If there was a singular moment in the Massachusetts Senate campaign it was during the debate when Scott Brown stuffed it to moderator David Gergen,
“With all due respect, it’s not the Kennedy seat, it’s not the Democrats seat, it’s the people’s seat.”
That line, and the arrogance and entitlement it took on, was the driving force behind the Brown campaign.
One fact is clear today in reflection, the entitlement and arrogance of Ted Kennedy is the reason that his dream of national health care is going to die. There is no person who bears more of the blame for its demise, not Barack Obama, not Marsha Martha Coakley. It is Ted Kennedy’s fault and here’s why.
In 2004, when Jawn Kerry was running for president, nervous state Democrats who dominate every aspect of Beacon Hill, except the corner office, changed the state’s election laws with an eye on preventing Gov. Romney from being able to appoint a successor should Kerry win the presidential election. It was an incredibly arrogant move at the time. It showed a total disregard for the process. A driving force behind the law change, Senator Ted Kennedy. He cited all the usual reasons, an appointment was undemocratic, the people should have the opportunity to have their voices heard at the ballot box, etc.
As they almost always do, the Democrats on Beacon Hill got their way, and changed the election law to a new one that called for a special election be held between 145 and 165 days after the position becomes vacant. Gov. Romney was no longer able to appoint a successor.
How incredibly convenient.
Fast forward to 2009,
Now, with Mr. Kennedy dying three years before his term was up, some Massachusetts Democrats are reversing course, calling for Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint an interim replacement to hold office until the special election can be held. They now argue the state shouldn’t be without full Senate representation for months, especially with pressing issues such as health care before Congress.
Change the rules to suit their needs. Is there anything that personifies arrogance and entitlement more than that? I’ll answer for you. No. Here is an excerpt from the letter written by a dying Senator Kennedy,
I am now writing to you about an issue that concerns me deeply — the continuity of representation for Massachusetts should a Senate vacancy occur. In 2004, as you know, the law was changed to provide for a special election to choose a new Senator to serve for the remainder of an unexpired term. The law now mandates that the special election be held 145 to 160 days after a Senate seat becomes vacant. I strongly support that law and the principle that the people should elect their Senator; I also believe it is vital for this Commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election.
Funny, but in 2004, Senator Kennedy was curiously silent on the issue of appointing an interm senator to cover those 145 to 160 days. In 2004, he was not at all concerned about “the continuity of representation for Massachusetts should a Senate vacancy occur’. The reason is simple, there was a Republican governor in 2004 and there is a Democrat governor in 2009. The hypocrisy here is clear. Change the rules to suit their needs. It wasn’t the people’s seat, it was the Kennedy seat.
The fact is that if the Democrats didn’t start down the road of twisting the rules to suit their short-term political interests, Governor Deval Patrick would have been able to appoint a replacement for Sen. Kennedy who would have served until his term expired in 2012. Because of the Democrats arrogance and entitlement, they changed the rules to suit their short-term needs, only this time it blew up in their faces in rather spectacular fashion. We had a special election alright. A VERY SPECIAL ELECTION!
What a thrilling night tonight, I’m glad I went to this once in a lifetime event. Scott Brown deserved to win this election, he ran a great, positive campaign focused on the issues. He’s a genuine, solid human being and I am proud to support him. No amount of spin can take away this simple fact, the people of Massachusetts told President Obama and the Pelosi-Reid Congress to stuff their leftist agenda, especially government run Obamacare. You’re welcome America!
Here are a few pictures from my vantage point on bloggers row.
It was Scott Brown’s night, but the two GOP candidates for governor, Charlie Baker and Christy Mihous, work the media line
Boston sports legend Doug Flutie
Media setting up
Fox News reporter Carl Cameron
Actor/comedian Lenny Clark
Ayla Brown sound check
Boston native and CNN political analyst John King
Governor Mitt Romney and NECN’s Alison King
Charlie Baker interviewed in the lobby of the Park Plaza
5:23pm: All set up on bloggers row at Scott Brown headquarters, in the front row I might add. Early bird get the worm!
5:35pm: Set up next to Todd Starnes of Fox News Radio
5:37pm: Shook Doug Flutie’s hand and thanked him for all he’s done for the campaign
5:39pm: Sighting so far…Carl Cameron of Fox News, Liz Brunner of WCVB in Boston, looking very awesome I might add. Beth Germano from WBZ is about 5ft away, as is NECN’s Alison King.
5:51pm: Calm before the storm…
5:53pm: Doug Flutie warming up on the drums
6:06pm: Dorchester native, and CNN political big wig John King is in the house.
6:14pm: Tick, tick, tick
6:25pm Word is reaching blogger row that Coakley campaign is claiming that ballots have been discovered already filled out for Scott Brown. This claim would have a lot more credence if they didn’t post the claim on their website dated yesterday. Red Mass Group has the screen capture. Maybe they’ll blame it on another typo. Finally some transparency from the Democrats. Transparently phony that is.
6:51pm Slowly but surely the room is filling up, so is the excitement level.
6:57pm Just ran into Michael C. Moynihan of Reason Magazine. He was my in-studio guest this past Sunday on WRKO’s Pundit Review Radio.
7:05pm Ayla Brown is on up on stage warming up and looking good doing it.
7:20pm: Doors are open and the room is now filled with supporters. The energy level is WAY up now.
7:24pm Uncle Sam is in the house, and he’s supporting Scott Brown
7:30pm T Minus Thirty
7:31pm: Scott Brown supporters staring at us in the media section like they are at the zoo. Kind of funny.
7:41pm: Mitt Romney sighting, being interviewed by NECN’s Alison King.
7:42pm: Actor and comedian Lenny Clarke is here, working the room and having a great time.
7:45pm: They are playing Sweet Caroline in the ballroom now. Can’t win em all.
