January 14, 2010 09:42 PM UTC

A barometer for the 2010 mid-term elections

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• by: Automaticftp

The New York Times has published a story about the election for Sen. Edward Kennedy’s seat.  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01…  It is turning out to be a much tighter race than was expected, given that Democrats outnumber Republicans by approximately three to one.  The most recent poll, by the Boston Globe, showed Ms. Coakley, the Democratic nominee, with a 15% lead over the Republican candidate, Mr. Brown.

Two thoughts on the race and it’s impact nationally and in Colorado.  

First, I think the suggested tightening of the race underlines that the Democrats are going to have a challenging time in the 2010 midterm elections.  If a formerly fairly obscure state senator can approach within shouting distance, or even manages to win, the Senate seat held by Mr. Edward Kennedy, it is a sure sign that there is a groundswell of public opinion against Democrats.  That is not exactly news, but it should serve to galvanize Democrats locally and nationally to redouble their efforts for the 2010 election cycle.  

The second is a point Ms. Goodnough reports: “Some political experts say that Democrats may well benefit from the new anxiety, if it serves to rally their troops and get out the vote for a special election at an odd time of year.”  That point is relevant both here in Colorado and nationally–Democrats cannot sit back on their hands and whine, as many have, that President Obama and Governor Ritter have not done enough on their pet projects and causes.  A serious scare or loss in Massachussetts could help snap those Democrats out of their petulance and get them back to doing the things that gave Democrats power in the first place.

There has been a great deal of carping among Democratic circles that President Obama has not done enough on their pet causes, and some have suggested that he should limit himself to working on one or two issues with tunnel vision–as long as one of those issues belong to the person making the suggestion.  Putting aside the impossibility of such an approach, I think Democrats need to realize that President Obama has to work on a huge number of issues at the same time, with a huge number of people who have differing positions.  That’s not as easy as people would like to make it out to be.  

The lesson for Democrats, then, is to quit whining and to get back to doing the things that put Democrats in power.  Stop whining that Gov. Ritter vetoed labor-friendly legislation, etc.,  and stop threatening to not be active in the 2010 election cycle.  Get out there going door to door, and fundraising, and calling, etc.  Some Democrats appear to think that the war was won when Obama was inaugurated and fail to realize that his inauguration was the beginning–not the end.  Failure to change that belief could result in what those very Democrats say would be a disaster.