This letter is in regards to Sarah Fast from the Feb. 9 edition.  While I agree it is time for actual work to be done in Congress instead of the in-fighting we have seen over the last year. I would like to make some corrections to the naïve attempt to analyze the current political environment, especially in regards to MA elections. It is true that Republican Scott Brown won a seat held by the Democrats for over 50 years, but its more complicated that they don’t like Democrats. It is not that MA doesn’t like Democratic directions, health care reform, or a liberal agenda because if they didn’t they would not have kept Ted Kennedy for so long . Martha Coakly, the Democrat, ran a terrible campaign. She did little to engage her base or the huge Independent  population. Coakly was an over all bad candidate who took advantage of the seat held by Democrats for so long Brown ran a campaign as a moderate, and did not really identify with the Republican Party. I would also like to point out that a Democrat took a seat held by Republicans since the Civil War in New York state a couple months back. Turn over happens when people run bad campaigns. The problem with Democrats is not the progress they are making, it’s how long it is taking. Republicans and even Blue Dog Democrats have become successful at being obstructionists, and hypocrites. Instead of stopping progress, its high time to engage in problem solving instead of filibustering or complaining on Fox News!

Ashley Mates