• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Scott Brown

A

Anonymous

Guest
Brown record doesn't always match everyman image
… By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer Steve Leblanc, Associated Press Writer – Wed Jan 20, 6:18 pm ET
BOSTON – As he campaigned for the U.S. Senate from the back of his green pickup, Scott Brown portrayed himself as an independent-minded everyman and moderate candidate fighting the Democratic "machine."

But as a Republican in Massachusetts, Brown sometimes found himself to the right of his own party.

He once proposed an amendment which would have allowed emergency room doctors to deny emergency contraception to rape victims based on the doctor's religious beliefs, which drew the ire of fellow Republicans. But, Brown voted for the final version of the bill without the amendment.

He has criticized the federal stimulus program as ineffective, but said he would not return the money.

And in the final weeks of the campaign, Brown benefited from the financial backing of conservative groups like the Tea Party movement which pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into television ads for him.

Like former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and even Barack Obama in 2008, Brown is getting a boost from his own limited political resume, according to Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. In the absence of a strong record or public profile, voters felt free to read into the candidates whatever they want.

"There is a virtue of not being a known commodity and not having tons of experience in the national spotlight," Zelizer said. "With Palin, people knew nothing about her when she was introduced ... and that was an asset at first."

Brown was able to craft his own image in the public mind in large part because of an initial lackluster response from Democrat Martha Coakley, the state's attorney general who was considered by many a shoo-in after double-digit leads in polls coming off a primary win last month.

Only after Brown picked up momentum and polls reflected a tight race did Coakley respond, but it was too little, too late.

In his acceptance speak Tuesday night, Brown again declared himself an independent thinker.

"I go to Washington as the representative of no faction or interest, answering only to my conscience and to the people," Brown said. "I've got a lot to learn in the Senate, but I know who I am and I know who I serve. I'm Scott Brown. I'm from Wrentham. I drive a truck, and I am nobody's senator but yours."

Key to Brown's campaign was his pledge to be the 41st vote to block Obama's health care initiative, but Brown himself voted in favor of the 2006 Massachusetts health care law that has been used as a blue print for the bill working its way through Congress.

On health care, Brown has said he supports providing health care to everyone, but would block the bill and send it "back to the drawing board." But Brown has also said that providing health care is best left up to the states.

"There should be a way for the states to go and do what we have here," Brown said in December. "They should have the ability to see what their needs are and what help they need, if any, from the federal government and tailor a plan that's good for their individual states."

Another key to his campaign was an strong anti-tax message. In his first television ad, he invoked President John F. Kennedy in calling for lower taxes. In the ad, Brown segued an old newsreel of Kennedy calling for tax cuts into a clip of Brown reading from the same speech.

But as a state senator Brown opposed a 2008 ballot initiative that would have eliminated the state income tax and saved the average taxpayer about $3,700 a year according to supporters.

He also supported hundreds of millions in higher fees and fines pushed by former Republican Gov. Mitt Romney during his first two years in office.

While he's portrayed himself as an independent-minded candidate on the campaign trail, Brown's campaign has pulled in support from deep-pocketed lobbying and interests groups, from U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Tea Party movement, and the Iowa-based conservative American Future Fund, which spent about $600,000 on an ad saying Coakley "supports the reckless spending by Washington politicians."

During the campaign, Brown portrayed himself as stronger on national security. He said terror suspects shouldn't have the same constitutional protections as U.S. citizens, and chastised Coakley for saying there were no al-Qaida terrorists left in Afghanistan.

He also campaigned alongside former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, but a month after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Brown was one of three Massachusetts representatives to vote against a bill that would have granted paid leave to state workers volunteering for disaster relief with the American Red Cross.

He's also positioned himself to the right of his party's 2008 presidential nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, over the simulated drowning tactic known as waterboarding to gain information from suspected terrorists. McCain, who endorsed Brown, opposes waterboarding.

Brown said he doesn't believe waterboarding is torture.

Brown, one of just five Republicans in the 40-member Massachusetts Senate, found himself at odds with other members of his party on social issues.

In 2005, Brown sponsored an amendment to a bill requiring hospitals make emergency contraception available to rape victims. Brown's amendment would have created an exemption for doctors and nurses with "sincerely held religious beliefs" against abortion.

Coakley's campaign seized on the issue, pointing out that even Brown's Republican Senate colleagues criticized the proposal, saying the needs of rape victims should come first.

The criticism struck a nerve with Brown, who called it a "red herring." At one point during the campaign, Brown's two daughters — including a former "American Idol" contestant — met with reporters to vouch that their father cared about rape victims.

