Political Upset in Massachusetts

Because of a snafu involving Brookline’s voter registration process, Dennis was turned away from the polls yesterday at 7 a.m. – deprived of his right to cast a vote for Martha Coakley in the U.S. Senate race. As it turns out, his vote would have made no difference.

Scott Brown, a relatively obscure state senator from Wrentham, got 52% of the vote. With just 47% of the vote, Martha will continue in her job as Attorney General.

I consider myself apolitical. The organization for which I work is strictly non-partisan, endorsing principles -- never people. Criticize me for my lack of civic engagement, but if I saw snippets of the debates in this most recent race, it was only because I happened to be sitting in our den while Dennis was watching TV.

When I got a request for a campaign contribution from a lawyer friend, I sent Martha $100. Unlike my sister, Phyllis, who lives in Boulder, Colorado, and sent Martha $100 earlier this month amid concerns about the Democratic 60 vote majority in the U.S. Senate being destroyed, I’ve rarely contributed to a political campaign.

If I’m the type of person who doesn’t stay up nights worrying about political outcomes, why did I support Martha’s campaign? I think she has done a good job as Attorney General. I knew all of the contenders for Ted Kennedy’s seat – except for Congressman Mike Capuano – would have a steep learning curve moving from local to national stage. But I thought she was smart enough to do it.

Lacking the personal warmth of Boston’s legendary mayor, Tom Menino, she came across as aloof and too cautious for her own good. Still she seemed like a shoe-in, until I got home from Paris on Friday evening, and Dennis told me her campaign was reportedly in trouble.

By Monday evening, I was getting Facebook queries about the predicted upset giving Massachusetts its first Republican Senator since 1979 -- from friends living in Alabama and Pennsylvania. My father, ever the political junkie, called from North Carolina, in hopes of engaging me in a discussion. I told him I was planning to get out and vote.

Whether I’m planning to head to the gym or blog, my ability to get seven hours of sleep requires a 9 p.m. bedtime. So I went to sleep last night hoping I might wake up to learn that when all the votes were counted, Martha had pulled off a victory. But the email I opened this morning from my friend, Jeanne, referencing my candidate’s concession speech, was sent at 9:35 p.m. last night.

Except for the snafu that prevented my husband from casting his vote yesterday, we are fortunate to live in a nation where free and open elections are taken for granted. We settle our differences at the polls and in the courts, not with bloodshed.

As the editorial in today’s Boston Globe puts it, Scott Brown is now our U.S. Senator, and we owe him support. Still, I can’t help thinking back to November 2000, when Al Gore lost to George W. Bush.

Dennis and I were in our room at the Hotel Arts in Barcelona, getting ready to go to breakfast. My husband, who usually yells at the television only during Red Sox or Patriot games, could be heard yelling: “You jerk, you could have won!”