It's about Coakley.

[ClusterFreak]

One month ago today she had a 20 point lead in the polls.

Today she lost the senate seat which has not gone Republican since before JFK held it in the 1950's.

It's not a referendum on Obama, it's not about the economy and not enough jobs, it's not about health care, it's not about Afghanistan, it's not about Rahm Emanuel being a dick, it's not about moving to the center after being elected, it's about Coakley.

It's all her fault. She took what would have to be considered the safest seat in the U.S. senate - arguably the safest ever - and turned it into a toss-up within a month's time. In a month. She took the voters for granted. She mocked the idea of shaking their hands. She went on a Caribbean vacation over Christmas, while Brown the Pin-up Teabagger was on the ground meeting and greeting. It's all her fault.

All those things they accuse Obama of - in the media and on the left wing of the Democratic party - would have to have been factors one month ago too. Rahm was a dick a month ago, there were still no jobs a month ago, health care was still dragging on a month ago...

And so on, and so on, and so on.

It's about Coakley.

Period and full stop.

edited to add: A big time shout out to still_hate_bush...who on his very first post pointed out perhaps the biggest FUCK UP of all of her FUCK UPS: She misspelled Massachusetts!!! :wow: Welcome to DU...and well done!

[BeyondGeography]

1. Agreed, but that's not the way it will be spun

[tabatha]

2. Yes, I just sent her an email saying that if she

could not step up to her responsibilities, she should not have run.

[NYCGirl]

3. That's perhaps the sanest thing said here in a long time. NT

[still_hate_bush]

4. Agreed.

She misspelled Massachusetts for crying out loud.

[Zenlitened]

5. False.

Everything you've stated is simply untrue, unfortunately.

Signed,

A Massachusetts resident who voted for Coakley

[ClusterFreak]

10. Is it? Really?

Is that because you say so?

[Zenlitened]

13. I see you've edited your post to add some facts. But your point is still off.

If you can't acknowledge that the economy, the botched health care effort, the timidity of the Obama admin and top DC Dems...

If you can't admit that that these things were factors... well, November's gonna be rough.

[ClusterFreak]

16. These things were all factors a month ago too.

And she was 20 points up.

There's some more facts for ya.

[Zenlitened]

17. You might want to look at some of the facts surrounding...

... HCR debate over the past month.

And face this fact: It's not ONLY about Coakley, and her qualities/performance as a candidate, as you claimed in the first draft of your post.

It's just not.

Denying that fact does no one any good.

[ClusterFreak]

20. What facts about the HCR debate over the last month?

What facts? Be specific.

Coakley blew a massive lead in the polls in a month. It IS about her. She phoned it in. From a Caribbean beach.

And what's with this 'first draft' business...mentioning my edit and so on....?

I edited my original post to ADD a comment made by another poster to buttress my point, not to REVISE anything.

[Tailormyst]

28. She was ahead when she was against the HCR bill

Then she won the primary and changed her mind to being FOR the HCR bill (which was VERY unpopular here)and Lost an assload of votes.

[Tailormyst]

26. And then she switched from being against the HC bill to being for it

AFTER THE PRIMARY. When she thought it was in the bag, she flipped on the biggest issue of the moment. And went on vacation. And acted like a snob. And so yeah, her polling plummeted. It was a combination of things. Washington, Beacon Hill and a shit campaign all played a part.

[donheld]

18. +100

[Danger Mouse]

12. She didn't take a vacation?

[Zenlitened]

15. You tell me. - n/t

[berni_mccoy]

6. Coakley was asleep at the wheel. She took a week long vacation *after* she had drop 10 points

in the polls. No big whoop. 10 points after 2 weeks. Time for a vacation.

[JI7]

7. yeah, kbut the tea baggers and their fake liberal supporters that are infesting DU also

will blame Obama and other dems

[smalll]

8. K & R. Martha Chokely. Bah. /nt

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

9. Never take anything for granted

I don't live in Massachusetts but from what I've heard Brown spent way more time on the campaign trail than Coakley did. As Tip O'Niel said "All politics is local."

[Danger Mouse]

11. Exactly. We shouldn't let this demoralize us.

[Scurrilous]

14. K & R

:thumbsup:

[glarius]

19. Do I have it wrong?...or are the "pundits" avoiding the obvious?

I'm hearing one after another of the so-called political anylists ranting on about the reason Coakley lost....and not one of them has mentioned the fact that a month ago she was ahead by 20 points even though the same conditions were in play then as now. Could it possibly be that, the citizens of Mass. were totally pissed off by her taking a vacation in the Carribean while her opponent was out campaigning? Add that to all the gaffes she made (too cold to shake hands at Fenway Park...etc..etc.)
No one is talking about this. They are all saying what a disaster it is for Obama....They have health care in Mass. so perhaps the citizens just said "to hell with her" and voted for Brown as punishment????

[KittyWampus]

21. I agree but like a DU'ers said upthread- that isn't what the Mediawhores will say

and too many DU'ers need to ride their tired old hobbyhorse to prove they were right. Even if facts don't agree with them.

[treestar]

22. We can blame all we want, but in the end it is the independent voters

They want to reign in spending.

They may not get their way either though, since spending and budget are one thing that could go by reconciliation.

[Zenlitened]

23. See also:

"Here's my assessment of not just the vote in Massachusetts, but the mood around the country: the same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office," the president said in an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos. "People are angry and they are frustrated. Not just because of what's happened in the last year or two years, but what's happened over the last eight years."

