“The problem is we play against each other all the time,” the aide said.
Before the Massachusetts results were even in on Tuesday, Democrats said that, win or lose, the race was certainly making them reassess their strategic vision for the year. “In this town, there’s spin, there’s perception and there’s reality,” said one senior Senate Democratic aide. “And regardless of the outcome, I think Democrats will take a look at the legislative agenda to see if it needs weakening going into the midterms.”
Democrats had been racing to finish the health care bill before the special election appeared close, because they felt bogged down by the fight and wanted to pivot to bills intended to spur job creation and address economic concerns.
“To some extent, there already has been a realization that we need to more directly address the economy and jobs, and this year’s agenda will reflect that. It’s time to get back to basics,” said another senior Senate Democratic aide.
Aides said that while Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley clearly ran a poor campaign, her failures were not the sole cause of the party’s troubles in the state. They noted that the Massachusetts race made the country’s anger and frustration over the economy more visible, but they cautioned against framing the entire 2010 election around the special election.
“There’s a political ice age between this race and November,” said the first senior aide. “A lot can happen.”
Jennifer Bendery and David M. Drucker contributed to this report.
A man from Kentucky attends a Tea Party Patriots rally on the West Front of the Capitol to protest the IRS' targeting of conservative political groups.
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