It was a disaster. Pure and simple. No point in sugar-coating it.
Republican conservative Scott Brown handily defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in the Massachusetts special election to fill the seat of the late Edward Kennedy. The vote was 52% – 47%.
President Obama’s agenda is in serious trouble. The universal health care bill, a life-long dream of Senator Kennedy, faces new obstacles.
GOP election prospects for November look brighter.
The only kernel of good news: the President and his team have more than nine months to turn things around before the November 2010 elections.
As for the President’s arms control agenda, the change means less than on other issues. In the Senate, with 67 votes needed to approve a new nuclear reductions treaty or the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, we now will need at least eight Republican votes instead of seven. This is one issue where bipartisanship would have been required, regardless of the outcome in Massachusetts.
Council for a Livable World supporters once again demonstrated outstanding support for a progressive candidate in a tight race. You were generous with your donations and your time. You contributed over $20,000 to the Coakley campaign, and volunteered many hours to call and e-mail voters in Massachusetts.
Today is a dark day, but we have overcome high hurdles in the past.
Thank you for helping out a good cause. Now we have to redouble our election efforts for November to elect good Senators and Representatives.
