Yesterday was interesting...

Yesterday was the election in Massachusetts, filling Senator Kennedy's vacant seat. Though my recent posts have been about Kennedy, his legacy and his passing, that's not what this is about. It is about an epic shift in politics that we all may come to regret in the next decade.

Coakley vs Brown. Coakley the anointed Democrat who was a shoo-in for the post. She had a 15 point lead. Unfortunately, she did not think she had to run for the office. that's the history of the strength of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts. Didn't work. Brown, little known, little substance, beautiful body and quite glib, worked hard talking about things he couldn't get in too much trouble talking about. He beat Coakley by about 4 points.

But that is not what was so monumental about this election.What was so monumental is that these days it is easier to be against something than it is to be for something. It is about everyone being angry and that is the only thing they have in common. Right now the less bright talking heads think the Democratic loss is a message about healthcare. The brighter ones are scratching their heads wondering what it all means.

Let me digress. There is an old social experiment where the student comes into a classroom blindfolded. The student's mission is to write his name on the blackboard but he doesn't know it. The instructions for the class are to cheer the student on when he makes moves that will help him achieve his goal. Class members were allowed to stroke and reward him if his moves take him toward his goal. If he doesn't, the class is to remain silent. After a few moments of positive feedback, the student starts to work his way to the front of the class and eventually writes his name.

In comes the next student, blindfolded and clueless to his goal. This time the class is instructed to boo the student if he makes moves that are not toward the goal. They are also told to lightly punch the student if he makes an erroneous move.

After getting punched a few times and the class continually booing him, what would and person do? STAND STILL! No boo's. No punches. It was safe. Of course the goal never gets achieved.

GET THE POINT? The epic shift in politics that this election will create is THAT IT IS SAFER TO DO NOTHING. Screw the group's goals. These people in Washington have just learned that it is safer to do nothing. Do nothing in the middle of two wars and the Great Recession.

Yes people are angry. But they are not angry for the same reasons. People are angry because they are out of work. They are angry because their loved ones are in harms way while we debate whether we should be in harms way. They are angry because they don't want socialized medicine. They are angry because the Senate produced a healthcare reform bill that doesn't do enough and still rewards the insurance companies. They are angry because all Washington is doing since they voted for change (nobody said change to what) is argue and do nothing but fight.

When the dust settles, politicians are going to realize that a "Tea Bagger" is not a republican. Just a pissed off person that may or may not have voted before and certainly hasn't performed any introspection on whether they are conservative, liberal or centrist. When they figure this out, they are going to feel their survival is dependent on them doing nothing thus avoiding blame and becoming a target.

But never the less, the Beck's, the Limbaugh's and the like will feed this frenzy. That's how they make their money.

So, we are in the middle of an epic shift. We're not going to like it. And "we" is conservative, liberal, Democrat, Republican, and of course, the Tea Baggers.