Coakley Concedes; Republican Scott Brown Wins in Massachusetts

In an astonishing upset, not to mention a victory for Cosmo centerfolds with political aspirations, Republican Scott Brown has come from far behind to win today's special election in Massachusetts. He will be the 41st Republican in the U.S. Senate, meaning that Democrats can no longer break a united Republican filibuster.

How will Democrats in Washington react? As Tim Cavanaugh says, one never knows for sure. But my one word prediction starts with "p" and ends with "anic."

Comments

[smartass sob]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

[Fluffy]

Rachel Maddow is so infuriated.

[Almanian]

Indeed - I flipped to MSNBC - CNBC? whatever - just to watch her reaction. Not a happy person, Ms. Maddow 🙁

[Spencer]

funny my first reaction was also to see what her thoughts were

[Politically Incorrect Man]

Eh, she just needs a good blowjob.

[Bill Clinton]

Works for me every time.

[Barney Frank]

Me, too. Especially in a depressing time such as this.

[Michael Jackson]

You guys are too old for me, but my friend Bubbles loves the cock.

[Brian E]

When this is all over, you owe us a lobster girl to make up for the constant posting of the Brown centerfold pic.

[Emma Suarez]

The pic was for the benefit of Reason's female visitors.

[Brian E]

Visitors plural?

Is he really the male equivalent of Lobster Girl? I find that hard to believe, but maybe that has something to do with the turnout.

[zoltan]

And yeah, what wouldn't make him the equivalent? He's a hot dude showing off his goods--straight women like this, just like straight men like lobster girl.

[Mari Dupont]

It was most appreciated. By all 3 of us.

[C. A. Jones]

So, what are you wearing?

[Lexicon]

My guess: Two "Road to Serfdoms" and a "Human Action." And a monocle.

[Mari Dupont]

NOT. In honor of the occasion, I'm wearing nothing but a "Don't Tread on Me" live snake, strategically positioned for future Reason homepage display.

YOUR MOVE, Lobster girl...

[?]

Emma, Mari, Chad, Tony, MSG,...that's at least five. Suki.

[Mr. FIFY]

Nary a peep from them, or the long-absent crayon... most peculiar.

Meh, they'll lick their wounds and bitch amongst themselves over at DU, just like the good li'l fellow travelers they are.

[rana]

very much appreciated... compensation for all the Sarah Palin and Lobster Girl pics?

[Brian Sorgatz]

Sexism is not dead. Brown's female counterpart, a Republican Playboy Playmate, didn't do nearly as well. (But serious Playboy fans are courteous enough never to call a woman a "former" Playmate, as that article does.)

[zoltan]

How is the L.A. Times stupid enough not to put a pic with that article?

[Hank]

I am pretty sure Brown sold Frank Luntz his pubic nest for Luntz's face.

[Emma Suarez]

Wonderfully symbolic, on the first year anniversary of Obama Presidency.

[Ghost of Schr?dinger's cat]

+1

[Lobster girl equality act]

Sage, I told you to get your ass over to Reason and iron that bumb out of the centerfold.

[KyleG]

The withdrawn and devastated look on Matthews's face is great.

[John C. Randolph]

Wow. The lefties are going to be in their biggest snit since Bush's re-election.

So, this Scott Brown guy: What's the word on him? Is he a poor man's Mitt Romney, or is there some reason to expect him to care about the constitution?

-jcr

[Pro Libertate]

He sucks ass, from what I've heard. But he's a vote against the healthcare abomination.

Hope the LP is paying attention to this opportunity, because Brown didn't win for being a Republican. And he won in a state that had lots of internal resistance to sending a Republican to the Senate.

[The Libertarian Guy]

How much did Joe Kennedy III (no relation) get?

[John C. Randolph]

One percent, according to the NYT.

-jcr

[The Libertarian Guy]

One wonders what he would've gotten if Brown hadn't gotten in the race...

[pgt]

I suspect he is a doofus, maybe even a replay of John Lindsay, but it was enough that he isn't a reincarnation of Cotton Mather.

[zoltan]

reincarnation of Cotton Mather

+1

[Nash]

He's basically Mitt Romney. His stated reasons for opposing Obamacare are because MA already has it in place. He's jingoistic and pro-bailout. The Tea party adopting this guy feels like yes another deal with the devil. It's a harbinger or the movement completely evaporating once another Republican takes the white house, no matter how "compassionate."

