When the dust settles, I hope Brown and the MA Republican party, reevaluate their decision to base his campaign on personality rather than issues.  Brown spent much of his campaign talking about Warren's heritage, even though he couldn't prove his assertions that she lied or benefited from it.  At the same time he tried to make himself seem important, talking about secret meetings with kings and queens, frequent phone calls from the Obama team, and a bill he wrote that became law - except that all of that was easily proven false - something he couldn't prove with any of his Warren attacks.

Warren talked about issues - not as much fun but things we care about.  Brown avoided issues, and said he voted against equal pay for women because "it would be bad for business"  then ran ads saying he supported it. 

Brown should have won reelection easily, but blew it.  I hope others take note of his failing strategy and learn from it.

Republicans will find it harder and harder to win elections using identity politics in an attempt to turn brother against brother. The idea that we all serve the oligarchy is not a winning strategy. Congratulations Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)!!

Senator Brown is what he is. No need to review his missing contact with the voters choosing to demean the real deal, Elizabeth Warren. He was a good lesson in demonstrating that unjustified smearing of your opponent and neglecting the issues is a losing proposition in this state. For those who bought former Sen Brown's view of America and are still nervous about now Sen Warren's focus, please give her a chance. This is a duty of the loyal opposition seeing the results of this election. We must allow this if one sees the considerable majority of Massachusetts want her agenda to succeed. If it does not work out, vote her out in six years. Somehow though I believe the margin of victory for her will only grow over the years. She has earned the people's seat.

Scot, you did omit one big advantage for Warren in this election, and certainly cannot be dismissed. She was hand-picked by the White House to run in this race. It was only a few short months ago that the field of grass-roots Democrats in the primary were pushed aside, and the professional political strategists were brought in to package and present a political neophyte to the voters. And I must admit, the consultants did a very good job of selling Ms Warren as a grass-roots candidate, and presenting a very positive image.

While I like Ms Warren, and think she is well qualified to serve us in the Senate, one also has to believe she will have to have a strong sense of loyalty to Obama's agenda and direction, and our state will lose that moderate, independent voice in the Senate. Given the current political climate, and her inexperience in politics, one hopes she remains true to the citizens of this state.

And a quick 'thank you' to the real grass-roots political activists in this state for your efforts. Scott Brown, thank you for your service - you represented this state well. I'll consider you again for the 'people's seat' if John Kerry becomes Secretary of State. To all the Democrats pushed aside in the primaries, please jump in again. Your voice is important. And to Sean Beilat, who was run over by the future US Senate candidate Joe Kennedy, it is to people just like you who make our neighborhoods and communities such a good place to live.  

Scot,

Spare us the outclassed part! You have a woman who professed to be an Indian, when it was to her advantage, lied on applications, received most of her fund raising from outside the state. Her and her brother bought houses in foreclosure, and flipped them for profits, all of course commented on and presented fairly by the Globe of course!!!

You had every single writer in the Globe, sans one, hammer away at him, while giving Fauxchohontas a free pass. Does anyone believe Warren is going to be bipartisan? She will make Pelosi and Reid look like moderates! She shares the same traits as the Globe writers, most of them. People who think every word belongs on tablets, they are smarter on every subject, and have contempt for anyone who points out the facts and dares question them! Scott Brown is not one of the elite! He doesn't deserve to be a leader!

Your candidate won, good for you! How about showing some class, and tell everyone that it wasn't going to matter what Scott Brown did, you were going to hammer him!!!! Warren had the Globe asking only one question, paper or plastic, the bag you were going to be in for!!!

Scot - Most of what you say may be accurate, but we all know why Brown lost, and it has nothing to do with what you've said. Brown lost because he is a Republican in a state that doesn't elect Republicans to national office. (His defeat of Coakley was an aberration enabled by low voter turnout and a poorly run campaign). What do you suppose the outcome would have been if Brown were the Democrat and Warren the Republican? No contest.

Mr. Lehigh:  First off, your gal won, my guy lost, congrats.

Second, you are dead on with respect to where Brown fell short.  I cringed every time I heard him embrace the simplistic no-taxes argument.  It 's not the taxes, it's the big picture economy.  That made it way too easy for sensible people not to consider him as a viable alternative.

But outclassed?  I have to differ.  Elizabeth Warren has not shown herself to be a person of character or warmth.  Or sincerity.  She was handed a golden opportunity by the national party and she took advantage of it.  Now that she has achieved what is likely to be a long-term sinecure I speculate that her attention will wander back to the national stage.  I think we are in for a Barbara Boxer-type regime with her.  I will miss having a senator show up at events and having staff actually return a call.  Hope I am wrong but I doubt it.

