Ever heard of Mitt Romney?
Just a wee bit of historical perspective on the election results from the “overwhelmingly Democratic state of Massachusetts” – some gubernatorial election results:
2002: Mitt Romney (R), 50%; Shannon O’Brien (D), 45%
1998: Paul Celluci (R), 51%; Scott Harshbarger (D), 47%
1994: Bill Weld (R), 71%; Mark Roosevelt (D), 28%
1990: Bill Weld (R), 50%; John Silber (R in D clothing), 47%
Democratic Governor Deval Patrick’s approval rating is currently around 42%, and this was the first open Senate seat in the state since John Kerry was elected in 1984.
So although it’s true that there are very few Republicans right now on Beacon Hill or Capitol Hill, let’s not pretend that this is equivalent to Barney Frank being elected senator from Utah. People who were expecting a Coakley cakewalk a month ago – myself included – were just not paying attention to some basic political facts.
