‘If Massachusetts puts Brown in, it’s a message of ‘that’s enough.’ Let’s stop the giveaways and let’s get jobs going.”
Marlene Connolly is a 73-year-old Massachusetts Democrat who cast her first vote for a Republican in supporting Scott Brown. Her quote and story comes to us via the ‘New York Times’, but she stands out for this reason: She shows us that those who actually cast ballots in the Bay State did so because they are frustrated with the administration’s unrestrained federal spending and failed economic recovery policies.
And here’s what Washington needs to keep in mind as it debates the meaning of Massachusetts. Ramming health care through now won’t insulate Democrats from voter ire in November. It will feed a fire over spending that is already blistering them.
But don’t take my word for it. Consider that the administration is now busy scrambling to find a way to dodge responsibility for its own reckless fiscal record. That much was on display recently when David Axelrod, a political strategist for the president, penned an opinion piece in the Washington Post that took aim directly at me.
Mr. Axelrod wrote that no one is entitled to his own facts, even as he argued that George W. Bush is responsible for Barack Obama’s deficits. He argued that Mr. Bush forced the hand of this administration by leaving office in the midst of a sharp recession.
That argument won’t fly for two reasons. First, at some point this administration has to take responsibility for itself. It’s also not even close to accurate. Consider that from Jan. 20, 2001, to Jan. 20, 2009, the debt held by the public grew $3 trillion under Mr. Bush