The problem with MA-Sen

The Boston Phoenix's David Bernstein has a story this week that includes a bit about one of the many reasons the Massachusetts Senate race has become nearly unbearable: The true believers.

This is not something that sets the race between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown apart from others. During Dorchester's District 3 Council race, the true believers were similarly insufferable.

The problem is that true believers...are prone to believe even the craziest things about those on the opposite political side.

Those on the left often fall into the same mindset and pass along equally outrageous claims. Few charges against Warren have been as cringe-inducing as the speculation among some Massachusetts Democrats that Brown invented the story of being molested, which appears in his memoir.

Anybody with a few minutes on their hands should take a stroll through the Twitter hashtag for the Senate race (#masen) or Massachusetts politics (#mapoli) and see how long your faith in humanity holds up. Or just attempt to follow either of these people -- for health reasons, it's not a recommended move for more than a few minutes -- and you'll get the same effect.

The nice thing about the 2010 special Senate election was its brevity. The shrieking at Blue Mass Group and the bizarre posting of "Les Miserables" songs on Red Mass Group did not last too long. Unfortunately, we don't have that same luxury now.