I thought Martha Coakley’s vacation was over. I guess not.
Brian McGrory, Boston.com:
If you’re a registered voter in Massachusetts, your friendly Democratic Senate candidate, Martha Coakley, is sticking her thumb in your eye.
Coakley, in exquisitely diva-like form, is refusing all invitations to debate her Republican opponent in the race, Scott Brown, unless a third-party candidate with no apparent credentials is included on the stage. She may also require a crystal bowl of orange-only M&Ms in her dressing room, but we haven’t gotten that far yet. Her demands have led to an astonishing result: there will be just one — that’s one — live televised debate in the Boston media market this general election season.
Think about that for a moment. We tend to elect our members of Congress for life in this state, especially when they’re Democrats, which they usually are. This particular race, a special election, has unfolded at breakneck speed. We have two barely known candidates — Coakley has run statewide just once, Brown is a state senator from exurbia — trying to fill a huge void at a time of war and economic upheaval.
And Coakley’s overriding strategy is to quietly back into the job, to have you, the voter, know less about the major candidates rather than more.
[....]
Here’s one problem with all this: When you’re a United States senator, you’re expected to get up on the Senate floor and forcefully debate the issues of the day. You’re expected to be a strong voice in hearings. You need to be a major factor in conference committees. Sometimes, you’re left to push politically unpopular issues against formidable opponents.
Coakley is showing precisely none of this. She wants to debate on her terms and her terms only.
For that matter, let’s take a look at Coakley’s campaign schedule for today. Well, actually, we can’t. There isn’t one. She isn’t doing anything in public — no meetings with voters, no debates, no public appearances. For all we know, she’s spending much of her time at home with the shades drawn waiting for Jan. 19, Election Day, to come and go. ….
This just goes to show how utterly arrogant Northeast Democrats can be, although Coakley’s taken it to a whole new level. Who knows, maybe she changed her mind and doesn’t really want the job. Either way, her behaviour shows that she must believe the voters are nothing better than stooges or zombies, reflexively voting the party line. The sad thing is, in too many cases that’s true. But it isn’t too late to change. Massachusetts voters have a chance to vote for a true “reform” candidate in Scott Brown. And he’s actually bothered to go out and meet the voters. Even if you don’t live in Massachusetts, you can help make a difference by donating to his campaign so he can reach even more voters.
I wonder how many miles Coakley’s logged on her vehicle.
Via memeorandum
