The Republicans have been winning special elections all over the country – and have done quite nicely here in NH (my friend Jeb Bradley for NH State Senate, Marilinda Garcia from Salem in the NH House, and Lynn Blankenbeker in Concord in the NH House).
Sidebar: It certainly had NH Democrat Chair Ray Buckley’s panties in a bunch when during WMUR’s Close Up, NH Republican Chair John Sununu reeled off those names and victories. In fact, I think that the "Republican Bulldog" handily clamped down on Buckley – who could only mutter "theatrics" a few times and flutter his hands in the air. Good job, Guv! It’s nice having a person who can snarl louder and longer in sending Buckles and Sullivan back to the doghouse where they belong.
There’s another special election that is now taking center stage, that of Scott Brown in MA. He’s running to fill the shoes of Ted Kennedy’s seat, now being filled on an interim basis by former MA Democrat Chair Paul Kirk (who has said that he would vote for Obamacare). His website is here.
His claim? He could be the 41st Senator – meaning that if there were to be more debate in the Senate over "healthcare reform" (really, the ongoing power grab over our freedom to choose our healthcare by greedy Democrat politicians).
We have all found out now, in one of the deepest Blue States in the nation, that one of the hugest upsets in a long time, can and may actually happen. Public Policy Polling, a Democrat leaning (but fair) firm, is showing that Brown is leading by 1 point (48%-47%) over Democrat Martha Coakley. Rassmussen shows it 50%-41% for Brown over likely voters.
Shocking? You bet! Having grown up in MA and knowing the overwhelming tilt of that liberal state, I am stunned. To his credit, he is working his butt off (jokingly saying that his truck has traveled more miles than Fred Thompson’s famous red pickup truck when Fred won his Senate bid). And remember, I did like his campaign ad (here).
On the other hand, having grown up in MA, I’m not surprised about this news:
But if Brown wins, the entire national health-care reform debate may hinge on when he takes over as senator. Brown has vowed to be the crucial 41st vote in the Senate that would block the bill.
The U.S. Senate ultimately will schedule the swearing-in of Kirk’s successor, but not until the state certifies the election.
Right. We’re talking MA here. Dirty tricks – heck, you’d expect anything else than dirty tricks? Remember, this is the state that changed the rules for having appointments / elections at the behest of The Swimmer (Teddy K.) when it looked like Romney might be able to appoint a replacement for Lurch (John Kerry) if the latter was elected President. Then changed it back to suit the political times.
Friday, a spokesman for Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, who is overseeing the election but did not respond to a call seeking comment, said certification of the Jan. 19 election by the Governor’s Council would take a while.
“Because it’s a federal election,” spokesman Brian McNiff said. “We’d have to wait 10 days for absentee and military ballots to come in.”
Another source told the Herald that Galvin’s office has said the election won’t be certified until Feb. 20 – well after the president’s address.
Since the U.S. Senate doesn’t meet again in formal session until Jan. 20, Bay State voters will have made their decision before a vote on health-care reform could be held. But Kirk and Galvin’s office said Friday a victorious Brown would be left in limbo.
Standard fare to follow the plodding process? Er, not quite:
In contrast, Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) was sworn in at the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 18, 2007, just two days after winning a special election to replace Martin Meehan. In that case, Tsongas made it to Capitol Hill in time to override a presidential veto of the expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Scott Brown had this to say on the situation:
“This is a stunning admission by Paul Kirk and the Beacon Hill political machine,” said Brown in a statement. “Paul Kirk appears to be suggesting that he, Deval Patrick, and (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid intend to stall the election certification until the health care bill is rammed through Congress, even if that means defying the will of the people of Massachusetts. As we’ve already seen from the backroom deals and kickbacks cut by the Democrats in Washington, they intend to do anything and everything to pass their controversial health care plan. But threatening to ignore the results of a free election and steal this Senate vote from the people of Massachusetts takes their schemes to a whole new level. Martha Coakley should immediately disavow this threat from one of her campaign’s leading supporters.” A spokeswoman for Coakley’s campaign declined to comment Friday.
Grant at NH Watchdog reminds us that Nancy Pelosi quickly had NY-23 winner Bill Owens sworn in so as to break HIS campaign promise so that he could vote FOR Obamacare (and he did).
Politics as usual? Perhaps when it comes to replacements. But not "as usual" given the high stakes of Obamacare.
Go and contribute to Scott here - he has the ‘Grok endorsement! And if you have the time and inclination, go to his website and volunteer - from whereEVER you are!
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