A thread has been created on the Boston board asking the Mass.... folks to vote today... suggest everyone add to that thread in the hope that peer pressure might cause a few to vote who otherwise might choose to be lazy...
The election is far too important to ignore...
Thanks and disregard my post if you disagree.
everyone in Mass should vote.
As a general rule of thumb the greater the turn out, the worse it is for Republicans.
but Coakley pissed off Red Sox Nation with her Schilling comment. 99% of the people in Mass, and New England for that matter, are diehard Red Sox fans. She might have gotten away with the comment about there being no terrorists in Afghanistan, but not Schilling.
...if the Dems loose this seat, then it could result in the Democratic base getting more fired up, knowing that they could loose control in 2010.
...but what if the Republicans loose this race? How discouraging will that be for the teabaggers?
I'm beginning to think that no matter what happens, this race is a win-win for Dems.
I think a win is at hand today but even if it`s just a close defeat it will spell bad news for dems. Imagine being a democrat in a state not nearly as dark blue as Massachusetts, after facing highly motivated tea party types all summer, and realizing that your future in politics is at great risk if you back this reform plan.
For the dems to lose that seat would be devastating for them and they all know it regardless of the spin that will surely follow.
that they can't just go win a primary and take a nap for the next several months.
This is part of the problem I have with DLC Dems. Their arrogance is absolutely unbelievable.
The motivation/numbers/effectiveness of teabaggers has been exaggerated. I'm thinking that the results of this, along with the other midterm elections, won't be a result of people who get off on teabagging.
That`s cute. Mock them and do the Olbermann thing but just wait. I hear crow tastes like shit.
Willy, you mixing your meds again?
If Scott Brown wins the election it will be monumental. This was a seat held by Ted Kennedy, one the most liberal Senators in history will go to a Republican. Not to mention it could kill the health care bill that many claim is in honor of kennedy.
Massachusetts could end Obama's liberal agena, so there is no way to claim its not a referendum on him.
I highly doubt this election would kill the health care bill.
Let me put it this way...how rare do you think it is for a single party to control 60 seats in the Senate? The reality is that it's pretty damn rare. Does that mean nothing passes the Senate except for these rarities?
Reid has more than enough votes to pass health care, with or without this seat in Mass. It just requires Reid to grow a spine. Loosing this seat may force him to do so, and that isn't good news for the GOP.
If the R's win (which is likely) it is going to scare the shit out of the House Dems who have to run for re-election.
If you cant keep Ted Kennedy's seat in the People's Republic of Massachusetts then no one is safe
They will go running from healthcare like a house on fire!!
It's also going to be another no-go for Obama, first the Olympics now this. Apparently no coat tails for them to run on there.
Fianlly, even if the D's pull it out, the damage is already done. Hell, if you haev to fight this hard in the liberal a state, a message has been sent...
If the Dems continue to ignore their base, and refuse to give them anything to energize them, then yes this would be very bad news. Given how cowardly Dems in Congress are, this may very well happen.
The left has become increasingly impatient with just how moderate Obama has become. Many are already jumping ship. A sudden surge of Dems going even more to the right would be quite interesting, and would likely result in total defeat for them in 2010.
Part of this has to do with the ground swell of populism on both sides of the isle. Neither party is really addressing this yet. Both parties are still pretending it's the 90's, and circumstances have changed.
You actually do have a good point about the hard left losing its patience with the Obama Administration and no longer being motivated to throw their support behind him.
On the other hand, by going more to the left, they lose middle of the road and independent voters!!
The problem is there are a hell of a lot more middle of the road voters than hard core left or right.
This is EXACTLY why you are seeing what is happening right now in the People's Republic 
-- Modified on 1/19/2010 2:08:13 PM
voters are always the problem with getting things over the top to the victory line.
I think Dems need to learn how to convince middle of the road voters to support a more hard left position. So far they completely suck at it.
What are u smoking this election is the waterloo for the dems. If a no name repub can win in MA what does that say for others?
I'll gladly help u move to any socialist country in Europe!
Brown out in MA!
I'm already looking at how promising Spain, France, and Germany is. Been wanting to live a few years overseas for a while now.
does not vote. Can that be possible?
The 2008 had what was considered a huge voter turnout at 63%
I would expect that the voter turnout in Mass today will be a high one, but voter apathy is a fact of life in this country.
I thought the figure would have been more realistic at 1/3 or so. 1/2?
in the vast majority of all elections, even during presidental election years the majority of the American populace stays home.
The reality is that in 2008 more people went to the polls than ever before in American history. And that wasn't even two thirds.
Austrilia gets nearly 100% turn out. They do this by giving you a tax deduction of you vote. Like 10 bucks or something. I think that would be a good idea here.
where would that money come from? What programs(etc)would be cut to fund that? 
this. Assume that 100% will claim the deduction at current spending levels. That way you'd get more revenue if you don't vote.
Of course, that means a tax hike. I figure that's the better of the two options, given how high the deficit is.
that's not to say that we don't seriously need to cut spending. my preference is with defense.
If folks could simply log on somewhere and cast their vote, imagine how that would impact elections... Biggest obstacle to voting today is that it is a pain in the ass to go vote. Interesting that this idea gets no traction in Congress from either side... Guess they don't want to lose the control of being able to go rally their supporters, give them rides to the polls, buy them lunch, etc... all in the hope that the other side doesn't do that.
I really don't understand why we should have to stand in line to vote on a stupid ass machine. Screw that. It's the 21 century for Christ's sake.
Why can't everyone get a registration number with your voting card (we probably already have one) and use that to log into a website. Answer a few security questions or put in a password, and then cast your ballot online, or hell on the telephone.
It would be so freaking easy! We already do this with our banking, why not our voting?
Oregan has a pretty cool system. They mail you your ballot, you fill it in, and put it in the mail box. They get high as hell turn out for that reason.
If you know of any polls in this race, regardless of the source, can you post it here in this thread? I just ask you to include the percentages, the margin of error if you can easily find it, and the source of that poll. It will interesting to do a comparison between the polls and the results tonight.
I'm curious about this because in previous cycles, the number of people who switched to cell phones (with no land line) weren't getting polled at all. I'm wondering if the pollsters have fixed this, or if not, how this will swing the election.
Most polls are dead even. One shows Brown with a 5 point lead but that is within the margin of error. Hard to know. His lead with independent voters is very interesting, close to 68%. That is amazing in this state and indicates some clear dissatisfaction. With what, who knows. Could be the candidate. She is not a strong candidate and ran a poor, negative campaign. We are all waiting to see what happens later tonight.