Why is this woman handing out absentee ballots in MA?
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2fNwttq23s]
A brilliant move by the NRSC and GOP in MA.
Working quietly and under the radar, the National Republican Senatorial Committee shifted $500,000 to the Massachusetts GOP in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s dramatic election, according to Republican sources.
The NRSC transfer, made in several dispersals beginning Jan. 7, was used for phone and mail get-out-the-vote operations targeted at independent voters, said Rob Jesmer, the NRSC’s executive director.
NRSC officials kept quiet about the money transfers, despite public taunts from their Senate Democratic counterparts that the GOP leadership was declining to put money behind Brown’s candidacy.
“Working with the Massachusetts state party, we feel our investment and coordination with them will give us a leg up” come Tuesday, Jesmer told POLITICO.
This was a brilliant move by both the NRSC and the RNC. They didn’t fall into a Democratic trap by trumpeting their involvement with Brown, who wanted to show as much independence as possible. Coakley and Obama spent Sunday making Brown look like a tool of the Tea Party movement and the GOP national machine, but it was Coakley getting bailed out by Democratic heavyweights from outside Massachusetts.
On the other hand, this shows the limitation of national Republican help, especially in deep-blue constituencies. Voters don’t want a top-down presence from committees like the RNC and the NRSC; they want to choose their own candidates locally through an active primary process and have support for their choices.
Isn’t that how it should be? Is the GOP learning its lesson? I’m not sure. The GOP knew that a public move to the contrary might diminish Brown’s independent support but they took the lead from the activists and worked bottom-up. Is this the first sign of a GOP comeback? It’s too early to tell (and I’m still not over the fact that they gave twice, T-W-I-C-E that to Scozzafava) but if they emulate how they handled Brown with other candidates, it may well be a sign.
Martha Coakley fails to attract women voters. Perhaps Coakley should have cried, a la Hillary? There’s still time:
What’s even more shocking is how little enthusiasm Coakley’s campaign seems to have generated among the women of Massachusetts. According to several recent polls, female voters, who tend to be more liberal, are barely more likely than male voters to favor Coakley over Brown; one poll shows Coakley behind by four points among women …
I love the thinking that comes from some on the left: if she’s a liberal and has a vagina you HAVE to vote for her otherwise you’re betraying your sex or something. “Feminist” groups flocked to Coakley because she’s a woman, not because she’s the best person for the job, which is complete irony to their very purpose, if that purpose was to truly level the playing field.
More:
Dem GOTV picking up Brown supporters
High Voter Turnout For Brown-Coakley Senate Race
Obama advisor: President would have done more to save Teddy’s seat if asked earlier
Phony Calls Tell Massachusetts Residents Pro-Life Group Opposes Scott Brown
Rep. Anthony Weiner: Health care may be ‘dead’ if Scott Brown wins
