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During the Tea Party Convention in Nashville Sarah Palin gives the Tea Baggers and their movement way too much credit for the election of Scott Brown. Somehow she forgot to mention the influence of Mitt Romney and his team for Brown's success.

Mitt Romney's Man:

If Scott Brown pulls off an upset in the race to replace Ted Kennedy in the Senate, he may have Mitt Romney to thank. Samuel P. Jacobs on the 2012 GOP presidential hopeful's hidden hand.

There are a number of forces driving Republican Scott Brown’s surprising surge in the Massachusetts special Senate election campaign. He’s benefiting from public anger over the Obama administration’s health-care reform plan. He’s buoyed by a tide of cash from around the country, donated by conservatives eager to send a message by upsetting Democratic front-runner Martha Coakley. And then there’s the lackluster campaign Coakley herself has run.

Largely overlooked in assessing Brown’s prospects: the hidden hand of Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor headlined at a fundraiser for Brown last October. And Romney has helped Brown raise money outside the state as well. “I know Scott and how determined he is to win. I've campaigned for him, raised money on his behalf, and we're doing all we can to help him over the finish line,” Romney wrote supporters last Monday. Brown, 50, raised $1.3 million that day. Read on...

Heaven forbid that would sway Sister Sarah from giving this food for fodder to the good folks who forked out all the money to see her speak. Scott Brown is about as grass roots as Palin and Dick Armey and Tim Phillips and the rest of these Republicans who are making fools of those who are clueless about the money behind this astroturf movement.

Palin: And I am a big supporter of this movement; I believe in this movement. Got a lot of friends and family in the lower 48 who attend these events and across the country just knowin’ that this is the movement and America is ready for another revolution and you are a part of this. I look forward to attending more Tea Party events in the near future. It is just so inspiring to see real people, not politicos, not inside the beltway professionals come out and stand up and speak out for common sense conservative principles.

And today I want to start off with a special shout out to America’s newest Senator thanks to you, Scott Brown. Now in many ways Scott Brown represents what this beautiful movement is all about. You know he was just a guy with a truck and a passion to serve our country. He looked around and he saw that things weren’t quite right in Washington. So he stood up and he decided he was going to do his part to put our government back on the side of the people. And it took guts and it took a lot of hard work. But with grass roots support Scott Brown carried the day.

[…]

You know considering the recent conservative election sweep it’s time that they stopped blaming everyone else. When you’re 0 for 3 you’d better stop lecturing and start listening. The only place that the left has to blame is on their agenda so some advice for our friends on that side of the aisle. That’s where you’ve gotta’ look because that’s what got you into this mess. The Obama, Pelosi, Reid agenda—it’s going to leave us less secure, more in debt and more under the thumb of big government. And that is out of touch. And it’s out of date. And if Scott Brown is any indication, it’s runnin’ outta’ time.

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It would be nice to see a few more segments like this one where gasbag Bill Bennett gets some push back on his empty rhetoric for once instead of steam rolling over Donna Brazile or whoever they have him up against. From CNN's State of the Union, the panel is asked what went wrong in the Massachusetts Senate race and Martha Coakley's pollster Celinda Lake says the Democrats need to produce on jobs and Wall Street reform and get some things done or the Republicans are going to continue to seize on their "change" message.

When Bill Bennett tries to claim that the voters of Massachusetts didn't like what was in the health care bill and that the President has moved too far to the left, Lake and Brazile do a pretty good job of knocking down his talking points.

KING: He's not a rhetorical dynamo, but Mitch McConnell has been pretty disciplined in keeping the Republicans together, has he not? I know you're a Democrat, but as somebody who has to organize, he get points?

BRAZILE: For being an obstructionist? Absolutely. For not giving the American people any alternatives? When President Obama took the oath of office, we were hemorrhaging 20,000 jobs a day. Now no one is satisfied with 85 -- losing 85,000 jobs and now -- in the past month. But the truth is, s that the president inherited an economy that was on the brink. And with the policies that he has put forward, this economy is now moving along.

I agree that the president needs to go back to the basics. He needs to go back to the campaigning mode, not the campaign itself, but he promised the American people change. He promised to bring us together, to heal this country, and to move us forward.

And what we have seen from the Republicans is no agenda, no alternative. Yes, you benefited from a political environment that is anti-incumbent. It is bad out there. But I do believe at the end of the day that the Republicans need to put up. We need to vet the Republican policies once they put them forward. And they need to be held accountable for those policies. They had a free pass in 2009.

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From The Daily Show Jan. 20, 2010. Stewart nails it as usual.

STEWART: So there you go. Democrats have lost one special Senate election in our nation's 15th most populous state. Let me see if I can break this down for you in mathematical terms: there has been a two percent swing in the power differential for 50 percent of our legislative branch of government, which of course makes up 33 percent of the federal hierarchy, so it's... let's put it another way.