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/president-obama-scott-brown-massachusetts-victory/story?id=9611222

Your premise is false, flat out wrong.

It is NOT solely about Coakley. There's much more to it than that.

Fortunately, Pres. Obama is well aware of this fact.

[Bluerthanblue]

29. excellent point- while I believe that

many of those who voted for Pres. Obama were acting less on anger, and more on hope (that was the message he ran on) - This election (Brown) tapped into many peoples anger, and self-centered-ness. at least from those I've heard who have commented on their choice of Brown.

:shrug:

[Zenlitened]

35. Well said. :)

Similarly, I think a fair amount of people simply for what they perceive as "the nice guy" in Scott Brown.

(He's not. He's a skunk.)

But for some, feeling frustrated and powerless, voting for Brown was a way to spit in the eye of the Big Shots in Washington.

That the spit will likely end up bouncing back onto themselves doesn't seem to enter into their equation at times like this.

Many of the people I spoke with prior to election day seemed to come at the whole thing as if it was a referendum on the way Dems have handled things since the last time they had a chance to cast a ballot. 'Approve' or 'disapprove'? 'Aye' or 'nay'?

Some expressed disapproval by staying home. A few, apparently, did so by voting for Brown. Yikes.

[Bluerthanblue]

24. don't forget Brown began his career 'selling himself' to the public-

and this time around he had lots of support from out of state pimps-

If Martha had a "Playboy" centerfold in her past, would she ever have escaped the media trashing that would have elicited?

I'm not saying Coakley was a great candidate- but Brown is an angry "Ken" doll that was easy for the media to embrace and promote.

Double standards and sexist prejudice-

imo-

[Tailormyst]

25. It's about alot more then just Coakley

If you prefer to hide your head in the sand and not look at the situation, understanding it and then working to fix it, then frankly, you are part of the problem that led to last night.

[WilliamPitt]

27. Woop.

There it is.

[Zenlitened]

30. There what is?

:shrug:

A swing and a miss?

[WilliamPitt]

32. Clever

Be sure to tip your waitress. Late show's different from the early show.

Let's give him a big hand, folks.

[Zenlitened]

33. Seriously, are you affirming this incredibly wrong-headed OP?

Or is it simply that you've been awake and caffeinated for a day and a half, and have given up on making sense?

:shrug:

[WilliamPitt]

34. I don't know where you live

but here in Massachusetts, the reality on the ground is that Coakley campaigned on her belly and lost a 30-point lead in less time than it takes to make a good batch of home-brewed beer.

Plus, the fact that the MA Dems changed the rule that used to allow governors to appoiont Senate replacements didn't help.

I don't know where you live, but I'm guessing it's not in the 617, 508, 781, or 413 area codes.

It's not always some big national thing. Around here, it rarely is.

She ran a shitass campaign and got beat like a drum. The OP is correct. Pontificate at long distance all you like. Around these parts, the facts are pretty clear. Coakley gave it away, and the Dems didn't help with the 2004 rule change.

[Zenlitened]

36. I live in Massachusetts. I supported Coakely. I did what I could to round up support for her.

Save save your "long-distance" cop-out for someone else, okay?

I've been involved in Democratic politics since I was old enough to neatly fold a campaign flyer.

I've lived in Massachusetts all of my adult life.

I spent 15 years working as a journalist in this state.

I know what I see and what I hear, who I've met and who I've spoken with, and I'm just reporting the facts, ma'am.

Local aspects did indeed play a role in this outcome. When have they not? Do you really think that's some great insight?

But the economy, the mounting desperation of the jobless and the worried, the foreclosure crisis, the convoluted health care reform process... and the performance of DC Dems in all of it...

Do you really think these things had no impact on the race? That they didn't set the tone, form the backdrop, before the race even got under way?

That is just stunningly naive, to believe such a thing. Staggering. And no amount of self-satisfied snark on your part can hide the fact: This race was NOT simply about Coakley.

She failed the audition, gave the part away to Brown. But Washington Democrats handed him a powerful script to read from.

[WilliamPitt]

37. I apologize

for the long-distance remark. I've been swimming in non-resident bullshit punditry since this whole shitshow began unfolding. Took it out on you, and I'm sorry. Where do you live, if I may ask?

[Zenlitened]

39. See also:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7522644


Apology accepted. Thank you.

As for where I live, I'll paraphrase the Talking Heads: I've lived all over this state.

In every type of neighborhood, from Boston to the 'burbs, the Fenway to the farms out west, the Blue Line to the apple orchards of Bolton and Harvard.

To the little studio apartment I inhabit now, in "one of the nicer towns" up north along Route 1. An economic refugee, but one of the lucky ones, no question about it, in that there's no danger I'll ever go hungry or not have a roof over my head.

I think I know this state pretty well. And it doesn't require genius, fortunately for me, to recognize the doubt, the dismay and the outright desperation lingering in the air out there.

[DainBramaged]

31. And NOT caring about sports in a state seeped in sports tradition

She made a LOT of serious mistakes which traditional voters (especially older voters) take to heart. It is really the fault of her handlers and the fault of the DNC for NOT keeping a closer eye on her campaign.

[Dark Knight]

38. Coakley Torpedoed

You can blame coakley all you want, but the facts are she had a large lead until;

Reid bought and paid for Nelson.

The underpants bomber on christmas was given rights and lawyers.

The deal with the labor on Cadillac health insurance.

If you don't believe that, check her polls bases on the time frame of these events.

I think she had no chance of recovery!