[Ben]

JCR- He's pretty quick to throw the Constitution under the bus (listen to the radio clip):
http://www.goldmassgroup.com/d.....republican

[Pro Libertate]

Right now, there are Democrats wondering if there's enough left of their illusory mandate to get away with nuking Massachusetts.

[John C. Randolph]

The Dems had a mandate, but they naturally failed to understand what it was. The mandate was "don't be Bush". It was not "seize this opportunity to fuck the country over the way that Roosevelt did."

-jcr

[abu_lafia]

Hopefully this allows a few more senators to use their reason, say no to the pressure and escape the pack mentality of a single party chamber. However you want to argue on policy, I think that Obama and Congress have shown such arrogance and such a disregard for the peoples' opnions in pushing through their agenda that even in our left leaning state they have had enough - and it didn't take long.

[James Anderson Merritt]

So now the Libertarians have to up the ante by recruiting a candidate by the name of Kennedy who has also posed in the buff for Cosmo or some similarly targeted women's magazine...???

Maybe Mr. Right Now will shrivel by the time of the regular election to fill the seat. And maybe the Libertarian will stand up tall and say, "see, you could have voted for us THEN ... but no worries, just vote for us NOW and all is forgiven."

[zoltan]

a candidate by the name of Kennedy who has also posed in the buff

picz plz

[TXLimey]

I understand that many, many democrats and affiliated liberals have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into passing their agenda this past year. The loss in MA is going to make a mess of all their plans. I can only offer a sincere and heartfelt:

HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA HAHA

[qwerty]

+1000000

[swillfredo pareto]

But my one word prediction starts with "p" and ends with "anic."

My prediction is that the DJIA is up 300 tomorrow.

[CTHORM@IBIS]

Its like manna from the heavens.

[jester]

MSNBC reported that indeed the DJIA would go up as investors would expect more future profits for insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

It couldn't possibly be because the economy (which is mostly made up of small companies) won't be burdened with expensive legislation.

Couldn't possibly be that.

[Mike]

Black Jesus has lost his magical powers.

[dbcooper]

Can't wait to see Eleanor Clift on the McLaughlin Group this weekend. 🙂

[The Libertarian Guy]

Clift never looks happy...

[Greg V.]

This election throws a wrench into the gears of the machine. It has little to do with Brown but everything to do with sending a message that the beltway is out of line.

[wingnutx]

Now that is is safe, I can say that I'm glad that the Dems were given enough rope to act high-handed and sleezy in full view.

Not that the Reps won't do it if they ever get the same majority.

[The Art-P.O.G.]

+100...Americans are smart enough to vote for gridlock. If more people also voted for good 3rd party candidates, I'd have nothing to complain about as far as my fellow citizens' voting habits.

[MJ]

Maddow and Matthews are recommending a Stalingrad strategy for the Democrats, i.e. "fight to the last man". On the theory that it's not that the public hates the health care bills but that they're angry that it has not been passed yet.

Wow.

[Almanian]

That's just straight-up delusional

[MJ]

BTW, there are not words in any known human language to describe how beneath contempt Olberman is.

[Fluffy]

Well, as much as I hate to admit it, a more lefty health care bill would actually probably be more popular with voters.

"Free health care for you and you pay nothing and those rich bankers pay it all" would probably be more popular than "We tax you if you don't line up to buy health insurance you don't want and can't afford".

The health care bill got worse and worse for Democrat electoral prospects the more they tried to make it palatable to their own "centrist" wing. Because their centrists suck eggs.

[jester]

Nice sum up of why divided government is good.

[John]

Go find me one poll that has ever found a majority of Americans who support single payer. You won't find one. I don't know where you live, but if you only judged by your posts, you would think everyone in America was on welfare and never worked for a living. Fortuneately, that is not the case.

[Fluffy]

Nothing polls lower in health care than the mandate, John.

And the Democrats decided to make the mandate the centerpiece of their program.

Any health care package, any at all, would poll higher than the mandate.

Single payer is no worse than forced community rating, or forced coverage for pre-existing conditions. They're just as tyrannical. And the people getting subsidized coverage by socking it to young and healthy people by piggybacking on community rating or forced coverage of pre-existing conditions are just as much "welfare queens" as the people who want single payer. But the public supports community rating and forced coverage of pre-existing conditions by large majorities. So it's pretty obvious that the public's revulsion with the health care plan was not based on those elements, and therefore was not right-wing in its origin. HCR is dying because people hate the mandate, and people hate the tax on "Cadillac" plans. But an HCR bill that did not include those elements would be a more "progressive" bill - so it therefore follows that the left blogosphere is, in this case, correct that a more progressive policy choice would probably have benefitted Democrats politically.

