I think that is correct. The People were dissatisfied and they showed it, both in 2006 and 2008. That tells me that things did not improve enough after 2006 for the People to be happier (with the Republicans). This by-election here in Massachusetts shows that the People are still unhappy. As these two maps show Mr Brown did well in a big ring around Boston, from Salisbury to Chatham and out toward Tolland. And, he seems to have bested President Obama's numbers almost everywhere in the Commonwealth.
My suggestion for the President is to look at President Lyndon Johnson and Civil Rights.♠ LBJ cut a deal with Everett M Dirkson, the Senate Minority Leader, and passed the legislation. In Lowell no one under the age of 65 remembers Everett Dirkson, or his sidekick, Charlie Hallack. But, the legislation was passed. If the President cut a deal with the Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, he could get 45% of what he wants and that would be a big deal—remember, we need health care reform, just not the way it is being
Regards — Cliff
♠ I am sure this idea is not original with me.
Don't forget to give well-deserved mention to the most recently previous Senator from Massachusetts to sport a Republican party designation on his Congressional name badge: Ed Brooke. (Who is also noteworthily compared to Barrack Obama for his being the first African American to be popularly elected to the United States Senate).
ReplyDeleteEd organized the "Wednesday Club" of (relatively) liberal Republicans, forming an extremely important working group for crafting bi-partisan legislation, such as the 1968 Fair Housing Act, which was signed into law just days after the assassination of Martin Luther King. Even after LBJ left office, Brooke was pivotal in defending things like the EEOC and the Job Corps against the attempts of Nixon to erase them--thus defending the legacy of LBJ's Great Society initiatives.
A reader from Chelmsford says:
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Your trying to draw conclusions from looking at maps is terrible. I'll bet if you put up a map of people with vitamin D deficiency it will look the same.
You can't draw conclusions unless you can at least postulate an underlying link. What is the link between Obama's campaign and Brown's?
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Thinking. I am betting that the folks down on the Cape may not have the Vitamin D problem of the folks in the center of the state. But, for right now, I am back to trying to create a list box in an Access file.
Regards — Cliff
Saying Brown bested Obama's numbers almost everywhere in the State is misleading at best, when at the total state level Obama received nearly 800,000 votes more than Brown. You could be right hamlet-by-hamlet, but that is not how the winner is decided.
ReplyDeleteAs for health care reform - we need it, badly. During my annual visit to my doctor today he said the same thing - that his profession (as augmented by all the administrators and hangers-on) are taking too much (about 17%) from our national economy. He was particularly emphasizing the overcare provided to people that don't want it, but whose families feel they "owe" it to them.
I don't think 45% will do it, unless most of the 55% was going to go to unnecessary "pork". As for compromise, I think Obama's statement of no more votes until Brown is seated is a good first step. But there are many more steps required, and time is of the essence. With pharma costs increasing at 3 times the rate of inflation, the direction must be changed, and there is a lot of inertia to overcome.