Coakley Loses and the Dems are in Trouble

Posted by Joe Rivett on 01.19.2010

Americans want change but like the Beatles they never wanted a revolution!

A lot can change in one year. A year ago, I would have never thought Ted Kennedy's seat would be held by a Republican. But a lot can change in a year. With the Democrats holding a 60 seat majority in the Senate, many independents have rightfully grown weary of giving them even more power. The Democrats have focused so heavily on health care but they haven't listened to the American people. The American people, most of which supported Obama want small changes. They like the idea of not being dropped due to pre-existing conditions. They like the idea of reigning in Medicare waste. But they don't want to see the system radically changed. And when legislation insures 30 million more people; this is what you would call radical change.

Instead of piling everything into one bill, the Democrats should have focused more on making health insurance companies more accountable. That is something most Americans wanted. They also should have focused more on making health care costs more affordable. By spending tons of political capital on a dead public option, allowing Republicans to stand up for Medicare, (Something that I still can't wrap my head around), and exchanges, they forgot that most voters already had health insurance and were somewhat happy with it. They wanted change but not a revolution. Most Americans were afraid that adding 30 million to the system would create a huge demand and short supply thus increasing the cost of service. In addition, government health programs like Medicare and Medicaid cost the most so they weren't buying the idea that a public option was going to be cost effective.

Obama fixed one of Clinton's problems. Obama got the drug companies, insurance companies and some health providers on board. However, he forgot the grassroots AKA the American people. On top of this, Coakley forgot her grassroots and was apparently on vacation in December. She assumed she would win and tried to make the election national while Brown was smart enough to make it local. He stood up for Massachusetts and won.

I've always said the Democrats will lose some seats but if they don't turn things around, they could lose their majority, especially in the House. With the Wall Street crisis, they should be focusing on reigning in stupid banks and turning the economy around. You know… Populism! Instead somehow the Party that represents Wall Street and tax cuts for the wealthy has taken the role of the populists.

My prescription to minimize losses in November for the Democrats is simple, "It's the economy… stupid." Get rid of insurance discrimination and quickly vote for the things the majority of people and politicians support and then move on to the economy. Oh yeah, forget cap and trade!

For the Republicans, keep in mind that America is not embracing you and is sending the Democrats a message. Don't think this message means they necessarily want your agenda either.