I can't believe it's finally here. Election Day in Massachusetts. And not only is it here, but it begins with an aura of immense importance that nobody could have predicted just a few weeks ago. The fate of national legislation unquestionably hangs on the results of today's vote. At no point in my adult life has an election in Massachusetts risen to this level of national prominence and come down to the absolute final hour with such unpredictable results.
The general consensus appears to be the exact opposite of what it was a week ago. Everything I'm reading points to a Scott Brown victory. But never for a second forget that this is a Democratic state. There is still potential for the Democratic base to turn out en masse and cast their votes for Coakley.
(As an aside - I'm not sure how, but I somehow got left off the Coakley AND Brown phone lists. So while all my friends have been complaining about endless calls from both candidates, the only calls I received were from Barack Obama, Organizing for America, and Bill Clinton. I thought Bill and I had a nice chat, even if he wouldn't answer my questions.)
Let's get to the morning round up:
--The Herald's Hillary Chabot and Jessica Van Sack and the Globe's Stephanie Ebbert, Donovan Slack and Jeannie Nuss offer final reports from the campaign trail.
--Brian Mooney reports on the GOTV efforts of both the Coakley and Brown campaigns in the Globe. Chabot and Van Sack do the same in the Herald.
--In this Herald story from Chabot and Ed Mason, Scott Brown says he will work the phones until the polls close, which apparently is part of his election day tradition.
--Kevin Cullen opines that, "If Martha Coakley loses today, it won’t be because she didn’t put up enough signs on Blue Hill Ave. It’ll be because she failed to convince enough of the people who put up the Obama signs on Blue Hill Ave. and a lot of other avenues across Massachusetts that Obama’s ability to get anything done depends on her winning the election."
--Conservative groups continue to spread the ridiculous rumor that somehow the election will be rigged and dead people will vote. One guy in this story says that's the only way Brown can lose. It's not actually.
--Joan Vennochi writes that Scott Brown, "should also be accountable for the unpleasant rhetoric that some of his supporters are embracing in the last hours of this hard-fought campaign." In this report by Dave Wedge, Coakley says, “I am surprised by some of the supporters of my opponent. It’s pretty unnecessary."
Now, I have no idea whether or not this was a Brown supporter, but at South Station around 7 a.m. this morning I personally watched as a man walked up behind a Coakley volunteer passing out leaflets, grabbed the leaflets out of his hand, and threw them to the wet ground. Classy.
--The Fix has a great breakdown of the uncertainties in today's voting.
--Politico reports on the blame game in Washington, and five things to watch in today's election.
That's all I have time for at the moment, but if you think I missed a good link add it to the comments (just the link - please don't past an entire story).
The general consensus appears to be the exact opposite of what it was a week ago. Everything I'm reading points to a Scott Brown victory. But never for a second forget that this is a Democratic state. There is still potential for the Democratic base to turn out en masse and cast their votes for Coakley.
(As an aside - I'm not sure how, but I somehow got left off the Coakley AND Brown phone lists. So while all my friends have been complaining about endless calls from both candidates, the only calls I received were from Barack Obama, Organizing for America, and Bill Clinton. I thought Bill and I had a nice chat, even if he wouldn't answer my questions.)
Let's get to the morning round up:
--The Herald's Hillary Chabot and Jessica Van Sack and the Globe's Stephanie Ebbert, Donovan Slack and Jeannie Nuss offer final reports from the campaign trail.
--Brian Mooney reports on the GOTV efforts of both the Coakley and Brown campaigns in the Globe. Chabot and Van Sack do the same in the Herald.
--In this Herald story from Chabot and Ed Mason, Scott Brown says he will work the phones until the polls close, which apparently is part of his election day tradition.
--Kevin Cullen opines that, "If Martha Coakley loses today, it won’t be because she didn’t put up enough signs on Blue Hill Ave. It’ll be because she failed to convince enough of the people who put up the Obama signs on Blue Hill Ave. and a lot of other avenues across Massachusetts that Obama’s ability to get anything done depends on her winning the election."
--Conservative groups continue to spread the ridiculous rumor that somehow the election will be rigged and dead people will vote. One guy in this story says that's the only way Brown can lose. It's not actually.
--Joan Vennochi writes that Scott Brown, "should also be accountable for the unpleasant rhetoric that some of his supporters are embracing in the last hours of this hard-fought campaign." In this report by Dave Wedge, Coakley says, “I am surprised by some of the supporters of my opponent. It’s pretty unnecessary."
Now, I have no idea whether or not this was a Brown supporter, but at South Station around 7 a.m. this morning I personally watched as a man walked up behind a Coakley volunteer passing out leaflets, grabbed the leaflets out of his hand, and threw them to the wet ground. Classy.
--The Fix has a great breakdown of the uncertainties in today's voting.
--Politico reports on the blame game in Washington, and five things to watch in today's election.
That's all I have time for at the moment, but if you think I missed a good link add it to the comments (just the link - please don't past an entire story).