[John]

But you can't have pre-exiting condition coverage without a mandate. People realize that. If people wanted single payer, Hillarycare would have passed.

I don't dislike the country as much as you do. Pretty much every other post you put up is about how everyone in the country not named fluffy is a lazy big government socialist. Maybe I am naive. But I don't see it.

[Fluffy]

You think they realize that? Maybe the members of Congress do, but the public doesn't. The public says, "Gee, why can't they just pass the 'good' parts of the bill and not the mandate?" And then someone like you explains it to them, and they forget two minutes later and ask again.

And I don't think I've ever devoted much effort to claiming that people are lazy, John. Big-government socialists? Yup. Every last Bush voter was a big-government socialist. They lie to themselves and others about it, because they refuse to call themselves that, but that's what they are.

[John]

You think what you want. But I think you are nuts. And it doesn't help to actively hate most of the country. Sadly that is a common theme among libertarians. But somehow they manage to act shocked when no one likes them.

[Episiarch]

It's less hate than contempt, John. Important difference.

[TXLimey]

To steal a line - America is the worst country we've ever seen - except for all of the others.

[Fluffy]

John, whether you want to admit it or not, Bush dramatically increased the size and scope of government, added new entitlements, massively increased government spending and debt, dramatically increased the intrusion of the federal government into education, crafted massive bailouts of financial sector firms, and expanded the pagecount of federal regulation dramatically.

Were those actions socialistic, or not? If a Democrat did these things, you'd call them socialistic. My evidence for this is your posts of the last year.

If they were socialistic, that means that the people who watched Bush do them and said, "I loves me some Bush. More of that, please!" are big-government socialists, whether they want to admit it or not, and whether they call themselves that or not. They just are, as a quite separate and distinct issue from the question of whether it's either nice or practical for me to tell them they are.

And this is leaving to one side the million other ways in which the mainstream of the GOP was socialistic even before Bush. Does the mainstream GOP accept the main legacy programs of the New Deal? Yup. Does the mainstream GOP accept most current labor legislation? Yup. Does the mainstream GOP accept the Sherman and Clayton acts? Yup. Does the mainstream GOP accept the premises behind local microcontrol of the use of private property? Yup. Are all these things socialistic? Yup. Does the fact that they are all mainstream now, and of long standing, change this? Nope.

So come on, please just explain to me how they aren't big government socialists. In terms of their actual identity. Don't explain to me how it hurts my cause to TELL people that they're big government socialists, or how mean or nuts it makes me. Explain to me how they actually aren't.

[TXLimey]

It's worth keeping in mind that GOP voters who supported Bush ended up having a choice between him and Gore or him and Kerry. Even as bad as Bush got, I have a hard time thinking that he was the lesser of two evils in either of those elections. Bush didn't end up with a 20% approval rating b/c the country suddenly went massively lefty, but b/c the people who are now tea party types got sick and tired of his "compassionate conservatism". It may already have been written, but I'm sure there's a good long article about how Bush pulled a lot more from Christian Progressivism than any real American conservative/classical liberal tradition.

[The Libertarian Guy]

What's this "libertarians hate the country" crap, John? What talking-points dispensary did you get this cup of shit from?

[Fluffy]

He's mad at me because I continue to refuse to believe any Republican who employs small government rhetoric if that Republican does not have a history of having spat in Bush's face.

Because the entire GOP scam requires us to have short memories.

It's not enough for me to be pleased that Brown's election gums up the works and creates roadblocks to legislation in the Senate. I also have to believe that the glorious GOP small government crusade has returned. Since I refuse to forget the last decade and go along with that, John is convinced that I hate most of the country. Because most of the country is able to do just that.

He's also mad because part of the GOP myth is that there are large small government majorities out there, and the GOP merely needs to express their will in order to govern. Every though the very worst Democrat economic ideas are historically the ones that have always polled the highest, and are the ones the GOP never dares to challenge in any meaningful way. For daring to think that the public is responsible for the growth of government carried out in their name, I am guilty of hating the country, in John's eyes.

If you deny that Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia, it's because you're a hater.

[The Libertarian Guy]

I gotcha, Fluffy. Makes sense.

[Hazel Meade]

People are dumb. They don't realize that. The Democrats in congress realize it, but they just aren't as retarded as the people who vote for them. Unfortunately for them, they are dumb enough think that the coverage for pre-existing conditions would outweigh the mandate.

