After last night’s special election, in Massachusetts, for the Senate seat held by the late Edward Kennedy, there are quite a few words that come to my mind, as a proud Democrat: embarrassed, ashamed, humiliated, frustrated, sad, confused, angry, humbled, and a few more, I’m sure. Senator-elect Scott Brown gives Republicans 41 seats in the United States Senate, ensuring their ability to obstruct and block just about anything the 59-seat majority Democrats want to do, most prominently the current health care reform efforts. It’s a shame that in America, 41 is more than 59. And with Republicans refusing to put forth the effort to help the American people, in any way, because of their ongoing efforts to damage our President, don’t expect much to get done in this mid-term election year.
Democrats will be pointing fingers at one another for the next few weeks, but there is plenty of blame to go around. Martha Coakley ran a terrible campaign. Congressional Democrats can get nothing done. President Obama is not being forceful enough with his policy agenda. I only hope that the correct lessons are learned from this debacle. The lesson is to not back off, to not be weak, but to work hard to get things done for the American people. Now is not the time to pout or complain. Now is the time to press even harder for the policies that Democrats hold dear.
If there is a silver lining from last night’s disappoinment, it is that a sleepy Democratic party just got a fire lit under their asses. We are angry, and we want blood, too. So let’s fight, Democrats. The future of our nation is at stake. There is no progress without struggle.
