God damn us democrats in Massachusetts for not being prepared for the special election!

[graywarrior]

God damn it that we didn't find a better candidate than Martha Coakley. God damn it that the dems thought Martha deserved the senate seat because she is a woman instead of who could win against a playgirl bunny.

We had months and months to find a qualified candidate but noooooo, we all waited around hoping a Kennedy would jump in and save us. We all sat around mourning, knowing no one could fill Ted's seat. So what happens MA votes in an absolute INSULT to everything Ted worked for.

I can't look at people in my state without wondering if they voted for Brown. I know the majority of my town voted him in. I can't believe we'd shoot ourselves in the foot voting for a guy who will work against everything we need.

I am just so disgusted. Every time I see that bastard on TV, my blood pressure rises. And to make matters worse, our governor, Patrick Duval has approval ratings that are in the toilet.

How can all this be happening?

[MannyGoldstein]

1. God Damn Us Democrats For Continuing Bush Policies

When we owned the Presidency and both houses of Congress for a year.

We must work for change.

[Orsino]

63. +1

"We," unfortunately, is clogged with an awful lot of "they."

[NJmaverick]

2. I hear you

At least you can take comfort in knowing you did everything in your power to prevent this from happening

:pals:

[Deep13]

3. The corporations control media and popular culture and, therefore,...

...control what people think.

OTOH, D.s still fail to realize that elections are about marketing and not about ideas.

[graywarrior]

4. Seriously

The media was glorifying this asshole for months.

[Deep13]

5. OTOH, he DOES drive a truck.

:banghead:

[graywarrior]

7. Massachusetts acted like American Idol voters.

I never realized educated people could be so god damn stupid.

[KamaAina]

41. Funny you should mention that

One of Sen. Brownnose's "available" daughters was actually on Idol!

[graywarrior]

46. That's right!

[Tesha]

51. Of course they were! Not only was it a story guaranteed to sell advertising, but...

...Brown is married to a reporter on the state's biggest TV channel and
dated the morning jock on one of the biggest Boston radio channels.
WCVB is still giving him on-air-blow-jobs every chance they get.

Tesha

[Rosa Luxemburg]

6. It makes me want to work harder and that's a good thing

it is sad that it was Ted's seat.

Let's teach the GOP a lesson.

[seaglass]

8. There was a better candidate than Coakley, he just didn't win the primary.

I certainly wasn't hoping or waiting for a Kennedy.

I am feeling bad, but I am really starting to strongly dislike Gail Huff and am having a hard time watching Ch 5 news because they all seem to think every word that comes out of Scott Brown's mouth is a pearl.

This morning they just couldn't get over Scott Brown not being on the front page of the Washington Post. :wtf:

[graywarrior]

15. I voted for that other candidate

He would have been superb.

[rox63]

52. I voted for Mike Capuano in the primary

Not sure if that's who you were referring to. But I think Mike could have wiped the floor with Cosmo Scotty. He certainly wouldn't have phoned it in like Coakley did.

[madrchsod]

9. do`t feel bad....

the democrats in illinois are about to self destruct. so graywarrior, you`ll have some company.

[graywarrior]

16. Jesus, what the fuck is wrong with us?

[lwcon]

10. Sorry to say it, because I was a big Teddy supporter

But he lost his seat for the Dems when he shilled for the Conservadem who now lives at 1600 Penn. Ave.

Coakley was doing just fine until she accepted the kiss of death from the admin, caving on Stupak (a principled stand that had won her a lot of support) to become labeled as the 60th vote for ObamaCare, the dreadful healthcare plan that delivers millions more into the clutches of Big Insurance, born of a dreadful process of secret deals with Big Pharma and outright lies about an "open and transparent process that considers all options."

The bill Obama wants to pass is seen by many here as like RomneyCare but worse, and MA already pays the highest insurance premiums in the country.