[Schempf]

I don't give a lot of credit to the electorate, but maybe deep-down the understand that killing the goose is not good for the gander?

[Chad]

Actually, the public is largely ignorant on this matter. I bet no more than 5% of the population could list three things in either the House or Senate version of the bill.

[The Art-P.O.G.]

Is that an indictment of the public or of the bill?

[Tulpa]

That was the Clinton health care approach of 1993. The AMA, drug companies, and insurance companies banded together to strangle it in the crib. Obama was "smartly" trying to avoid such an eventuality.

Also, the CBO scores for such a bill would suck. People are starting to wise up to the fact that the feds are broke.

[John]

Man that is messed up.

[Pro Libertate]

What's funny is that Hitler demanded that his troops stay in Stalingrad and fight to the last man. That worked out well for the Germans.

[MJ]

They did not really use the word "Stalingrad" to describe it, that was my 2 cents, though they did express that even if the Dems got wiped out in November at least they went down fighting.

[Pro Libertate]

It's okay, the logic works the same. Make sure you make a stand regardless of the consequences. Always a good idea, especially when your stand was never something to die on, like, you know, principles.

[HCR or bust]

"On the theory that it's not that the public hates the health care bills but that they're angry that it has not been passed yet." I hope that is the case. I can't help but think that the lack of transparency and the special deals were a problem too.

[capitol l]

Can anyone find Kennedy's numbers?

Please don't be so low as to be unreportable.

[EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy]

They started at 1% and remained steady all night.

[Brandybuck]

When the GOP says "jump" the LP says "how high?". Truly pathetic.

[Ghost of Schr?dinger's cat]

according to WCVB, Kennedy has 1% or
21,804 with 98% reporting.

[capitol l]

Damn, that is disappointing.
I mean I wasn't expecting him to win or anything but 5% would of gave me a little hope. I guess when two statist run against each other in Mass. 1% is as good as anything.

[The Libertarian Guy]

Michael Cloud pulled about twenty percent against John "Did I mention I served in Vietnam?" Kerry, but there wasn't an R in that race...

[?]

He sucks ass, from what I've heard.

You heard right. He's a "RINO" (ironically, the kind often called a "JFK Democrat") except in a couple symbolically significant ways that he cashed in on amazingly. We'll all curse him soon.

If TEAM BLUE weren't all about hating disobedient voters, they'd like him better than the rest of us will. But his win will just heighten their punishing urge. "Fight harder," etc.

It is nice that the witchfynder lost, though.

[John]

I know he is pro war, but how else is he big government? And Coakley was pro war to, so that is a wash. Specifically what does he support? Raising taxes? Some other way for the government to take over healthcare?

[Fluffy]

He supported Romneycare, which was every bit as socialistic as Obamacare. Didn't he? Maybe I'm wrong, but I think he did.

[John]

A lot of people supported Romneycare. And it has turned out to be a disaster. I doubt he supports it now. And if obamacare is just the same, why did he campaign against Obamacare? My guess is that he is a politician and supported Romneycare when it was convienent and now will kill Obamacare for the same reason. He also will probably be a lot more small government in the Senate than he was in the Mass state house. He has a chance to be a national star. And being a RINO won't get him there.

[Fluffy]

Hey, that would be nice.

Maybe he goes the Coburn route.

I am willing to hope so for the time being.

[John]

Doing the right thing for the wrong reason is the best you can hope for with politicians.

[capitol l]

Which just tells you how loathsome Coakley is. Brown won by telling massachusett's voters that he wouldn't inflict upon the nation a clusterfuck of a health care bill like the one he helped impose on the people of massachusetts.

[Lisa]

I agree...I'm still feeling the effects of that healthcare bill that was done in Mass and believe me when I tell you....IT'S A JOKE WITHOUT A PUNCHLINE.

[jester]

But now lefties get to hate one of their own simply because he has the mark of the beast (an R).

[Mike M.]

One more thing: this race should put to rest once and for all the nonsensical myth that big turnout naturally favors democrats.

The turnout today was HUGE for a special election.

[capitol l]

Oh yeah, thank you reason staff for having all of one article on Joe Kennedy.
Ya' know the liberarian candidate.
Remember,it was the article where you ponder whether he should step down.

Great fucking job, freepers.

End rant, fuck Coakley.

[[e-mail]]

Even libertarians know libertarians canidates are jokes.

[The Libertarian Guy]

Freepers do hate libertarians, but Reason is not Freeperland.

