….the Massachusetts vote is a loud and clear signal that the American people hate this legislation. Barack Obama came into office assuming that economic distress would move most Americans to favor big-government legislation. It turns out that’s not so. Not when Democratic bills would take away the health insurance most of them are content with. Not when it’s the product of backroom deals and blatant political bribery.
But Scott Brown’s victory was not just a rejection of Democrats’ health care plans. Brown also stoutly opposed the Democrats’ cap-and-trade legislation to reduce carbon emissions. He spoke out strongly for trying terrorists like the Christmas bomber in military tribunals, not in the civil court system where lawyers would advise them to quit talking. He talked about cutting taxes rather than raising them as Democrats are preparing to do.
Brown’s victory represents a rejection of Obama administration policies that were a departure from those of the Bush administration. In contrast, on Afghanistan, where Obama is stepping up the fight, Brown backed Obama while his hapless left-wing opponent Martha Coakley was forced (her word) to oppose it to win dovish votes in the Democratic primary.
Democrats will be tempted to dismiss Brown’s victory as a triumph of an appealing candidate and the rejection of an opponent who proved to be a dud. But Brown would never have been competitive if Americans generally favored the policies of the Obama administration and congressional Democratic leaders. In that case, even a dud would have trounced the man who drives a truck.
For someone writing against a deadline before all the votes were in, Michael Barone, as we’ve come to expect, does an awfully good job. He has both facts and analysis that are hard to argue with; and I’m not going to try.
I’m just glad he makes the point that this election was not only about health care. And this noteworthy political point, worth underscoring: “Towns that split evenly in the presidential race went 2-to-1 for Brown.” Wow: a point that Democrats are pondering this morning, as they try to figure out what to do with their agenda, their big-government profile, their 2010 candidates, their support of this president’s programs, and so forth.