What really happened in MA

[PhilosopherKing]

Imagine for a moment if we had the presidential election 2 weeks after McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate. Remember what the polls were saying? McCain/Palin would have won.

Nobody was paying much attention to the race in MA until 3 weeks before the election. Coakley had a big lead as did Barack before McCain picked Palin. And then, Brown presented himself as the new "shiny" object. Good looks, catchy bumber sticker one-liners and a resume nobody knew about all came out in a matter of days - just like Palin. But the difference is the people of MA did not have time to really comb over his history. He stayed that "shiny" object right on through the election. Palin was the "shiny" object for 3 weeks until she started to interview. And then the financial crash further illuminated her know-nothing nature. People caught on as to how empty her suite really was. Scott Brown never got to that point.

Also, the media loved Scott Brown and his "story", just like they did Sarah Palin's.

[pipi_k]

1. Um...not that I was real happy about the Brown win, but...

I'm even less happy to know that people think we Massachusettsians are nothing but stupid little minnows attracted to shiny objects.

[PhilosopherKing]

7. I live in MA by the way

I know people who voted for this reason.

[paulsby]

2. that's a decent analysis, but as a matter of substance

brown and palin are nothing alike.

yes, they are both pretty, but

palin is vacuous, not particularly educated, and largely an espouser of fundamentalism

brown is well spoken, intelligent, and far from a fundie. he is pro choice, for instance.

the brown/palin comparisons just don't cut it,imo, at least as far as WHO they are. in terms of their effect, maybe somewhat.

[pipi_k]

6. Thank you...

As you pointed out very well, he may be a Republican (who represented himself as an Independent), but he's far from being a Sarah Palin/GWB Neanderthal type.

[paulsby]

8. (successful ) MA republicans are usually of this vein

weld, for instance. and you're welcome. :)

[KingFlorez]

3. Razzle Dazzle works everytime

[AlinPA]

4. Just like the Razzle Dazzle from "Chicago" (go to 1:15)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn5-VN3SH1o

[KingFlorez]

5. That's exactly what I was thinking of when I posted

[mook]

9. i don't buy it.

The fact that Brown got elected in Massachusetts demonstrates more than your "shiny object" theory suggests. I think there are a few factors to consider, the most important being Deval Patrick. Massachusetts is (despite the Catholics) a solidly liberal state. This is perhaps best exemplified by Cambridge, the self-proclaimed "most opinionated zip code in the world". These people do not just vote Republican for nothing. As anyone who has followed Patrick's tenure can attest to, thus far he has prefigured Obama in that he got elected as a well-educated black lawyer with little political acumen who seemed to embody the hopes of the liberal constituents, only to turn out to be somewhat lackluster in his ability to actually run the state and stick to those goals. I've never heard people from Massachusetts get so pissed about a politician. He is extremely disliked due to a mountain of failures and mini-scandals, including appointing tons of his friends to positions they really, really sucked at. Now, Deval Patrick is linked with Obama because the two are friends who campaigned for each other and because they have similar backgrounds. The fact that Obama has also not delivered on issues that the left-leaning of Massachusetts believe important has further eroded their overall faith in party. I think the voters of MA wanted a departure from what they've seen and were actually willing to consider that that change might come from a conservative. How they made the leap from consideration to approval is probably where your theory plays in, but wouldn't have been possible without the past few years of hard-core priming.

[atmame77]

10. Brown has some shadow in the closet

I'm from Mass and it was snowing outside, Coakley didn't campaign
in Boston much, Nationally money poured into Mass from the GOP.
A perfect storm.

Cheer up! lots can happen in the US Senate in two years.
Senators leave all the time. Things can change overnight.

I bet that Brown has some shadow in the closet that He's hiding.
He won't be back in 2 years to serve a 6 year term.

Doug

[iceman66]

11. That is a good analogy, but still

our party really dropped the ball by not taking Brown seriously as an opponent from day one.

After what happened last year in VA and NJ, this race should never have been taken for granted.