Fresh and online political article. Why the Democrats Lost the Massachusetts Senate Seat

On Tuesday, January 19, the Democrats suffered an unexpected defeat when Republican Scott Brown won the Senate seat once occupied by the late Ted Kennedy. Democrats had anticipated an easy win for state attorney general Martha Coakley, for whom both President Obama and former President Clinton campaigned. Brown’s win now eliminates the Democrats’ 60-seat filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. So what happened?

Perhaps the Republicans simply had a stronger candidate. While Brown ran a smooth campaign, Coakley’s was mired in gaffes. For instance, she infamously referred to Curt Schilling, a former Red Sox pitcher, as a Yankees fan. Brown presented himself as an independent man of the people; most of his campaign signs lacked any mention of his party affiliation. Massachusetts has more independent voters than Democrats and Republicans combined, so clearly this worked in his favor, especially since the tide of popular opinion has swayed against Obama and the Democrats in recent months.

The economy and healthcare reform were two hot-button issues that helped to decide the outcome of the race. Although voters who cited these issues as most important were fairly split between the two candidates, Democrats are perceived as being responsible for the current problems, as least in the minds of Massachusetts voters. Thus, it appears that the dialogue over healthcare in particular, one of Ted Kennedy’s lifelong passions, favored the Republicans.

Democrats will continue to examine the reasons for this epic loss in the coming months as they rethink their strategies for the mid-term elections. They will also struggle to move forward with their healthcare agenda as the wave appears to have turned against them. Is America’s love affair with Obama truly over? Only time will tell.

Well what do you reckon about that one. It sure enough was an intriguing study on the up-to-date goings on in the playing field of politics