[capitol l]

I understand this and was being facetious. Though I am a little tired of this idea that we should support someone that we find 99% abhorrent for payback on the people we voted in because of payback. The thought that we are going to infiltrate or mold one of the two major parties is ridiculous.

Its time to take the long view. Every libertarian here knows that the GOP and the dems do not take liberty seriously. Like this guy Brown, when he is up for reelection we will all be here supporting an abominable dem because of some shit policy that Brown supports, and so the cycle goes. Each cycle is a pyrrhic victory where we let a libertarian candidate languish for the sake of an issue that is never going to go our way anyways. At least, until we elect someone with an L next to their name.

People here speak of gridlock and voting out the bums but, has it worked?
No.
Government growth and liberty's retreat continue unabated.

Support your local and national libertarian candidates.

Sorry if this was incoherent, I need coffee.

[capitol l]

libertarian, fuck shit damn damn cock fuck!!!!!!!!

edit button

[Ghost of Schr?dinger's cat]

Brown's campaign started playing some Black Eyed Peas "I Got A Feeling" after the victory speech. I Got A Feeling they won't be down with that in the morning.

[Rahm Emanuel]

"You never want a serious crisis to go to waste ? and what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you didn't think you could do before."

[Nancy Pelosi]

"Are you serious?"

[Some Guy]

How will Democrats in Washington react? As Tim Cavanaugh says, one never knows for sure. But my one word prediction starts with "p" and ends with "anic."

I would guess it would start with "P" and end with "arty!" This gives them an exit strategy from the health care bill quagmire and probably saved them a dozen seats in the House in November.

[MlR]

Progressives' tears are yummy.

[jester]

How long would Brown have to wait before switching parties? Now there is a scenario.

[John]

That would be funny. Especially if he did it after he killed healthcare. The Republicans would be shocked. And the Dems would have to kiss his ass to keep their filabuster proof majority even though he killed healthcare and probably the obama administration with it. God really would have a sense of humor.

[zoltan]

Please let this happen.

[The Libertarian Guy]

If Brown switched to the LP, it would piss off BOTH Brand X Parties.

I'd give a months' pay to see that.

[The Art-P.O.G.]

+1. Then, even though I don't like either of them right now, I'd probably start hanging out with Brown and Lieberman.

[Episiarch]

I am personally astonished that the Massholes did this. If the Dems had run Teddy's corpse they'd still have that seat. Shit, Rosemary's lobotomized corpse could have walked away with it. The only party stupider than the GOP is the Dems, man. It's fucking amazing.

[Tulpa]

...and you can bet every media outlet would run headlines about how wonderful and historic it was that we had finally elected an undead member of Congress.

[The Art-P.O.G.]

How did Coakley win the Primary? No one seemed to actually like her.

[Ska]

Left for Dead 3 - Zombie Congress

[Lisa]

They are called Massholes for a reason...

[Bj?rge Lillelien]

Nancy Pelosi! Barney Frank! Rahm Emmanuel! Harry Reid! Chuck Schumer! Joe Biden! Chris Dodd! Barack Obama! Barack Obama can you hear me!? Your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!

[Seward]

Did Arianna (sp?) Huffington just state that Obama is in charge of all three branches of government? Obama is in charge of the judiciary? Huh?

[The Libertarian Guy]

Freudian slip on Arianna's part, I'm sure...

[Fluffy]

I found myself wondering tonight if Massachusetts was really more of a Kennedy state than a Democrat state, and if the apparent blueness of the state electorally will fall apart now that the old man is dead and Joe refuses to take over.

After all, it's very likely Patrick will go down next election. And half of the legislative leadership is either in jail or on their way. Maybe the dictatorship of the proletariat falls apart in Boston?

Nah.

[John]

They are liberals. But even liberals have their breaking point. The Dem machine there is unbeleivably corrupt and arrogant. And the taxes are brutal for lousy services and the state is still going bankrupt. Eventually things get so bad that even voting for old Teddy doesn't do it anymore, especially when the Republicans run someone that would be considered mainline liberal in many other states.

[Hazel Meade]

On the down side, this ends the Republicans' time in the wilderness. Meaning the libertarians' window of opportunity to influence the party has closed. The extent that the Tea Parties have moved it in a more libertarianish direction is as far as it's going to go for now. They've discovered their new winning formula, and it's not really all that different from the old one.

[Pro Libertate]

Yeah, the strategy of not being as stupid or as interested in expanding government as the Democrats, though on the latter point in particular, there ain't that much difference. However, I'm beginning to think the Democrats are much, much dumber. After all, it took 9/11 and six years for the GOP to alienate the country.

