Nominally an extremely safe seat for the Democrats, the Democratic candidate Martha Coakley should be a shoe-in.
And yet Republican former centrefold star Scott Brown, once voted by Cosmo as America’s Sexiest Man (the link is fairly safe for work, but does contain a tastefully cropped naked man) has been closing the gap in the polls, and in some cases even taken a lead.
Of key importance in this battle is the senatorial supermajority, which we have covered on The Voice in the past. In the US senate, a party with 60 of the 100 senators – or the votes of 60 senators – can move a vote of cloture which can end a filibuster. This removes from the minority party a powerful tool to veto legislation by talking it out. This has become all the more fraught recently since Obamacare, the extremely controversial healthcare legislation currently under consideration. If the Republicans win the Massachusetts, the Democrats lose their right of veto and they could lose Obamacare.
Here’s a video for each candidate to give you a flavour of the battle.
First, President Obama is staking his political reputation to support Martha Coakley and underlining the future of Obamacare:
Last November’s contest has dragged on, primarily as a result of a protracted legal battle in closely fought Minnesota. Last week, however, incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman finally abandoned his legal suit after the State’s Supreme Court found unanimously in favour of Democrat Al Franken, the liberal former radio talk show host and author of ‘Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right’. Franken is becoming adept at getting his way in the Courts, Fox News having failed in their bid to sue him for …
Simon McGrath @miranda “ started badly in 1948 and has continued that route since“
It started with 6 Arab countries invading Israel intent on killing it’s Jewish po...
Jana “ They may support us but decide that they need to vote for someone else to prevent another candidate from winning.”
Of course, tactical voting works bot...
David Raw Veronica asks, are the Liberal Democrats invisible ? ............................... which is a fair question to put to a political party which seems to focus ...
Peter Martin "We may not have a shortage of policies"
One policy you could add is that of achieving full employment.
Keynes, who was also known to be a Lib...
David Allen @cim
Yes, we're both struggling to get beyond the waffle, to "do a single thing which will improve anyone’s life", rather than just theorising about "proce...
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Simon McGrath 
Jana 
David Raw 
Peter Martin 
David Allen 