Scott Brown defeated Martha Coakley in the race for Ted Kennedy’s vacant Massachusetts Senate seat. This changes the balance of power in the Senate and erodes the 60-vote majority the Democrats have enjoyed until now. This is nothing short of a referendum, not just on President Obama’s performance, but on the the 4-year Democratic majority and their agenda. The brakes are on for the health care bill, cap-and-trade, and many other pet causes.
Almost tellingly, stock markets took a jump this morning, with health care stocks rallying. One wonders if today’s election had something to do with that.
The closing gap also means that we’ll likely see the conservative Democrats acting a little more conservatively as they feel safe splitting away from the hard-left leadership in Congress.
It also bides well for the 2010 midterms. Remember that the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress was preceded by victories in the New Jersey and Virginia governors’ races. Continued...