This certainly has been a lively discussion. I encourage everyone to vote on Tuesday no matter who you are going to vote for. I think it is more important that we have a free, fair, and transparent election than that my preferred candidate win. That is, our democracy is more important than any political party. Since I need to vote for some candidate, I have looked at the candidates in Tuesday's election and have decided to vote for Martha Coakley. Here's why: Health care: Martha is in favor of a reform that would make it possible for everyone to have health care insurance, would prevent insurance companies from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions, would prevent insurance companies from dropping coverage for people who got seriously sick, would provide a means for people to get reasonable coverage if they lost their jobs, and would start efforts to restrain the unsustainable growth in health care costs. Scott Brown is opposed to the current reform and would let all the problems with our health care system (especially unsustainable increases in costs) continue. The economy: We have suffered an economic meltdown and have high employment due to the Bush/Cheney administration's deregulation and unwavering trust in big banks, insurance companies, and Wall Street to do "the right thing for the country". Near the end of the Bush/Cheney administration, Bush's Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson, pushed through T.A.R.P. to bailout the banks - with very little control on how the money could be used. The banks misused most of that money. Martha will implement tough but fair regulatory reforms and try to recover millions of dollars for taxpayers. Scott said he was against getting money back from the bailed out banks that helped put us in this economic mess in the first place. (Quoting from a recent article at http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/15/wallst-scott-brown/ "Major U.S. banks which instigated the financial crisis are set to pay out "record" bonuses and compensation - $145 billion by some estimates. State Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), the Republican candidate running for the special U.S. Senate election next week, announced yesterday that he would oppose the recently announced financial crisis responsibility fee on large banks. Brown's defense of the financial industry has not been ignored by Wall Street. Wall Street's two largest political enforcers are also out fighting to elect him.") Telling the voters his/her positions and what he/she would do if elected: Project Vote Smart votesmart.org is a nonpartisan organization. It doesn't support any candidates and doesn't embrace any political philosophy. It merely collects information on where candidates stand on a wide variety of issues and attempts to make that information readily available to the public. Project Vote Smart uses a "Political Courage Test" in which candidates are asked one central question: "Are you willing to tell citizens your positions on the issues you will most likely face on their behalf?" The most recent information for Martha Coakley and Scott Brown are from their campaigns for Attorney General and State Senator, respectively. Martha lists her current positions. On the page for Scott, it says "Senator Scott P. Brown repeatedly refused to provide any responses to citizens on the issues through the 2008 Political Courage Test when asked to do so by national leaders of the political parties, prominent members of the media, Project Vote Smart President Richard Kimball, and Project Vote Smart staff." The most recent information from Scott shows his positions in 2002. Reproductive rights: Martha supports women's right to choose. Scott waffles on this. He says that he supports choice, but he would make it more difficult for women. Equal rights: Martha has stood as a national leader in defending same- sex couples and their right to marry. Despite the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause and our anti-discrimination laws, Scott discriminates against gay couples and wants to deny them equal protection. Global Warming: Martha will continue her commitment to combat global warming by supporting the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, as well as the more recent Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. These comprehensive bills will make the United States a leader in the fight against global warming. Scott says that he wants to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and that he supports development of alternative energy sources. However, the Sierra Club describes Scott Brown as "a climate change skeptic". For more information about Martha Coakley's positions, you can go to [Coakley page link] for an overview and follow links to more detailed explanations of her positions on separate web pages, many of which have links to white papers with even more information. For more information about Scott Brown's positions, you can go to [Brown page link] for an overview - unfortunately the brief overview is the only information about his positions. (I don't know whether he has more ideas and is afraid to tell us, or he hasn't thought things through any more deeply than the brief overview.) - DR Norfolknet.com your community, on-line