Coakley wins decisive 178-22 victory
Republican Scott Brown concedes minutes after 10:45 a.m. Senate Vote
“The politicians have spoken” affirms House Speaker Robert DeLeo
(Boston) – Despite a surprise surge in the non-binding public opinions polls that showed most Massachuttes citizens would have preferred Republican Scott Brown as U.S. Senator, the Massachusetts State House voted Tuesday afternoon to keep the state’s U.S. Senate seat in Democratic hands.
The selection of Attorney General Martha Coakley cements the Democrats veto-proof majority in the U.S. Senate, as most state legislatures around the nation have been controlled by Democrats for decades. The selection is seen as a hopeful sign that President Barack Obama's health care reform bill will be passed and that Democrats will remain in charge of Washington D.C. for the foreseeable future.
Martha Coakley started her bid as the overwhelmingly favorite, though talks of a possible upset buzzed around Boston during the past week as public opinion polls turned against her. It was suggested that pressure from Massachusetts citizens might embarrass the Democrat-controlled state legislature into appointing a Republican, but the results on Tuesday proved these “citizen based” efforts were far from effective against their state government. Indeed, with a lopsided majority in both houses and many gerrymandered seats, political experts say even a huge influx of voter wrath at the state legislature is unlikely to endanger the Democrat’s majority.
Political science professors at Harvard University also noted that although Washington politicians are overwhelmingly unpopular with the electorate, voters tend to still like their “local” official. This seemed to be the case with Shelley Sheep, 24, who watched the proceedings unfolded Tuesday “I really like Brown, so I’m kinda upset my Democrat state representative appointed what’s her name” said Sheep “But gosh, my state rep. is such a sweetheart at our town hall meetings I can’t imagine losing her in Boston. She cares about my kids!”
Since the repeal of the 17th amendment, Democrats were virtually assured of victory in any state with a Democrat-majority legislature, as is common throughout the U.S. Coakley’s election provided Washington D.C. the 60th vote needed to thwart Republican procedural maneuvers to block votes on legislation.
With the clerk reporting the official vote tallies of both houses, the U.S. Senate choice broke down nearly along party lines. In the state House, all 142 Democrats voted for Coakley, along with two Republicans who broke ranks and joined their Democrat collages. Ricky Rhino (R-Naral) and Dean Diablo (R-Soros) opposed Brown’s bid, saying the Republican legislator was “too extreme on guns”. Diablo, who has an F- rating from the NRA, dismissed claims that his $2,000 donation from Mayors Against Guns influenced his decision. In the state Senate, 34 Democrats suppor ted Coakley’s bid while all 5 Republicans opposed her. 1 Democrat, the openly gay Senator Luney Lefty (D-Mars), announced she would vote present because Coakley refused to commit to making it mandatory for all gay couples in Massachusetts to marry each other. “She’s not progressive enough”, complained Lefty.
The combined totals of both houses gave Coakley 178 votes, to Brown’s 22. At the end of the day, it was far more than the simply 51% majority needed to send her to Washington. Coakley rose from her seat after the votes were read and said one word: “Mandate”, then pumped her fist in the air. This was followed by a standing ovation of the joint session.
Libertarian Joe Kennedy also filed to have his name placed into consideration for the U.S. Senate seat. He received 0 votes in the Massachusetts General Court.
The huge landslide win for Coakley left many Republicans feeling grim, though a group of Republicans that had lobbied for the repeal of the 17th amendment in Mass. said they were "pleased" that "the original constitution" was followed instead of leaving the choice up to voters.
PHOTOS OF THE 'HISTORIC' VOTE
A lone reporter arrives the morning of the U.S. Senate Appointment Resolution to interview members of the State Senate on how the day’s events will unfold.
Therese Murray, Massachusetts Senate President, said she looked forward to a "spirited debate" on who state legislators should send to Washington, and promised her "Republican colleague" Scott Brown would "get a chance to make his case to this distinguished body". She added "everyone has a right to their opinions, no matter how repugnant Senator Brown's plans to starve seniors and give machine guns to our grade school kids are"
A portrait of the late Senator Edward Kennedy being prepped for display in the Massachusetts House to "commemorate" the opening of the General Court proceedings to select a permanent successor for the Senator. Democrat legislators dismissed Republican suggestions that the looming 20 foot mural in the background made the proceedings biased. "We also got a portrait of former Republican Senator Edward Brooke somewhere around the capitol", noted State Rep. Anita Bribe (D-Salem)
State Rep. Calvin Reagan (R-Quincy) delivered one of the few pro-Brown speeches during the U.S. Senate appointment proceedings. Most of the Democrat legislators were not present during the pro-Brown arguments, and one Democrat urged a "walk out" of any speech that would "dirty these proceedings" by suggesting a Republican hold the historically Democrat seat.
A small but fervent group of Martha Coakley supporters anxiously wait outside the capitol building to hear the outcome of the vote. They booed away numerous Republicans who had come to the capitol, chanting "Racist, Sexist, Anti-Gay, Scott Brown Fan Club Go Away!"
A "grateful" Scott Brown thanked his supporters who phoned state legislators during the past week and urged them to support his Senate bid. He congratulated Coakley on "winning over my colleagues" and said his majority in non-binding polling of Massachusetts citizens was a "symbolic" victory against socialized health care. "I am saddened by our loss but hopeful Senator-elect Coakley will reconsider her positions in light of what the people of our commonwealth had to say" he concluded
U.S. Senator-Elect Martha Coakley beams as she delivers her acceptance speech mere minutes after the Massachusetts General Court appointed her the new U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. She dismissed her opponents suggestions and promised "to lead our progressive values to Washington and continue the fight for marriage equality and universal health care to all people"
Speaking to reporters after Coakley's appointment, Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick (D) laughs off suggestions that Massachusetts citizens might have chosen a better Senator. "These are the same damn fools who elected THREE Republicans before I showed up to fix things" laughed Patrick "And now they wanna get rid of me! We gotta amend things so I'm governor for life and those teabaggers can't screw things up"