Scott Brown’s “Miracle”: A Promise, a Commercial, and the Campaign that Led Him to Victory
On January 19, a cold night in the Northeast, Scott Brown stood in front of thousands as the newly elected Senator in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As if going from being relatively unknown to Senator-elect in just a couple months wasn’t shocking enough, another fact about Scott Brown made his win over Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley an even more impressive upset. Scott Brown is a Republican—in Massachusetts.
Chants of “Seat Him Now” filled the air on the historic night. A Republican hadn’t been elected to the United States Senate in Massachusetts since 1967 (not since ’47 in the seat once held by John Quincy Adams, JFK, and Ted Kennedy), and now Brown was headed to Washington to be a momentum changer in the most important legislation battle of the past decade—Healthcare. But how did Brown get to this moment? How did an unknown state legislator from the wrong party become arguably the most important man in American politics? With one promise to the people of Massachusetts (and to all Americans) and a campaign that could only be described as perfect.
When Brown announced he would run for Ted Kennedy’s vacant seat in Massachusetts’s special election, he had no money, no supporters, and no chance to win. Even his win in the primary, in which he earned 89% of the vote, did not do much to provide hope for a Republican victory. But Brown pushed ahead, working tirelessly, driving thousands of miles in a pickup truck, dressed in blue-collar work clothes, campaigning as the people’s candidate.
Brown had another thing going for him. He was the first candidate who could campaign against the fiscally irresponsible agenda of the Obama administration in a national election. Already in key gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey Republicans had been able to run and win, not only on Conservative values, but as the anti-Obamas. Now, Brown was following suit, and it began to work. Quickly, his campaign became as anti-Washington as Barack Obama’s presidential campaign was in 2008.
But even more important than his disagreement with the Obama administration on the massive over-spending in Washington (including the stimulus package, which Brown claims “didn’t create one new job”) was a promise Brown made to the citizens of the Commonwealth. Repeatedly throughout the campaign Brown declared he would be “the 41st vote” to filibuster Obamacare. And with that the citizens of Massachusetts practically became the deciding vote on Healthcare.
Brown also knew, however, that to win an election, especially in Massachusetts, he could not run as a typical, party-line Republican. So Brown and his campaign team, having witnessed the massacre of GOP candidates across the nation in the elections of 2006 and 2008, made a decision that proved to be what separated this campaign from any other. Brown never identified himself as a Republican. Yes, he was on the ticket as a Republican and had been one his entire life, but he sold himself to the public as what he is—an independent thinker who would be a Massachusetts senator, not a Republican senator. Later, reflecting on this campaign, Brown would state, “In every corner of our state, I met with people, looked them in the eye, shook their hand, and asked them for their vote. I didn’t worry about their party affiliation, and they didn’t worry about mine. It was simply shared conviction that brought us all together.”
Attorney General Martha Coakley referred back to Leftist Campaigning 101 as Brown gained ground and began throwing punches right and left with ads attacking Brown’s record and character. One ad even went so far as to claim that Brown would prefer that rape victims be denied care. Brown’s people, to their credit, stayed the course and kept vowing to run a different campaign because this was a different candidate. Plus, they had one more key thing that they needed voters to know. The people of Massachusetts held in their hands the future welfare of the American Healthcare system. And with that, the Brown campaign had one more trick up its sleeve.
In the few weeks leading up to the special election an ad ran in the Commonwealth that was titled the “Massachusetts Miracle.”
The “Massachusetts Miracle” commercial began with the words “It all began in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775,” referring to the “Shot Heard ’Round the World.” Sounds of shots fired and images from the American Revolution began to play. More words appeared, describing how brave men stood up to and fought a tyrannical government. “The pundits claimed it could not be done, but against all odds, the American people prevailed,” rolled across the screen. Then the ad claimed that “today our liberty is threatened by another tyrannical government,” as Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid stand in the background. Then, the campaign dropped the message the voters needed to know. “On January 19, 2010, Massachusetts will again become a battleline in the fight for freedom.”
