Yesterday my daughter and I attended the rally for Martha Coakley, who is running for Ted Kennedy's seat in the Senate. President Obama, Senator John Kerry, Rep. Barney Frank and Mayor of Boston Tom Menino were some of the dignitaries also in attendance to lend their support to Coakley.
I'm a fairly typical Massachusetts Democrat; more liberal than most and more cynical than some regarding elections and fairness. I've only voted for one Republican in my entire life, Senator Edward Brooke, and he lost to Paul Tsongas in 1978.
The rally was interesting. Because it was held on the campus of Northeastern University, where I was on the faculty for 10 years, many of the attendees were students and young people. However, there are plenty of colleges within walking distance including Mass Art, Harvard Law, Harvard School of Public Health, Mass Pharmacy, Wentworth, Simmons, and Emmanuel, so it makes sense that a vast majority of the participants would be young adults. There were plenty of families, young children, teens, and parents as well.
On one side of Boylston Street stood a small but loud band of the opponents supporters yelling for Scott Brown, but they were continually shouted down by Coakley supporters, although I will say that most of the kids there were too busy on their cell phones to pay attention to the cheering. One extremely loud and enthusiastic Brown supporters kept yelling about how Brown would aid firefighters and help support the police. She seemed to have no clue that Senators aren't involved in local politics and a lot of people were laughing at her. I finally got tired of her agenda and let her know that this was a FEDERAL seat and not a state position (he already has a state seat and has done little to help the police or fire departments while he's held it) and suggested that perhaps she might read a Civics text book. It really upsets me to see and hear ignorant comments made by people who know little to nothing about how government works. She also suggested that we should impeach Obama, but did not know that there needed to be a crime involved in impeachment. It was really sad.
Meanwhile, on the Coakley side of the street, we craned our necks to see which politician was driving up, and saw John Kerry and Vicky Kennedy right by us. That's always exciting, especially when your state representatives are so well known nationally and internationally.
Meanwhile, President Obama arrived underground and was rushed into the venue. In the student center next door, the big screen showed his speech while hundreds of people sat transfixed watching him speak. The rest of the crowd stood on the streets 4 and 5 people deep in some spots, crowding the entire sidewalk in others. And then the Brown supporters, realizing they weren't getting the attention on the other side of the street, decided to march right in the middle of the Coakley supporters. To say this was a poor idea would be kind. It wasn't a very pleasant encounter because the Brown supporters, which few in number, were loud and obnoxious in behavior, calling names and making some ugly comments.
At that point my daughter told me my lips were solid blue so we decided to leave and get warm in the student center. Right about then, people started pouring out of the venue, so it appeared that the speeches were over and it really was time to go home.
I'm very disturbed that a man with the morals of Scott Brown, who was a Playgirl Playmate [Editor's note: Cosmopolitan Centerfold] in his younger days and now is a misogynist that doesn't support a woman's right to choose even in the instance of rape is running for Kennedy's seat. I don't like Brown. Not one thing about him appeals to me. He is for Wall Street bonuses and against the bailout. He is a huge supporter of big business and wants to follow the policies of the failed Bush administration. He wants to kill the health care plan. He does this "man of the people" act with focus on his pickup truck, but the fact is, he's no independent and voted for 96% of all Republican issues in MA.
This isn't just an election for Massachusetts. It's an election that will essentially kill health care for all in the USA If Scott Brown wins tomorrow, the Senate will lose it's Democratic majority and the government will come to an entire standstill as Republicans refuse to vote for anything the Obama administration tries to advance. Three more years of a stalled government can't be good for anyone, and in my opinion if the Republicans do behave like this, they shouldn't be allowed to govern. But that's just my opinion.
If you live in MA, don't forget to vote!
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