Ted Kennedy left ginormous shoes to fill in the United States Senate, and we proud Massachusetts residents ‘- born-and-raised or transplants ‘- need to make sure the best candidate for the job is elected to that seat today. While I am (as I am sure many of you are) shocked that this is even a contest, I am sure that Martha Coakley is the candidate for Massachusetts.

Coakley may not have been the most seasoned campaigner, but she has been a heavy hitter for Massachusetts politics for quite some time. If elected, she would be one of a handful of women senators out of the total 100, and Massachusetts’ first.

Moreover ‘- say what you will about the healthcare reforms ‘- Scott Brown would be the 41st vote against the bill (Coakley would remain the 60th for the bill). This means if Brown wins, we would get nowhere with improving healthcare for the thousands of uninsured. And we’ve got a long way to go.

Next, while Brown started out to be more of a friend to the environment, he has shifted opinion and is now a global warming-skeptic. He will not support Obama’s national clean energy bill, which promises green jobs, less dependence on oil and a step toward a national fight against climate change. Coakley has pledged her support of the plan, and as an the attorney general of the Commonwealth, has filed suit and won against the Bush administration’s policy with the Environmental Protection Agency for not doing enough to fight global warming. Basically, Coakley and the other 12 attorneys general paved the way for the EPA’s improved role as carbon dioxide regulators.

Finally: Um, Scott Brown, Cosmo centerfold 1982? Not in my Senate, you don’t. Lets think about this: If Martha Coakley was a once-centerfold, this would be a different story. Let’s not let double standards take hold. No public exhibitionists of any gender in the Senate, thank you.

So, vote today, according to your vision of America in the future. And don’t let any touched-up photos fool you into thinking that the Senate will be sexually liberated or more progressive. Let past actions and upheld beliefs do the talking.

Rachel Weil
CAS 2010
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