Blue Mass. Stands Apart From Nation

[No Elephants]

Source: WBUR

By Dan Payne Nov 3, 2010, 12:14 AM

Massachusetts tonight proved that Sen. Scott Brown’s victory in January was more fluke than the leading edge of a trend. As of now, it looks like a clean sweep for incumbents in Congress and an all-Democratic night for candidates for constitutional office (Suzanne Bump leads Mary Z. Connaughton, of this writing).

Rep. Jeff Perry’s loss proves that Character trumps Ideology, as voters in the 10th district chose to believe the victim of a strip search rather than Perry’s account. Brown is going to have to relive his deep and abiding support for Perry in Brown’s re-election in 2012.

<snip>

Rep. Barney Frank’s victory gives him a rewarding capstone to a 30-plus-year career in which he has never lost an election, going back to his days as a state legislator and now 16 terms in Congress. Frank has become, with the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the favorite whipping boy for the likes of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham. Sean Bielat was a candidate of no ties to the district and no accomplishments in the public sector, other than winning Pentagon contracts for iRobot where he once worked. If you took a vote inside the Beltway, Bielat would’ve won hands down, but he had no connection to the 4th district, while Frank had done an exceptional job bringing home the bacon to towns like Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton. And he remains enormously popular in the large liberal towns of Newton and Brookline.

Read more: http://electionwire.wbur.org/2010/11/03/massachusetts-election-analysis

---

So proud of my adopted state, but some races were way too close for Blue Mass.

And as one Rethug loser (in all senses of the word) pointed out in his concession speech, Rethugs now finally have an infrastructure in Mass. Between that, a Rethug local media* and money (Citizens United), I am cautious about the future.


*Note this author saying of slimey Perry's loss, "Character trumps Ideology," as though Rethug ideology were a good thing. And local "objective" media could not conceal disappointment about our state last night, much as they definitely could not conceal glee when the Brown turd won.

[getthefacts]

1. I'm with you

relieved at the results yesterday at this, also my adopted state. It gives me hope that we can take our Senate seat back in two years.

[karmkay]

42. Ain't that the truth

"much as they definitely could not conceal glee when the Brown turd won."

They still make me sick whenever they do one of their fawning stories on the Playgirl model. I think the local T.V. stations were so adoring of him because his wife was a long-time reporter for Channel 5.

And I can't imagine who might run against him and win Vicki Reggie? Maybe not. My true blue state doesn't seem to like women candidates.

[dana_b]

2. Hooray!! go Mass!1

however I do have to point out tha Hawaii, California and the maybe the northwest(I need to check on WA and Oregon) are pretty "blue" today too.

It's a beautiful color..

[femrap]

49. CA....was my

adopted state for a long time. All the smart people move there or to the east...like MA.

I'm stuck in Ohio....who went entirely BLUE just 4 short years ago....and last night went entirely RED....ENTIRELY. And they will get to redistrict the state making it even more difficult for the dems to win.

Who knew that a Black man in the White House would create such a Backlash? Plus there are other reasons as well...like not being very nice to the progressive base.

So I'm stuck with people who are TSTL...'Too Stupid To Live.' I will suffer, but not in silence.

And that POS Orange Man from Ohio is the next Speaker of the House. He's a lazy turd that at 5:00 pm everyday has positioned himself on a barstool with a martini in hand. Otherwise, he's out golfing.

Too many stupid people in Ohio....so stupid they don't know how stupid they are. No offense to the smart people of Ohio...wherever you are. We should wear little buttons or something so we can recognize each other and not feel so alone!!!!

[activa8tr]

3. Thanks for sharing this.... got to love BOTH Republican "character" and

their gutless self-serving unconscionable inconsistent and destructive "ideology"!!!


This citizens united thing.... they will be back in two years to attack Barney Frank (and others) again!

Sean Beilat is a war hero to those Republicans...he looks about 20 years old, too!

Sickening!

[No Elephants]

13. My great pleasure to have news like this to share!

[Wabbajack_]

21. Good luck in a Presidential year

Obama will win MA by 20 points (or maybe 40 points if it's Palin). It will be hard for them to gain anything with that going on. Scott Brown will probably be bounced too.