[...]

What the f*#ck? Two percent of 50 percent of thir-... oh right, I forgot! As the 41st member of the minority party, Brown will now be imbued with near limitless power over financial, military, and social policy, just as our founders had intended.

And so it is at ah... 11:04 fake Eastern standard time we at The Daily Show are gonna call it. Scott Brown is now apparently the 45th president of these United States Of America! Wooo! Yeah baby! Welcome. It has been a long incredibly grueling couple of days since we first heard of this man. And now he's in charge of everything.

Joan Walsh does a good job on Hardball hitting back at the meme that the problem with the health care bill was that Obama bowed down to liberals when just the opposite is true. Of course Matthews and the corporate media are going to keep repeating the lie that Obama needs to move to the middle.

MATTHEWS:Chris and Joan, it seems to me there`s been a comparison between what we had yesterday in Massachusetts, and the one held in Pennsylvania, when Harris Wofford knocked off Richard Thornburgh, in that incredible race in `91. Is this has much of a leader, an indicator, of just where we`re headed -- Joan -- for this November?

WALSH: You know, I`m not sure it is but I do want to say I`ve spent the last week, Chris, saying, Martha Coakley ran a bad campaign, but we really do have to look at what this means for Democrats. And I think that`s the first and foremost thing that it means is that President Obama has simply not led.

He let the Republicans run this health care agenda. People want to blame Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi? He turned it over to the Senate`s Finance Committee, he gave Republicans their marching orders, he gave them rope to hang him and that`s what they did. That`s why we`re still talking about this a year after his inauguration.

MATTHEWS: So he`s been ineffective?

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: He`s been an effective progressive?

WALSH: Oh, please, don`t set me off today, Chris. I know you`re feisty. I`m really feisty. That`s the one thing I will be here to say.

This is garbage that he bowed to his left. This is a corporate bill with corporate giveaways that the left is pissed about. That`s the problem with it. And I`ll finish Howard Dean`s sentence. One more thing. Howard Dean was trying to say -- I don`t agree with him on everything. Martha Coakley lost the progressives because nobody cares that she`s for the public option. That is dead and gone because the President didn`t fight for it.

So the idea that he went too far to this left is simply, factually wrong.

MATTHEWS: No, I`m just asking whether Martha Coakley was the Progressive candidate out there and what she stood for. It sounds like she was addressing the issue the way you might do, had you been a candidate and I just wonder why the defeat of her didn`t signal a lack of favor for the position, is all I`m asking. I`m trying to learn here.

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Thom Hartmann hits the corporate Democrats who are carping for the party to move even further to the right after the loss in Massachusetts and the choice President Obama faces now of whether to listen to them or not.

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They sure as hell don't mind disrespecting the will of the entire country though, do they? This smells of them finding an excuse to jam through the crappy bill passed by the Senate and telling the House they have to go along with it or it's a failure for the Democratic Party. Lawrence O'Donnell was on MSNBC and said Harry Reid would not seat Brown until Massachusetts submitted all of their paperwork for the election which is going to take a couple of weeks. So they would have two weeks to still try to reconcile the bill and make it better without worrying about Brown's vote if that's what they wanted to do.

The Republicans and Brown would be screaming like banshees but who cares. They can't be screaming much louder than they are right now. So either they want the Senate bill passed or they don't care if HCR passes at all IMO, but who knows. I guess we'll find out shortly as this plays out.

L. KING: John King is at Brown headquarters.

The last Republican from Massachusetts, John, you know it well, I guess, was Senator Ed Brooke, the black liberal Republican, was it not, in -- in, was that '78 -- '68 maybe?

J. KING: He was a moderate -- you're exactly right, Larry. Ed Brooke was a moderate Republican from Western Massachusetts. He served two terms. He left the United States Senate in 1979. And not since then has Massachusetts sent a Republican to the Senate.

But tonight, Massachusetts has not only decided to send a Republican to the Senate, Larry, Massachusetts is sending a very blunt message to President Obama and the national Democratic Party.

Scott Brown campaigned against the Obama health care plan, against the Obama stimulus plan, against what he calls "the spending and the taxing in Washington, D.C."

And voters in a state that Obama carried by 26 points have now, by a significant margin, decided to send a Republican, Scott Brown, to Washington.

And I want to echo the point, Wolf, just made. I'm told by two Republican sources high up in the Brown campaign that Martha Coakley, the Democratic candidate, called a short time ago to say she was conceding the race. I'm told she congratulated Scott Brown on the campaign and wished him well in the very consequential days he has ahead, Larry, as he goes to Washington now to take the seat that Edward M. Kennedy, the liberal icon, held for 46 years.

L. KING: One other thing, John. And we'll discuss it later and certainly at length in our -- in our midnight show, is he can't be sworn in, according to Massachusetts law, until the 29th.

