01/15/2010

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Why D.C. Democrats should hope Brown wins in Mass. LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, a Democrat, is at risk of losing her state's U.S. senate seat to a previously unknown Republican state senator named Scott Brown in next Tuesday's special election. Republicans are in near ecstasy at even the possibility of capturing "the Kennedy seat" and at the same time breaking the Democrats' filibuster-proof majority in Washington. Recent polls have Brown actually ahead of Coakley, after trailing her by double digits less than a month ago. Even Former President Bill Clinton has been dispatched to try and help drag Coakley across the finish line. The political drama is heightened by the tense, closed-door discussions at the White House to cut a deal on healthcare reform. Democrats had assumed an easy win in the Massachusetts election. But with the very real possibility of losing a seat to a Republican who is actively campaigning against healthcare reform, the president and his congressional allies may soon face a stark choice: 1.) Delay Brown's seating in the Senate until Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi ram healthcare through, or 2.) Seat Brown and then blame Republicans for filibustering the bill death. Healthcare reform is President Obama's "signature" issue. So the first choice is clearly preferable regardless of the likely political disaster in November. But defying the will of the electorate to ensure passage of a wildly unpopular bill is not a populist message. And if healthcare reform is this politically toxic in Massachusetts, the ultimate Democrat stronghold, it's bound to be fatal elsewhere. read the rest at www.marketwatch.com

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