Election Night Redux

Since the news was announced last night that Massachusetts had elected the first Republican to the United States Senate since 1972, much has been made about how this was a referendum on the Obama Administration, the health care bill, and "run away government spending." Where have these people been?
First of all, Obama carried Massachusetts by twenty-some points, and remains more popular there then he is in the rest of the country. Second, Massachusetts already has the most progressive health care system in the country, covering about 97% of it's residents, meaning that most of their citizens need not worry about whatever the United States Senate wants to do about the problem.
Finally, anyone who has been paying attention for the last thirty years knows that Republicans are no more fiscally responsible than Democrats. Ronald Reagan was the first to pile up massive debt, in his bid to cut taxes and, simultaneously, bankrupt the Soviet Union through military escalation. Bill Clinton, in the prosperous 90s, managed to leave a surplus for his successor, George Bush. With Bush came another Republican in the White House, more tax cuts, and more out of control military spending. In truth, there is no party of fiscal responsibility in the 21st century United States (unless you want to count the Libertarians), and anyone who thinks that the Republicans are going to control spending and steer the economy back to sanity has been drinking the Fox News Kool-Aid.
Actually, most Americans probably don't think about party affiliation, at least not to the extent that the mainstream media (and bloggers) does. Sure, Massachusetts is a liberal state, but winning there requires more than a D next to your name. With both parties trying to win over independents, most political campaign are aimed towards the center (even if it's only the center for that state, like Massachusetts.) This is why most races are decided by only a few percentage points. Therefor, Martha Coakley did not lose because of some conservative backlash in Massachusetts. She lost because she is an ineffective campaigner, who was almost openly contemptuous of her electorate.
So this should be a wake-up call for Democrats, but not in the way that every other pundit would have you believe. Democrats do not get credit for not being Republicans, politicians (of all parties) get credit for standing up for what they believe in! When Obama refuses to take a stance on the public option, when Ben Nelson will only vote yes if his state's Medicaid paid for by the government, these are signs of politicians playing politics, which is kind of like your parents having sex. We all know that it is going to happen, but Please(!) don't let us hear about it!