Scott Brown's Impact

This week, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg changed his tune and now opposes trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in lower Manhattan. Quickly, New York's overwhelmingly Democratic Congressional delegation came out in opposition to the plan, after initially supporting it.

It now looks like the Obama administration will accede to the public's deep unease with his plan.

Some Democrats are claiming that the Christmas Day attempted airline bombing has changed the situation, making the risk of terrorism more real. As if 9/11, the Daniel Pearl beheading, the numerous terrorist attacks this decade, and the Fort Hood shootings didn't make those risks visible.

I think a more convincing explanation is that with Scott Brown's victory and the decline in the Democratic party's standing with voters, it is now safer to oppose the President on policies that are politically dangerous. Democrats are now running scared, fearing voter backlash this November, and Obama's agenda will suffer for it.