Lehigh missed one central point in Brown's defeat - the senator's too frequent failure to air tv ads featuring supporters with credibility, but more importantly, popularity. . . Too much use of the senator's very attractive, but nonetheless not very useful, family, especially his pretty wife with the tv news experience. . . He might be Mr. Nice Guy in his barn coat and pickup truck, but as a voter for him, I had to hold my nose when I looked around my town and saw the number of bimbos and little men driving way outsized pickups. . . Brown's final ad, with its patriotic visual and aural themes, was fairly good, but he didn't offer us much on the military, his experience with childhood predators, an explanation of how he interprets that no new taxes pledge (solid principle or with some flexibility), how he thought a moderate Republican clique within the Senate could bond together and influence such policies as Obamacare, tax system reformation, members' practices within Congress.  Brown bragged that he played a major role in passage of a law that prohibits congressional members from benefiting from insider information they obtain on individual stocks. That was a positive he could be proud of - but he didn't offer enough such as that and military/veteran issues while putting on the air  too many bland wifey supports him tv ads.

Brown forgot how he was elected the first time. He cast himself as the personification of Mr. Average Everyman with a mission to give the people their seat in big bad Washington. As his visibility increased, the myth was exposed. Though appearing benign and bipartisan, his voting record didn't match the rhetoric. Offering rather odd statements like "I live in a housefull of women" and attacking Warren's heritage was absolutely goofy in a highly educated, center-left electorate looking for a candidate who reflected their socail values. The central Massachusetts/South Shore couldn't deliver enough votes to make up for Boston and the Berkshires votes for the scrappy Warren. Brown needs to brush up on his language skills, deliver a consistent message and cut the trite bromides and he'll do much better when he runs for the Kerry seat! ;-)

Here was a chance for System to finally show some class.

Here was a chance for System to finally show some class.

Senator Scott Brown's disadvantage was 1) the Democrat machine that supported the Lion from Alice in Wonderland,  2) Globe writers who relentlessly hammered at Senator Scott Brown while chosing to  support Warren (regardless of her nasty demeanor, and lies), 3) the Democrat voters who will but any thing labeled 'Democrat' - Like the young Kennedy kid in the SOuth. Go figure.

I suppose there are some who enjoy still kicking the "indian thing"  as something important.  But those are of course the same kind of people who have led the Republican Party down this dead end of of dismissing, minorities, women, youth.  It is that same "white guys are special" crowd.  A kind of delusion of grandeur a I know the other side is evil and I'm good.  I guess for those who classify themselves as progressive that is great.  However, for those of us of independent leanings they will continue to leave us nowhere to go except to the Democratic Party.

"Around Here, He's Just Called Dad" -- Series Finale

"Daaaaad!  That mean lady professor is on TV saying SHE's going to be the new senator.  Daaaaad, what'll happen to my singing career now?  Will she help me out like you tried to do?"

"Ssssshhhhh!  Keep your voice down, honey, your mother's still in bed.  We were up late last night, talking about our future,, and whether she'll have to go back to Channel 5 to support the family.  Things have changed now." --

"But, Daaaaaad, the guys in my band are asking if we should go back down to Nashville or if the record deal is all over.  What should I telll them, Dad?"

"Honey, I'm trying to focus on this omelette for your mother, okay?  And I'm waiting for one of my banker friends to call, to offer me a special job.  We'll talk about your band later, okay?"

"But, Daaaaaaaaaaad ----- "

"Listen, honey, they may think they won't have Scott Brown to kick around any more, but, you know, I still have my truck, my good looks, my photogenic family, and gosh, tomorrow's gonna be another day, darnit.  Now, sing me your special version of the "Star Spangled Banner", one more time for Dad."

"Oh, Dad!  This one's for you.  'Oh, say, can you see' . . . . . . . . . . . . "    FADE OUT to audience laughter . . . . .

The conventional wisdom would be that you and your Richmond friend would pipe down for a day or two after last night's shellacking.  He is AWOL of late, but you are very good at getting people to "notice" you. Do you feel important when people "notice" you? Your posts don't seem discouraged at all. Almost energized, like you have a reason to keep on being noticed. I mean, how much fun can you have with an icon of Governor Romney swinging a golf club? 

Hello System,

That wasn't very classy of me to say. I apologize.

I can't believe System is still trolling these threads.  I'm an old school meber of The Colony.  Are there any of us left?

Brown could have promised to support Harry Reid over Mitch McConnell.  Of course, if he did, his big donors would have bolted...