The View From Massachusetts, Ctd

Josh Marshall has some emails suggesting that the Democratic machine is whirring back into action. My readers are not so confident:

I was a volunteer on Coakley's campaign in the fall but frankly, it was kind of boring, so I checked out. However, I totally intend to vote for her. But I can add to your anecdotal stories about why I think she is going to lose.

I live in Newton, Mass, an incredibly liberal city, and I see Brown signs all over the place. Last week before the shit really started to hit the fan, I was driving through Needham, Mass and I swear there was a Brown sign on every other lawn. I was stunned. To add insult to injury, I have a Coakley bumper sticker on my car and last week while in Wellesley, Mass I approached my car in a parking lot and I heard 2 electricians making fun of my sticker and of Martha. I could not believe it....the sticker had been on my car since October and all of the sudden I felt like I should take it off because people are ca-raaaazyyy!

It is not good for Martha and I cannot for the life of me figure it out. No one seems to be voting for Brown, just against Coakley and against Health-care Bill. She is so benign that it amazes me how she has been made into the devil by the right. The really bad news is that if she does manage to win, the Republicans will cry voter fraud and it will be even more of a disaster.

Another:

I drove from Concord to Worcester today. We saw 6 or 7 Brown signs for every Coakley sign, maybe more. That's pretty consistent with what I've seen in metrowest in the last few days. She is NOT popular around here. And yes, I agree that she'll be ensconced for 20 years or more if she wins. She's the anointed one and we're all supposed to just fall in line. Oops.