Let’s make the title of this thread come true today, shall we? ;)
Here’s your Massachusetts Open Thread for today’s election. I am optimistic about our chances, but it’s not over until the last vote is counted. If you have found the time to help Scott today matters so much. Keep on those phone for the the GOTV effort, for perhaps you’re punding the pavement.
Finally as a Scots-Irish girl, I can say Go Boston!
In the meantime here are some links to give you a sense of what’s happening out there:
Bookie pays off early, predicts Brown win
On Monday, an Irish bookie paid off bettors who had wagered that state Sen. Scott Brown, a conservative Republican, would win the special election for the Massachusetts U.S. Senate seat held for nearly 50 years by liberal Democratic icon Edward M. Kennedy.
“Enough is enough. It seems that Senator Brown just has to get out of bed tomorrow to win convincingly. As far as we’re concerned, this race is well and truly over,” said Paddy Power, Ireland’s largest bookmaker, 24 hours before the actual election.
But…Pollster John Zogby Predicts A Coakley Win
Massachusetts: Dem attacks on Coakley get personal
State of Shock: Scott Brown barnstorms Massachusetts
UPDATE 520p PT:
NRO: From the Brown Camp [Robert Costa]
Eric Fehrnstrom, Scott Brown’s senior strategist, tells National Review Online that he is “cautiously optimistic” with 50 minutes to go until the polls close. “Our reports show the turnout in GOP areas to be great and in Boston, not so much. The Democratic machine needs to come out for her to win.” He also brushed back against Coakley’s voter-fraud accusations. “The secretary of state has already said that those were isolated instances of voter error. These attacks are just the last gasp of a dying political machine.”
“It’s not the votes that count. It’s who counts the votes that counts.”
I hope Brown wins big, but as Glenn Beck is saying, watch what happens next. Does Obama and the Congressional leadership moderate and move toward the center, or do they accelerate their agenda? Do they go to the “nuclear option” to ram it through with 50 votes? And if the leadership accelerates, will enough Democrats pull back from the brink – and withstand the arm twisting, threats and bribes – to trip up the Progressive agenda?
BTW, Michelle Malkin has a post about Voinavitch possibly screwing the GOP and providing the 60th vote for deathcare.
We are all Bay Staters today.
Here’s the MA conservative/independent/enlightened democrat mantra of the day: WE have to get more votes than THEY can steal. I did my part to make history today – voted for Scott Brown! Also drinking tea out of my travel mug – “My coffee is black, my candidate is Brown.” (check out my Twitter stream @lorigeishecker for photo)
Yes, I’m fired up. And I’m not the only one. The energy is electric! Ton of homemade signs supporting Brown, in addition to the standard lawn signs and bumper stickers – I didn’t see ONE Coakley bumper sticker on 93 today. NOT ONE. Anecdotely, evidence is there for a double-digit win. Lots of Democrat hype (ahem, Speaker Pelosi’s comments) about being able to turn out the vote machine. I think that depends on a) holding all of the 37% registered Democrats (reporter questions at polls indicating this is not happening) and b) overestimation of how many unenrolled voters are breaking for Coakley (polls indicating Brown has a 50% advantage with independents). We’ll know for certain tonight.
Massachusetts certainly has a reputation of being one of the “bluest” states in the country. You would expect that to transfer to a majority enrolled in the Democrat party. That’s not the case in MA. 52% of registered voters are unenrolled. The Democrats have around 30% with Republicans making up the rest. Not sure if either the national or state party organizations have realized this yet, but the majority of unenrolleds are JFK Conservatives/Reagan Dems. They expect their elected officials to engage with the electorate with respect, be accountable and act on behalf of citizens without hypocrisy. They are not going to be persuaded to vote for Democrats who continue to call them stupid, racist, homophobes, tea baggers, women haters, Palin rally thugs, pickup truck drivers, etc. a la Barney Frank , John Kerry, Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann. And for the President to come back to the scene of Beergate and make essentially the same argument – “I don’t know anything about Martha’s opponent but I’m going to trash him anyway” guarantees that the unenrolleds will give the one finger salute as they vote for anyone BUT the Democrats.
Let’s keep it to ourselves, shall we? :0)
Why did they keep voting in that a-hole Kennedy then? That said, I can’t wait until the final count and turn my flag RIGHT side UP! Go get ‘em Lori and Go get ‘em SCOTT BROWN!!!
Typo alert in paragraph 3 – 37% Dems, not 30%. My apologies!
“as a Scots-Irish girl”
So, then you’re “Tammy the Bruce.”
As an Okie, I can’t vote there. But, as a Southern Baptist Christian, I can Pray for Scott Brown.
And, we must all Pray for God’s Blessing on the USA.
I loved the Washington Examiner piece…amazing how animals will turn on each other when cornered, isn’t it?
I listened to Sean Hannity repeat of afternoon show at 11 last night. ZOGBY said Brown would win by close margin. I am so glad ZOGBY will be wrong. No one should pay attention to him so he should be wrong more often. Ruin his reputation as an accurate pollster. It was a weird Hannity show. Rasmussen said the old bag would win….I do not like to listen to Hannity Show because of his voice. Should have slept instead.
The info was all worthless. Unlike the TBRS,
I need to re heat my Chicken Pot Pie.
Palin 2012
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GooooIrish.
Opps they lost to Syracuse .Last night.
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bring out your dead!!!!! it’s time to vote!
as for me i’m going now. as i’ve said before- people here did not much like coakley before this- and she’s run about the most ridiculous, most insulting( to the citizens) campaign ever- she pretty much drove herself off a bridge with her stupid a@# mouth and distant entitled attitude.i have never seen anything like what’s happening here in the bluest state. people are going crazy for brown .they know how important their vote is for the whole country and i do not think we are going to let you down.
the last republican MA sent to the senate was also the first african american to go there by popular vote- a ” light skinned” black man with a slight uh ‘ accent’-edward brooke in 1966. an extraordinary gentleman who did a lot for women, minorities and the poor all while opposing big government. no one mentions it now. i’m proud of edward brooke and MA for sending him into the senate. i want to be proud of my state again .
they used to call us Ma@#holes( i know tammy was looking for the right word to refer to a resident of our state) and not without good reason, admittedly. maybe we can redeem ourselves today. people are saying novenas and lighting candles in churches for brown to win. and i have never got so many phone calls in any election( all for brown and one from pat boone of all people asking me to vote for brown.).
and finally some eye candy in the senate… me-ow…..
Looks like election stealing has begun. The folks and Election Journal [http://www.electionjournal.org/] have posted a video in which a “community activist” and CROAKley supporter, named Isabel Melendez, is handing out blank absentee ballots in Spanish.
The deadline to turn in absentee ballots for this special election was on Friday, 01/19/2010. But that’s never stopped the Dem’s from stealing elections. Has it? A book, which is about Democrat Party chicanery in elections, came out before the 2004 election. The title says it all, If It’s Not Close, They Can’t Cheat: Crushing the Democrats in Every Election and Why Your Life Depends on It.
correction: The folks at Election Journal
Permission to GET GIDDY yet?
For the first time in my life I contributed money to a political candidate and that candidate was Scott Brown. Go Scott Brown!
Thank you, Massachusetts!
Un-freaking-believeable, what a night…I can’t believe this actually happened…!
Re: Polster Zogby predicts a Coakley win – he also was wrong in the Presidential race.
Now to keep the lid/leash on Scotty. This may be tougher than we thought.