It would be tough to argue that Massachusetts Attorney General and Democrat Martha Coakley has fought a strong-enough battle to deserve former Sen. Ted Kennedy’s vacated seat in the United States Senate. Her campaign efforts on Commonwealth streets have been totally eclipsed by Republican nominee state Sen. Scott Brown’s and her short but cringe-worthy list of media faux pas have not helped her cause. Even the bluest-bleeding Massachusetts leftists have had trouble looking beyond Coakley’s palpable sense of entitlement and voters on the fence seem to be favoring Brown, who is only a month removed from his universal media labeling as a Washington long shot. For his efforts, Brown has more than caught up.

Without question, Brown has been this contest’s victor in the realm of personality and canvassing, and according to surveys, he has a very good shot at becoming the first Republican U.S Senator to represent the Commonwealth in more than 30 years. And were this a different year, and were Washington in a different place, he would probably have the support of even more.

But with a decision that would otherwise seem cut-and-dry, Massachusetts residents need to remember ‘- as they cast their votes in today’s special election ‘- the decision they made more than a year ago to elect Barack Obama as the President of the United States, and the commitment they made to support change. Nearly two-thirds of voters in this state decided to elect Obama and stand behind his ideals and promises for this country, and if the seat Ted Kennedy once held is handed over to a Republican, it will have been for nothing.

If Brown is elected today, the progress the Obama administration has made in the past 12 months will be totally stunted, killed and reversed, and that same commitment to change will be compromised. One more Republican senator in Washington will disrupt the 60-40 party ratio as it stands along with any chances of a health care overhaul by making it impossible to break a united opposition’s filibuster. Massachusetts residents who are critical of Obama’s performance need to understand that electing Brown will bring any progress the president has made to even more of standstill. In essence, a Brown victory would bring us back to square one.

It is not the ideal to say the candidate who has done a better job campaigning deserves to be beaten, but in this case, Massachusetts has a responsibility to look beyond media coverage and snapshot smiles to keep their commitment to change.

More importantly, Coakley’s history of achievement for this state should not be slighted simply for her recent inaction. With their successes for the people of this state side-by-side, Coakley trumps Brown whether you’re red or blue. That should speak for itself.
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