Democrats in the liberal fiefdom Massachusetts are alarmed. In fact, they seem so alarmed it's hard to say whether they are concerned that they could lose the open seat bequeathed by Ted Kennedy, or they're just irritated the Republicans have made it an actual contest.
Are death threats and regularly broadcasted rage throwbacks to similar times in American history, or is it a new phenomenon that a quarter of the Republican party thinks our president is, without exaggeration, the Antichrist? I recently took a turn through Gallup's Presidential Approval Center to get some answers about how today's political and cultural climate truly differs from the past.
On Saturday night, dissident republicans attempted to detonate a 400 pound bomb outside the Policing Board's Headquarter's in Belfast, Northern Ireland. On the very same day police foiled an attempt to assassinate a Catholic man who had joined the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Five individuals have been questioned in connection with the plot.
Much has been made about the similar circumstances surrounding Obama and Clinton's White House entrance, including a failed Bush presidency, eight-plus years of Republican reign, and a country hungry for change. As it turns out, both also had similar challenges their first year in office--strong opposition to a stimulus plan (though Obama was able to pass his, while Clinton wasn't), foreign policy critiques (on Somalia for Clinton and Afghanistan for Obama), and a country disgruntled over a "politics as usual" approach.
Before the special election, I stated that Martha Coakley would emerge the victor by a mere few percentage points in Massachusetts, enough to leave the impression that no Democrat is "safe" in his or her seat for the midterms in November. Many of the Republicans I spoke with could not quite fathom the idea of Ted Kennedy's seat turning red. Some even rolled out half-baked conspiracy theories of the Service Employees International Union counting the votes or even--a la Minnesota--"discovering" ballots in the trunk of a car.
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