The election to replace deceased Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy is getting a lot more attention than expected, mostly because Republican candidate Scott Brown is now leading in the polls. This turn of events comes as a shock to Massachusetts, widely considered the most Democratic of states, where Democratic candidate Martha Coakley now trails Brown in the polls. Massachusetts has not had a Republican senator since 1972. President Obama has been forced to campaign for Coakley because loosing a Democratic seat in the Senate would mean that the Democrats would lose the 60 percent filibuster-proof majority, which would greatly threaten the health care bill's passing. Through Sunday, Brown was leading Coakely 52 to 45 percent in the polls, with a 4 percent sampling error. In these same polls, voters responded that their top two concerns for the election were the economy and the health care plan. Said Brown "Massachusetts wants real reform and not this trillion-dollar Obama health care that is being forced on the American people." Election day is tomorrow and we will soon find out if the unthinkable has indeed occurred. That the most Democratic state in the nation is in danger of losing a Democratic seat should be a sign of the times. It seems that the people of Massachusetts are sending a message to Obama that they do not approve of his heath care plan or the way he is handling the economy. I have a feeling that this election, regardless of which way it falls, will make the Democrats seriously reconsider the health care bill. Once again, another unexpected turn in the health care debate. Read more at http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/18/massachusetts.senate/index.html.
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