Warren v. Brown. Control of the Senate may hinge on the outcome of this race,

[No Elephants]

much as the 60 vote caucus (in theory, anyway) hinged on Coakley v. Brown.

A few days ago, Barney Frank was on Morning Joe and was asked how come Warren was not doing as well as one might expect.

So, what did the man who owed his very long political career to Massachusetts Democrats reply? It went something like this:

"Why do people ask me questions they know I cannot answer honestly?" He then went on to say what a pleasant and likeable person Scott Brown was.

Well, thanks a lot, Rep. Frank. Trouble is, he is partly correct. Brown's ads show him as likeable, relatable, pleasant, etc. Hers not so much.



I tried contacting both cammpaign offices. A gentleman answered my call to Brown's office win two rings.

Okay, I did not say that I always refer to the Senator as the Brown turd, but I did say that I was a registered Democrat who had some questions about Brown's ads.

zI then asked three questions that I thought were quite pointed. I got very complete answers. And, I got thanked for my call and my interest in the campaign and invited to call again if I had any further questions.

Okay.

Then, I called Warren's office because I thought one of the answers I got might be helpful to her.

I got an answering machine with a chopped up (words missing) message from Warren wherein she rattled off about six pieces of information I should leave. I am not even sure the message promised a return call.

I did not feel like doing all that just for the privilege of leaving a comment. So, I decided to email instead.

Trouble was, the contact page of her campaign website also asked for a bunch of personal information, which was offputting. Since my keyboard was acting up, it was also annoying.

Oddly, my telephone number was not a required field. Why then, would she need anything but my name and my email address in order for me to leave a comment?

Two very different experiences. One easy and as helpful as anyone could possibly wish and the other about as detached and cumbersome as it gets. I still won't vote for Brown, but the contrast was striking. (And I mentioned it in my email. Hope they pay attention.)

You can't blame it on money. either. She's raised more than he has, though I am sure the Koch brothers cavalry will ride in and help him if his numbers start slipping badly.

Oh, well, at least Akin put his foot in his mouth, so McCaskill has a better shot. If Democrats lose the Senate, it will not be pretty.

[Enthusiast]

1. I have no sympathy for the people of Massachusetts

if they elect Brown.

It looks for all the world like the POWERS THAT BE have selected Brown as their choice. I watched what looked like a pre-arranged segment on Joy Behar where Joy and another "liberal" pulled a similar non-endorsement of Elizabeth to the one by Frank. Joy and another guest listened as a GOP "ringer" trashed Warren. Joy and the guy barely defended her. Since that incident I have watched Joy get eviscerated on her program which often includes skilled Republicans and incompetent Democrats. Now I don't even trust AL Gore. I am sick of these treasonous bastards.

[No Elephants]

2. I agree on substance. However. she has to make that case to the voters.

To understand what I am talking about, you would have to see the two sets of ads. If you did not already like her, her ads would not make you like her.

Neither set of ads is negative as to the other candidate. I suspect they may have made a deal about that because I know they did make one about PACs. If they did make that deal, then he outsmarted her because he has a long record to run on, both as a state legislator and
Her ads rant against Wall Street, which is her only federal involvement, but, ironically, he voted for that bill. In fact, according to his campaign headquarters, he cast the deciding vote on that bill.

But the likeability gap in the two sets of ads is huge. Again, unless you are already in her corner anyway. He beat Martha Coakley handily, in a very Democratic state. She is the challenger. She is the one who has to win people over. So far, she is not doing a great job of that.

[No Elephants]

3. P.S. Al Gore was a founding member of the DLC. People say he condemned it later.

However, he was DLC founding member Clinton's V.P. and he picked Joe Lieberman, another member of the DLC and barely a Democrat, to be his own V.P. I have heard that excused, too. That Lieberman was somehow forced on him or he was duped or whatever.

But I prefer to judge people by their own actions, not by the excuses their fans make for them. In his case, the only "evidencce" I have that he is not center right is the excuses.

He is a strong advocate on the environment. Beyond that, I am not sure. And, since he never became President, I will never know what he would or would not have done. (I have seen many posts about what he "definitely" would and would not have done during the imaginary Gore Presidency and I find them, candidly, absurd.)