Massachusetts Democrats are among the happiest people on earth because Democrats won all the congressional and statewide races at the mid-terms.
And emboldened by avoiding the wave, Mass Dems think they can defeat Scott Brown in 2012. As reported by The Boston Herald, Democrats pledge to bring down Scott Brown in 2012:
Fresh off their strong Bay State finish, emboldened Massachusetts Democrats targeted Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown yesterday, vowing to put up a strong candidate to topple the wildly popular GOP hunk and hinting that a challenger could emerge before the end of the year.
“I’m confident when we get to 2012 we will have the candidate,” warned Massachusetts Democratic Party chairman John Walsh yesterday. “Scott Brown should be insecure.”
Some observations.
Brown remains popular in Massachusetts, and has tons of money left over from last January’s election. He is not starting from behind, and there is no clear Democratic candidate in waiting.
Brown also is not likely to be the target of a Republican primary challenge. Even Erick Erickson, in assessing likely targets for primary challenges, has pretty much crossed Brown off the list.
Brown is no Arlen Specter or Charlie Crist. Brown campaigned on being the 41st vote against Obamacare, and he followed through on that pledge.
It turned out that Democrats found a way to avoid another Senate vote when the House Democrats signed onto the previously passed Senate bill plus minor reconciliation. But do not underestimate Brown’s impact. Brown’s election, and the fact that he kept his promise, bought valuable time during which the legislation became even less popular, and forced House liberals to swallow a bitter pill.
Following on Republican wins in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, the passage of Obamacare was the death knell for the Democratic Party in the House and in state houses throughout the country.
Brown has not been the most conservative Senator (he voted for the financial reform bill, to my disappointment), but he has been with the Republican opposition most of the way. Brown has positioned himself in the center, without abandoning core principles on which he ran.
Brown owns a special place in the history of the fight against Obamacare and the overbearing Democratic Party agenda.
And based on his performance so far, he still deserves our support.
[Note: The words “for Senate” were added to the post title for the sake of clarity.]
Update 11-17-2010 – From The Daily Caller, Erick Erickson: Tea Partiers targeting Scott Brown in 2012 would be ‘nuts’.
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The Brown Campaign from the Ground Up
They Also Called Scott Brown A Non-Serious Extremist
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