Scott Brown’s “Thank God” gaffe, which has been panned across the newsosphere today, is leading to bizarre behavior from Republicans (including Brown himself). Case in point:
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) defended Brown and his comments in statements to POLITICO.
“I know Scott Brown’s story, and I know that he had many obstacles to overcome in his youth,” Ayotte said. “It’s inappropriate to make light of his personal circumstances, or to disparage or belittle him for the decisions he made to improve his life. Scott is one of the best guys to work with in the Senate, and I am proud to call him my colleague.”
Collins similarly turned the spotlight on Warren, saying Brown was “merely responding” to comments first made by the Harvard professor, in which she “made light of the difficult choices in his life” – a reference to Warren’s recent jab at Brown’s decision to pose nude for a magazine in his 20’s.
“It’s wrong to mock anyone who had to make hard choices to overcome tough obstacles,” she said. “His story is no different than millions of Americans who are doing everything they can to make ends meet.”
Gosh, to read those statements, you’d think that Warren was the one who had brought up the issue of Scott Brown’s posing nude in Cosmo. So let’s get one thing very clear: it was Republican activist and Melrose Republican Committee Chair Scott Conway, not Elizabeth Warren, who first mentioned Scott Brown’s decision to pose for Cosmo.
Let’s also recall the circumstances of Scott Brown’s posing in Cosmo all those years ago. Contrary to the implication in Conway’s question, it’s not the case that Brown was pounding the pavement looking for modeling jobs to pay his tuition and finally landed the Cosmo gig. Quite the contrary; as the Globe reported in 1982, Cosmo
found Scott Brown inadvertently, through his 16-year-old sister, LeeAnn, who entered his picture [in Cosmo’s “sexiest man” contest] and didn’t tell him.
And, having won, here’s how Brown described to the Globe the hard times that followed:
“There is a devastation to instant recognition. Last night I was in the Red Parrot (a New York club), a guest of Nancy Kissinger, and a New York newspaper photographer came to me and said: Excuse me, Mr. Brown, may I take your picture?’ There was a roped off area (for VIP’s) and I was immediately ushered into it and introduced to Madam so-and-so, Countess so-and-so. I didn’t know anybody. But there I was, amidst wealth and fame, being photographed.
“Last Wednesday I was taking my finals. This Wednesday I am in the inner circle. Last Wednesday, nobody in New York knew who I was. This Wednesday I was approached by Ford, Elite Wilhelmina (New York modeling agencies). They each gave me about five minutes of their time. Each said, in essence, ‘hmmm, you photograph well.’ But no firm offers. A few days later I was on 10 television shows. My picture got in all the papers. Then all the agencies called me back. They all said they could get me $2000-a-day working – right away.
“But I’m interested in an agent who took another approach. A woman called Sue Charney. Before I went on television, before my picture was in the papers, she took all the time in the world to discuss my future with me. She told me she’d find me a place to stay, pay for my transportation to New York, get me bookings. She sensed my fears and let me talk them out. I always respond to sincerity….
“Now I’m off to New York and it’s like, wow, I might make it. ABC- TV has called me – the woman who heads the soap opera casting, and she auditioned me. They’re even going to do a poster of me….
I’m scared about the risk. Everything was set for me at Boston College, the year ahead was safe. Now I am going to New York, the land of sharks. And I’m stopping people in New York to ask where Lexington Avenue, where Fifth Avenue is. And I go the wrong way and end up on Broadway.”
Look, did Scott Brown have a rough time of it as a kid? Absolutely, and credit to him for overcoming that. But the notion that Brown’s posing for Cosmo had much to do with that strikes me as seriously revisionist history. Tweaking Brown for posing nude in a magazine 20-odd years ago is a tweak about exactly that: posing nude in a magazine 20-odd years ago. It doesn’t go beyond that, as much as Brown, Ayotte, or Collins may wish it does.
Brown is getting way too upset that Elizabeth Warren made a reference to his photoshoot, especially when practically invited to by the questioner. Our side (though notably not Warren herself it seems) is getting way too upset about Brown’s joking “Thank God” reaction to her comment. I think everyone needs to lighten up a bit.
Democrats could cede the beauty contest to Republicans – at least there is something they are good at.
Scott Brown has displayed a pattern of boorish, sexist remarks coupled with dishonesty (he knows as well as the rest of us that Elizabeth Warren did not attend Harvard). It isn’t just yesterday’s comment, it’s his similarly disgusting “humor” about his daughters and his cavalier disregard for concerns that a candidate he endorsed ignored a partner’s criminal sexual assault while on duty as a cop.
There is a pattern here, Christopher, a disgusting pattern. A pattern of bullying misogynist behavior, coupled with dishonesty. A pattern of contempt for women that is all too prevalent in Massachusetts politics (from BOTH parties, sadly), and all too prevalent in Massachusetts culture.
I think the time to “lighten up a bit” is after, not before, such behavior is no longer tolerated in our public officials.
he was the victim when his team created sockpuppet twitter accounts attacking Democratic Senate candidates. Scott was also the victim when his campaign team registered queenelizabethwarren.com. Please, there is only so much Scott can take. Sniff, sniff.
I am surprised that these two Republican Senators are attempting to use a variant of the “comes from a broken home” defense. I wonder if they’d be as quick to defend Vanessa Williams or Princess Cheyenne, should one of them go into politics.
Among many double standards. We love looking at beautiful people. They’re….beautiful!
Did Michelangelo’s David or Botticelli’s Venus live in shame the rest of their lives? I hope not, their images as presented by the masters produced centuries of joy and wonder. Except for John Ashcroft, who felt the need to cover works of art.
Never understood why Vanessa Williams was deemed unfit to parade around in a swimsuit, after pics surfaced without the swimsuit. Hmmm.
If Princess Cheyenne is a Democrat that she has obviously proved her political astuteness.
Let’s get back to the discussion of Scott Brown’s cozy relationship with his Wall Street backers.
a good offense.
We learned this with Karl Rove. Don’t worry about the truth. When you’ve screwed up, try to turn the tables, even if you’re the guy who never went to Vietnam and you have to create a lie machine to smear the guy who did.
Unfortunately for Brown, neither he nor his people seem to be very good at launching an adequate offense or defense. That’s not to say Brown and his team haven’t managed to be offensive…
The video shows that the Republicans implying that Warren did anything wrong are completely in fantasy land. Her comment was almost needed because of inappropriateness of the question.
But, given Brown’s “poor, poor, pitiful me” act and the follow up by the chorus formed by the two female Republican Senators, this line stands out:
“Everything was set for me at Boston College, the year ahead was safe”
Brown received help to go to an elite college and was set up to do the same at an elite Law School. Now it is true that, like Warren, it could result in paying off loans 10 years later, but this Tufts graduate was not exactly living like a character out of Dickens.