Cover St or y The
He didn’t win because of healthcare.
He didn’t win because of
Curious Case Of
Scott Brown
By Jeremy P. Jacobs 36 Campaigns & Elections | Canadian Edition
Tea Parties. He won
because of his campaign.
Building. The building’s lobby is lined with faded pictures of the 35th president and the words of his 1961 inaugu- ration address, which proclaims that the “torch has been passed to a new generation.” In just six weeks of campaign- ing during this year’s special election, Brown, an unher- alded state senator, redefined the Kennedy legacy in such a way that he, a Republican, became its rightful heir. The senator’s offices, which belonged to his predeces- sor—the late Sen. Edward Kennedy—take up most of the 24th floor and have large windows that, on a clear winter day, provide sweeping views of downtown and the Bay. The office is almost completely barren, both of furniture and of people. It is also remarkably blue; dated blue carpet lines the floor, vintage blue vinyl office chairs are almost the only furniture. The only objects of any other color are a new-looking red leather couch and the red peppermints in the candy dish of Beth Lindstrom, Brown’s campaign man- ager-turned-state director. (Lindstrom has since moved on to another campaign.) For partisan Democrats—of whom there are plenty in Mas-
To
sachusetts—this entire scenario approaches blasphemy. It’s not just that the bluest seat in the bluest state now belongs to a Re- publican; it’s that the Democratic machine completely stalled when it should have cruised to victory. How, they wonder, did this ever happen? How did we let it happen? With the help of a trio of presidential-race-grade con-
sultants, Brown defined himself in his own terms and transformed his opponent, state Attorney General Martha Coakley—who had just won the Democratic primary by 19 points—from the second most popular pol in the state behind Ted Kennedy into its least popular. He overcame a three-to- one Democratic registration advantage and inspired nearly presidential level turnout. He proved it is possible to effec- tively manage the Tea Party movement’s anti-government fervor and embrace their wallets while avoiding the negative connotations of being labeled a “Tea Party candidate.” He
Sen. Scott Brown’s supporters—so, 52 percent of Massachusetts voters—the Republican’s Boston offices are located right where they should be: in the penthouse suite of the John F. Kennedy Federal
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