In case you missed it, Massachusetts now has one GOP and one Democratic US Senator. I say: why is everyone so surprised?
Last week, a blogger for the New York Times called Massachusetts “bluer-than-blue.” Not to toot my own horn, but I, for one, knew he was wrong.
True, the state legislature is overwhelmingly Democratic. True, the current governor is a Democrat.
Its four prior governors, however, were Republicans, and indeed a majority of MA governors since Ted Kennedy was first elected have been Republican. Also since then, Massachusettsans have waivered back and forth, election to election.
Moreover, once elected, Ted Kennedy was the only Class I Senator for Massachusetts till his death last year. That doesn’t make Massachusetts blue. It makes it like the rest of the country: either apathetic or truly trusting of incumbents. Among Class II Senators elected since Kennedy took office, one was Republican, and two have been Democrats.
None of these things make Massachusetts a “blue” state. None of them support the thesis that there’s a major shift in the air.
The Boston Globe reports that “Voter anger caught fire.” Fox calls Brown’s win “an upset.” Democratic strategists are no doubt crying into their non-fat caramel macchiatos. Obama is likely freaking out about the impending death of a healthcare bill that might not be worth it anyway. Brown is talking about he and the Republicans can do better than a Obama and the Democrats.
But, from all of this, we should take away probably only three real, concrete lessons:
- The two-party system is alive and well. The Libertarian candidate got only one percent of the vote, and voters picked the major-party candidate they figured would best represent them for the next couple years.
- The news-media is not helping democracy, and it’s not reporting accurately. For years, the media has uniformly labeled Massachusettsans as “liberal.” Many who have lived there know that people and politics in the state are much more nuanced, and Massachusetts is not monolithic. Now, of course, the media is reeling, calling the election an “upset” and searching among shadows for reasons. Really, had they not been so hell-bent on typecasting the Commonwealth for so long, the media wouldn’t have to justify their wrong predictions. Furthermore, labelling states “Red” or “Blue” not only simplifies things to the point of absurdity and distortion, it confuses people and upsets the democratic process. See #3.
- The Massachusetts Democratic Party needs to learn that you can’t just run a shoddy campaign for an uncharismatic candidate and expect to win. See #2.
So, there you have one man’s take on the Massachusetts election. The long-and-short of it is this: next time the underdog wins, don’t be surprised. Be happy there was a choice to begin with.
