My Take on What Scott Brown’s Win REALLY Means

As everyone is aware, Massachusetts held their special election on Tuesday and shocked the system by electing a Republican to fill the seat vacated by the late Ted Kennedy. From the moment he was declared the winner in the race against Martha Coakley, all of the news outlets, political pundits, politicians, and spin masters, including the White House, have worked to tell America what this monumental upset means. Is it the beginning of the end for the Democratic party? Is it nothing more than a rebuke of a candidate that thought she was entitled to the seat and, therefore, didn’t bother to work hard at winning an election? Is it a statement made by Massachusetts voters that America is not happy with the direction of the Obama administration and the progressive movement that is afoot in Washington DC? Is it a statement that Americans do not want the health care legislation in its present form? Is it a statement that the back room deals, sweetheart bribes, and partisan games in Washington have finally proven too much for the average American to tolerate?

The answer to any one of those questions may be yes or no depending on the individual voter or the party pundit that you ask. I do believe that the answer is yes to all of those questions. The one excuse that I hear from several leading Democratic leaders that I say is absolutely wrong is the laughable claim that the Massachusetts voters elected a Republican because they are frustrated that Obama and Congress haven’t moved fast enough in implementing the progressive liberal agenda. However, I do not believe that any of the above reasons are the actual root of what happened in Massachusetts. Because Massachusetts is not the first time that we have seen this phenomenon occur. We have seen it time and time again over the last couple of years. On BOTH sides of the aisle. And I think recognizing the pattern is the key to realizing what is really happening in America.

The fact is that Americans are fed up with the typical professional politician. I know it sounds odd. Scott Brown was, after all, a Massachusetts State Senator for several years. But the difference was that Scott Brown did not present himself in the same way that so many politicians do these days. He appeared to be a normal guy. He appeared to be one of us instead of one of them. Coakley was a long time member of the Massachusetts Democratic machine. The key point was member of the machine, not whether that machine had a “D” or an “R” next to it. He drove a truck with over 200k miles on it. He spoke in plain language. He let the elite know that it wasn’t “Ted Kennedy’s seat”, but was the seat of the people of Massachusetts. He told jokes that were funny. He related to people on an individual level. In short, he just didn’t seem to be like the rest of the assholes in Washington DC.

Think back to the candidates over the last year and a half that suddenly came to the national stage and were embraced by the people. Sarah Palin (and I know Ray’s head is exploding just reading her name) came from obscure mayor of Wasila to Governor of the most remote state in America to Vice Presidential candidate and potential future Presidential candidate. She did so not because she was openly religious or because she was a pretty woman. She did so because people looked at her and listened to her and saw a little bit of themselves in her. She wasn’t like what we were used to in Washington. She was charismatic, sure, but she was down to earth. A “hockey mom” who hunts and has a knocked up teenage daughter and who doesn’t necessarily have all the right answers for the asshole media types who attempted to paint her as “stupid”. She was more like us than she was like them. And that resonated with voters.

Barack Obama is another example. We are aware he comes from within the most corrupt political city in the United States, the “Chicago Machine”. But he didn’t seem like he was one of the regular Washington crowd. And to keep that image alive, his entire message was tailored to get folks to believe that he wasn’t one of them. He told us that the days of Washington DC politics as usual were over. He told us that he was going to bring change to Washington DC. And that was what people wanted. People were upset with Bush and his administration. But they were even more disenchanted with the entire national political scene. So they were all too eager to embrace the idea that the change Barack Obama was talking about was a change to that national political scene. He talked about bipartisanship and transparency, two things that have been absent in DC for a long time. That sure sounded different, too. In the end, I think it was all a lie. But it was what people wanted to believe was going to happen. After a year, his poll numbers are dropping dramatically. And that is because people are realizing that the change he promised wasn’t a change in Washington as they had hoped at all.

I believe that this is the thing that should be learned from the Massachusetts race. Washington DC must understand that their days are numbered. Not the Democrats or the Republicans. All of Washington DC. Because the lesson to be learned in Massachusetts is that Americans no longer believe in the career politicians and partisan bullshit that has defined Washington DC for so long. Americans know, deep in their heart that the federal government is broken. And it is broken in ways that can be laid at the feet of the two big parties in power. We are tired of it. We have had enough of the political wrangling. We can see through the rhetoric. We can see through the lies. And we want something better. At the very least we know that something different cannot be worse than what we have.

America is changing. The last ten years have left us broken and tired. We no longer trust Washington. And we certainly no longer trust politicians. So anyone that doesn’t seem to be a politician has a shot with us. As a result we have seen the rise of the Palins, Obamas, and Browns of the country. Even when we “like” the career politicians we see in Washington, we don’t trust them. They don’t inspire us. They don’t lead us. They don’t even attempt to hide the good ol’ boy network any longer. They have secret meetings that we all know are happening. They make deals that are outright illegal and immoral. They have a pork barrel system that buys votes no matter the subject or party. They claim to want to protect us from the same big business jerks who they are taking all their campaign contributions from.

In short, Washington DC has become everything that we despise in America. It has become exactly what we would never tolerate if done by big business. In fact, the same people who scream about the evil of big business seem to ignore the exact same behavior from our elected officials.

That is what the tea party movement was. A first shot across Washington’s bow to let them know that we no longer approve of their behavior. A warning shot that we are fed up with the political games and tactics. The tea party movement may die if it gets accepted by a major party. But the sentiment is not going to die. And here’s why:

People just like me. Things such as internet blogging have replaced traditional avenues for media. They have replaced traditional communication methods. They have connected the people of America in a new way. We are no longer bound by geographical boundaries. There are people reading and discussing on this site from every state in America and from several different countries on top of that. And this is but one blog among millions.

Washington can no longer control the message. Washington can no longer hide their dirty secrets. If a Senator passes gas in a packed elevator, we will know it. So the methods and tactics in Washington are now being broadcast to the entire world. You can live in a town of 200 in Idaho and know what is going on. And the more that the “regular” Americans learn of what is happening in Washington DC, the less they like. So they are beginning to mobilize, talk to one another, and demand better. It isn’t all organized yet, and it may never get there. But the sentiment is alive and well in America. Because we don’t need to be organized to know that what is happening in Washington DC is wrong. We know it inherently, because the average American isn’t like those buttheads in DC.

Change is coming to America. But it isn’t the change that Barack Obama promised. I remember Obama making the statement that, “We need to be the change that we want to see in others.” He was absolutely right. Only when you take a look at America, the majority are being the change they want to see in Washington. And they are not seeing a Washington crowd that has any interest in being that change along with them. So they will remove them and elect those who do seem to be more of that change.

Now the question is how do we get our message out there to persuade people that the change we need to see is a change to demanding liberty and freedom? How do we get America to demand that we hold to values and principles even when it is the harder path to take?