Coakley positioned herself as a liberal , supporting several key initiatives of President Obama 's , including healthcare reform . She supports reform that accomplishes the three goals of expanding coverage , improving healthcare outcomes and reducing costs . She supports increased regulation of the financial sector , the protection of abortion rights and ending the war in Afghanistan . Notably , Coakley took positions to increase equal rights for LGBT individuals ; she favors ending Do n't Ask , Do n't Tell , repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and strengthening hate crimes laws . Coakley refused to investigate Thomas M. Menino , Mayor of Boston , and his office for allegedly violating laws in regards to destruction of public e-mail records . Coakley denies all accusations of misconduct . She also declined to reprimand the state 's District Attorneys in relation to false statements they allegedly made regarding the effects of the state 's voter approved Massachusetts Sensible Marijuana Policy Initiative in an attempt to defeat the ballot question , as well as allegations the District Attorneys misused state resources ( website ) and failed to file as designated ballot committee in a timely manner while receiving contributions as required by law while challenging the initiative . The statements by the District Attorneys included allegedly inaccurate and misleading warnings in an effort to defeat the law , such as that if the law passed " any person may carry and use marijuana at any time . " When declining to pursue the case Coakley 's office responded with " nothing in the proposed law explicitly forbids public use of the drug " . This basically ignores the fact that the law still levies a $ 100 fine and confiscation for adults , as well as additional mandatory community service for minors for the act of possession , and that using the drug requires possessing it , as well as the fact the law as passed allows cities to pass their own ordinances to further fine public consumption if needed . The failure to file as a ballot committee allegedly stems from the fact state records show the district attorneys began raising money as early as July 18 , 2008 , but did not file a statement of organization or any of the appropriate financial disclosures with the state until September 5 , 2008 . Coakley was herself a member of The Coalition for Safe Streets , the political action group eventually formed by the District Attorneys to fight the ballot question . She stated that she did not feel it was necessary to recuse herself from any decisions based on any possible conflict of interest grounds . In a radio interview on January 16 , 2010 , Coakley described former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling as a " Yankee fan , " which drew criticism . Schilling , who considered running for the Senate seat himself and later endorsed Scott Brown , responded by saying " I 've been called a lot of things ... but never , I mean never , could anyone make the mistake of calling me a Yankee fan . Well , check that , if you did n't know what the hell is going on in your own state maybe you could ... " Coakley later described the comment as a joke . Two of Coakley 's ads had to be reedited after they first aired , one because of a typo in spelling Massachusetts ( spelling it '' '' ) , and another which used old stock footage of New York 's World Trade Center , destroyed in the September 11 terrorist attacks , to represent Wall Street . The second ad was meant to depict Scott Brown as a Wall Street crony . On January 12 , 2010 , an altercation occurred between The Weekly Standard journalist John McCormack and Democratic strategist Michael Meehan , in which the journalist was pushed onto the ground while trying to ask Coakley a question . Coakley stated she was aware of the incident but unsure of exactly what happened . Meehan later apologized for being " a little too aggressive , " while denying any intention to knock down McCormack . Coakley 's role in the case of Keith Winfield attracted criticism . In October 2005 , Winfield , then working as a police officer , was accused of raping his 23-month-old niece with a hot object , most likely a curling iron . A Middlesex County grand jury overseen by Coakley investigated the case and did not take any actions . After the toddler 's mother filed applications for criminal complaints , Coakley then obtained grand jury indictments charging rape and assault and battery . She recommended about ten months after the indictment that Winfield be released , without bail . Winfield remained free until December 2007 , when he received two life terms in prison in a case prosecuted by Coakley 's successor . Coakley defended her decisions , saying that Winfield had a clean record and few other signs of danger
September 11 terrorist attacks
September 11 attacks
2010 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts