In what can only be attributed to voter backlash to the Obama administration, the GOP completed its sweep of the three major off-year elections with a Senatorial victory in Massachusetts yesterday. So much for the political pundits who declared the Republican party as DOA a year ago.
The GOP resurrection all started in Virginia on November 3, 2009 when Bob McDonnell, the former state Attorney General, trounced Democratic State Senator Creigh Deeds by a 59% to 41% margin in the gubernatorial race. It was the biggest margin of victory in the Commonwealth since 1961. McDonnell, who took the oath of office last Saturday, replaced Democratic governor Tim Kaine.
That same fateful November election saw Republican Chris Christie knock off incumbent New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine by 87,000 votes in a race that was almost too close to call. It was the largest margin of victory for a first-time Republican in the Garden State since 1969. Christie, like his Virginia counterpart, was a former Attorney General (US). Similarly, both states now have two Democratic senators and a new rookie Republican governor.
Christie was inaugurated yesterday. While emphasizing that he was in Trenton to implement “change”, he put his finger on the problem in New Jersey politics. “Too much time has been spent assigning blame instead of accepting responsibility,” he said.
Yesterday also marked the end of the Democratic reign of one of Massachusetts’ Senate seats. Since John F. Kennedy defeated Henry Cabot Lodge in a big upset back in 1952, the Bay State has been decidedly Democratic. When Kennedy won the Presidential election in 1960, the seat was passed to a Democratic family friend, who then stepped aside in an pre-arrangement to secede to Ted Kennedy in 1962. Teddy, who held the Senate job for over 46 years, was unable to directly take the seat from brother John in ’60 because he wasn’t yet 30 years old. This youngest Kennedy son passed away last summer.
The Senatorial election yesterday went to Republican Scott Brown, a former State Senator, who routed Democratic Attorney General (sound familiar?) Martha Coakley. The combination of Coakley’s lack of charisma and poor campaign strategy was her undoing. Brown, who once trailed in the polls by 30% and then as recently as two weeks ago by 15%, took 52% of the popular vote.
The vote was also a reflection of the fallout from the Obama presidency, which ran on a platform of being an agent of change but so far has been decidedly ineffective. An all too-familar ring of a presidential candidate being a “Washington outsider” resonates with voters, but the reality is usually that once they set up shop inside the Beltway they get sucked into “politics as usual”. They find that compromise and cutting deals is a survival tool.
Saving the best for last, the Massachusetts election was also perhaps a yardstick for the popularity of the universal health care reform being presented to the American people. Brown will now cast the deciding 41st vote in the Senate against the bill, effectively putting the issue to rest for a while.
Maybe it’s time for the Obama administration to focus on the issue that Americans care most about – the economy and jobs.
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