I don't often give advice to my friends across the proverbial political aisle, but I feel compelled to do so today. Democrats need to step back and realize that a wave of populism is taking hold in this country, uniting Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike.
If the fact that over 20 percent of registered Democrats in Massachusetts gravitated to the Republican candidate does not help my Democratic friends come to this realization, nothing will. Just 11 percent of voters in Massachusetts are Republicans. Republicans did not carry this victory. The people of Massachusetts did, people of every political stripe.
Democrats need to immediately suspend debate and votes on healthcare legislation until Scott Brown is seated -- as was articulately stated by Democratic Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia. They also need to realize that when polling shows that a mere 38 percent of Americans support that legislation, it is time to make significant changes to their agenda.
It should not be lost on them that the 38 percent number equals former President George W. Bush's approval at the end of this presidency -- a number that Democrats once pointed to as proof that Americans clearly rebuked the policies of his administration past his final day in office.
Three consecutive times now -- in the races for Governor in New Jersey and Virginia, and now in Massachusetts -- independents have surged against the president and brought the Republican candidate to victory. Now that's a rebuke!
The results in Massachusetts demonstrate that a tide of real change is finally taking hold in this country -- rejecting excessive spending whether it is promoted by Republicans or Democrats. It is now up to Republicans to take advantage of this sweeping movement by returning to our roots of promoting a smaller, smarter and more efficient government -- a government that is not in the business of running our nation's healthcare programs.
Working together, holding to our core principles, and speaking for the people, the Republicans can carry this momentum westward to electoral victory, even in the most blue of states and districts. Failing to do so would be a lost opportunity for our party... and for our nation.