Elizabeth Ann Warren, a fierce consumer advocate who galvanized liberals across the nation, won a decisive victory over Senator Scott Brown Tuesday, avenging the Democratic Party’s bitter loss at the hands of Brown in 2010, an upset that jolted the national political landscape.
Buoyed by a strong showing in urban strongholds and liberal suburbs, Warren made history: She will become the first woman to represent Massachusetts in the US Senate.
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A sad day for the country. She will not cross party lines and just add to the problems in Washington. Sure Kennedy was a liberal but he got things done by working with conservatives and moderates. Not going to happen with her.
Back in Kennedy's day there were conservatives and moderates to work with...now the Republican Party has become a haven for religious zealots, rightwing radicals and Tea Party clowns. Moderates like Lugar get run out of town on a rail. The GOP needs to take a good look at itself if it's wondering why it lost this time around.
Who knows? Maybe both she and the Republicans who filibustered her consumer bureau appointment into oblivion can learn to talk to each other, after all. I don't think the onus is entirely on her.
Sing it with me now, "Oh happy day...." I could not be more proud of this state and this country. The plutocrats, and the oligarchs did not win.
After reading the report, perhaps the sub-title should read "The establishment candidate wins".
No.... 'establishment' is the wrong word as it conveys a certain legitimacy - even if hoity-toity Harvardian - in a political world... In the case of Massachusetts, 'machine' is far more appropriate as it harkens to the days of Tamany Hall and newspapers that fought corrupt pols (uh huh, the Glob fights priests and city housing authority chiefs)... Here we have a Chicago hack named Patrick trying to persuade that he runs a Tom Pendergast Kansas City or a Richard J. Daley Windy City model machine that shooed the Harvard Law Squaw wannabe to the U.S. Senate . . . Oh yeah, the Massachusetts native, chief machine pol, seems to be a chubby guy with a love of casinos and a claim to improving state ethics (except in the case of one of his home town law enforcement chiefs is concerned and a semi-relative that wanted a probation job ) . . .
"hoity-toity Harvardian"? Well, now we know that a least part of your opposition is because you're jealous of her education and success in life. And if you had more than a smattering of historical knowledge you would know that there's nothing even slightly similar today to the old political machines that existed before mass communications.
Welcome Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)!!
"Republicans banked on Brown’s popularity, his moderate reputation, and the belief that Obama supporters could be persuaded to split their tickets to balance the state’s representation in Congress. Democrats believed a well-financed candidate in a presidential election could simply overwhelm Brown’s efforts."
This makes it sound as though *any* well-financed Dem candidate could just overwhelm Brown. ?? Causality, people: Warren became well-financed -- powered by small donors -- because she inspired her constituency. She also had a superior GOTV ground game yesterday that I saw first-hand. Brown on the other hand accepted more money from deep-pocket DC Republicans.
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within a year everyone will wonder who our senator is. She will still be teaching that $350,000 a year course at Harvard!! 4 more years of nothing
She can't be a Harvard professor and a Senator at the same time. She'll have to resign or take a leave of absence from Harvard, won't she?
Yes, she will.
After disingenuously waxing on and on about how the Republican party needed to put out moderate, credible candidates, your paper endorsed the most liberal candidate that could be found in Elizabeth Warren. Thanks for nothing. And for that you may cancel my 30 year subscription, effective immediately.
Have you already left Massachusetts, too?
He said that here, but I don't think he said it to the Globe. If he didn't subscribe, he couldn't come here to moan and groan.
Whee... the Globe's psychobabble democrat chief, Mr. Johnson, appears to be somewhere but on Granny Lizzy's ugly jacket coattail. . . The Globe staff must have persuaded the editors to dig under the mattress and fork over enough cash for a couple dozen botles of cheap bubbly that lit the city room bright enough even for Ol' Bucko Smith in his hayhday. . . :-)
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Comments such as yours helped to defeat Brown. Gain some emotional maturity and whatever personality you then evolve will be persuasive.
In the meantime, you provide us with an instrument to defeat Republicans.
