Posted on 12/27/2010 5:25:35 AM PST by raccoonradio
One year ago today, the then-Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, Martha Coakley, was on vacation, presuming her victory was in hand. Scott Brown had a very different idea on the way to the polls.
As 2011 quickly approaches, so does the kick-off for the 2012 election cycle, which means the Democratic National Committee will declare open season on our Republican senator.
Despite their desires, Brown has not made any major gaffes and continues to be far more likable than Anchors-Away John Kerry, who was caught last summer berthing his new yacht in Rhode Island to avoid paying Massachusetts taxes.
During his first year in office, Brown earns high marks. Barbara Anderson, executive director of citizens for limited taxation, grades him with a B+ on his voting record and an overall grade of A. The veteran tax-cutting crusader does not agree with all his votes, but she is “very happy” with his performance.
Outgoing state Senate Republican Leader Richard Tisei says Brown has earned a solid A.
Tea Party members have expressed frustration with Brown’s roll call votes. But Massachusetts is not Alabama and Brown has been politically smart to walk the fine line between being a fiscal conservative and a right-wing radical.
Democrats claim to be licking their chops about taking on Brown, but it seems more likely that the Democrat with the short straw will get the task. Brown has amassed a war chest of $6 million, more than double Kerry’s.
Democrats may hope a Kennedy will step up in spite of their failure to recruit a family member for the special election. Vicki relocated to Boston and has been making public appearances. But flirting with a run and actually running are two different things. And it’s been surprisingly quiet on the Call-Joe-for-Oil front. A Joe K candidacy would be formidable, but it also would be plagued by his skeletons and questions about the $575,000 salary from his non-profit Citizens Energy Corp.
U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch says he’s staying put but has a $702,000 campaign account balance, and there’s U.S. Rep. Mike Capuano, but he has $144,000 cash on hand and $48,000 debt and lost last year’s primary. And don’t count on Gov. Deval Patrick to run like Bill Weld did in 1996. Remember, Deval got back into the Corner Office without a majority of votes.
In such a blue state, you would expect a greater pool of Democrat challengers. It seems one-party domination has not bred a great farm team for the future.
With the state about to lose one congressional seat it's possible some of the U.S. Reps might be more focused on keeping their seat rather than trying to defeat Brown.
>>But Massachusetts is not Alabama and Brown has been politically smart to walk the fine line between being a fiscal conservative and a right-wing radical.
In MA he has to.
>>$6 million, more than double Kerry’s.
Lovey! Lovey can you shift some more of your ketchup heiress money to my campaign? I know I'm not up for re-election till 2014 but one never knows. Would that it were, would that it were.
>>But flirting with a run and actually running are two different things. And it’s been surprisingly quiet on the Call-Joe-for-Oil front.
Would Miss Vicky run? Or Mr. Do You Know Who I Am?
Howie Carr list ping. If the pool of Dems is shallow the pool of Republicans must be really shallow. I do like Bill Hudak but he lost to Tierney by a fairly big margin and if he couldn’t win the 6th, how could he win the whole state?
Would Perry mount a challenge to Brown? Get ready for more scandalous ads if so.
Mr. Carr isn’t running. He doesn’t want to have to take a pay cut.
Miss Vicky has been showing up at places only planned candidates can bring themselves to go. She’s at least prepping. (Must be tough having fallen off the Most Exclusive Club in America’s A List since Teddy’s passing.)
I don’t know how Scott Brown got 6 million dollars in his war chest, but Hhe had better hold onto it tightly because I don’t believe he will be receiving a lot of out of state contributions from now on.
>>Brown has amassed a war chest of $6 million
Horrible news—we might re-elect a Republican! Maybe some day there will even be a Republican U.S. Representative, too.
That would be too much for me to bear...this is Massachusetts. Please join me in asking Barney Frank to
run against him. Senator Frank would be so much better.
</ sarcasm >
Why would the Dems run against one of their own ??
He probably got it from the deep-pocketed RINO mafia—who are loving him more with every vote.
That of course is different from all those little patriots who helped him get elected and who, you are quite right, will find better causes this time around.
That would be a "solid A" with the DNC and Obama
and State Street Bank and Mitt Romney.
Bzzzzzzt.
Brown betrayed the conservatives who backed and supported him.
Benedict Brown (T,MA) is a traitor shapeshifter.
I'm much more interested in hunting down RINOs in red states like Lugar in Indiana and Corker in Tennessee.
I do love the “Democrats are hoping for a Kennedy” line in this article. What the media doesn’t want to address is that the majority of the nation, unlike the northeast, is sick and tired of the Kennedy’s and consider them nothing more than wealthy elitists who are set apart from the criminal element of our society only by the privilege of wealth. Only the northeast is dumb enough to even field a Kennedy in an election.
This “Republican” voted against the US Miliatary men and women and allowed perverts to serve openly.
No American should give him one cent nor one vote.
He should not get the nomination.
And you suppose a Democrat senator would be a better choice to “SECURE AMERICA”?
Fine, challenge him in the primaries, but if he wins the primaries, not supporting him is akin to helping the enemy.
THE PRIMARIES are where we change the party.
In the General election, whoever is not with us is against us, wether they choose to believe or not because they are gifting a vote to the democrats.
Brown and his ilk are only of marginal value to the conservative movement. True, rinos are better than Leftists, but rinos can be destructive when they dilute and thwart conservative initiatives. The major value of the rino is that in a Lefitst state, they generally do not act as badly as the true believers.
Whether Brown wins or loses is not the most important thing, getting conservatives elected in conservative states is (MT, NE, VA, LA, ND etc.). Let’s face it, if our country were full of states like MA, we would have been living under hard socialism for at least 50 years and this discussion would be moot; or prohibited.
East solution for the Dems...Mass will lose one CD. So one Dem will be out of a job after the redistricting...so let the odd man out take on Brown...
Belief in concept of federalism, limited government, and individual liberty: = “right wing extremist”
You have no idea.
The GOP is the third party in MA, and a very, very weak third at that.
Scott Brown was elected by unenrolled women voters, for whom abortion is the most important issue, and African-Americans who couldn't stand the icy white bitch Coakley.
He is what he is. His replacement, if he is replaced, will be a white communist or a race pimp.
SB is far, far to the right of any Democrat in MA.
I lived there for 22 years - Dem elected officials at the Federal level are, for the most part, communists.
Hahahahahaha.
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