Can the Democrats in the House and Senate try to do something before then on health?

J. KING: Can -- the answer to can they is yes. The answer to will they is don't be so sure. The White House has sent signals it would like to try to move fast. But many Democrats are saying that that would be dangerous, if you disrespect the will of the people of Massachusetts.

This election is being fueled by Independent voters, Larry. Independent voters are very powerful in many of the other key states and key races this year. Many Democrats are afford that if they act quickly in that interim period, they will cause a lot more trouble for themselves in the long-term than any benefit they would get in the short-term.

L. KING: Thanks, John.

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Stay classy Erick. Leave it this flame thrower to make a remark like this about Ted Kennedy. Erickson really should be ashamed of himself. And leave it to Mr. Wingnut of the Week John Avlon to follow with the "can't we all just get along" because no one likes it that the Democrats haven't kissed enough Republican ass bullshit card and harping about deficits as to why Martha Coakley lost.

No John, she lost because they ran a bad candidate who ran a bad campaign and the Republican who acted like he really cared about getting the job ran a good one.

ROBERTS: And, Erick Erickson, let's hear from you here.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: A year ago -- let me just put this question to you or this thought to you. A year ago, the story was, Republicans were decimated. How were they ever going to come back from this? And since then we have had turnovers in New Jersey and Virginia in the governorships, a potential win here in this very important Senate district in Massachusetts.

Going forward, in 2010, if you're a Republican, how are you feeling and how do you think this is going to play out in November?

ERICKSON: Well, you know, those Republicans, they're just never competitive in New England. At least that's what we have been hearing for the past year.

Jim DeMint wanted Waterloo on health care. Massachusetts is delivering Waterloo tonight, it looks like. We don't know for sure, but, even if Scott Brown gets close, the fact that we're taking seriously that a Republican in Massachusetts is running close to the Democrat establishment candidate, frankly if I were a Democrat or a Republican establishment guy, I would be a little bit sick tonight, because Scott Brown ran against the Republican establishment and he ran against the Democratic establishment.

The national Republican Senate committee gave only $500,000, and did so without anybody -- under the radar, so they wouldn't get credit for it. Meanwhile, Jim DeMint goes out with his Senate conservative fund and pounds the table for Scott Brown. And he's going to win, it looks like.

You know, the irony here, though, is that Obama's unicorn of hope and changes is dying under Ted Kennedy, that, if Ted Kennedy had decided to resign or retire when he found out just how bad his health was, instead of wanting to be a martyr for the cause, the Democrats wouldn't be in this position.

(CROSSTALK)

AVLON: This is all about independents.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: Let Paul just make a point there about this...

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: Go ahead, Paul.

BEGALA: Yes. Just let me defend Senator Kennedy's memory here from what was really a low blow.

ERICKSON: Well, look, it's true, Paul.

BEGALA: He gave every ounce of his energy until the day he died to try to represent the people of Massachusetts. And they loved him.

And if he were on the ballot today, even with the wave that Alex talks about, it would be a landslide for Ted Kennedy. Campaigns matter and candidates matter. And Teddy Kennedy would have won today. I doubt Erick would even try to argue with that point. He would win in a landslide today.

ERICKSON: Oh, I think Ted Kennedy would win.

But, you know, had Ted Kennedy gone on and resigned, instead of trying to be the person around whom everyone rallied, the Democrats would not be in the position...

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: Let's let John Avlon in here...

(CROSSTALK)

AVLON: One thing independents hate is this partisan bickering back and forth, and that's in part what this is a reaction to, this old play-to-the-base politics that are trying to declare independence for a long time.

There are two things this is really about. One, independents have been deficit hawks since at least Ross Perot. And the overspending has been alienating them. The second thing is that independents don't like unified control of government. They see it leads to ideological arrogance and legislative overreach. And that's the other thing that is happening tonight.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: If we could, folks, sorry, just hold on to that point, because we have got some more breaking news. Wolf Blitzer has got some more results. We will get right back to you -- Wolf.

From The Colbert Report Jan. 18, 2010:

The Massachusetts Senate race is the kind of national election Stephen loves -- the type that gets decided by one state.

Jon Stewart's take on the clusterf*ck in Massachusetts.

"Let me see if I have this straight. You need to replace perhaps the most beloved liberal in the history of the Senate with a candidate that believes Curt Schilling is a Yankee fan. Because if this lady loses, the health care reform bill that the beloved late senator considered his legacy will die," Stewart said. "And the reason it will die is because if Coakley loses, Democrats will only have then an 18-vote majority in the Senate. Which is more than George W. Bush ever had in the Senate when he did whenever the f**k he wanted."

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A lot of good points made by Thom here on why Democrats are having trouble with their "centrist" or corporate candidates and on how the Republicans just don't care about governing at all.