While the Democrats stood slack-jawed and the Republicans ordered another round of drinks, the pundits fumbled all over themselves as the special election in Massachusetts morphed from mundane to historic on a snowy Tuesday night. The theories came fast and furious even before Senator-elect Scott Brown took the stage to show off his single daughter.
So what exactly happened in The Bay State?
Was it a protest vote against President Obama? Not entirely. Sure, the president's approval ratings tumbling faster than the market played a part. There are few things as fickle as idealistic young voters (except for maybe independents).
Was it the Democratic candidate herself? You certainly can't discount it. Whether it was hubris or apathy, she couldn't be bothered to actually campaign after the primary. In fact, I'm pretty sure, I could've beaten her and I've never even made the centerfold of my own magazine.
(I'd also like to wonder out loud here what the hell was going on in D.C.? Did no one in the party see what was happening? It takes an insane amount of arrogance or ignorance to blow a 10-point lead in seven days. Or hand over a Senate seat your party held for nearly 50 years. I mean, unless you're trying to...)
Or was it, as many of my friends are eager to point out a referendum on the national health care reform question? Maybe. But Massachusetts wasn't exactly an ideal test case. They already have their own state-sized universal health care. With a statewide insured rate of 97 percent, what do they care what happens on a national level? (And never mind the state's costs are so out of control it's teetering on bankruptcy.)
While I concede this is probably one of those "all the above" moments, I can't help but think it was also a vote against big government in general. With a new stimulus, bailout or tax break coming out every month, the budget bleeds red ink, the bureaucracy balloons and we put more of this country's fate in the hands of those holding the note.
At the end of the day, nearly everyone can agree health care is broken. But no one can settle on a solution. That tells me there aren't enough solutions out there. And it's probably no coincidence I've heard few ideas from the brokers themselves. I know you aren't shy, so your silence is troubling.
Someone once told me that you don't point out a problem unless you can offer a solution. Any idiot with a mic or a keyboard can do that.
So, what are you waiting for? Let's hear it. What's your big idea?