Incidentally, this could've happened six months ago. That's how awful the Obama administration really is. Part of its suckitude is deferring to the even crappier Congress. Is it the worst of the last 100 years?

I actually think a libertarian opportunity remains. I wish the LP and libertarian independents (and those brave libertarians in the GOP) would try harder for Congressional seats.

[Voros McCracken]

And I still think libertarians representing the largest chunk of a larger chunk of disaffected anti-both parties movement is the more reasonable way forward.

A large group of people whose attitude is "whatever, just leave me alone" would probably be better for libertarians than a smaller group with a bit more specific (and less popular) libertarian ideas (ideas I more often than not agree with).

It's getting from point A to point B that's the hard part. Reminding people that the Republicans own stupidity is what brought us to having to suffer through a senate with 60 democratic votes in the first place. So flocking back into the arms of the Rs isn't likely going to do much good.

[Pro Libertate]

Give me a strong national move towards more limited government, and I'll be satisfied for now.

[Voros McCracken]

Almost any third party movement will do that at this point as they would have the ability to obstruct anything anyone tried to do.

But it's not a matter of simply having the LP nominate Barr. It requires money and organization and a willingness to put together a coalition containing a great number of people unwilling or unready to refer to themselves as libertarians. And to be able to do that without becoming just a radicalized faction of one of the two parties (the Jesus party or the Progressive party).

[Hazel Meade]

No third party stands a chance against the two-party state, barring a killer astroid or possibly a stunning revelation that both parties leaderships are composed of carnivorous lizard people from another planet.

Even then, Democrats and Republicans would be too worried about losing their grip on power to abandon their respective machines. The debates would soon be over which group of lizard people is less evil, and how they can be used to defeat the more evil Republican/Democrat lizard people, and then somehow purged of lizard people from within.

[Voros McCracken]

This is why I think Perot, for all his warts, needs to be studied. Were it not for money, he had them by the balls. As it was he swung the election and the rest of the decade certainly could have been worse for limited government advocates.

So how do you do that, and then use the internet to be able to withstand the crushing demands for cash that sunk Perot's chances?

It's abundantly clear to me that the country as a whole has very little love for either party, less so than any time in my memory.

[Hazel Meade]

I think Perot did well mainly because of the sheer novelty of having an independent run appealed to people.

In that case, what we need is a nice long period of relative prosperity and political stagnation. That way everyone stops caring about politics long enough to lose thier rabid party alliegances. Then the third party guy comes along and is a breath of fresh air.

[Chad]

No third party who basic platform is one step short of anarchy will ever win, Hazel. Get out of your fantasy world and join us here in reality...a reality in which a lot of people are absolutely @#$@##ed by the death of health care reform. I only pray that someday YOU lose your insurance while you are sick. Then you can wallow in abject poverty, and we can mock you with calls of "personal responsibility". It will be fun.

Actually, I think all Republicans should immediately lose eligibility for Medicare. That would be quite appropriate, don't you think? After all, if they accept the "free" care, they are hypocrites, and hypocrites burn in hell. We would be doing them a large favor by removing the temptation that could lead to the eternal damnation of their immortal souls.

[Voros McCracken]

Actually, I think all Republicans should immediately lose eligibility for Medicare.

I'm no constitutional attorney, but I'm thinking that might very well run afoul of the 14th Amendment.

[The Art-P.O.G.]

Nice, Chad. Use your anger, boy.

[The Art-P.O.G.]

Seriously, so being opposed to this legislation means someone doesn't care about sick people? I imagine many people who oppose this legislation give charitably.

Hell, maybe some of them are doctors or pioneers in medical technology and thus, you know, actually help sick people.

But it seems in your world being opposed to possibly monstrous legislation means someone finds poor people in ill health contemptible. People have debunked the shallowness of your worldview on numerous occasions, but you still cling to the same tired statist worldview.

This situation is a perfect opportunity to look at health care from a different perspective. Take it.

[Chad]

The 14th vs eternal damnation, Voros? Clearly, the latter is more important. Remember, your mortal soul is at stake.

Yes, it is time for you to reap what you sow, and have the gub'ment get its grubby hands off your Medicare!

[The Libertarian Guy]

Chad shits on the Tenth Amendment every morning... why should he care about the Fourteenth?

[Pro Libertate]

I think the overemphasis on the presidency has been the LP's biggest problem. Congress should be the goal. If there were just ten LP representatives, that would draw the national spotlight to the party and help get more seats.

