How a fairly unknown Republican state senator may be Ted Kennedy's replacement.
Even experienced political observers are slightly incredulous at what has happened over the past week in Massachusetts: a Republican state senator most well known for posing nude in Cosmo 28 years ago and for his daughter’s appearance on “American Idol” is within striking distance of taking Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat – and possibly health-care reform – from the Democrats.
I hope Brown wins, not only to possibly derail the Pelosi/Reid/Obama healthcare bill, but to have a break in that Senate seat that's been held by a Kennedy since 1952 (with a break after JFK's election in '60 because Teddy wasn't old enough). That said, this article was almost like a press release from the Brown camp. I don't think anyone knows what's happening there.
The days of the Kennedy brand are pretty much over, so I think your point about putting a non-Kennedy in there misses the mark, especially since a non-Kennedy is running on the Dem side. Also, It'll be interesting to see the progress of Carlson's RepubHuffPo (CarlPo?) baby. You're right in that this piece reads like a press release, a la most of Politico (and they've been doing well...).
Politico's more interesting, but it's early days for Daily Caller. But I think you're wrong about the Kennedy brand: that family, for better or worse, is larger than a sold-out game at Wrigley Field. MA will always be Kennedy country. What's weird is that despite its bluer than bluer rep, MA has had a lot of Republican governors.
True, but a Kennedy isn't running and we saw just what happened to Caroline Kennedy in New York. (I mean, damn.) As for the Caller, running this sort of pap isn't going to help: http://dailycaller.com/2010/01/11/the-diary-of-s-e-cupp/
Coakley will win by 8-10. The repubs will claim victory anyway and the press will eat it up. Same old BS. Until the media starts focusing on reality instead of ratings driven sensationalism this same song will just keep playing over and over again.
I concur that Coakley wins by 10 points, but don't think GOP will claim victory. In fact, my bet is that they'll stay silent and focus on the other Democratic troubles. And this isn't sensationalism: it's a U.S. Senate seat, not another revelation of who Tiger Woods is banging.
