Jeff Bennett's Blog

I grew up in a family that was very interested and engaged in politics…and we still are.  Dinner time was always lively discussing the topic of the day.  We just did not talk though…we worked on campaigns…we were delegates to conventions…we voted.  My Dad, Ted Bennett,  also served our home town in elected office for 16 years and for many of these years was the only Republican to hold an elected office in our hometown.

Election night was always an important night in our house.  I remember as a very young kid listening to election coverage on the radio and tracking the results.  I also recall Presidential elections that date back to 1972.   We shared many debates and election nights.  Kennedy vs. Romney for U.S. Senate.  Weld vs. Kerry for U.S. Senate.  I remember the lively chatter, debate and analysis on these nights.  I remember going home during college and for years later to watch the results.

Of course I grew up in Massachusetts so the Kennedy legacy always loomed large over the whole electoral process.  I remember meeting the late Senator in 1981 when I visited Washington as a representative of Massachusetts at Washington Workshops.  Senator Kennedy was kind of like an uncle when he talked to the five kids that comprised the Massachusetts delegation.  Senator Kennedy made us feel like the most important people on earth, he talked of the Senate history and he knew something that was going on in each of our home towns.  Senator Kennedy was a man of incredible wealth though he worked tirelessly as Senator to bring home the bacon to Massachusetts.  You can question his positions but you can not question Senator’s Kennedy commitment to Massachusetts.  This Special Senate election is a new day in Massachusetts though.  Senator Kennedy could wield great influence with his vast support but this does not transcend to others now that he is gone.

I must say that it was pretty fun to connect with friends far and wide about the run up to the special election in Massachusetts for the U.S. Senate through Facebook, Email, Twitter and SMS messaging.  Again, I grew up in such a Democratic stronghold.  To connect with all of my childhood and schoolboy friends regarding this election was great.  The Internet expands our lives beyond our own living room to debate, challenge and converse with such a wider net.  The key here is that we all get engaged, discuss and participate…and from my standpoint we surely did that.  I was also so delighted that so many friends were of single mind on our desired result…people I would have never thought would be in the Brown camp.  My hometown gave 60% of their votes to Scott Brown.  That would have never happened ten, twenty, thirty years ago.

The national pundits will say that this was all about Obamacare.  It was a component of this.  What this was really about from my perspective is who will be the best person to represent Massachusetts.  Scott Brown out worked, out hustled, out did Martha Coakley in every aspect of this campaign.  He was the underdog so he had to.  As he did this though a movement built.

Tonight was an incredible night for me.  I have held the vigil on election nights for years now.  For the first time my own family was very interested and engaged in watching the results of our Massachusetts election…this is a great thing.  It was fun for all of us  to watch the returns flow in and analyze our thoughts.  I can tell through monitoring Facebook and Email that this was going on in many homes.  This is a night my Dad was looking for since 1952…the opportunity to win back that Senate seat JFK claimed 58 years ago.  When you think of it in those terms it was an historic night as Scott Brown beat Martha Coakley for the right to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate.

Congrats U.S. Senator Scott Brown!  Thanks President Obama for putting the spotlight on Massachusetts so we could show the country and the world that there is a different way forward for us.  My own family has now got the bug.  I am sure that we will have a great run up to Election night this fall.