Working Class Hero?

It's almost over except for the shouting -- and the endless ads and the constantly ringing phones. The folks from outside Massachusetts who have taken an increasingly vocal role on both sides of the election will pack their bags and let us do our thing.

So, for those of my readers who haven't made up their mind yet (yeah, you, over there on that laptop), I'd simply like to point to the Globe's chart of where the candidates stand on issues and highlight three in particular:

ECONOMY

Brown opposes tighter regulation of the financial industry.

Coakley supports new, tighter regulation on financial industry.

Translation: Brown favors business as usual on Wall Street, where financial industry executives collect major bonuses as a reward for collapsing the economy.

ENVIRONMENT

Brown opposes the wind farm proposed off Cape Cod. Opposes a federal cap and trade plan to limit greenhouse gases though as a lawmaker, he voted for Massachusetts to join a similar regional plan.

Coakley supports the wind farm. Supports a national cap and trade program on greenhouse gases.

Brown supports the continued head-in-the-sand approach to the environment -- something not even China does anymore.

TAXES

Brown opposes President Obama's proposal to tax large financial institutions to recoup taxpayers' investment in the economic recovery, saying raising taxes will kill jobs. Wants to extend Bush tax cuts for all taxpayers and reduce tax rates across the board.

Coakley supports President Obama's proposal to tax large financial institutions to recoup taxpayers' investment in the economic recovery. Supports letting Bush tax cuts on the top 2 percent of taxpayers expire.

Translation: Brown, again, puts Wall Street ahead of Main Street.

Brown tries to project the working class hero image, driving a pickup and getting (rich) sports stars and entertainers to rally around. But let's not forget it is the Chamber of Commerce, not the unions, who are buying Brown ads.

A Brown win would be bad for the real working (and middle) class heroes who try to make it day to day with a deck stacked against them in favor of business interests. And it would be a vote to intensify, not end, the animosity and gridlock that envelops the nation's capital.

Martha Coakley deserves no praise for her campaign. But she deserves a vote to continue the important things that Ted Kennedy stood for and fought for.