New Democratic talking points are emerging after Republican Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts, with officials saying the election wasn’t a referendum on President Obama or health care.
Republicans have made that exact point in their reactions tonight, but a senior Democrat told TPMDC tonight that while Martha Coakley’s loss stings, it wasn’t the White House’s fault.
Obama wasn’t asked to campaign until the final 10 days of the race, when Brown’s surge was already underway, the Democrat said. White the party logged a lot of phone calls and doors knocked for Coakley, it wasn’t enough to make up for the time she lost by getting her general election campaign off to a slow start.
Brown “tapped into the anger and anxiety Americans are feeling and he won,” the Democrat said, adding “This is something the President is familiar with considering it’s why we won in 2008.”
The Democrat said there election is a reminder of the “singular focus we need on creating jobs and growing wages, and restoring security to working families across this country.”
Obama pushed health care as his key issue because of Americans hurt by the insurance industry or denied coverage, and “he’s not going to walk away from them now,” the Democrat said.
Democrats also pointed to Brown’s comments earlier this week that the election was not a referendum on the president.