[activa8tr]

55. Let's hope Scott Brown is bounced, paying his salary to "represent"

our state is a crime. IMO

[Mass]

4. Ground game was the secret. Can we have a DNC chair that understands that.

[tsuki]

5. Amazing. Mass and Hawaii. I am going to have to think about that. nt

[MBS]

6. strong statement by Sen. Kerry on MA election

Strong, feisty statement, and, in my opinion addressed to more than this election (Scott Brown election in 2009? chance to take him down in 2012?) and to Dems outside MA as well as proud instate contingent:

Tonight’s clean sweep underscores that despite massive outside spending and prevailing political winds, Massachusetts Democrats win when they take nothing for granted, fight hard, and stand proud of the people and values they represent. Deval Patrick, Tim Murray, Barney Frank, Bill Keating, and many, many others reminded Massachusetts tonight that some things really are worth fighting for, and that’s a big big lesson not just for Democrats but for everyone, everywhere

[No Elephants]

14. Brown won in 2010. It only seems longer.

[MBS]

20. good analysis : )

(and thanks for correction)

[Zenlitened]

40. Bam!

:applause:

[Xipe Totec]

7. I posted these pics last night

From Milton MA,









http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x500880

[No Elephants]

15. Never realized you were in Mass--or that Milton was so blue. Happy to learn both!

:toast:

[Tippy]

8. K&R...Sanity indeed returned to MA...Congrats MA Dems...

[rox63]

9. Makes me proud to be a Masshole!

Happy that my state is sane. :)

[xchrom]

10. recommend

[Hawaii Hiker]

11. Scott Brown and John Ensign should be the #1 and 2

targets for Democrats in 2012..

[No Elephants]

17. Yep, Mass. and Harry Reid were yesterday's most symbolic targets.

Rethugs failed at both, but some margins were too small. We need to be working on unseating the Brown turd starting Monday.

Hope someone has been keeping track of his votes. He's been playing it close as far as mouthing off, but he's no independent, much as he tried to pretend he was. Nor did he run on an indie ticket (or an indie budget). Time for him to be exposed. (Nude photos don't count.)

[Mad_Dem_X]

47. I was so happy to hear about Harry. n/t

[karynnj]

50. All the votes are in the Sente record and will very easily summurized

Part of the problem is that the media covers for him. Take this article that spoke of his first few months in the senate - http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/05/09/a_star_from_day_one_brown_settles_in. The Boston Globe used almost NOTHING of the interview he gave that was to be the basis of it - http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/05/09/transcript_from_the_interview_with_scott_brown. The interview is hilarious - it is very clear he does not really understand that what he described he would do is putting in an ear mark. His comments on the people he was meeting in the Senate remind me of letters from sleep awy camp my daughters wrote - except my daughters' comments were more insightful and better written. Notice that they even heavily edited the video they have on the page with the article.

Here is one of his two speeches in the Senate the last week it was in session - http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/clip.php?appid=598858824 He is rather incoherent. Nothing he is saying relates to anything the Senate was doing and it mostly centered around himself. The shorter one two days later was no better. (As to his being ill - he was out three days later ralling for Perry.) Can you imagine how much the Boston media would play segments of this if it were Kerry or one of the Congresspeople?

[BurtWorm]

12. Thank you, Massachusetts!

[wisteria]

16. I want to move to Massachusetts, people think before they vote there.

I live in an area that will not wise, up with a terrible media owned by Richard Mellon Scaife, which is now distributing their propaganda to West Virginia and Ohio. The people value their possessions and guns more than anything else and they have an ignorant, compassionate mean streak.

[No Elephants]

19. We'll keep a light in the window for ya! Dem pols, gay marriage and decriminalized mj

possession (in small amounts).

Yesterday, we even voted down a ballot initiative to cut our sales tax in half. And we're next door to NH, which has no sales tax.

[polmaven]

36. NH has no sales tax,

but their property taxes are through the roof compared to ours....The money has to come from somewhere.

[uncommon]

38. ...

I voted for the sales tax decrease and was sad to see it fail. Sales tax disproportionately hurts the poor.

Just sayin'.

[polmaven]

35. We would love to have you!

MA is a great place to live, and there is always room for forward thinking, intelligent people. Come and be a Masshole!

[wilt the stilt]

18. Mass. also voted for McGovern

McGovern was my first vote. Mass. stood up. For some odd reason they use intellect most of the time in their votes not emotion. Here's to Mass.

[No Elephants]

23. Yep. 49 other states voted Nixon including McGovern's home state.

That's one of many reasons Mass. is such a target. Rethugs from as far away as the left coast traveled here to attend Brown's rallies.

But, some of these clowns came way too close yesterday.

[Tracer]

22. On the other hand ...

... the ballot question about repealing the sales tax on alcohol won.

Must be a lot of heavy drinkers around here!

[No Elephants]

24. That was about protecting small store owners and their employees from NH. See reply 19.

Besides, is liquor a blue or red issue?

[uncommon]

39. MA already charges taxes on alcohol -

and frankly an increase from 0% to 6.25% overnight was ridiculous.

[muriel_volestrangler]

25. And yet, look how much damage to the country Brown's victory caused

That gave the Republicans full filibuster power - without that, they would have had to split Lieberman or a bad Democrat off from the Democratic caucus to threaten a filibuster.