This is an unfortunate, but unsurprising result. Any reasonably credible, well-financed Democrat will beat any Republiccan in Massachusetts (witness Tierney's shameful victory). It's simply the culture here. What's sad is that Brown is the kind of politician the country needs - someone who is willing to compromise and move the conversation to the middle. I suspect that Warren will be a straight party-line, no compromise follower in the Senate.
Well said.
She will lead the party-line without compromise. You almost had it right.
Why do you think she was elected? I voted for her. I want the Republican party line crushed. That's why I didn't vote for Brown and worked hard for his defeat.
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Massachusetts finally elects a woman to higher office. I really didn't think it would happen - that maybe our voters wouldn't like her smile or think she was 'unbecoming' in some way. It's about time!
you are not suppose to vote because of race, gender or religion, but qualifications. The last election show inexperience does not work, so he will have to blame himself for the last 4 years if he fails again. Time to stop blaming ATMs & Pres. Bush.
It might be better if everybody voted based on qualifications, experience, and other digitally friendly factors, but this is a democracy and every individual is free and entitled to make their voting decisions in any manner that they wish.
Besides, when it comes to laying blame, you don't use logic or facts because you depend on preconceptions that are merely reactionary and require no thought.
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Like you said the money for her election came mostly from outside this state....rubber stamp of the democrat party at least Scott Brown was a moderate and could work with both sides.
Brown's money did too. The average contribution dollars to her campaign were less than $100.00 per person.
Brown's over $600.00 with massive cash from some of the most unpleasant corporate interests.
Brown's funding was identical to the tea party and, with the exception of a couple of show boat votes that were meaninglesss in effect that he loved to trot out he was not a moderate by anyone who took the trouble to look at senate.gov for the truth.
Brown spent too much time trying to claim Warren's work for Traverlers Insurace was not in defence of asbestose victims. The votes saw through his lies and distortions.
I was heartened by mutual respect and courtesy of President Obama and Mitt Romney, and of Senator Brown and Elizabeth Warren on election night. Congratulations to Senator Brown for setting the stage for this with his early positive, upbeat, gracious and courteous acknowledgment of Elizabeth Warren's victory. And to Elizabeth Warren for pledging to carry on his excellent work of bipartisanship. Although I have been an admiring supporter of Elizabeth Warren, going back to her early work for the consumers to fend off confiscatory credit card practices, I look forward to supporting Scott Brown in the future. "Defeat is only temporary" - a great line for many occasions! I hope we'll all work together for the benefit of the Commonwealth and the country.
I agree with you about last night, but I strongly believe Brown's excessively mean TV and mail ads hurt him fatally. It's one thing to run negative ads when you stick to the facts, but those ads were filled with half-truths, innuendo and ridicule. They belied his continuing attempt to portray himself as a nice guy.
I think he'll probably run for governor in two years.
The filibuster is a double-edged sword. Truthfully, things voted on in the House deserve to get an up or down vote, but the same needs to be true for intiatives started by the Senate majority and then not acted on in the House, and whether any of us like it or not, the President can ONLY sign laws sent to him by Congress...he makes no laws in the way the some of you SAYS he makes laws!
Unfortunately like the rest of the GOP Scott Brown ignored women and gays. Maybe he has realized that you should represent ALL the people. Sorry Scott, I like you but had to vote Warren.
He also ignored reality and truth.
Bad Ignorance for a poliltician all around. He doesn't even leave with his dignity.
Most of the missing posting were highly complimentary of Elizabeth Warren and some also praised our country. My comment posted in the early hours this morning was one of them. It ended, "America, I love you!"
Someone who hates our country got them removed.
We are beyond blessed to have someone of Elizabeth Warren's caliber, character, vision, intelligence, and integrity representing Massachusetts in the Senate. It is painful to read some of the comments below, which we can only excuse by recognizing that they were written by people who lack the capacity to grasp this. Thank you, Senator Warren, for the tremendous sacrifices you have made on your path to office. We have no doubt that you will someday be remembered as one of the truly great Senators from Massachusetts.