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Scott Brown on Principles & ValuesRepublican Jr Senator |
One week before the election, an e-mail entitled "warning to Tea Party activists: don't even think about voting for Scott Brown!" was sent from Carla Howell and Michael Cloud, two prominent Libertarian members of the Tea Party movement.
In part, their e-mail read, "You have a radically better choice. A choice that will advance the Tea Party Cause. A choice that will give us REAL Tea Party candidates and allies in November."
This, of course, is the constant tension in politics--deciding whether or not to let the unelectable "perfect" be the enemy of the electable "good."
most activists realized what was at stake and accepted the current reality of our system. Many of the Tea Party citizens preferred the libertarian Joe Kennedy, but Scott Brown had the best chance to win, and the Tea Party people solidified their support behind Scott. The libertarians may generally be counted among the Tea Partiers.
The outcome was depicted as a right-wing revolt of an angry population against the excesses of the liberal elitists who run the government. But the data tell a rather different story, not just the flood of funding from the financial institutions in punishment for Obama's belated "populist" rhetoric and proposals. The official data showed that Brown was carried to victory by very high voting and enthusiasm in the "affluent suburbs," alongside low turnout and general apathy in the urban areas that are largely Democratic.
Doubtless there was some impact of the populist image crafted by the PR machine ("I'm Scott Brown, this is my truck," "regular guy," nude model, daughter an American Idol contestant, etc.) But this appears to have had only a secondary role.
The DSCC bought $500,000 in advertising time for the contest. Brown countered by announcing he had raised $1.3 million in the previous 24 hours through an Internet appeal. A sizable portion of that money will pay for TV ads that combat the Democrats' stepped-up attacks.
