The polls are open in Massachusetts, and the usual reports of heavy early turnout have begun. What men and women can do, we have done: it is now in the voters’ hands. All that’s left is to ensure that today’s is a clean fight and a fair fight.
Legal Insurrection will be live-blogging throughout the day.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
You’re at the MLK Day Breakfast in Boston and the two candidates for Senate are talking.
Quick: which one is the Democratic candidate, and which other is the Republican one?
Yes, indeed, we live in interesting times.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
Thanks for the shout-out and everything, but I’m a well-known GOP party hack. Endorsing Scott Brown right out of the gate wasn’t exactly unsurprising for me.
Admittedly, it would have been a no-brainer anyway, but that’s just the serendipity talking.
Crossposted to RedState.
Marvel, my brothers and sisters:
It will most assuredly fluctuate many times over the next three days; and Martha Coakley might actually still win the election. But ask yourself: did you think that we’d ever be discussing the MA-SEN election in terms of a possible Democratic victory?
Well… false modesty aside, I always did.
Moe Lane
Pour yourself a glass of something nice before you read this: it deserves it.
“Obama is radioactive in polls,” said one senior Dem operative who has seen the campaign’s internal numbers. “Every time they dropped his name in a poll, it was awful. So you just can’t take those kinds of chances.”
We actually got the damned horse to sing.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
…yes, I just wrote that out. This is one time when the title says it all: “Massachusetts: ‘Bottom has fallen out’ of Coakley’s polls; Dems prepare to explain defeat, protect Obama.””
H/T… everybody, really.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
DOOM.
Late Democratic efforts to demonize Republican Scott Brown, to make the race into a partisan battle and to use the Kennedy name to drive Democratic voters to the polls could still work. But the advertising clutter in the race works against them, and voters often tune out late messages, which can seem desperate.
Reports that the Coakley campaign plans to counter this development by releasing a commercial showing their candidate strangling a puppy with an American flag have not been confirmed.
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
Bill Jacobson points out a minor detail with Martha Coakley trying to spin Scott Brown’s past support of permitting medical personnel to have a religious objection to the morning-after pill into being anti-rape victim: she’s on the record as supporting far more. first, Legal Insurrection:
Here is the language in section 1302(a)(3) of the bill (at page 125) passed by the Senate on December 24 (emphasis mine), which Coakley says she supports:
PROVIDER CONSCIENCE PROTECTIONS.—No individual health care provider or health care facility may be discriminated against because of a willingness or an unwillingness, if doing so is contrary to the religious or moral beliefs of the provider or facility, to provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.
The Senate language will provide protection for hospitals and doctors who, due to religious or moral beliefs (a broader exemption than Brown’s “religious beliefs” standard), refuse to provide abortions. This language is broad enough to provide an exemption even in the case of rape victims. This language also is not dependent upon whether the abortion service otherwise is allowed under the Hyde Amendment regarding federal funding of abortions.
Now – well, December – noted VWRC rag… TalkLeft:
Can’t say I didn’t warn you about Martha Coakley. The latest: a Bait and switch. During her campaign to replace Sen. Ted Kennedy, she said she wouldn’t support a bill with restrictions on abortion.
Today, she announced her support for the health care bill with its restrictions on abortion funding.
As I noted at the time, when it came to abortion Coakley blatantly broke her word to the very progressive Left that she’s now trying to galvanize into action against Brown – for something that she’s hypocritically to Brown’s right on. That’s politics for you: but if Coakley can’t even keep track of what she is and is not supposed to be supporting at any given time, well…
Moe Lane
Crossposted to RedState.
I’ve been fighting the urge: it’s Massachusetts. But let’s review the evidence.
(pause)
DOOM.
Moe Lane
PS: Scott Brown for US Senate.
Crossposted to RedState.
This was easily the most important thing said at yesterday’s Brown/Coakley debate.
(Via American Glob; H/T The Other McCain; see also Nice Deb.)
There’s a reason why Brown raised 1.3 million dollars in just over 24 hours (and over 1 million in 24 hours) yesterday; it’s because the Massachusetts Senatorial race reeks of entitlement. The major reason why Brown is able to be in a position to line himself up for an upset in a week? Because Coakley decided that she owned the seat sufficiently to not even bother with campaigning. And why did she decide that? Because she’s a Massachusetts Democrat and the Kennedy clan signed off on her nomination. What else did she need?
The truly ironic bit? Ted Kennedy must be spinning in his grave over this dismissive display of arrogance. The man was legendary for his thoroughness when it came to constituent services.
Moe Lane
PS: Scott Brown for Massachusetts Senate.
Crossposted to RedState.
