White House: Brown’s Election Was Expression of Support for Obama

Of all the ridiculous analyses I’ve heard about Scott Brown’s victory last week, none reached the level of the absolutely ridiculous political spin than that of White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

WALLACE: Let’s turn to the message from Massachusetts on Tuesday night. Here was the president’s first reaction on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office. People are angry and they’re frustrated, not just because of what’s happened in the last year or two years, but what’s happened in the last eight years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: But, Robert, Scott Brown had a clear platform, and let’s lay it out — stop health care, cut taxes, end backroom deals with special interest, and don’t give terrorists Miranda rights.

It wasn’t the same thing that swept Barack Obama into office. Scott Brown explicitly campaigned against the Obama agenda.

GIBBS: Well, that may be what he campaigned on, but that’s not why the voters of Massachusetts sent him to Washington. If you look at an exit poll that was done by the Washington Post…

WALLACE: Well, it wasn’t an exit poll, but it was a — I mean, they did a poll.

GIBBS: Well, they did a poll of voters that participated…

WALLACE: Right.

GIBBS: … as to why they voted, right. So more people voted to express their support for Barack Obama than to oppose him. His approval rating among that electorate was 61 percent.

Their enthusiasm for Republican policies among that electorate was — for Republicans was 40 percent…

WALLACE: But you’re not suggesting…

GIBBS: No, no.

WALLACE: … this was a…

GIBBS: No, no.

WALLACE: … mandate for Barack Obama?

GIBBS: Of course not. But I’m also not suggesting that what you said a minute ago meets the truth test either, and let’s…

WALLACE: You don’t think that…

GIBBS: No, no. Chris, hold on.

WALLACE: You don’t think that when they voted for…

GIBBS: Hold on, Chris. Chris, hold on.

WALLACE: … Scott Brown they were voting against Obama’s policies?

GIBBS: That’s not what they told pollsters. No. I think people are angry in this country — they were angry in Massachusetts — that we haven’t made more progress on the economy.

Let’s ask the question on health care. They asked specifically — now, again, this is somebody that you’re saying is all about stopping health care reform.

WALLACE: He said he was the 41st vote.

GIBBS: I understand, and I hope he doesn’t misread the electorate. Seventy percent of the voters in Massachusetts want him to work with Democrats on health care reform. Only 28 percent want to stop health care reform from happening.

Chris, if Republicans want to assume that the outcome of what happened in Massachusetts is a big endorsement of their policies, when 40 percent are enthusiastic about them and 58 percent are angry about them, then I hope they misread that election as badly as anybody could.

What people want in this country is they want to us focus on getting this economy moving again. They want us to work together. And the president has tried, and I hope that Republicans will try to work with the president.

But that kind of anger and dissatisfaction at the fact that Washington far too many times puts the special interests ahead of their interests — that anger still persists. That’s what people said in Massachusetts.

So, are you telling me that the White House believes that Scott Brown was elected to the Senate over Democrat Martha Coakley because of support for Barack Obama’s agenda? Really, Mr. Gibbs?

If a vote for Scott Brown was a vote in support of Obama, then what about the votes for Martha Coakley? You know, the candidate that shared a stage with President Obama days before the election…

Rasmussen Poll Results

Just in…

Rasmussen Reports has conducted an Election Night survey of 1,000 voters in the Massachusetts special election for U.S. Senate. Data will be released on this page throughout the evening.

Polls closed in Massachusetts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern in the race between Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Scott Brown.

Preliminary results include:

* Among those who decided how they would vote in the past few days, Coakley has a slight edge, 47% to 41%.
* Coakley also has a big advantage among those who made up their mind more than a month ago.
* Seventy-six percent (76%) of voters for Brown said they were voting for him rather than against Coakley.
* Sixty-six percent (66%) of Coakley voters said they were voting for her rather than against Brown.
* 22% of Democrats voted for Brown. That is generally consistent with pre-election polling.

ALERT: Phony Calls Tell Massachusetts Residents Pro-Life Group Opposes Scott Brown

Hub Politics was just alerted about a disturbing story of dirty tricks being used against Scott Brown.

Behind in the polls to Republican Senate candidate Scott brown, supporters of pro-abortion candidate Martha Coakley have evidentially reached into their bag of dirty tricks. A Washington, D.C. based company is making calls to Massachusetts residents pretending to represent a prominent pro-life group.

The calls, from 202-461-3441, a Washington number registered to a company called SOOH, claim to be from Massachusetts Citizens for Life.

The caller claims the pro-life group is opposing Scott brown because of his stance against the health care bill, but as MCFL president Anne Fox told LifeNews.com late Monday, the opposite is true.

“Pro-lifers are receiving phone calls from people claiming to be Massachusetts Citizens for Life. The callers say that MCFL is not supporting Scott Brown because of his position on health care,” she said. “The truth is that Massachusetts Citizens for Life is supporting Brown because of his position on health care.”

The same number is also making calls to other state residents with various messages all attacking Brown.

If you receive such a call, please report it by calling 1-800-462-VOTE (8683).

Can The Internet Tell Us Who Will Win?

I doubt you could Google “who is going to win, Scott Brown or Martha Coakley?” and get an actual answer. But, if things internet sites and services like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are any indicator, Scott Brown is about to cruise to an easy victory.

If YouTube video views were to decide today’s Senate election in Massachusetts, Republican state Sen. Scott Brown would win in a landslide against Democrat Martha Coakley.

A study conducted by the Emerging Media Research Council out today found that Brown had a more effective strategy of using social networking tools including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to promote his campaign and connect with supporters.

Here’s a look at the numbers:

Facebook Posts since Jan. 1: Brown (128), Coakley (58)
Facebook Fans: Brown (70,800), Coakley (13,529)

Tweets since Jan. 1: Brown (142), Coakley (144)
Twitter Followers: Brown (9,679), Coakley (3,385)

YouTube Videos: Brown (57), Coakley (52)
YouTube Video Views: Brown (578,271), Coakley (51,173)

Don’t forget to vote! Polls, Facebook Fans, Twitter followers and YouTube video views don’t mean a thing; only the ballot you cast today matters.

Twitter Update #1: As of 12:30PM Election Day, Scott Brown has 12,193 followers on Twitter; Martha Coakley has 4,060.

Twitter Update #2: As of 1:00PM Election Day, Scott Brown has 12,266 (+73) followers on Twitter; Martha Coakley has 4,080 (+20).

Twitter Update #3: As of 2:00PM Election Day, Scott Brown has 12,459 (+266) followers on Twitter; Martha Coakley has 4,126 (+66) [compared to 12:30 PM].

Questions About Voting?

Find your polling place here.

Call the voter assistance line at 877-505-2010 if you have any trouble voting or concerns at the polls.

Need a ride to your polling place? Call 781-444-0200.

More information is available at http://www.brownforussenate.com/