Will Massachusetts' election affect Minnesota's GAMC?

Late Tuesday night, in a rather shocking turn of events, Republican Scott Brown won the election in Massachusetts to replace the Late Senator Edward Kennedy.

Beyond the fact that Massachusetts hasn’t had a Republican win a seat in the Senate since 1972, this latest victory is particularly interesting because it was won via a campaign running directly against the health care legislation proposed by Kennedy before his death. Even more significant is the fact that this victory has given the GOP the ability to trump the previously filibuster-proof DFL majority in the Senate.

Brown’s victory has put up a rather significant barrier to the health care legislation that President Obama has been working on recently. The planning for the final deal of the legislation was done so with the understanding that Democrats would have 60-member caucus in the Senate. It puts everything that was in the most recent version of the federal health care reform bill -- including provisions to largely fund GAMC -- in danger of collapse.

This election has had far-reaching, national effects. The change in the federal scene increases the urgency for Minnesota state elected officials to save GAMC.

Nick Wrobel