Rachel Maddow Explains Why the MA Senate Race is Not about Obama

Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:04 pm

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Tonight on her program the Rachel Maddow Show, Rachel Maddow and guest Joan Vennochi delivered some clear analysis of the factors that are contributing to the close nature of the Massachusetts US Senate race. They pointed out that the race is more complicated than Obama and healthcare.

Here is the video:

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Maddow said, “I feel like the more national the source the more likely it is that they describe this race as all about healthcare. It seems to be a more complex picture in terms of the Massachusetts media and the way it’s being talked about in state.”

Vennochi agreed, “Yes, I think it is more complicated than that. Yes, the polls show that people here in Massachusetts are not happy with the national healthcare legislation that Washington is grappling with, but President Obama is still really popular in Massachusetts. We’ve had a year of. Our governor isn’t very popular right now for one thing. Deval Patrick’s favorability rating is about 39%, and we’ve had a year of shall we say, little bit of corruption on Beacon Hill from ex Speaker of the House and various state senators, and people have kind of focused on that, and I think they’re channeling a lot of anger over what’s gone on here locally and Scott Brown has really successfully harnessed some of that anger.”

Opponents of Barack Obama want to frame the US Senate race as a referendum on his presidency, but it is a great deal more complicated than that. Obama and much of his agenda remain popular in the state, which discounts the theory that voters in Massachusetts are angry at Obama.

There are a multitude of factors that have come together to make this election as close as it is, and virtually all of them have nothing to do with Obama. As much as the GOP does not want to hear this, a Coakley defeat, speaks volumes more about the shortcomings of candidate Martha Coakley than it does about the future of Barack Obama.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association