The primary results are in for the Massachusetts special election primary, and it’s Massachusetts AG Martha Coakley for the Democrats; State Senator Scott Brown for the Republicans. 10% turnout; special election on January 19th .

Coakley, of course, is cookie-cutter: as Jim Geraghty put it, the Democratic side was “lefty vs. lefty vs. lefty vs. lefty.” Scott Brown’s a bit more interesting, given that he’s running on strong opposition to cap-and-trade, and as a fiscal conservative. His opponent in the primary wanted “a Paris peace conference to negotiate with the Taliban:” enough said.

Come, I will hide nothing from you. Brown’s status-quo on abortion; he’s not going past supporting parental consent/notification laws, and banning partial-birth abortion. This would make him unacceptably squishy in, say, Kansas or Montana. But this is Massachusetts, where the bar is not so much low as it is recessed into the floor – so ask yourself if Mass. is worth a pass on this. Personally, I can live with it… particularly since losing Ted Kennedy’s seat would panic Democrats from Bangor to San Diego, Seattle to Key West, and everywhere in between.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to Moe Lane.