BOSTON -- In an epic upset in liberal Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown rode a wave of voter anger to defeat Democrat Martha Coakley in a U.S. Senate election Tuesday that left President Barack Obama's health care overhaul in doubt and marred the end of his first year in office.
The loss by the once-favored Coakley for the seat that the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy held for nearly half a century signaled big political problems for the president's party this fall when House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates are on the ballot nationwide.
More immediately, Brown will become the 41st Republican in the 100-member Senate, which could allow the GOP to block the president's health care legislation and the rest of Obama's agenda. Democrats needed Coakley to win for a 60th vote to thwart Republican filibusters.
(emphasis added by The Real Polichick)
This is huge.
"Well, with all due respect, it's not the Kennedys' seat, and it's not the Democrats' seat. It's the people's seat."
I don't even live in Massachusetts, but I still felt that charge of election energy today, because no matter how the day ended, the results would affect the rest of the nation. Now that a Republican is in "Kennedy's seat," the Democrats' health care bill hits a major roadblock, as emphasized in the last graf above.
Welcome to the GOP, Mass! And congrats to Brown, the people's choice!
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