[laughingliberal]

18. I think that, in addition to a bad campaign, it hurt her when she said she'd vote for the Senate bil

She was doing much better when she said she would not vote for it.

[Tailormyst]

20. In my opinion that was the biggest reason she lost.

I know a bunch of people who refused to vote for her after she flipped on her support for it.

[laughingliberal]

25. Yes, I know many don't want to hear it but she was doing well in the polls when she opposed the bill

and the slide started after she caved to the White House and said she would vote for it.

[lwcon]

32. Yup

The good news is the "Coakley sucks" narrative will keep us busy until the Repubs win big in November. Then we'll need a new excuse, but I think we're up to the task.

[KittyWampus]

21. so now it's Kennedy's fault for losing that seat. I'd say you tipped your hand with that.

And Coakley didn't bother to campaign.

Your sick diatribe conveniently leaves that out.

[lwcon]

22. Look at the trends for Democrats nationwide

They voted for the "change" brand, and they (we) instead got the rehabilitation of "the party of ideas," this cockamamie post-partisan aisle-crossing mirage that Obama's been pushing for years, right when the GOP brand was in the toilet and we could have successfully renounced the Reagan Revolution. Instead we've got lobbyists writing bills, a surge in Af-Pak, more tax cuts, Constitutional abuses further ratified, and a spending freeze.

If it's "sick" to notice that, I don't want to be healthy.

[lwcon]

31. About those trends

Check out openleft.com, which keeps posting a round-up of polls on 2010 elections, and nationwide the wind has gone out of the Dem sails.

And why wouldn't it? If the Dems' "change" changes nothing, voters will want to change the batter again.

Chris Floyd explains this with typical insight:

http://chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/1907-critical-mass-dem-agenda-opens-right-wing-doors.html

...it is the Democratic agenda itself that is opening the door for extremist opponents, who then exploit the genuine dissatisfaction and genuine suffering caused by that agenda. The fact that these opponents also support the same core agenda means that the nation will keep ping-ponging back and forth, with an electorate hungry for change desperately chasing anyone who promises it – only to rush back in the other direction when the 'change agent' proves to be just another stooge of the status quo.

[graywarrior]

60. +1000

[fascisthunter]

48. lot's of people ignore this truth

there were many reasons why Coakley lost, and the biggest reason was voter apathy. The voters have seen the dems squander a majority and intentionally move to the right, when before they ran to the left to get elected. People feel lied to, and sense no change will come from an election. People of sick of the bullshit, so they stayed home, and some actually voted for the fraud. People SHOULD NOT be surprised, because if ya are, you'll make the same mistake again.

Represent the people, and they will stick by you all the way.

[Grand Taurean]

56. True.

Coakley should have told Obama to stay out of this race.
Coakley with all of her flaws should have been allowed to run on the policies she supported, not those of the Whitehouse.

[Freddie Stubbs]

11. I seem to remember a lot of MA DUers being very excited when Coakley announced that she was running

[spanone]

12. goddamn the democratic LEADERSHIP. i'm a democrat and i don't feel responsible at all.

[Tailormyst]

13. I don't think "we" had much of a choice

To many low information voters, easily swayed. Even in the primary, the Dem party seemed to tout Coakley as the winner the second she jumped into the ring. Even though she was clearly not the best choice. Our process is no longer about the people. It is about the money, the power, the greed. Nothing short of a major disaster will be enough of a catalyst to change that.

[graywarrior]

17. I had to hold my nose voting for her

[Tailormyst]

19. So did I.

It was almost as if she was trying to lose.

[graywarrior]

24. I swear that dems have been trained to become self destructive

Anything good that could happen, we ruin it. We criticize it to the point of destruction or we just don't think we deserve the best. It's like we're abused spouses given the choice to liberate ourselves but running back to the abuser over and over and taking our families and neighbors with us.

[Tailormyst]

29. Yup- or perhaps there are no sides.

I'm beginning to think they are all on the same damn side. The rich side. The rest is all a fucking song and dance to keep us riled.