Although he touted the fact he'd put more than 200,000 miles on his truck, Brown earns a comfortable income and owns several properties, including his home in Wrentham, three apartments in Boston and a time share.

Besides his base Senate salary of $61,440, Brown also reported earning up to $20,000 from his National Guard service and between $80,000 and $100,000 from a law practice in 2008, according to his latest financial statement filed with the state.

Brown ran in part on a clean cut family image, touring the state dressed in a barn jacket, often with one or both of his daughters in tow. His wife, Gail Huff, a television reporter in Boston, was absent from the campaign until election night.

He's also served 30 years as a member Massachusetts Army National Guard and holds rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

But while he was a law student, Brown traded on his matinee good looks for work as a model, and while still in law school, he posed nude for Cosmopolitan magazine — in a photo spread with a strategically placed crease in the magazine.

___
 

Tam

Well-known member
Oops! From the Boston Globe last November:
Martha Coakley is caught making false statements on financial disclosure form, does not report $262,000 in assets.

Coakley admits to federal filing error

Attorney General Martha Coakley, the state’s top lawyer, acknowledged yesterday that she improperly filled out a federal financial disclosure she submitted to the US Senate as part of her candidacy in the special election.

The Globe reported yesterday that Coakley was the only candidate, in disclosures due to the Senate by this week, to report that neither she nor her spouse had any reportable financial asset worth more than $1,000.


But her campaign said Coakley failed to list $200,000 to $250,000 in financial assets that are held by her husband, Thomas F. O’Connor Jr. The campaign said Coakley also failed to note a retirement account she holds that is worth $12,000.

It was…… a somewhat embarrassing omission for a perceived front-runner who oversees the state’s legal affairs.

Naturally, a campaign spokeswoman dismissed the whole thing as “mistake” – Democrat-speak for “you got me!” – and promised to file amended returns “as quickly as possible” – Democrat-speak for “any time between Hell Freezes Over and Never.”

Are you getting the sense that Attorney General Coakley is not all that well-versed in the laws of her own state or those of the federal government?

Coakley looks like she would have fit right in if she had won :wink:
And about The Tea party funds Brown recieved let's see where Coakley got her campaign funds

Coakley in trouble? Pharma and HMO lobbyists to the rescue
By: Timothy P. Carney
Examiner Columnist
01/09/10 1:55 PM EST

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley speaks during a news conference at her campaign headquarters in Charlestown, Mass. Monday, Jan. 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
With Democrat Martha Coakley in trouble in the Massachusetts special election to fill Ted Kennedy's seat, Democrats could lose vote No. 60 for President Obama's health-care bill. In response, an army of lobbyists for drug companies, health insurance companies, and hospitals has teamed up to throw a high-dollar Capitol Hill fundraiser for Coakley next Tuesday night. The invitation is here.

Of the 22 names on the host committee--meaning they raised $10,000 or more for Coakley--17 are federally registered lobbyists, 15 of whom have health-care clients. Of the other five hosts, one is married to a lobbyist, one was a lobbyist in Pennsylvania, another is a lawyer at a lobbying firm, and another is a corporate CEO. Oh, and of course, there's also the political action commitee for Boston Scientific Corporation.

All the leading drug companies have lobbyists on Coakley's host committee: Pfizer, Merck, Amgen, Sanofi-Aventis, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Astra-Zeneca, and more. On the insurance side of things, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Cigna, Humana, HealthSouth, and United Health all are represented on the host committee.


Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Coakley-in-trouble-Pharma-and-HMO-lobbyists-to-the-rescue-81067542.html#ixzz0dICP3l5v

Vote on Healthcare Bill and she is supported by "All the leading drug companies" and SEIU. INTERESTING :wink:
 

Larrry

Well-known member
If you listen to Ed Schultz they have it figured out.

They came to the conclusion that the voters are Ignorant, lazy, crazy and stupid. Yep thats what they said. Watch em build on that stance.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
Dang! I'm tempted to become a democrat too--I really don't want to
pay my taxes... :shock:














Nah. Not worth it. I have to look at myself in the mirror everyday. :p
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
And in the final weeks of the campaign, Brown benefited from the financial backing of conservative groups like the Tea Party movement which pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into television ads for him.


In a three-way Generic Ballot test, the latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds Democrats attracting 36% of the vote. The Tea Party candidate picks up 23%, and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.

Did anyone think the Tea Party movement was going to put any money towards the Dems?
 
Top