Yet, not enough has been said about how and why Coakley lost a race that appeared so winnable.
Many have acknowledged Brown ran a good, energetic campaign with good television advertising and an approach that allowed him to "catch the wave" of voter anger toward Washington.
Similarly, many have said Coakley ran a "poor" or "weak" campaign...but, I think the more one looks at the details of what unfolded, the more one can connect Coakley's downfall to: a) her own troubling flaws as a candidate, and, b) the malaise in American politics today, in general.
I think the Democratic Party put itself in a vulnerable position by not having a better candidate to face Brown. I heard Kathleen Townsend Kennedy, RFK's daughter, say candidly after last week's election, that she felt if her brother, Joe, had run, he would have won. I agree. I believe a number of different Democrats could have won. Why? Any one of them would have projected more enthusiasm and confidence while campaigning for votes than Coakley did. In addition, he or she would have had strong, heartfelt convictions about at least several of the major issues and argued for those positions with some passion.
Coakley, meanwhile, openly revealed her distaste for campaigning by simply choosing to do less meeting and greeting voters than expected and by her infamous, off-the-cuff comment about preferring to not greet voters outside of Fenway Park. (Voters hate to hear candidates complain, in any way, about campaigning. Why elect somone who' s whining about that process?)
Coakley showed, in a variety of ways, a lack of hunger or fire on the campaign trail. For instance, when former President Clinton or President Obama came to stump for her, how come we didn't hear anything about the speech or remarks that Coakley gave on those occasions? Usually, when a big name appears to endorse someone, the candidate is inspired to show a little more verve in their own rhetoric or message. Coakely kept allowing herself to play a "secondary" diminished role. Instead of rising to the occasion, she acted like she was either "entitled" or the frontrunner who didn't have to fight for much.
Coakley ran with an aura that reminded some of Mike Dukakis running for President in 1988; she lacked passion, seemed to go through the motions and gave "pro forma" responses to questions instead of showing any spontaneity.
These various points all lead to my largest complaint about Coakley: She was
far, far too CAUTIOUS in her entire approach. She seemed unwilling to take risks in so many ways -- whether it was the "risk" of pressing the flesh with ordinary voters in cities and towns across Massachusetts OR the risk of "fighting back" against Brown's message and his criticisms OR the risk of aggressively truth-telling and presenting arguments to rebut Brown's points.
Even in the primary campaign, Coakley showed an incredible aversion to risk. The difference was, in the primary, she got away with it. Her three male opponents - Mike Capuano, Steve Pagliuca and Alan Khazei - showed a steady reluctance to go on the offensive against Coakley. Capuano did it a bit, but, not enough. Further, Coakey actually scored points repeatedly with the media by avoiding mistakes that would make her lose her "frontrunner status" As I wrote on this blog in the fall, that praise was misguided. Coakley ran a bland, cautious primary campaign. She was not interesting or compelling. The one exception was her stance to not vote for a health care reform bill if it contained restrictive language pertaining to a woman's right to choose. Beyond that, Coakley skated along without seeming to have genuine convictions she'd fight for, if elected.
Apparently, she speculated she could win against Brown using the same bland approach. One of her first very disturbing choices was to avoid scheduling any one-on-one debates against Brown without the Independent candidate Joe L. Kennedy. It was obvious she wanted to avoid the risks of going toe-to-toe with Brown and her lame excuses diminished her standing. In fact, I'd argue, her stubborn refusals to debate Brown foreshadowed her defeat - period. Why should Coakley, an experienced state attorney general, be afraid to go head-to-head against Brown, a relative "lightweight" who gave overly simplistic, flawed responses to questions about his positions?
I don't get it. All I know is Coakley kept showing that fear of taking risks. She repeatedly allowed Brown to come off as the bolder candidate with "stronger" convictions and more passion about his values and beliefs. I believe Coakley had stronger feelings about her positions, but, for some reason - probably related to personality or circumstances - she couldn't express them.
I've long believed one thing about American politics and that is that people respond to a candidate who appears authentic their expressing themselfs about what they really believe. That trait - of being oneself and true to one's convictions - in my view, is often more important to some voters than the candidate's actual positions. Ronald Reagan is the classic example who illustrated this. I think many voters pulled the lever for the Gipper because he seemed to believe in his message. I think, to a large extent, Reagan DID believe in his themes of "less government, a "stronger military" etc, etc.
Massachusetts voters didn't get a sense of what Martha Coakley really believed in or who she really was as a person or potential leader. She was so "contained" and cautious that when one contrasted her to Brown driving around in his truck and interacting enthusiastically with voters or sounding so black and white on issues, to many, it made it easier to choose Brown.
I voted for Coakley because I supported her positions - however poorly she articulated them. I could never - ever - support a reactionary like Brown. However, the election left me disillusioned because it displayed all the troubling trends about the state of politics seen at every level.
Think about it. Every day, US House members and US senators behave like Coakley did in this campaign. They're cautious - cautious - cautious. They don't say or do anything to increase the risk of alienating voters and losing elections. This lack of candor and spontaneity has gotten so pervasive that it represents a crisis, in my view. Politics has become a bore. Politicians don't stand up for their beliefs, for principles, for what's right for this country. (Interestingly, during the one televised candidates' debate, when the candidates were asked their general positions on how to combat Al Quaeda, Independent Joe L. Kennedy gave the most original, direct, thoughtful response by describing the negative impact of the US "occcupying" other countries, and, how that stimulated resentment and hatred toward the US. To me, it's not a coincidence that Kennedy, feeling he had nothing to lose, gave a more "risky" but honest response than the others).
Instead, they stick to their "talking points" and try to run campaigns like Coakley did. What worsens all this, is that reactionary Republicans like Scott Brown fill the void left by cautious, cowardly Democrats. Republicans tend to be more willing to use harsh rhetoric that grabs voters - even if it's reckless or inaccurate.
You know what I'd like to see? I'd like to see an intelligent, thoughtful, qualified candidate run for a US House seat or a US Senate seat and just speak the truth and give their honest opinion from start to finish -- with the full knowledge that he or she would probably lose the campaign. If we got some candidates like that, we'd be reminded, at least, that it's possible to make politics more interesting, fun, and, yes, meaningful again. We need more candidates who are truly unafraid to lose because that means they'd also want to win only if they could defend their convictions honestly.
I think it's unfortunate that Coakley couldn't find ways to overcome her personal limitations as a candidate and still somehow forcefully project why she should fill Ted Kennedy's seat. Massachusetts DOES desparately need more women to represent us in the US House and Senate. (One last footnote: I sense that if other politicians and organizations and players in the Democratic Party had helped Coakley more, it'd might have helped her edge out Brown. For example, did Boston Mayor Thomas Menino do all he could to unleash his "machine" to get out the vote across Boston for Coakley? I don't think so. I heard MSNBC guest Lawrence O'Donnell, late on Election Night, speculate that Menino's choice to not go all-out for Coakley probably had a real impact. I've seen no stories that have questioned the role that Menino or other incumbent Democrats played in helping Coakley pull out a win).
In the end, though, it was Coakley's responsibility to motivate voters.
I think it would have been much better for Coakley to lose fighting for what she believed than to lose running a timid, passionless campaign. Especially trying to replace Ted Kennedy, who was always a fighter.
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