Ted Kennedy's seat may go to Republican, says new poll

JANE WALSHE,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Sunday, January 10, 2010, 8:40 AM

Updated Sunday, January 10, 2010, 12:14 PM

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A special election for Senator Kennedy's seat takes place on January 19th.

Ted Kennedy's senate seat may be heading for the Republican column according to a shocking new poll out this weekend. The special election takes place on January 19th.

The poll from Public Policy Pollings, a Democratic-leaning company, shows Republican no-name Scott Brown leading Attorney General Martha Coakley by one point, 48 per cent to 47 per cent.

After she won the primary over a crowded Democratic field, Coakley was considered a shoo-in for the seat. But critics are now saying she has run a lackluster campaign and could be pipped at the wire. She had refused to debate Brown and had not spent much time campaigning.

The Public Policy poll is the second one showing Coakley in trouble, despite media predictions that she would easily win against her obscure State senator opponent.

“The Massachusetts Senate race is shaping up as a potential disaster for Democrats,” said PPP pollster Dean Debnam. “Martha Coakley’s complacent campaign has put Scott Brown in a surprisingly strong position and she will need to step it up in the final week to win a victory once thought inevitable.”

Brown's lead comes mainly from independents, who back Brown by 63 per cent to 31 per cent.

If Brown is elected next week he has promised to be the vital vote against health care reform. Right now, with Paul Kirk place-holding the seat left vacant by Senator Kennedy, the Dems have no margin for error with a 60-40 filibuster proof majority . If Brown wins healthcare will likely not happen.

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IrishAndProud | Jan 10, 2010, 07:51 PM EST

Further, you can bet that this poll has just sent Obama and Co. into a frenzied panick mode at the White House, with all sorts of frantic last-minute schedule changes etc. so they can get their big guns up to Massachusetts to campaign for their gal -- as if Obama is even that much of a game-changer, anymore. He's not only lost his substanceless 'magic touch,' but it's largely because of HIM also that his party is suffering so much, currently. Case in point: Brown's opposition to Obama's 'health care' debacle (rammed through despite overwhelming opposition from the people), and the fact that Brown is receiving such heavy independent support. Alarm bells, anyone? (Oh -- and btw walking FARCES like Harry Reid aren't exactly helping the Dems' overall fortunes by saying racist stuff like he's openly admitted doing. If a Repub had said the exact same stuff, he'd have been hounded clean from office -- but of course if a DEM says it, it's excused away ad nauseum, by the same bunch of lying, phony hypocrites. This double-standard is yet another of the Dems' many achilles' heels, and yet another reason the country's turning against them). If Brown wins in Massachusetts, Obama's health care will probably go down in flames. I wonder what kind of Obama-esque, Chicago back-room strong-arming (if not flat-out law-breaking) is going on behind the scenes even as we speak, to prevent a Brown victory?

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IrishAndProud | Jan 10, 2010, 07:37 PM EST

Even with the Democrat Party in deep, deep trouble nationwide in the USA, this news is still a bit of a pleasant surprise. Hopefully the Dem will lose here, too. I'm an independent myself...but we are also heavily swinging to the Repubs this time around and that's making one of the biggest differences here, in itself...and the reason we're doing so is because of the Democratic Party's arrogant unresponsiveness, to the growing majority of Americans. They go right on ahead and PASS stuff that the people of the USA have been screaming for months that they don't want -- just as if we don't even exist. And that's p-ssing people off all over the place, to say the very least. You cannot fly in people's faces for that long and to that extent without there being some very, very serious repercussions for it -- as the Dems are now experiencing (though in keeping with their arrogance, they deny it with a straight face). I agree with hurley3: it's not a Kennedy (or a Democrat) seat, automatically. They have no inherent 'right' to it. It belongs to the people, who are turning heavily against the Democrats.

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hurley3 | Jan 10, 2010, 05:53 PM EST

It is not a Kennedy seat, the senate seat belongs to the state of Massachusetts.

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hurley3 | Jan 10, 2010, 04:31 PM EST

It is 'not' a Kennedy seat, it belongs to the people of Massachusetts.!!!

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BORNIRISH | Jan 10, 2010, 09:55 AM EST

I think it's absolutely great! The Democratic Party has been shalale'd by the extremists and J.F.K. would not be proud. Brown has paid his dues both in the military plus state government and his daughter plays roundball for Boston U. What else could you ask for?

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