They do nothing but make the rich richer and ANY time the people on either side start to see it and stand up they pull out "GAYS AND ABORTIONS". Both sides do it and neither sides wants to make any REAL change to the situation regarding Gays or Abortions. That leaves them without a wedge issue to rile up the masses with so they just keep it going so neither side sees the fleecing we are getting.

I'm angry now. I dared to hope. I dared to believe. Now I know better and now I am angry.

[laughingliberal]

38. That's the real answer. nt

[fascisthunter]

49. I Voted for Mike Capuano... I saw the same as you did

the media decides who gets good coverage and who doesn't. In the end, I voted for her, but was less than enthusiastic.

[BeFree]

14. Nope

You don't KNOW who won because 90% of the vote totals came from a single source, private company that was not audited. How any one can say that they KNOW who won is amazing.

Yet, here they are.

[Major Hogwash]

23. It's up to you guys in Massachusetts to get Brown out of office in 2012.

I have all the faith in the world that you can do it.
Massachusetts has one of the heaviest concentration of Democrats in the country, just get behind a good candidate and get Brown out of there!!

Good gawd y'all, how could a Republican become a Senator of a state like Massachusetts, anyway?
That's like Utah electing a Democrat!!

So, this is going to be a tough 2 years, but we knew that coming into this thing.
It isn't going to be easy.
We're going to need more balloons.
And more confetti.
And more Democrats!

Looks like this was a bad week to quit sniffing glue.

[Tailormyst]

26. It's only going to happen if the Dems in DC grow some spines and actually accomplish something.

If not, I wouldn't count on him being voted out. People here are pretty fed up with the way the party is behaving on a national level. You can only screw with people for so long before they quit buying it.

[Major Hogwash]

36. Says the man with no clue.

It's all clearer to me now, Brown was the BEST candidate, huh?

Yeah, and Rush Limbaugh is a thin man from Peoria.

[Forkboy]

40. He is actually correct.

Any incumbent party or politician is in trouble. It's not that Brown was the best candidate, but he WAS the most high profile candidate representing those out of power (in the minds of those that voted for him, at least).

It was the Repubs doing nothing that hurt them in '06 and '08, and now the same sword is being turned on our Party because we're the ones that now represent the party doing nothing in the eyes of all too many. It was one theme I heard over and over during this election talking to people. People are looking to punish those in power that they feel are doing little to nothing to help them survive. They way to defeat that attitude is to do something that helps, and it has to be something tangible, not promises of better times down the road. People need jobs, they need healthcare, and they're going to vote against those they feel aren't doing enough to provide those. It's politics 101. :shrug:

[Tailormyst]

65. Umm what?

What in the heck are you talking about? First off I am a she. Secondly I would never say Brown was the best candidate. I despise Brown.

I think you have me confused with someone else.

[LynneSin]

27. People could not see beyond a single issue

I was shouting that WEEKS before this election came around and I was yelled at by DUers who said it was their right to suggest using this election as a reform vote for Health Care Reform.

What's worse, many of those who suggested that weren't even from Massachusetts. How DARE someone make those suggestions when it's not their state on the line.

Could there have been a better candidate - sure? But the democrats also felt that since this IS Massachusetts and this WAS Ted Kennedy's old seat that there was no way a republican could win.

I feel bad for those democrats in Massachusetts that fought to help keep a democrat in office. At least you have until 2012 until you can unload that douchebag.

[old mark]

28. GW - I am very upset with Coakley, but mostly with whoever thought

she was a great candidate to replace Ted K. Who the hell picks these people....For that matter, who the hell thought Edwards would have made a good President?

I really disagree with the jerks here who are already deciding to sit out the next election because they are unhappy with the Democratic choices, but I am appalled at some of the choices. Our only saving grace right now is that the republicans are so much worse.

mark

[graywarrior]

33. That's the big question! The people seem to have no say on who gets to run.

I would have chosen Tierney. We've been working closely with his office on a Disability issue for one of our family members. His office has been ON IT since we first contacted them and have been relentless in solving the problem. He works his ass off for us.

