In the upset heard ‘round the world, Republican Scott Brown’s Massachusetts victory last week officially ended Democrats’ supermajority in the Senate. Democrats all over the country are reeling from Brown’s “shocking” victory, but it shouldn’t have been a complete surprise. The fact that traditionally liberal Massachusetts elected a Republican senator for the first time since 1972 is simply an indicator of widespread cynicism and disenchantment with the Obama administration.

Only a year after Obama’s inauguration, hope has given way to increased frustration with the downward slope of our country’s success. Despite having a Democratic supermajority in the Senate and a Democratic president, not much has been accomplished over the last year. The recession continues with no real end in sight, and we have yet to pass a decent health care bill.

Obama was elected largely because he was different. Americans had grown tired of the downward spiral of the economy and our seemingly endless presence in Afghanistan and Iraq. We desperately wanted to believe in the change Obama promised. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been delivering. This as yet unsatisfied desire for change likely played a major role in Brown’s election. It would be difficult to think of a more symbolic change then handing over Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat to a man who has vowed to keep a desperately-needed health care bill from passing.

Until we see the state of our nation take a turn for the better, it is likely that the American people will continue grasping for any solution that promises something different. Apparently we have not lost all of our hope that change alone will somehow bring us back to our former glory.

Staunch Republicans’ infatuation with Brown, however, may be swiftly quashed. Yes, he opposes health care reform, but in the grand scheme of things, he is actually quite moderate. He supports abortion rights, and though he opposes the current health care bill, he voted in favor of healthcare reform in Massachusetts. In an interview with FrumForum, he called himself both an “independent voter” and a “Reagan Democrat” and said, “I don’t usually care what my party says.” He unabashedly promotes bipartisan cooperation and professes to have no qualms crossing party lines. Republicans of all shapes and sizes are reveling in his victory, but ultraconservatives are in for a rude awakening when they realize he does not share all of their values.

In broader terms, Brown’s election coupled with the Democrats’ inability to pass a healthcare bill suggest that the theme for politics this year may be a flight from extremism. The healthcare bills are stalling because they are too extreme even for moderate Democrats. Massachusetts elected a Republican for the first time in almost forty years, but he falls closer to the middle than the right.

The biggest lesson we can take away from Brown’s election is that change is not necessarily good. The loss of the supermajority is certainly a blow to Democrats and the healthcare bill, but Brown’s election is not necessarily a victory for Republicans, or at least not those on the conservative end of the spectrum. Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, one thing is certain: We have yet to find the change we’ve been looking for. —Shea Connelly