A reader writes:
I so wish that the Democrats will learn a lesson from this Coakley travesty. I'm an unrepentant liberal and Obama supporter, but this woman is not a liberal. There is nothing in her record that says anything but police state and nanny state. You've written about her most well known cases - why in the world would a progressive want this woman in this position? She is John Kerry squared. I voted for her, but my gut wanted her to lose.
Another writes:
I was looking at the tally a few minutes ago, and it looks like Brown won by 100,000 votes. 100,000 people get to derail the possibility of health insurance for 40 million? In a state where they have already passed this same reform? How does that make any sense at all? The states represented by Democrats in the Senate have populations that vastly outnumber those represented by Republicans. They need to represent us.
Another:
I am now sharing the deep gloominess you experienced yesterday. With the news of Brown's win, I find myself sitting here with a pit in my stomach and chain smoking.
And I'm a Canadian living in Canada. From a policy analysis standpoint, like you, I do not agree with serious portions of the Democrats' health reform bill. But I fear that this is the best that the American system can produce. There seems to be little alternative. More broadly, I cannot understand how the American public can forget the Republican record so quickly. We all knew that the Democrats would not govern perfectly, but how can a president that won such a landslide only a year ago receive such a short time to prove his ability to govern? As bad as the Westminster system of government is - inflexible party discipline, the decline in ministerial responsibility, the concentration of power in the prime minister's office - at least a leader can get the time he needs to actually make headway.
Another:
Maybe all that nonsense during the campaign about how "Obama is the new Carter" actually contained a kernel of truth. Jimmy Carter, after all, was the last President to treat Americans like patient, responsible adults, and his effort at this was termed the "Malaise Speech". This, along with many issues that were out of his control, earned him a one way ticket back to Georgia. Now, I think Obama is a much abler statesman than Jimmy Carter and has a core of stronger support, but he also has to deal with a nihilistic, part racially-motivated "Just Say No" campaign. How this plays out will tell us more about ourselves than about President Obama.
Another:
Not much changes after tonight. Dems couldn't get anything real done with 60 votes; still won't get anything done with 59.
Another:
Haven't bothered to vote in years for various reasons. Voted Scott Brown today. Yes, I am a life long Republican. But one important reason the voters rejected Coakley today was that she is a Beacon Hill Democrat, one of the boys. Twice they have fiddled with the election laws in the past five years to rig the system. First, they ripped appointive power away from the Governor. Then they gave it back but moved up the election. The plain motive of each of these moves was to control the process. If they had done neither there would be a Democrat in Washington today, tomorrow and for the rest of the Congressional session. The voters noticed and kicked back. The spirit of liberty still lives and the reds in Boston and Washington are just going have to get used to it.
Another:
All the attention on the senate race in Mass. has brought up the feeling that I can no longer vote for a Democrat in a national election. The trend for me started in 2004 when I started to vote for 3rd party candidates for some of the local contests. It solidified in 2008 when Obama was just about the only Democrat I voted for. Reagan was the last Republican to get my vote. I now feel the system is broken, and while the Democrats are not as bad as the Republicans, in most areas of government they are either as bad or almost as bad. Enough is enough. Real change will have to come from outside the 2 main political parties. I have washed my hands of them.
Another:
I am so disappointed and angry today. Of course, the Democrats will take exactly all the wrong lessons from this experience. The people did not reject the Democrats for trying to do too much, they rejected them for not doing anything.
It breaks my heart to say this, but I fear that we elected another Jimmy Carter. A good and decent and intelligent man who cannot get things done. President Obama has not demonstrated leadership on virtually anything this year (except the stimulus). His cautious style is out-of-step with the realities of Washington and the 24-hour news cycle. I know Reid sucks and Baucus sucks, etcetera, but leaders lead and I have seen very little leadership from the President (or should I say Rahm?). I am so profoundly disappointed by the wasted opportunity and, for the first time in my life, am entirely cynical about the Democratic Party.
In short, I am the problem the Democrats face in November.