7:47pm: Room is packed
7:51pm: Most dangerous place in the room, standing between Mitt Romney and the TV cameras
7:57pm: Ok, now this is getting FUN!
7:58pm: Chant of Mitt, Mitt, Mitt breaks out…for a couple seconds.
7:59pm: Word is there is a great spread with tons of free food for the press just behind my spot. I’ll be damned if I’m leaving my seat now.
8:06pm: They are now welcoming people to the event. Things are starting…
8:10pm: Doug Flutie just took stage to huge ovation…chants of Flutie, Flutie, Flutie…”How about this, its unbelievable. It felt like gameday today.”
8:15pm: Just posed for pic with Time Magazine’s Karen Tumulty, a very nice woman.
9:04pm: Internet is back, and I just heard Fx News has called the race for Brown, no official announcement.
One of the greatest experiences I have had in five years of Pundit Review Radio was getting to know the family of Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps and Lt. Col. Michael Strobl. Chance was killed in Iraq in 2004 and Lt. Col. Strobl was assigned to escort his body home from Dover AFB to his final resting place in Wyoming. He wrote an incredibly moving account of his experience on Blackfive, which I HIGHLY recommend you read in its entirety. This incredible story was made into a sublime and beautiful movie by HBO called Taking Chance. Kevin Bacon plays Lt. Col. Michael Strobl in the movie.
Taking Chance Trailer
Last evening, he won a Golden Globe for the role.
In the days before the HBO movie was released, we did a very emotional interview with Chance’s mother Gretchen Mack and Lt. Col. Strobl, this was truly an unforgettable experience and interview,
Michael Strobl and Gretchen Mack on Pundit Review Radio
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match.
This week Bruce told us about SFC Jose Rodriguez. From his Silver Star citation,
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star Medal to Jose R. Rodriguez, Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a Platoon Sergeant with Company B, 3d Battalion, 69th Armor, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 3d Infantry Division, during combat operations in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, on 19 March 2007, in Iraq.
On that date, Sergeant First Class Rodriguez rushed out of Forward Operating Base Hawas in a Bradley vehicle to help two of his platoon’s Bradley vehicles that were on overwatch duty. They were attacked by an unknown number of insurgents who pinned them down with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. When he got there, he heard the gunfire, but he couldn’t lay eyes on his two Bradleys and didn’t want to lay down suppressive fire until he could figure out where they were. Sergeant First Class Rodriguez began looking down a series of alleys perpendicular to a main road. Turning down one of them, his driver struck a roadway bomb. The driver of the Bradley Sergeant First Class Rodriguez was looking for couldn’t back up, either, because there was another roadway bomb. Pinned down, Sergeant First Class Rodriguez called for more help, and his tactical operations center dispatched two more Bradleys and a recovery vehicle for his own Bradley. While his driver was on the radio Sergeant First Class Rodriguez realized the front of his Bradley was on fire and the driver’s compartment was filling with smoke and he crawled in through the space between the gunner’s position and the driver’s compartment and pulled him out by the handle on the back of his vest. The gunner was still engaging the enemy with his main gun and the two Bradleys on the main road were still taking and returning fire. More improvised explosive devices were being tossed everywhere making it harder and harder to move around. After pulling his driver to safety into the back of the Bradley, Sergeant First Class Rodriguez got out to help the recovery vehicle operator hook up the towing chains and saw a number of insurgents approaching their position. He raised the muzzle of his rifle and shot and killed eight of them.
The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 8-10pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Before Martha Coakley, the DNC and SEIU went negative, her TV ads were all about holding powerful special interests “accountable”. Last evening, in a desperate bid to save her sinking campaign, Coakley travelled to Washington DC to raise money from a group of health care lobbyists and DC insiders. How did she hold them accountable last night?
By asking, “Did you bring your check?”, “Did you bring your check?”, “Did you bring your check?” and so on.
If the optics of a desperate DC trip weren’t enough for Coakley’s campaign, her new handlers from the DNC showed just how “accountable” she plans to be to the people of Massachusetts, or is that Massachusettes. Anyway, you may recall in the last debate, Martha Coakley made a massively embarrassing statement about no more Al Qaeda being in Afghanistan,
Weekly Standard reporter John McCormack showed up at her DC fundraiser last night and asked her about that absurd statement, here’s what happened next,
After taking a question from a CNN reporter on the street outside the restaurant, I asked her:
TWS: Attorney General Coakley, you said last night that there are no terrorists in Afghanistan–that they’re all in Yemen and Pakistan. Do you stand by that remark?
COAKLEY: I’m sorry, did someone else have a question?
GRIFF JENKINS, Fox News: I did. Why are you in Washington tonight?
COAKLEY: We planned an event after the primary that would be a unity event in Washington. We’re also in the middle of a very intense campaign […]
After Coakley finished her answer, she began walking away from the restaurant, and I walked behind her asking why health care industry lobbyists were supporting her at the fundraiser. She didn’t reply.
As I walked down the street, a man who appeared to be associated with the Coakley campaign pushed me into a freestanding metal railing. I ended up on the sidewalk. I was fine. He helped me up from the ground, but kept pushing up against me, blocking my path toward Coakley down the street.
He asked if I was with the media, and I told him I work for THE WEEKLY STANDARD. When I asked him who he worked for he replied, “I work for me.” He demanded to see my credentials, and even though it was a public street, I showed them to him.
I eventually got around him and met up with the attorney general halfway down the block.
“Attorney General, could I ask you a question please?” I said. “We’re done, thanks,” Coakley replied. She walked back toward the restaurant, apparently searching for her car. She remained silent as I (politely) repeated my question.
Massachusetts may be a Blue State, but only the most moonbat among us wouldn’t be offended by Martha Coakley’s idea of “accountability”.