I was born in the state of Massachusetts. I lived there for 4 years when I was in medical school.

Most of my extended family lives in Massachusetts except for those who wanted to escape taxes and moved to New Hampshire. And just about all of them are Democrats.

Massachusetts has gone for the Democrat candidate in presidential elections < a href="http://www.270towin.com/states/Massachusetts">17 out of the last 21 times. The state sent Ted Kennedy back to Washington DC even when he left Mary Jo Kopechne behind in a lake.

My parents registered as Democrats when they lived in Massachusetts because it was the only way to have any influence on who won an election. It only makes sense because registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 3 to 1 in the commonwealth. The fact that Alaska has a ratio of less than 2 to 1 Republicans to Democrats puts just how Democrat dominated Massachusetts into perspective.

The Democrats in all of their arrogance have been pushing a big government agenda. It is a mistaken belief that the 2008 election was something other than a referendum on George W. Bush. They have failed to recognize that the American public is not happy with what they are doing.

A few short months ago Democrat Martha Coakley led Republican Scott Brown by 30 points in the polls. It is unlikely that any Democrat thought it possible that the seat would fall into Republican hands. And yet that is exactly what happened.

It is hard to call any single election a referendum on an agenda. However, it is hard to ignore the loss of a US Senate seat at the center of the Democrat universe. The power of the statement is unavoidable given the last minute Democrat smear tactics and a visit by the Obamessiah himself.

Much has been made of how the Democrats will try to sneak the health care plan through now. Will they have The House approve the Senate plan? Will they try to rush it through before Brown is seated? Will they use procedural tactics to slip a modified version through the Senate?

That is all nice but the real message here should be heard by all politicians.

What happened in Massachusetts? Independent voters outnumber both Democrats and Republicans. Obama played more moderate than he was in his campaign and scored the independents. Those same independents sent a message that they do not appreciate that he has not governed that way.

The Republicans lost their way between 1994 and 2006. They forgot about fiscal responsibility. They made the government larger despite the fact that it looks mild in comparison to what is going on now. They took the American people for granted and pushed an agenda that was unpalatable.

Those independents do not vote social issues. They vote with their pocket books. They vote for their "independence" from government.

It turns out that the theory the Republicans would wander around in the desert for decades was premature. The party must learn from its mistakes and once again become the party of fiscal conservatism.

Unfortunately, it is unlikely to happen. The DC lobby and spin machine manages to turn members of both parties into special interest hacks. Voters are also quick to forget bad overall national policy to elect people who bring home the bacon.

It does not help the Republicans that one of the most popular figures in the party is the wildly irresponsible Sarah Palin. She spent money like a drunken sailor while in office. One fear Republicans should have is she could create exactly the kind of third party the country does not need.

Recent presidential elections have been a choice between the lesser of two evils. Alaska has had the same problem with gubernatorial and congressional elections.

People can vote for third party candidates and I have done so myself more times than I can count in the last 20 years. The problem is it ends up being an empty protest in a country where the two major parties control the money and the agenda.

The two party system is broken. Massachusetts may have saved us from the Democrats tonight. The thing is who will save us from the Republicans when they seize power again at some point.

What we need is candidates that are not the lesser of two evils. Are they out there? Maybe, but the question is will they ever get a chance.