If someone does go to the polls to vote for a candidate in a specific race and doesn’t want to vote for other races, often those races are left blank. Some will just pick names without knowing anything about the candidates, but they probably went to the polls with an idea to vote for (or against) someone.

You might think even morons will remember a name. Some will and some will not, that’s all I’m saying. Some people will know there is an election, go to the polls and think “Kennedy” and cast that ballot. Especially if they see a Kennedy sign just before going into the polling place.

Sure, there will be a lot of people who vote for him for other and very legitimate reasons. Some small percentage will go to the polls thinking to vote for Kennedy without realizing he is not the D nominee. I think saying everyone who votes for Kennedy will have done so because they knew his policies and agreed with them, or votes specifically against one of the others, is giving too much credit.

True, but I think even morons can remember “Coakley, Democrat” if they are motivated enough to go out on a cold winter night to vote with only one race on the ballot, and no ballot questions (what are called initiatives in some state) being decided.

Among Democrats and Republicans, and other assorted lesser-evilists, it is at least if not more likely that voting AGAINST someone is the only reason anyone shows up at the polls.

In a general election, there are many people to vote for running for a variety of offices, and someone may show up to vote for – say – Obama and the rest of the Democrats and/or for/against certain ballot questions, and end up voting for “Joe Kennedy” for (Senate, Governor, House, etc) by mistake.

But in a special election when the only reason to brave the cold is to specifically vote for one of the three candidates, I don’t think this will be a big factor.

There are legitimate reasons why most of Joe’s vote is coming from the left/those usually more predisposed to vote for Democrats, and it’s not because of name confusion.

Voting for someone is the only reason anyone shows up at the polls. I agree that there will be low turnout, and the the majority who vote will do so because they know about the special election. I still think Joe Kennedy will get some votes just because of his name, although no one will likely admit to mistaking him for someone else on an exit poll.

The thing is, this is a special election in the middle of winter in New England, and most of those people will be staying home. That is – they will plain and simple not vote. Shocking, I know.

The people that will actually bother to get their butt to the polls on Jan 19 will by and large either be somewhat informed voters, or big party machine drones responding to scary robocalls and party machine door knockers. The latter will not be very smart, but they’ll be smart enough to remember who they are supposed to vote for, since that is the only reason they are there.

Joe will definitely get some votes from progressives who can’t stomach Coakley, but it won’t be because of his name. In fact he will get more votes from them than he will get from conservatives who can’t stand Scott Brown.

The only thing his name did for him was get his foot in the door.

Some, I won’t say many, but some will be confused by the name regardless of how much press the candidates have beforehand. People who follow politics tend to overestimate how closely normal people follow politics. When people get in the voting booth, it can be surprising what they can forget. It a close race, that can make a difference.

You are probably talking about this

http://www.centerforsmallgovernment.com/headline/warning-to-tea-party-activists-and-supporters-town-hall-meeting-protesters-and-tax-cutters-living-in-massachusetts-who-are-even-considering-voting-for-scott-brown-for-us-senate-january-19th/

Other good articles include….

http://www.rightcondition.com/2010/01/breaking-coakley-up-by-2-as-mass-senate.html

“Today Scott Brown raised over one million dollars, an impressive feat for a Massachusetts Republican. Of course one’s amazement dissipates upon discovery of Brown’s legislative record. Brown not only wrote and supported socialized medicine in Massachusetts, but spoke out against ending…” read more at

http://www.rightcondition.com/2010/01/scott-brown-and-breakdown-of-gop.html

“Are you positively giddy over the prospect of Scott Brown winning in the upcoming Massachusetts special election? Are you currently supporting Scott Brown through time, money or both? Do you believe that limited government policy over the past thirty years failed, leading us to ever growing government? Are you partial to the Tea Party movement? If you have…”

Read more at

http://www.rightcondition.com/2010/01/voting-for-scott-brown-and-big.html

(Voting for Scott Brown and big government Republicans is a fatal mistake.)

http://www.rightcondition.com/2009/12/hotaircom-undermines-tea-party-movement.html

http://www.rightcondition.com/2009/12/examining-candidates-for-ma-senate-2010.html

Scott Brown is a fake. He is one of the authors of RomneyCare and is still proud of it. He opposes ending state income taxes, or rolling back sales taxes. He supports raising property taxes. He loves big spending.

Don’t be stupid, good people – vote for and send your financial contributions to the ONLY small government candidate in the race, the only anti tax guy on the special election ballot, Joe Kennedy!

http://goldmassgroup.com/diary/12/vote-for-scott-brown-support-torture

I looked at the site and there is another good article there, a vote for Martha Coakley is a vote to ignore the people on legalizing marijuana. Come to think of it, it’s also a vote for torture because that is what medical marijuana patients experience when they are denied safe access to their medicine.

http://goldmassgroup.com/diary/13/vote-for-martha-coakley-to-ignore-the-people

LGBT couples are still treated as separate but unequal when it comes to marriage. And not only have the Democratic leaders not done anything about it, they are defending it in court.

Just like they are defending the Bush era abuses of executive power, while continuing to engage in them and even inventing new bizarre excuses for q1uasi-dictatorship.

All while failing to bring the Bush War Criminals to justice!

I’m hoping for real change, really, for a change!

Joe is getting more support from progressives than conservatives. It has already been polled.

And Mik, it’s not because of name confusion, by now people know he’s not Joe For Oil.

It’s because the Democrats have the White House and both houses of Congress and our hope for change has been dashed.

The troops are still in Iraq. More troops are going to Afghanistan. The US is still justifying and making excuses for torture, operating secret prisons where people are held without due process, and spying on its citizens, residents and visitors.

Federal goon squads are still finding excuses to destroy and sieze medical marijuana gardens, even in states where the people voted for legal relief for the sick and dying. Sure, now they use the fig leaf that some other state laws were broken, but the reality continues to be the same.

Instead of real reforms to make medical care more affordable, the Democrats have passed mandates for working class people and struggling small business owners to buy jacked up, low quality medical insurance from big corporations.

The corporate bailouts have continued.

Has anything really changed?

It’s more of the same, and it’s only getting worse.

THAT is why true progressives are supporting a Better Kennedy this time!

http://GoldMassGroup.com

http://GoldAmericaGroup.net

Vote for Brown, Support Torture is the title.

Go Joe!

Libertarians Carla Howell and Michael Cloud had a good take on Brown v. Kennedy in their Small Government News, maybe someone has a link, all I have is the text courtesy of a facebook friend’s note.

Has he done anything to end marriage apartheid against our LGBT brothers and sisters?

Does he support taxing and regulating marijuana, the safer alternative, like alcohol?

There are many reasons for progressives to vote against Harry Reid.

If the Libertarian is the only choice in the election for progressives who consider those issues to be the most important ones to them, they should vote for the Libertarian.

The power elite does not serve the political or real world interests of grassroots progressives and conservatives – workers, mom and pop businesses, students, single mothers, the “regular people.”

It pits them against each other by throwing out rhetorical red meat and failing to deliver.

In the end, the power elite gets together, in function, as one party of power (and yes, it really is one big party for them in DC) and screws main street America in favor of Wall Street, K street, and the whole incestuous revolving door of the corporate and political elite.

The only wasted vote is a wasted vote for one of the faces of the Janus-like Party of Power whether you call it Republocrat, Demopublican, or just plain Evil.

I cant wait for the firestorm of hate mail we all get in the LPNevada when the GOP realizes we are running a candidate for US Senate against Harry Reid. LOL