Last month at the Coakley rally in Boston when he was shaking hands with people, I thanked him and told him he was doing a great job for his constituents. He thanked me, walked away, turned around and came back to me and said, "thanks again, I really appreciate that." There were so many other good candidates but no one even mentioned them in the media. I am sick of candidates being chosen for us.

[rockymountaindem]

35. Well, if I was registered to vote in Mass. (still registered in CO since I'm just a student here)

I would have cast my primary ballot for Mike Capuano. He has a very liberal record and does not seem to suffer fools gladly. If I didn't have the choice to vote for him I think I would have gone for Khazei, having been to an event held by his campaign wherein I learned some very positive things about him. Coakley just never had the "it" factor for me.

[old mark]

47. Or for a lot of other people as it turned out.......nt

[Winterblues]

30. I think this is going to turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

I think some good stuff will happen now. We won't have to water down our bills to suit the Blue Dog "Democrats" and let them extort us. I believe we have 50 solid Democrats to pass some good things. They will not be as sweeping and have 2000 plus pages to them but what gets passed will actually help the people.. This actually frees up the Democrats to produce some beneficial stuff.

[blm]

34. National party has no strategy for elections. Kaine's almost as bad as McAuliffe. Dean@DNC would

have made all the difference in the world during those elections, because he was COMMITTED to STRENGTHENING party infrastructures in EVERY state.

Kaine is a throwback to the years of neglecting party infrastructures by previous chairs selected by the Clintons who cared nothing about electing any other Democrat to office.

Obama fucked up bigtime with Kaine, who couldn't even win his own state in a special election where all he had to do was concentrate on that state.

[Major Hogwash]

37. Quit cherbitching, and get back to work helping Democrats.

FerChrisssakes, not you too.

[blm]

43. Being clear about Kaine's lack of diligence IS helping the party. The sooner he gets called on his

negligence the better for November.

[iceman66]

39. Very well said.

We actually won elections when Dean was in charge!

[KamaAina]

42. Remember, there was a primary

you could have gone with progressive Rep. Michael Capuano, who in addition to being from the Democratic wing of the Democratic party, likely would have held off on his vacation until he was elected. :eyes:

But nooooooooooooo! Nonononononononono! The DLC cheerleaders had to go in and stump for Chokely. Then once she got the nomination, figuring it was in the bag, they apparently went on vacation right along with her. :eyes:

edit: Your governor's name is Deval Patrick. :-)

[Forkboy]

44. That's who I voted for.

I can't say for certain he would have beaten Brown, but he would have, you know, like tried and stuff. :)

[graywarrior]

45. He would have been out there campaigning...in fact he was from the time he announced he was running

[Rockholm]

50. Sick of watching Channel 5 fellate Brown on TV.

Ed Harding has a big hardon for Brown. The entire channel is making me sick. The Boston Globe spelled out in one sentence of reporting what Brown is going to be like in Congress.

Snip: After arriving at the Capitol, Brown waited in a nondescript office in the Russell Senate Office Building as family and friends streamed in, including Massachusetts racetrack owner Gary Piontkowski, well-known Republican strategist Ron Kaufman, and Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute. Kerry escorted Brown into the Senate chamber, and introduced the now-junior senator from Massachusetts to his new colleagues.

Kris Mineau is a hate-monger and the lead proponent to defeat marriage equality. Scott Brown is no friend to the gay community in Massachusetts.
Hey Scottie, enjoy your year and a half in office.

[southernyankeebelle]

53. Hold the mother f's feet to the fire. Watch every vote and when he doesn't vote

the way you want him to call him on it and make sure ALL of your democratic friends know and call him on it. If he doesn't vote your way reelect a democratic.

