E.J. Dionne has a column in today's Washington Post that looks at the shocking loss of a Senate seat in Massachusetts that has been held by the Democrats for decades. The piece looks at the poor campaign run by Democrat Martha Coakley. However, more importantly, it looks at the fault that lays at the feet of Congressional Democrats and the White House, both of which have been too timid to act or, in the case of the White House, to lead. A major shake up is needed amongst the White House advisory staff and someone needs to find Obama a backbone. I truly believe that unless (i) Obama wakes up and starts acting as a strong party leader and (ii) the Congressional Democrats get their asses in gear and start to deliver on promises, November, 2010, will be a bloodbath for the Democrats and that it will be well deserved by a party that seems bent on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Lack of money is not the issue. Rather, it is spinelessness and a total lack of leadership. I for one refuse to give money to those who have forgotten their campaign promises and seem more worried about kissing the GOP's ass than enacting legislation to benefit all Americans. Here are some column highlights: *
This race was the Democrats’ to lose, and they managed to lose it. Democrat Martha Coakley and her campaign fell asleep while Brown was hustling from one end of the state to the other in his pickup truck. The Coakley crowd woke up too late. Her campaign pollsters and strategists failed to catch the movement of voters to Brown early enough to arrest the swing. They let Brown define the campaign.
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The United States Senate should take a lot of blame for taking forever to pass a health-care bill. The Senate Finance Committee in particular delayed and delayed, failing to produce a bill before Congress’ August recess. This allowed the raucous conservative protests to dominate the late summer news and prevented Congress from passing a bill this fall, which is when it should have been sent to the president. The longer Congress took, the worse the process looked. The ugliness of the process badly tarnished the bill itself. The excessive time consumed by health care prevented Congress from acting on other issues. And having still not passed it, Democrats now have to figure out how to get it done without that 60th Senate vote.
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The Obama White House should have been keeping a watchful eye on this race, realizing the 60th Democratic vote in the Senate was at stake. More broadly, Obama also needed to create a national narrative that Democrats could proclaim with pride. The narrative has been missing, and conservatives have filled the vacuum. And, by the way, whoever sold the White House on claiming that under the stimulus bill unemployment would rise to only 8 percent last year and peak at 9 percent this year should be sent off on a long foreign trip.
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There are other culprits, including the unpopular (and, in the case of some individual members, corrupt) Massachusetts legislature. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s low standing in the polls also hurt Coakley.
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Why does the term “circular firing squad” seem to pop up after every Democratic defeat? Those Democrats whose mistakes led to this fiasco know who they are.
This race was the Democrats’ to lose, and they managed to lose it. Democrat Martha Coakley and her campaign fell asleep while Brown was hustling from one end of the state to the other in his pickup truck. The Coakley crowd woke up too late. Her campaign pollsters and strategists failed to catch the movement of voters to Brown early enough to arrest the swing. They let Brown define the campaign.
*
The United States Senate should take a lot of blame for taking forever to pass a health-care bill. The Senate Finance Committee in particular delayed and delayed, failing to produce a bill before Congress’ August recess. This allowed the raucous conservative protests to dominate the late summer news and prevented Congress from passing a bill this fall, which is when it should have been sent to the president. The longer Congress took, the worse the process looked. The ugliness of the process badly tarnished the bill itself. The excessive time consumed by health care prevented Congress from acting on other issues. And having still not passed it, Democrats now have to figure out how to get it done without that 60th Senate vote.
*
The Obama White House should have been keeping a watchful eye on this race, realizing the 60th Democratic vote in the Senate was at stake. More broadly, Obama also needed to create a national narrative that Democrats could proclaim with pride. The narrative has been missing, and conservatives have filled the vacuum. And, by the way, whoever sold the White House on claiming that under the stimulus bill unemployment would rise to only 8 percent last year and peak at 9 percent this year should be sent off on a long foreign trip.
*
There are other culprits, including the unpopular (and, in the case of some individual members, corrupt) Massachusetts legislature. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s low standing in the polls also hurt Coakley.
*
Why does the term “circular firing squad” seem to pop up after every Democratic defeat? Those Democrats whose mistakes led to this fiasco know who they are.
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