Coakley.
– Coakley’s lead dropped significantly after the Senate passed health care reform shortly before Christmas and after the Christmas Eve “bombing” incident. Polling showed significant concerns with the actions of Senator Nelson to hold out for a better deal. Senator Nelson’s actions specifically hurt Coakley who was forced to backtrack on her opposition to the abortion restriction amendment.
– Democrats concerns with Obama’s Afghanastain plan forced Coakley to oppose the Afghan war in the primary, which hurt her in the general.
Claims about Coakley’s Scant Campaigning and Miscues Were exaggerated
– Because of the failure of national Democrats to support Coakley, she was forced to devote significant time to fundraising in December. She also released a variety of plans in December and had a public event nearly every day.
– Coakley’s failure to release television advertisments until 12 days before the election was the result of a fundraising problem that national Democrats failed to resolve. Meanwhile, right wing groups pumped significant amounts of money into Brown’s campaign allowing him to go up with ads first, including negative attack ads funded by the Swift Boat and Willie Horton groups.
Almost immediately a Democrat Party official fired back at the Coakley camp:
This memo is a pack full of lies and fantasies — The DNC and the DSCC did everything they were asked and have been involved in the race for several weeks, not just the last one.
The campaign failed to recognize this threat, failed to keep Coakley on the campaign trail, failed to create a negative narrative about Brown, failed to stay on the air in December while he was running a brilliant campaign. It’s wishful thinking from a pollster, candidate and campaign team that were caught napping and are going to allow one of the worst debacles in American political history to happen on their watch that they are at the 11th hour are going to blame others.
Before the DNC and DSCC got involved there was barely a single piece of paper on what the narrative is on Brown. The candidate in this race and the campaign have been involved in the worst case of political malpractice in memory and they aren’t going to be able to spin themselves out of this with a memo full of lies.
Obviously the Democrats are in full “protect Obama” mode, trying to distance the president from the outcome of this race. The people of Massachusetts have sent a shock wave that reaches Washington — even House Democrats are voicing their dissatisfaction with how fast their leaders want the health care bill passed:
In fact, early signs of split emerged as the polls closed in Massachusetts – between leaders like Majority Leader Steny Hoyer who said “the Senate bill is better than nothing,” and individual members who didn’t want to swallow the Senate’s version of health reform whole.
And with the winning majority for a health reform bill in the House so thin, almost any defections at this point would be fatal to reform’s prospects.
“The only way to go forward is to take a step back. If there isn’t any recognition that we got the message and we are trying to recalibrate and do things differently, we are not only going to risk looking ignorant but arrogant,” said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), one of the leading advocates for health reform in the House.
“I don’t think it would be the worst thing to take a step back and say we are going to pivot to do a jobs thing” and include elements of health care reform in it, he said.
Will moderate House Democrats start pointing fingers at the White House and their Congressional leadership, too? It’s hard to overlook the fact that Brown won with a 5% margin, in a state that voted for Obama in 2008 overwhelmingly, and for a Kennedy seat that’s been blue for decades. Nobody — nobody — fathomed any Republican candidate to even come close in a Massachusetts match-up.
Oh, also entertaining is watching the liberal talking heads going crazy over the election results. Bush Derangement Syndrome is pediatrics compared to what the Brown victory is doing to the liberals.
