Martha Coakley for Senate

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

by Thomas Dollar

Massachusetts voters go to the polls tomorrow to choose a successor to the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.  What was once a sleeper race between Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley and Republican State Senator Scott Brown has turned into an all-out dogfight.  Democratic complacency, an energized Teabagger Right and a series of tactical blunders by Coakley have made this contest a tossup.  President Obama traveled to Massachusetts yesterday to rally support for Coakley.

If Coakley prevails, she will be the 18^th woman currently in the US Senate, and the first ever elected from the Bay State.  This, in itself, is no reason to vote for her.  If the 2008 election taught us anything, it’s that not all women candidates hold the same positions (shocking!), and that issues matter more than gender.  (Likewise, Brown’s past work as a Cosmo centerfold model is no reason to vote for or against him.  Though it is probably true that a nude photo spread would be the end for a female politician.)  But when it comes to the issues in this race, Martha Coakley is pro-woman, pro-choice and pro-LGBT.  Scott Brown is not.

Coakley is the only state attorney general to have filed suit in Federal court arguing that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.  As a senator, she’ll support passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and repealing DOMA and Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell.  Brown is against marriage equality six years after Massachusetts became the first state to approve it.  In 2007, a group of high school students confronted Brown on the issue, to which he responded by calling them names and reading profanity-laced Facebook posts.

Martha Coakley is strongly pro-choice, and has been endorsed by NARAL and Emily’s List.  Back in the primary, she rattled her Democratic opponents by declaring that she would vote against a health care bill that contained the anti-choice Stupak Amendment.  As attorney general, Coakley defended a state law creating a 35-foot buffer zone around clinics, and sued the Bush Administration over “conscience clause” regulations that limited women’s access to reproductive services.

Like previous Massachusetts Republicans, Scott Brown does a clever dance on reproductive health issues.  He claims to support Roe v. Wade, but has received backing from anti-choice groups.  Brown also co-sponsored a law requiring a mandatory 24-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions, voted in favor of parental consent laws, and supported “conscience clause” legislation allowing hospitals to deny emergency contraception to rape victims.

When it comes to important feminist issues, Martha Coakley is the right choice in this election.  As a senator, she’ll continue her thoughtful and tireless advocacy for equal rights and social justice.  But this race is still neck-and-neck, and turnout will be the deciding factor.  If you’re registered in Massachusetts, be sure to vote tomorrow (Tuesday, January 19^th).  Call your friends and family and make sure they vote.  And if you want to volunteer or make phone calls, you can go to Martha Coakley’s website.