[MBS]

26. the damage is real, and painful

All the more reason to work hard to take him down in 2012

[sinkingfeeling]

27. If I can off-load this house and find a job, I'm moving to Massachusetts!

[Jennicut]

28. Don't forget Connecticut. We most likely went entirely blue as well last night. Still waiting for

the Governor's race to be called but the #'s from Bridgeport seem to give Malloy a 2000 vote lead at this point per the local news.

If anyone wants to move to CT, MA, VT, RI feel free too. We are not totally insane in these parts. Sometimes we are accused of being aloof but we just don't want to invade the privacy of others. I have lived in CT all of my life and never get asked personal questions about religion or things like that.

[JerseygirlCT]

57. It's true!

And looks like Malloy did pull it out, though I guess we have to wait and see if Foley contests it.

[MannyGoldstein]

29. We also have the best public education system in the country

Based on "No Child Left behind" testing of children's skills, http://www.massteacher.org/archive/2007/headlines_2007-09-24.cfm">our public ed system is #1 in the US.

A worldwide ranking put Mass at http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2008/12/10/bright_sign_for_tech_in_mass/">one of the few top school systems in the world.

This might explain our general voting trend.

On another note - when it came time to talk school reform, did the Obama Administration adopt the Mass model as something that provably works incredibly well? Nope. Instead, they went for Arne Duncan's untested experiment.

[uncommon]

37. Amen - Massachusetts is liberal because it's full of smart people and hard working people

who know how to vote their own interests.

:)

[yellowcanine]

30. Err - what are we in MARYLAND, chopped liver????

We easily reelected a (D) governor (56%-42%) and a (D) senator (62%-36%).

Yes we lost the first congressional district that is in a distinctly red area of the state. But the House Delegation is 6 (D) and 2 (R),all the House (D) winners got at least 60%, both Senators are (D), Democrats control both state houses by large margins and all statewide offices.

[FailureToCommunicate]

33. Congratulations from another bay state! Go Ravens!

[Pacifist Patriot]

31. Why did I move to Florida from Massachusetts?

Aside from the allergic reaction to snow? *sigh*

[FailureToCommunicate]

32. Yes, proud to be Blue State Mass, but, it feels real lonely here today

after all the GOTV effort and excitement. Well...

It's back to work, I guess.

Let's clean up after this "tsunami" as we've done before...

Thank you to all our well wishers, and supporters, around the country!

[uncommon]

34. Proud to live in Massachusetts today.

:hug:

[valerief]

41. Hell, we're gonna have to secede to stay afloat!!!! Thanks. nt

[hangman86]

43. I must admit

that being in Massachusetts last night did help ease the pain a little. Damn! I love my state!:)

[uncommon]

44. It really did - I was smiling on my way to work this morning looking at the Dem yard signs.

It's weird to live here. I can't imagine living in a place like Kentucky.

[Mad_Dem_X]

45. Great job, Massachusetts!

[Ginto]

46. Best public education, best healthcare, some of the best food. nt

[uncommon]

48. Mmmmmm delicious Massachusetts :)

[4lbs]

51. Yay! CA is actually the same way.

Nearly all the Democratic candidates won (re-)election.

Governor Jerry Brown won by 12 points
Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom
Attorney General Kamala Harris (leading in a too-close-to-call squeaker)
Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones
Secretary of State Debra Bowen
State Treasurer Bill Lockyer
State Controller John Chiang

Senator Barbara Boxer won by 10 points

My ** PROGRESSIVE** U.S. rep Bob Filner re-elected with 59% of the vote and still winning by 18% in a non-Presidential down year with most of the country in a "kick the bums out!" mood.

My state assembly rep Juan Vargas winning by 12 points.


"Simple majority to pass state budget" YES

Guess what this all sets up for CA in the coming years?

Finally getting a state single-payer health care plan enacted. The state legislature actually passed one several times in the last 8 years but the Republican Governor vetoed it and we didn't have 2/3 in the legislature to override it.

Won't happen now.

[Iggo]

53. Come on, Kamala Harris!

I love this one.

[louis c]

52. Labor Unions in Mass.

Even though we got beat up both nationally and locally, labor provided the ground game to beat back the red tide. I know, I was out there working.

Ff the Dems want to regain their upper hand in American politics, go after job outsourcing and tie it to the chamber of commerce and then hang that around the necks of the Republicans. But Dems can't just talk a good game, they have to produce, or our members won't follow our lead. However, the Dems have to act fast, because the labor ranks are shrinking every day.

[TZ]

54. Don't forget Maryland whose large population of Federal Workers

let everyone know last night that "the Government Does NOT suck" with races for Governor, Senate, and several House seats that the Dems weren't even CLOSE to losing...They lost one blue dog in conservative Cecil County.
I voted straight Dem in Montgomery County and they ALL WON.

[JerseygirlCT]

56. How about CT?

Every Dem congressperson was returned, Blumenthal won the Senate, and Malloy the Governor.

My local races sucked, but the big ones did well!