[SoCalDem]

54. How it happens?

As a californian who has had to endure loser-republican governor after loser-republican governor, I can tell you that it's a lot of "relying on people to use common sense"..

and a lot of democrats "assuming" that they will prevail because "fill-in-the-blank" is a Democratic/liberal/blue/progressive state/town/city/state.

We rely too much on the good sense and education of the voting public.

Republicans are THUGS and they have no problem lying their asses off to get elected.

people are busy, and most do not pay all that much attention to election until the ads come on tv.

People choose their candidates quite often by how the LOOK and by their rhetoric...not by their expertise or knowledge.

The public is trained to react to Pavlovian tactics...that's why "Death Panels" gets attention, and NOT the actual details of anything that's proposed.

I know thst MA loved TK, but I so wish he had stepped down when the diagnosis was malignant. He could have spent his healthy days grooming a successor and actually promoting them to the public.

Coakley was the "school-marm" to the hunky quarterback prettyboy.. there was no way she could win, once the RNC poured tons of stealth-money into his campaign in the last few weeks..

They are evil..but they are also smart:(

It's how we got Ahhhhnold.. he slipped in there at the 11.5th hour with a lots of money and before we knew what hit us, he was gov...and because the dems here cannot seem to find candidates, he was even re-elected:(

[Grand Taurean]

55. Democrats should have come out for her.

The Rethugs will come out to vote for anyone for anything.
Democrats cry about not getting a full cup immediately.

[Tesha]

64. Maybe Democrats are sick of the DLC telling them that three drops is a cup-full.

And they should be *GLAD* of getting the three drops, 'cause the
Republicans would only give them two!

Tesha

[MoonRiver]

57. I know how dedicated you were to winning this thing.

It's a shame, but I hope Democrats do a very serious post-mortem to figure out what went wrong and how to prevent it from happening in the future.

[Sebastian Doyle]

58. Unfortunately, I see the same thing happening in Illinois.

My understanding is that the guy who won the primary there is a bank fraud criminal, and the candidate that many here were cheering for (who lost) was a pro-war, pro corporate, pro insurance mandate, DLC tool.

That's Obama's former seat. It was known up front that Burris would not be running for the election, so it's been an open seat all along. A full year, and we can't find a decent candidate in Illinois?

Are we gonna lose the President's former senate seat like we lost Teddy Kennedy's? (Or, as I said before the Massachusetts election, was it already lost after the primary?)

[kudzu22]

62. Illinois is looking to trump Mass for bad candidates

We nominated ourselves a mobbed-up banker who is all of 33 years old for US Senate (Senator Doogie, anyone?), a pawnbroker who takes steroids and held a knife to his hooker-girlfriend's throat for Lt. Gov., and, well, Blago-light Pat Quinn for Governor. It's almost like we want to lose. I think I'm gonna cry.

[WilliamPitt]

59. Could have happened in any state

Off-year elections are perilously unpredictable.

If you want to be accurate: God damn the MA legislature for changing the governor-appointment rule back in 2004, which made this election necessary in the first place.

Oh, P.S., that also = more fallout from Kerry's loss. He's the reason they changed they rule in the first place.

:(

[graywarrior]

61. Good point, and I humbly accept your expertise on this matter.

But I'm still cautious around my fellow Massholes

[daleman]

67. You mean the "democratic" legislature that changed the law while Republican Gov Mitt Romney was in

office so Mitt wouldn't place a Republican in that seat. Then when a Democratic governor was in place, the legislature changed the law again.(how convenient) so that they could place a "democrat" in Kennedy's seat until the special election was held. Changing that law back in 2004 was wrong and came back and bit 'em in the ass!!

[WilliamPitt]

68. I do indeed.

[lonestarnot]

66. Ackety.

Poor thing. I have to look at two losers here. :puke:

[Beacho]

69. That's what happens when you take things for granted

Oh, it's Kennedy's seat no problem. I'll just sit on my ass and watch American Idol. Ooopsie!