Today is important. The eyes of America are on Massachusetts as voters head to the polls from 7:00am to 8:00pm to decide who will replace the late Senator Ted Kennedy. I’m anxious. Martha Coakley, the candidate who supports putting a price on carbon, regulating Wall Street’s many abuses and finally expanding health care in this country is in serious danger of losing.
Bay State residents are pissed off right now. And for good reason. The U.S. Congress is messed up. To stay elected, representatives have to spend countless hours schmoozing with interest groups at fundraising dinners all year long. Since President Obama was elected with 68% of the electoral votes last fall, things have gotten even worse in Washington. Senate Republicans have turned the filibuster from a last resort into a baby rattle used at every opportunity. The result has been a toxic environment where decent ideas get watered down and delayed for months.
Toward the end of the Clinton administration, my mom and I had a conversation about change. I was home for the holidays after my third semester in college. I’d learned about issues like the abuses of the WTO, the next generation of nuclear weapons being built in Tennessee, and the oncoming climate crisis. I was really confused how a country with such a long history of people fighting for justice and freedom could be so resistant to progress on important moral challenges. My mom told me that in the United States change does happen, but it often takes longer than you hope. She warned that as I hold strong to my convictions, it’s important to stay grounded in the big picture.
In this case the big picture is that it’s been 17 years since the U.S. Congress has been close to seriously addressing health care reform. Congress has never been close to passing climate change legislation until now. The idea that we could go another 2, 3, 4 more years in this country without imposing any cost on oil and coal companies for their pollution or allowing health insurance companies to continue to drop patients for pre-existing conditions makes me sick.
A vote for Scott Brown is a vote for the status quo and gridlock. While the guy is always keen to tell you he lives in Wrentham and drives a truck, if we elect this guy, we all know who will be buying the champagne – Wall Street firms, health insurance companies, and oil and coal lobbyists. That’s not what we worked so hard for last November. Stand up Massachusetts. Elect Martha Coakley.
I just had the quickest voting experience ever. Only one item on the ballot. The whole experience took me about 10 minutes including walking to the poll. No excuses this time folks.
It’ll say a lot about the Democrats “leadership” (or lack thereof) and the satisfaction of the grassroots that put them in power with that “leadership” if they lose Kennedy’s seat.
This is definitely one of those moments where I wish I lived in a different state. I hate to say that I’m not holding out a lot of hope on this one. Pardon the grim expression, but Senator Kennedy must be rolling over in his grave.
Well, there goes Cap and Trade.
Ummm, maybe Obama and the folks at the DNC need to watch “Capitalism: A Love Story” and “Sicko” to figure out where the problem is. Sucking up to Wall Street and the big insurance lobby doesn’t win elections. But whatever, we just had 8 years of Bush, nothing brings the empire down faster than fascists running the place into ruin. Vote Cheney 2012!