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What a difference a week makes

The Left is in disarray following a week in which Republicans pulled political stunners in two of the three elected branches of the federal government.

First came the special election of Scott Brown to the Senate seat held by Ted Kennedy since 1962, the year he won a special election to fill the seat vacated by his brother when he assumed the presidency. Politicos across the nation were stunned as an insurgent Republican state Senator soundly defeated Attorney General Martha Coakley in a state that only a year ago elected Barack Obama by a margin of 26 percentage points. The fate of the president’s health care bill seems more precarious than even before.

Then came the one-two punch from the Supreme Court in Citizens United. In a politically charged 5-4 decision, it invalidated a generation of campaign finance law by striking down important democratic restraints on the ability of large corporate entities to finance media campaigns attacking candidates for office everywhere in America.

It couldn’t have come at a better time for corporate America’s most slavish devotees in Congress—both virtually every member of the Republican caucus, and more than a few Democrats who are also significantly bought and paid for. With midterm elections coming up and the nation seething with discontent over the dysfunctional character of a “democracy” that can’t pass important legislation by a majority vote, it is the perfect opportunity for corporate interests to exercise their ruling class values behind addressing crucial legislative imperatives just as pressing as health care reform, like new financial regulations, and a smart energy and climate change bill.

None of these developments bode well for Arlen Specter. The Senator has made no mistake of his intentions to tie his candidacy to the success of the Obama agenda and the votes of its supporters. With the president foundering in the polls and Democrats disenchanted with the failure of their representatives in Washington to make real the change they for, there is a scary chance that depressed Democratic turnout could lead to significant Republican gains in November. Pat Toomey is currently reaping the benefits of this state of affairs, enjoying widening leads over Specter in recent polls.  While it appears Specter is holding strong against primary opponent Joe Sestak, all will be for naught if he can’t win a general election.

If Pennsylvania Democrats begin to fear that Specter can’t deliver, they may begin to gravitate toward the outsider, if only because the national mood seems so dead set against incumbents in this precarious time.

Of course, its true that November is a political era away from now, and much can change by then. Tens months ago, no one thought that a Republican had even a glimmer of a chance of occupying the seat held by liberal lion Ted Kennedy. Things change quickly in a volatile political environment, and Democrats can be somewhat comforted by that fact.

For Democratic chances to improve, they need to actually fulfill President Obama’s inauguration day promise to “pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.” To do this, Democrats must become deadly serious about passing legislation that creates jobs, protects consumers, regulates Wall Street’s excesses, and yes, brings meaningful health care reform. Failure to accomplish these tasks in the coming six months will spell certain electoral doom, not only for Arlen Specter, but for Democrats across the country.

January 27, 2010 at 9:57 am

--Adam Schwartzbaum

Tags: Arlen Specter, Barack Obama, Joe Sestak, Pat Toomey, Scott Brown

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