Scott Brown (R-MA) intends to vote with the Democrats on the jobs bill.
While I'm already seeing calls of "RINO", I don't see why this comes as a surprise. Brown stated from day one he would be a "Scott Brown Republican", and that he would make independent decisions from one matter to the next, based solely on the bill at hand.
From the Boston Herald, before he was even sworn in:
“I’m going to look at each issue, I’ve already made my intentions very, very clear,” Brown said. “I don’t owe anybody anything. There will be times when I will be with the leadership and there’ll be times when I won’t.”
This attitude is one of the things I respect about Brown the most, and why - as a Pennsylvania independent (at the time) - I was cheering him on to victory in Massachusetts. I like the idea of a politician making independent decisions, and I admire a man who can put it so bluntly:
If I see a bill that's good for my state first and I don't care where it comes from, if it is good for Massachusetts first, I will look at and it consider it. I have always worked across party lines to solve problems and have a history of 6,000 votes doing just that. I'm looking forward to analyzing each every bill and making a decision when it comes up.
I don't know how serious folks are about the "RINO" accusations. Since I am now personally a Republican In Name Only, I can see where such a title may not always be taken as the intended insult anyway...
But, for what it's worth, I think it's a refreshing change to have a politician who is doing pretty much exactly what he told us he'd do.
4 comments:
Scratcher, Scratcher, Scratcher... Here I was coming back to finish my comment from the other night congratulating you about your recent milestone of choosing a political party... and now this. Shame, shame, shame.
In all honesty, I don't mind this vote. I do intend to write about it and may not seem so openminded about things when I do, but I generally have no problem with him breaking ranks on this one - or any one for that matter when he sees fit.
I do intend to get on record that he joined Collins and Snowe for the first time today to break filibuster because I am supremely confident it will not be the last time he joins forces with that dynamic duo.
Aaahh... but you see, I was never undecided. Just a contrarian libertarian (bite me, Huckabee). I don't want to be a part of any party now. I joined so I could be involved in the primary, because I'm afraid we'll see nation-wide repeats of NY-23, where the RNC wants to back candidates that the people don't want to accept.
I think you're right about Snowe & Collins. When it happens, I'll link back to your coming post about Brown, showing you were on it first. :)
You won't ever hear me call myself a Republican. Conservative? Yes. Libertarian? That's fine with me too. Republican? Not so much.
I've been a registered-Republican for 23 years. I'd change to independent but there's no point in it, other than standing in line at the Secretary of State.
Well said fellas. I happen to be a proud Republican hell bent on Righting the course, but I can certainly sympathize with your positions. I'm a registered voter in Tennessee even though I have lived just about everywhere over the last eight years. That state is so screwed up at the state level that I'd burn the card and go indy myself if I didn't support the national party and want to vote in statewide primaries to keep the nutbags sharing my party name from turning the TN GOP into the church around the corner.
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