[Brandybuck]

I wish the LP and libertarian independents (and those brave libertarians in the GOP) would try harder for Congressional seats

Doesn't matter how hard they try, because they have to fight against the myth that voting for your principles is the greatest evil possible.

[Tulpa]

They're still in the wilderness. They can't pass shit with 41 votes.

Keep in mind that that's the same number of votes they had in the Senate last March. All this does is reverse the Spector party switch.

[Kevin]

I am just wondering how long it will be before the Republican base turns on Brown for not being adequately socially-conservative? My understanding is that Senator-Elect Brown is Pro-Choice & believes that Gay Marriage is settled law.

Furthermore, I don't think this is the end of Obamacare. There are still plenty of House members & Senators (The state of Maine) to bribe.

Do not underestimate the pure arrogance of the political class on the so-called Left or Right.

[John]

Maybe they turn on him. Or maybe they tell the social conservatives to shut up for a while so they can be competetive in places like Massachusetts.

When the Dems had a lock on the blue states, that gave the social cons a lot of influence. Why risk offending them when the states that would care wouldn't vote for you anyway? Brown's victory tonight has changed that. He has shown that Republicans can win anywhere if they are willing to put aside some of the social conservative issues.

[Tulpa]

Ooooh, Ezra Klein and his dream corpse are coming on after the commercial break.

[Ziggy]

he still has hope, hope for change. He will be like the band on the titanic playing music till the end, except he will be sinking with the RMS Obama. He is also insane if he thinks democrats in the House are tired of "fighting", no its that they are scared shitless of losing their seats like almost all politicians the only value they hold on to is power.

[Ziggy]

This is a blowback vote for health care and the status quo (ie. the war's. Obama's presidency has been a continuation of the Bush presidency, the question is if the republicans will realize this. This off course would mean they would have to reverse course on the bailouts and war, I doubt that they will...

[John]

A majority of Republicans voted against TARP. They won't reverse on the war. But they don't have to on bailouts.

[Ziggy]

I am not to sure when they get to power they will say "fuck you" to wall street. Also i dont know if they will actually cut spending this time instead of increasing it the most of any government in 30 years...
One thing is for sure the democrats are stuck between looking like losers withe the dems and independent who voted for hope, change and health care, or committing 2010 political suicide by ramming through the bill. haha...

[Chad]

There is no meaningful spending to cut except health care, Social Security, and defense.

Which one would the Republicans cut?

Yeah, right. The answer is none of the above...which is precisely why the government rockets towards bankruptcy every time they get in control of the government.

[The Art-P.O.G.]

Damn you, Social Security!

[The Libertarian Guy]

And we're NOT rocketing towards bankruptcy now???

I knew you were a partisan liberal hack, Chad, but not it becomes clear just how much you are.

[Tulpa]

Boy Genius Ezra Klein is saying he can't understand how any Democrat can be against rushing through a health care bill before Brown is seated.

[Evil Libertarian]

Ezra Klein is on Rachel Maddow right now, and he looks like someone ran over his dog.

Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha

[Episiarch]

LOL

[ChrisH]

Ezra Klein is on Rachel Maddow right now

I thought she didn't swing that way...

[Tulpa]

This is dangerous. I could watch MSNBC until dawn the way I feel.

[Evil Libertarian]

Chuck Todd looks horrible too. I'm loving this.

Think any of them will open a vein on air?

[Ziggy]

me too, rachel maddow and her mancut see the writing on the wall, you can she she is losing it inside. CNN is pretty entertaining, the political analyst go from panicked and stunned to "dog died" sadness... its great!

[Ziggy]

hahaha, she cant stop nervous laughing every 3 seconds, hahaha

[Ziggy]

btw, Brown's blonde daughter is really fuckable, not stand out pretty but she has something that makes very attractive, imo...

[Tulpa]

She's available too!

[Bill Clinton]

Ding ding! My alarm went off... I hear there's some sweet poontang around?

[Hillary Rodham]

WillIAM!!! Get your ass back to Chappaqua right this goddamn instant!!!

[Evil Libertarian]

Inside, you know she's screaming "why? how? why? how?"

But seeing Ezra was the best. He really looked like he had died inside, and that warmed my heart.

[Ezra Klein]

I always look like this.

[Tulpa]

"electoral forensics" is such a wonderful phrase.

[Tulpa]

I like the voice Rachel Maddow does when reading Sarah Palin's statement. Also this new line she's pursuing that MA is just a sexist state.

