One of the bluest states in the country spat on Ted Kennedy’s grave Tuesday when Massachusetts elected Republican Scott Brown, and the Editorial Board can’t help but feel that Massachusetts voters delivered a sucker punch to the U.S. as a whole.
Granted, Coakley ran a lackluster campaign, and Democrats should have pulled for her harder if for no other reason than to block Brown.
But now isn’t the time to look backward and point fingers —at Coakley, at Obama, at anyone. It’s time to look forward and figure out how health reform can survive despite the GOP’s best efforts to pull the plug.
With reform inching — albeit slowly — closer to realization, progressive Democrats need all the help they can get to overcome vehement Republican opposition, and with some Democrats making the process more difficult by refusing to back their peers, 41 Republican seats will make the struggle even more intense.
But as they fight the battle for health care reform, Democrats need to stick to their ideals and refuse to admit defeat. If they try but lose, they will have earned our continued respect.
But if they let this slap in the face rupture their will to rebuild a broken system and help millions of Americans, they will alienate even the most devout liberals.
As Kennedy said, “If the Democrats run for cover, if we become pale carbon copies of the opposition, we will lose — and we deserve to lose. The last thing this country needs is two Republican Parties.”
