How does a NEW Republican Senator affect US & U.S.??
Republican Scott Brown won yesterday’s (Jan. 19, 2010) Massachusetts election for Senator (The seat left by “the Liberal Lion” Ted Kennedy due to his death last Aug ’09) beating out Democratic hopeful (and State Attorney General) Martha Coakley in a huge upset.
Someone recently asked me, “So what, I live in Jersey! How does this affect me?
I laughed only because this particular individual has lost a great-paying job and can no longer afford health insurance. This individual is also far from ignorant, but was too distraught (over a life-changing career loss) to make the connections. So, I tried to help cross the t’s and dot the i’s…
You see, Brown affects the Senate majority. Until yesterday, there were 60 Democrats and 40 Republicans in the Senate. Sixty (60) “seats” are needed to overcome GOP filibusters (a filibuster is defined as an obstructionin a “decision-making” body whereby one attempts to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a proposal by extending a debate on that proposal.) 60 votes are needed in a caucus in order to pass “Bills.” Now 41 Republicans occupy the Senate (leaving 59 Dems), and the loss of that one seat now imperils generating support for “Health Care Reform.”
No Republican had won a U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts since 1972, and Democrats control the governorship, both houses of the state legislature, and the state’s entire congressional delegation.
Obama called Brown and Coakley on Tuesday night, and a White House statement said the president “told Sen. Brown that he looks forward to working with him on the urgent economic challenges facing Massachusetts families and struggling families across our nation.”
Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin said last week that certifying Tuesday’s election results could take more than two weeks – potentially enough time to allow congressional Democrats to pass a final health care bill before Brown is seated. (How very unlikely!! Even if House and Senate Democrats could reach a deal to meld their bills and pass them in the next couple of weeks, there would be a huge outcry from not only Republicans, but also an increasingly distrustful public if they appeared to be rushing it through.)
The Coakley campaign held an afternoon news conference Tuesday to complain that many voters in three different places received ballots already marked for Brown – What the Hell?? (They have now confirmed that the secretary of state’s offices received two reports of voters saying they received pre-marked ballots, but they were invalidated and the voters received new ballots.)
Kevin Conroy, the Coakley campaign manager, said the “disturbing incidents” raised questions about the integrity of the election. In response, the Brown campaign issued a statement criticizing Coakley’s team. “Reports that the Coakley campaign is making reckless accusations regarding the integrity of today’s election is a reminder that they are a desperate campaign,” Daniel B. Winslow, the counsel for the Brown campaign, said in the statement.
Vicki Kennedy, the late senator’s widow, called on state Democrats to turn out to save her husband’s legacy. “We need your help. We need your support. We need you to get out there and vote on Tuesday. “We need you to bring your neighbors. We need you to bring your friends.”
The first thing Brown says he’s going to do is oppose Obama’s health care effort.
“People do not want a trillion dollar health-care plan that is being forced on the American people!” – Scott Brown
Facing the possibility of Coakley’s defeat, Democrats were trying to figure out whether they could pass a health care overhaul without that crucial 60th Senate vote. But top White House aides publicly insisted they were not engaging in any talk of contingency plans because they thought Coakly would win. (Did we get complacent?)
Well, some Democratic sources in close contact with the White House (told CNN on Monday) said that they’d urged the administration, in the event of a Brown victory, to push House Democrats to pass the Senate’s health care bill as currently written. Doing so would prevent the plan from having to be taken up by the Senate again. (That could work!)
But to do that Democrats would have to use a process known as reconciliation, which presents technical and procedural issues that would delay the process for a long time. A number of Democrats are eager to put the health care debate behind them and move on to economic issues such as job creation as soon as possible this election year.
Senate Democrats could also try again to get moderate GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine to vote for a compromise health reform plan. (Multiple Democratic sources, however, have said they think that is unlikely now.)
Below is Scott Brown’s speech…
So, this is how a New Republican Senator in Massachusetts affects someone (who definitely needs health insurance) in New Jersey, New York, Florida, California, Texas, Connecticut, Illinois, …
Hope this helps!! 
