Coakley at the Bat
Not even Ernest Thayer could adequately dramatize the complacency, entitlement, and utter hubris demonstrated by Martha Coakley in her "effort" to win the Massachusetts Senate special election. While at the bat, Coakley wouldn't deign to swing at easy pitches before desperately flailing.
For conservatives, the achievement is nothing short of incredible. In a state widely regarded as the deepest shade of blue, even if those working class Dems wouldn't grant Coakley what they routinely handed to Ted Kennedy, the Tea Party pulled out a stunner for the ages. Notice the absence of the word "Republican" in that argument; in fact, the actual party itself got on board rather late, after ground-level activists took advantage of Democratic lethargy. This will undoubtedly embolden Tea Partiers to take over the world; a subject for another post.
For Democrats, the humbling couldn't be more complete. A seat all but conceded to them has been lost, and after the struggle to overwhelm several Republican Senate candidates in 2008. Now, maneuvering a health care plan through to the Oval Office is fraught with peril. Either jam it down the House's throat and all but defeat Representatives who buckle, or allow Senator-elect Brown to derail or completely alter the path of the legislation. Not all is lost, but it nearly is.
After being coronated a sure winner, the Massachusetts Attorney General frittered away a double digit lead in just two and a half weeks. In the process, her dreadful campaign has jeopardized President Obama's sweeping agenda, and has forced him to bargain with a party he thought he had conquered.
Mighty Coakley, it can be said, has struck out.
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