Written by Joe Tetreault | 12 January 2010

This is huge:

On top of the extraordinary success of yesterday's fundraising drive (almost three times the original goal of $500,000 raised) Brown's debate performance leaves him in position to seriously challenge for the seat. While the fundamentals still favor Coakley, she's playing prevent defense with a rapidly eroding lead. That's a little football lingo - I know you all know, but I'm not convinced the Coakley campaign is aware of football terminology. Let's take a look around the Interwebs to see the latest in the race. All that's below the fold.

With the debate over, the presumed front-runner is behaving like she's trailing and has gone negative first.

UPDATE: Jammie Wearing Fool notes that the ads tagline spells Massachusetts "Massachusettes"

The comment from the Globe Staff hits it right:

The decision to air such an ad suggests that Coakley and her fellow Democrats are nervous enough about Brown creeping closer that they felt the need to try to damage him in the eyes of voters.

Brown's campaign tonight put out a statement blasting the new ad.

"Instead of discussing issues like health care and jobs, Martha Coakley decided the best way to stop me is to tear me down," he said. "But the old way of doing things won't work anymore. Her attack ads are wrong and go too far. Massachusetts voters are paying attention to this election and they deserve better than tired, old gutter politics."

The Globe's report on the debate itself highlights the big points Brown scored differentiating himself from Coakley.

Coakley at times seemed annoyed by Brown's rhetoric — accusing him of stretching the truth — and Brown at times took umbrage when Coakley challenged him.

"I'm not in your courtroom," he said at one point, as Coakley displayed a wry smile. "I'm not a defendant."

Brown also bristled at suggestions that the seat he was seeking was a Kennedy seat, despite being held for decades by a family member or confidante.

"With all due respect, it's not the Kennedys' seat," Brown said. "It's not the Democrats' seat. It's the people's seat."

As the candidates fought over taxes, Coakley turned aggressive, suggesting that Brown was promoting a return to the era of George W. Bush, which she said favored the rich and triggered the economic collapse.

"He wants to go back to those Bush-Cheney policies that provide for the very wealthiest," she said.

"You can run against Bush-Cheney, but I'm Scott Brown," Brown responded. "I live in Wrentham. I drive a truck."

He went on to assert that Coakley's fiscal policies — her support for a health care overhaul, for rolling back the tax cuts signed by Bush, and for a cap-and-trade system to stem climate change — would raise taxes and cost jobs.

One thing Martha Coakley will have trouble defending is her record in light of charges leveled that she worked to keep Gerald Amirault behind bars even after the Massachusetts Parole Board voted unanimously to pardon him. Bill Levinson at Israpundit walks through the case, with supporting source material from the Wall Street Journal.

The Herald meanwhile shows a little of the hamfistedness of Coakley's AG office.

Attorney General Martha Coakley's crackdown on Bay State gardening clubs for failing to file financial disclosure forms has left some green thumbs fearing arrest - and many sore at the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.

Linda Jean Smith, president of the Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, has been besieged with calls from frightened, angry members after a prickly Jan. 4 letter from Coakley's office declared many of them were breaking the law for failing to file their financial records for the past four years.

Because nothing says danger to civilization like a garden club that hasn't filed four year's worth of disclosure forms. Wednesday Thursday Friday Massachusetts? At least the garden club members know who's doing this to them:

But some flower lovers have threatened to take out their frustrations on Coakley at the voting booth.

Said Smith: "They see her name on the letter and that's who they're mad at. They've said to me, 'Why is the attorney general's office picking on us? We're not going to vote Martha Coakley,'"

Sticking with the Herald, where Jessica Van Sack calls the Democrats attempt to push Sarah Palin into the race "desperate." Is this why the DNC sent Hari Sevugan to Massachusetts, to ask "Where on earth is Sarah Palin herself?"? One hopes not. Van Sack suspects the goal is to use Palin as a wedge.

Seeking to alienate independents and moderate Republicans backing Brown, Sevugan added, "Will Sarah Palin join Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney and other national Republicans in their support for Scott Brown? Or, has the pit bull lost her bark?"

But the Wrentham state senator's campaign sidestepped questions about whether he would seek or accept an endorsement from Palin, the darling of the party's conservative base.

"This race will not be decided by outsiders," said Brown spokesman Felix Browne. "Scott has been running this campaign on his own, and with the support of the grassroots, he'll continue to stand on his own two feet."

Sevugan's assault on Brown was the latest sign national Democrats are privately worried Coakley's campaign has stalled out a week before the Jan. 19 election.

The right-leaning pundits have been following the race closely, as well. First up, Hot Air where Allahpundit finds Brown's million dollar day to be "amazing." Professor Jacobson contrasts Brown's contributions to the ones Coakley will seek tonight in Washington, (hint they're lobbyists)

There will be 17 lobbyists at the fundraiser, presenting bundled contributions, 15 of whom are connected to the health care industry players who cut special deals as a quid pro quo for supporting Obamacare.

I love the smell of corruption in the morning. The smell of Washington.

The American Thinker's chief political correspondent, Richard Baehr, likens Massachusetts long history as a solidly liberal Democrat stronghold to the Patriots 22 consecutive home game winning streak that Baltimore snapped. Streaks can end. Meanwhile Daniel Blatt at GayPatriot calls Brown's line a reverse "Macaca Moment" the projects a spot on image for the election a week away.

To top it off, National Political outfits like the Washington Post's The Fix and also CBS News' Political Hotsheet have stories surrounding the race today, in particular the Democrats worries and Brown's comment that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab should be treated as an enemy combatant and sent to Gitmo.

Updates will get their own posts as they reach me.

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