If you’re looking to analyze Barack Obama’s first year in office, look no further than yesterday’s special election in the Bay State. It’s symbolic — and very telling — that one year after Obama’s inauguration, the Democratic candidate, Martha Coakley, was beaten by newcomer populist Scott Brown, losing Ted Kennedy’s seat in a traditionally blue stronghold. More notably: twelve months after Obama was sworn into the office of the president and a sea of blue swept Washington, the Democratic Party is now on the verge of implosion.
Despite the spin that Democrats and the White House are pushing — that the Massachusetts election has nothing to do with national issues, that Martha Coakley is a poor candidate, or that she ran a bad campaign, or that it was George W. Bush’s fault she lost (according to Howard Dean last night on MSNBC) — this race wasn’t about Boston’s Big Dig or Dubya. It was Barack Obama’s report card, and its outcome is a referendum on the policies and record of his first year in office.
Massachusetts translates to a failing grade for the administration and congressional Democrats led by Nancy Pelosi and the inarticulate Harry Reid, for their insistence on sticking to, and pushing through, a progressive, radical agenda that the American people overwhelmingly reject. (Note: Lady Nancy Macbeth has said she will move full speed ahead on health care. We’re not exactly sure how with members defecting but let this quote be a sign of her arrogance).
If you thought infighting was bad before, prepare for some serious Dem on Dem violence and an every member for himself mentality. Senate and House Democratic electeds facing re-election in the fall will run for the hills and from the Hill—specifically Capitol Hill and the White House, while their Republican challengers begin to cut campaign ads featuring the unpopular President and congressional leadership.
The president is now radioactive, as Bush was in 2008. Democratic leadership will face insurmountable challenges trying to rally their troops and pass any piece of legislation going forward, while they rightly bury their disastrous 2,000+ page health reform bills.
But is he smart enough to call Dick Morris, Clinton’s triangulating savior?
Unlike Clinton who bucked his base (at Morris’ insistence) and moved to the middle after health care reform attempt failed, Obama is an ideologue, a Kool-Aid drinker who really believes in the “government takes all” mentality. (Bill Clinton also had his wife to blame for Hillarycare. The only thing Obama can pin on Michelle are some stunt vegetables used in the series finale of “Top Chef“).
It’s ironic that the only hope and change the country is experiencing is a hope that Obama will change his own plans.
When it comes to Reid and Pelosi, they’re both in more imminent trouble than Obama. Reid will likely not survive his own election in Nevada. And Democrats may alter course on their own and oust Nancy Pelosi in the fall if more losses ensue. She has done nothing but harm to her caucus and to the President. (Psssst — John Boehner: get the tape measure out to measure for new drapes in her office).
Now, across the country, any populist looking to run for office — even in blue states — has a renewed belief that anything is possible.
Both parties take note: Americans want open, responsible and balanced government. They spoke and they were loud and clear. The takeaway was obvious: the momentum is real and the outrage is not manufactured.
Andrea Tantaros is a conservative commentator and columnist for FoxNews.com. Follow her on Twitter: @andreatantaros.
Leave a Reply