“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Could it Backfire on Brown?

Just a few concerns regarding the Brown v Coakley special election in Massachusetts... OK, I have many, but they're not keeping me up at night .

All this national attention could easily backfire on Brown's chances of winning. I know that if the national media started bringing attention to a race in my neighborhood or state, I'd start paying attention. I'd get hyper and engaged. I'd be calling my friends, working hard to get my candidate elected.

It seems to me that the Coakley supporters have been kind of lukewarm at best until recently. Now I'd bet they are awake and hot.

Of course, we're awake and hot, too, but we were already there prior to all the media attention.

There are also a contingency of people who're going to be spit-fire mad because all these outsiders are coming into their state and trying to tell 'em what to do... thus another group will be energized. Given the fact that Coakley is flying to Washington, hobnobbing with the health care folks at wine bars, it's probably pretty even on the who is courting or attracting "outsider" attention.

I wondered when the Democratic poll came out putting Brown in breathing room of a win against Coakley if it was a set-up to stir up the Democratic base. Once that poll popped up all of a sudden the Republican / conservative contingency across the country sent up a huge whoop of joy. They had a chance. The Democrats who were coasting, thinking that it was a shoe-in that a Dem would take the seat, all of sudden had something to be concerned about. I would bet there was a huge collective "huh????", then a bit of head shaking to make sure they were in the real world... then they started moving.

Another thing that passed through my mind when I first heard about the poll shift is the possibility that we on the conservative side are being set up for a crushing disappointment... one that is meant to take the wind out of our proverbial political enthusiastic sails.

I tossed that one fairly quickly. If the election is close we're still going to be thrilled. In a state that is more than predominately Democratic, in a seat that a Republican hasn't held since before most of us were born, we have a shot. That says a lot. It's encouraging. The only way most of us will be depressed about the election is if it's a land-slide for Coakley.

I really, really, really hope Brown wins... fingers and toes crossed, phone lines a burning, blogs a flying and even a few quick prayers as I think this race could be part of the salvation of our country...
However, even if Brown doesn't win, we won. We sent a message to those who are more concerned about their political future than they are about the integrity of their votes. There are some who may see that their chances of being elected again are zip if they vote for health care, cap & tax and continue to support the wacko anti-American agenda as proposed by Obama, Pelosi and soon-to-be-defeated Reid. We've shown that we're on fire and that more people are involved than ever before. We're here. We're worried about our country. More of us are realizing just how morally bankrupt our so-called leaders have become. We see the corruption. We're getting a real good look at politics and seeing just how far we've moved in the wrong direction.
It's going to take more than a few elections to turn things around. It's going to take some huge upheavals to get us back on track. We are in the process of trying to change a system that has developed in stealth for longer than our parents and possibly grand-parents have been on this earth.
I hope that everyone who's involved, engaged, working hard to affect a change stays involved past the 2012 elections, win or lose. We are not going to change the corruption, the power base, the intricate back-slapping system that has evolved by simply voting out a few of the bad apples. We're going to need to work hard for many years. Many, many years.
The recent elections were uplifting. This one is also going to be a good one. I believe we're going to be happy in November also... Keep the momentum going! Good work everyone!!! You are making a huge difference.

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