The ad continued on, stating that the pundits claim “a Republican can’t win in Massachusetts,” comparing this battle to the American Revolution. They claim that the voters in Massachusetts, the American people, have been “underestimated.” Then, the ad ended with one sentence that would eventually ignite a fire in Brown supporters and would become very beneficial as the race came down the stretch. “On January 19, expect a miracle.”
As if the strategy of Brown’s campaign wasn’t already brilliant, they aired perhaps the most influential ad in the history of American politics. Whether it was true or not, citizens of the Commonwealth were told that they had an opportunity to vote for liberty, stand up to a powerful government, change the course of American history, and be as vital to the future of the nation as the colonists were in the 1770s. And, playing purely to the realm of human emotions, they were told they could perform a miracle.
In the days leading up to the election Brown’s campaign took in nearly $5 million, including $1.3 million in a 24-hour money bomb. The old guard in Massachusetts was becoming fearful, polls showed Brown with a 3-5 point lead, and Coakley was in panic mode, as were the Obama administration and Senate Democrats. In a last-second, desperation heave Obama flew to Massachusetts to stump for Coakley, begging for votes. “Understand what’s at stake here, Massachusetts,” exclaimed Obama. “It’s whether we’re going forwards or backwards.” But in the end it was too late. When the results came in Brown took 52% of the vote and with it the Senate seat that had belonged to the Kennedy family since 1953.
Brown had captured a victory in a state where Obama carried 62% of the vote just 14 months before. He had become the 41st and most important vote in the Healthcare debate, America’s voice. His words at his victory party captured the essence of the moment. “This seat belongs to no one person, no one political party…this is the people’s seat.” Continuing his vow to be a different kind of senator he exclaimed, “I will do my best for America and for Massachusetts every time the roll is called,” and “I’m nobody’s senator except yours!”
Brown also reflected on the flawless campaign, saying, “We ran a campaign that can never be forgotten.”
Later in the night the ramifications of Brown’s win could already be seen. Sen. Jim Webb (VA-D) released a statement that shocked the leaders of the Democrat party. “In many ways the campaign in Massachusetts became a referendum not only on health care reform but also on the openness and integrity of our government process. It is vital that we restore the respect of the American people in our system of government and in our leaders. To that end, I believe it would only be fair and prudent that we suspend further votes on health care legislation until Senator-elect Brown is seated.”
Obama tried frantically to calm the storm that Democrats in Washington had driven into. In a town hall in Ohio just days after the Massachusetts election the President adamantly insisted that he will push forward on the Healthcare front after saying, “I have to admit, we hit a little bit of a buzz saw this week.”
So what does Scott Brown’s miraculous victory mean for Healthcare and the Senate and what does it say about the upcoming 2010 midterm elections?
The Healthcare debate has been at a standstill since the day Scott Brown took his oath, and if Senate Democrats bring another bill to the floor, they will undoubtedly face a GOP filibuster, thanks to Senator Brown. Recently, President Obama has said that he will attempt to add a Healthcare proposal he is writing to a budget bill, meaning Senate Republicans would not be able to filibuster the legislation. Democrats would only need 51 votes to pass the Healthcare reform at that point.
Brown’s victory could mean even more for the midterm elections. With announcements from Senators Evan Bayh (IN-D) and Chris Dodd (CT-D) that they will retire, the number of Senate seats Republicans expected to take rose. In a year where GOP candidates were already expected to gain 8 seats in the Senate, retirements, health concerns, and unhappy constituents have led Conservatives to believe that they could possibly gain 10-12 seats. A ten-seat swing would shift power to the Right for the first time since the 2006 midterms. With key Democrats such as Harry Reid (NV) falling in the polls, the election of Scott Brown has encouraged Republicans to believe that they can have an election similar to the midterms of 1994. The GOP also believes they can gain 15-20 seats in the House of Representatives.
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