Massachusetts: The Shot Heard ‘Round the World

Last night the voice of voters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts was strong and clear. They wanted to send a message to Washington that the American people are not lock step behind the liberal Democratic agenda. For months (maybe a year) Democrats have been telling us that the American people overwhelmingly support their efforts on healthcare reform. They know that this is not true, and no matter how many times they say it in front of the cameras it won’t be true.

Last night, the people of Massachusetts took a stand. Took a stand against out of control spending, balooning deficits and debt, and a Congress that is out of touch with the desires and the needs of the American people. As Scott Brown said in his victory speech last night, “We Can Do Better!” Here is a video with excerpts from the victory speech last night (From CBS News on YouTube):

So far the response from the Obama Administration and Democrats in Congress is that the addition of a 41st Republican to the United States Senate, and an end to the filibuster proof Democratic majority means little or nothing. To them, this doesn’t change their agenda and in essence will only make them work harder to pass their liberal agenda. There is even talk about moving further to the left, when clearly that is not what the voters of Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts have responded to. I am not sure if this one victory in Massachusetts means Republicans will run the table like they did in 1994, but it certainly puts that within reach. The American people did vote for change in 2006 and 2008, they did want to give the Democrats a chance to do better than Republicans had done. Republicans learned the lesson, and have committed themselves back to the principles our party has always believed in. Limited government, reducing spending, and cutting taxes to truly stimulate the economy. However simply being the Republican candidate is not going to be the answer for getting elected in this cycle. If you don’t have the proven record (a new face or something like that), and even if you are an incumbent Republican … basically what our party needs to do is to make a tangible promise to the American people like we did in 1994 and stick to it. We did pretty well after ’94, balanced the budget and reduced the national debt. We got blinded by the power and spent like we were Democrat-lite. We need our 1994 moment again…maybe Scott Brown can be the spark that brings that about.

But there is no doubt… this is the beginning. Republicans and conservatives need to capitalize upon it now and maybe … just maybe … we can take back Congress in 2010 and the White House in 2012.

BREAKING NEWS: Scott Brown Elected to United States Senate

The Associated Press is projecting that Massachusetts State Senator Scott Brown is now United States Senator-Elect Scott Brown. Republican Scott Brown has won the Massachusetts Senate seat held for nearly a half-century by Democrat Edward Kennedy.

Election Results

Brown’s victory in the special election gives Senate Republicans the 41st vote they need to block legislation favored by majority Democrats and President Barack Obama.

CHANGE Coming in Massachusetts…TONIGHT

We are less than three hours away from the closing of polls all across Massachusetts, and the election of new United States Senator for the Commonwealth. For sure there is plenty of excitement among Republicans and conservatives about the possibility of the election of State Senator Scott Brown to fill a seat that was held by the late Senator Edward Kennedy. In the bluest of blue states, where Democrats far outnumber Republicans, a Republican has a CHANCE. Some have told me that there is no way Scott Brown wins tonight … thats simply because it hasn’t happened in a LONG TIME. In fact WRKO in Boston back in November, made it seem that it was a foregone conclusion that State Attorney General Martha Coakley would win, just listen to this audio clip:

Now, it is really only the first sound bite that puts WRKO’s coverage of the race in question. The succeeding clips sound a bit more reasonable and more like a discussion of simply a primary win. To be honest, while I have been hopeful for a GOP win in Mass., I knew it would be hard to come to fruition and likely would never happen. I can not explain how excited I am that the polls show that people are choosing to vote for something more meaningful than party, they are choosing to vote for the future of America and not for a quick political victory. Tonight, I believe that Scott Brown will become the Junior Senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Yet, even if the people of Massachusetts elect him, Brown will face shenanigans from Democrats in the Senate. I mean, seriously? Who could possibly imagine the dog and pony show that this situation would turn into. The excuses that Democratic leaders have thrown out there are ridiculous. Hot Air is reporting that the latest excuse for not seating Brown should he win is that Vice President Joe Biden is out of town (HERE). Yet before it was because the Senate would need to wait for the proper certification. Which is essentially true, Brown would need to have the election results certified and a signature of the Massachusetts Secretary of State to serve. But will the Secretary of State promptly certify the election, or will the SOS drag their feet? This was the same standard that was posed when Senator Roland Burris (D-IL) was appointed by Governor Blago in Illinois. However, this does not mean that interim Sen. Kirk would be necessarily able to vote on any healthcare bill (or any other bill for that matter). An interpretation of the current Massachusetts law (which was changed to allow Governor Deval Patrick to appoint a interim, which was a power that was stripped of Republican Gov. Mitt Romney in 2004) would suggest that once the election has taken place and the results are in, interim Sen. Kirk would no longer serve in the capacity of a US Senator.

But even if Brown is allowed to assume his role in the Senate, should he win. Democrats still have the intention of shoving healthcare reform (which in its current form is something that the American people disagree with, while supporting the idea of overall healthcare reform) down the throats of the American people and putting it on President Obama’s desk. They have two options. One option being, forcing the House into a corner and passing the Senate bill, as-is. This presents a problem in that many House Democrats do not support the Senate bill in its current version. The other option for Congressional Democrats is to go through a reconciliation process (reserved normally for budgetary legislation) that only requires 51 votes in the Senate. The problem here is that they would need to strip several provisions in the bill and gut it to a bare bones skeleton version that involves only budgetary provisions and changes. Either way the healthcare issue is still toxic in the political arena. Perhaps, with a Brown win, Democrats might be better served by holding off.

Regardless of the outcome tonight, there will certainly be interesting political issues that arise out of whomever is named the winner. I can tell you one thing. I will be glued to my TV and computer screens to see the results and begin to examine what the turnout means for future races. Because even if Coakley wins (which to me it’s hard to see that happening when registered Dems in Mass are waiting in line for more than two hours in some cases to vote for a REPUBLICAN!) the fact that the Democratic machine had to pour resources and money into a solidly blue state speaks volumes.

Check back for my post-election post TONIGHT (or TOMORROW if we don’t get a winner tonight). Should be interesting no matter what.

- Andres Bocanegra

Follow me on Twitter: @andresbocanegra

Sen. Edward Kennedy (1932-2009)

This morning we learned of the sad news of the passing of Massachusetts Senator Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy. He died at the age of 77 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. These thoughts this morning that I type are rushed, so forgive my grammatical errors along the way.

Regardless of the political differences that I and many conservatives may have had with the liberal Lion of the Senate, my thoughts and prayers go out to his family. Sen. Kennedy may have been someone that I found myself disagreeing with on a number of political issues, but he was a faithful public servant to the people of Massachusets, and a true American statesman. He fought for and championed causes that he felt were right and was able to find and strive for compromise when necessary. He worked with Republicans on numerous pieces of legislation that have ended up benefiting the American people. In a political climate where there is much disagreement and contention, Sen. Kennedy worked and strived to find a common ground. Despite anyones feelings, political or otherwise, towards Sen. Kennedy, today we should pay tribute to a man who was a dedicated public servant. Today is not the day for politics, or barrages and attacks over past indiscretions or personal mistakes.

May Senator Kennedy rest in peace, and may his family find the comfort and condolence of a higher power to cope with this loss. May God bless Sen. Kennedy and provide his family a respite from their grief.