[The Libertarian Guy]

Anything that besmirches a female Dem is "sexist"... even when it isn't.

[Ziggy]

curt shilling comment now being brought up? boy she is grasping at air this time, just trying to pluck any reason as for why the dems lost, this is dangerous i need to sleep!

[Tulpa]

What is it with Massachusetts Dems and their propensity to claim outrageous statements were supposed to be jokes long after the fact. Kerry did the same thing with his derogatory comments about US military personnel a couple of years ago.

[John Kerry]

I still need me a huntin' license...

[Julianne Malveaux]

Has Clarence Thomas' wife fed him lots of bacon? Is he dead from heart disease yet?

I was just joking, you know...

[Ziggy]

now bring on the feminist, "not a referendum on obama" haha. Rachel Maddow trying to see if sex played a role, hahaha, her feminist guest already shot it down but she does nto want to let go!

[Tulpa]

Actually I think that guest was relatively reasonable (compared to Maddow at least). She said you can't blame sexism and poo-pooed Maddow's insanity about how the health care bill was going to "protect abortion rights".

[Ziggy]

I agree, her guest shot down the idea but she just plowed through that and then went on to the shilling comment, lmao...

[Martha Coakley]

Damn, maybe I should've put that cop in jail after he sodomized that little girl...

[Chony Morris]

Thanks a lot, Massachusetts... you just elected a pickup-truck-driving woman-hating racist hick.

But we're not elitists!

[pnwlibertarian]

I see that Harry Reid has promised to seat Brown immediately, with the support of other key Democratic senators, despite the likelihood this will derail the health care bill.

I have a personal theory, based on nothing but my own cynical nature, that the Democrats are secretly relieved that healthcare reform will be torpedoed for the foreseeable future.

The President has staked his political capital on getting healthcare done in his first term, and thus his party have been following through with all the enthusiasm of a visit to the proctologist, despite the public unpopularity of this Frankenstein monster of a bill across the political spectrum.

True left believers hate it, because it isn't a true, single-payer nationalized healthcare system, the right hates it for reasons too tedious and well-known to reiterate here to this crowd, and even the center hates it because of increasing taxpayer angst over the stupendous price tag they intuitively know it will bear, despite all the hand-waving and CBO skullduggery.

Brown's appointment, and the loss of a filibuster-proof majority regarding health care therefore serves everyone's Machiavellian political needs: Dems get to say they tried mightily and were only torpedoed by those nasty Republicans, and GOP-ers can crow they're on the comeback trail, Obama's jumped off the rails of voter approval, and they get credit with the majority of the healthcare bill disapproving public that they torpedoed the juggernaut beneath the waterline, and sent the beast to the bottom of the abyss.

Paris is well worth a mass.

[Tulpa]

I see that Harry Reid has promised to seat Brown immediately,

Not immediately ... "as soon as the proper paperwork is received" which is about 10-14 days.

However, Webb and Frank have issued statements saying they will oppose any attempt to push HCR through before Brown is seated.

[Voros McCracken]

They have to, anyone and everyone complicit in the ramrod approach whose up for election in 2010 will lose, regardless of where they're from.

While each party has about a 10% base of loyalists to the grave, the rest will become nauseous at such a move.

So it simply can't and won't be done. Most of congress considers itself too young to retire.

[iamse7en]

Brown is no libertarian, but all friends of liberty can be happy that he's there to protest the obtrusive and unconstitutional Obama agenda.

This was hardly about Brown, but about Obama.

This election may very well mark the end of Obamacare.

[Nooge]

I've gotta say, the first half of this thread was incoherent. Was it one person posting under different handles or something?

[Nooge]

Sorry, meant first 1/4 of thread. But still.

[James Ard]

Look for schadenfreude to boost MSNBCs ratings to their highest level ever.

[The Libertarian Guy]

Wow! You mean they'll have thousands of viewers now?

[ed]

Bye Bye Birdlips.

[Lisa]

It's already bad enough that I hate all sports teams from New England...now they decided to put a womanizing, chauvinistic, sexist, douche bag in the Senate...and it's not because he's a Republican...they simply do not want to see a black man in the Oval Office...plain and simple. You've had 43 tries to get it right!! Now you have one that doesn't look like you (that can actually put together a sentence which consist of a subject and a predicate unlike the last reject that was infesting Pennsylvania Avenue who can barely put a sentence fragment together)and you're ready to cry a river. I'm beyond sick of it!!!! GROW SOME F****** BALLS AND GET A LIFE!!!