Tuesday, January 19, 2010

He Won; There, I Said It

Okay. Scott Brown won. He won fair and square. He has taken the seat that was once held by John F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy will be taken up by a Republican.

On November 4, 2008, I saw friends writing "America is doomed" and "I'm moving to <fill in country>." I really cannot stand sore winners or sore losers. In regards to this, I wrote a Facebook note, calling their bluff. They thought the country would die under Obama and wanted to leave; I told them "bye-bye." I knew they wouldn't leave. Eight years prior, Democrats said the same thing about a Bush-Cheney win; and, yet, the country has survived.

This evening, I have seen tweets showing the other side of the coin that I hate: sore winners. I have seen people saying "Obama fail" "Suck it <fill in Democratic politician>." Some tweets have actually been directed at yours truly.

He won. For all of my efforts (and those of countless others), Scott Brown beat Martha Coakley. He did it, I admit.

However, I am reminded of the closing scene of Hillary Rodham Clinton's memoir Loving History. She went through Inauguration Day 2001 and how, one of the things she admired most about this nation. I do too. Over a year ago, Americans wanted a change in direction, so they elected Obama; now, they didn't like what has happened and wanted a reform. The voice of the American public is a voice to be rekoned with. If they don't like the direction of the nation, they make a change in however they can. They change mayors. They change state legislators. They change congressmen. They change presidents. They make a change. And that was what they did.

To my friends who supported Scott Brown, I commend you. You guys ran a fantastic campaign. You went from 20 points below to winning by 6-7 points.

One election, though, does not cause a 180-degree shift in policy in the nation. Look at what happened in President Obama's first 100 days (when he did NOT have 60 votes in the Senate): we have the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, re-authorization of SCHIP (paid for by an increased tax on cigarettes), hate crimes now include sexual orientation/gender/gender identity/disability, HIV/AIDS is no longer a reason to exclude immigrants, and expanded AmeriCorps.

Yet, to those Brown-supporting friends, please do not say that all of the changes that were requested in 2008 are over. Yes, the Democrats no longer have a filibuster-proof majority, but are those 8 senators suddenly chopped liver? No. There is still plenty of bipartisan legislation that can be passed. And, if anyone has been following my tweets, according to Massachusetts election law, they cannot certify an election until at least 10 (if not 15) days after an election (see http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=why_massachusetts_doesnt_matter. So, there are 1-2 weeks for health care reform to be passed.

As I type, I am watching one of my favorite West Wing episodes, "2162 Votes." The final line of the episode is said by Republican Presidential Nominee Sen. Arnold Vinick (CA), after the end of the Democratic National Convention, "Okay, let's go win this thing."

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) has said that the 'conference committee' was "95% done" with hashing out the House and Senate bills on health care reform. We have a maximum of 15 days to pass this thing without any political controversy. Therefore, Okay, let's go pass this thing.

But, after Sen.-elect Brown is sworn in, I pray that he will be there, putting in his 2 cents, and assisting in making strong, bipartisan legislation for which his predecessor was infamous.

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