On Scott Brown and the independent vote

[toymachines]

http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-01-20/columns/yelles-on-scott-brown-and-the-independent-vote/comment-page-1#comment-24363">On Scott Brown and the independent vote
By William Yelles, SDNN

Tune into cable news and watch the GOP take credit for the upset while the Dems point fingers and shift blame, with everyone trying to make sense of what it all means and what the future holds.

But like the quote above, perhaps both sides are wrong, about what the election results mean, as well as the direction each party wants to take the country.

Democrats are wrong to take voters for granted and that Brown’s victory is some sort of fluke due to Martha Coakley’s campaign missteps. Just because they had a few extra seats in the Senate it didn’t give them carte blanche to steer the country toward socialism or to have the hubris to make back room deals and handshake promises about giant new and ridiculously complex federal spending programs. A growing number of people across the political spectrum, not just tea party activists, are suspicious and outraged, including liberals who are disgusted that Democratic leaders haven’t gone far enough.

Republicans are wrong to gloat that this one election somehow signals a seismic shift propelling conservatives to power on a wave of anger. I doubt blue state Massachusetts voters, many of whom voted for President Obama and historically tilt Democratic, suddenly became lifelong red state converts. Did everyone just forget that when Republicans controlled the White House and Congress, they ran up a deficit spending worse than the Democrats ever did? Or that they have absolutely nothing concrete to point to as serious accomplishments during that time? (Some may use the “War on Terror” and how there wasn’t another homeland attack post-9/11, but really this is a minimum job requirement of any president or party to do their best to keep the country safe...)

Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-01-20/columns/yelles-on-scott-brown-and-the-independent-vote/comment-page-1#comment-24363#ixzz0dGyaBtAh

[Captain Hilts]

1. HCR solidified the impression that Democrats can't get organized enough to govern effecitvely. nt

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Can they gloat about the latest SCOTUS decision?

It is all intertwined...