Still Kentucky’s Third Senator

Republican Scott Brown caught lightning in a bottle when he won the Senate election by just four percentage points over Democrat Martha Coakley.  Part of the reason was simply that most Massachusetts voters had no idea who Scott Brown was, and his image as a “regular guy” captivated roughly the same number of voters who checked the box for John McCain back in 2008.  But because Democrats didn’t get out the vote in that special election, Scott Brown took the seat held by Ted Kennedy for nearly half a century.

But that was then.  Now, it’s becoming clear that our junior Senator’s carefully manufactured image as a pick-up-truck-driving, barn-jacket-wearing average guy is just that:  Manufactured.  The truth is Brown drives his truck along the same ideological path as Kentucky’s radical right-wing Republican Senators, Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, and as a consequence is very much out of the Massachusetts mainstream.  Sure, he smiles and wants to be seen as a moderate champion of the middle class, but as the record shows, and as Bay Staters are learning, he voted with the Kentuckians nearly 90% of the time – until he decided to camouflage that record with some recent “moderate” votes.  But his true colors always shine through.

For instance, on April 16, Brown cast his lot with the Kentuckians and the ultra-rich and in favor of high national deficits.  He again voted with extreme Senate Republicans to block debate on the so-called Buffett Rule, legislation that would make sure people who make more than $1 million a year pay their fair share in taxes.

“When push comes to shove on the big votes that really matter, Scott Brown is another Republican vote for those who have already made it,” said Elizabeth Warren, the likely Democratic candidate for U.S.

So, let’s look at the record and compare Scott Brown’s words and actions with the image he’s crafted, starting with his February 2011 60 Minutes interview.  Leslie Stahl asked Brown why he voted against summer jobs for teenagers even though he had a CETA job when he was a kid – indeed, he was the critical 41st vote.  Brown said he did it because of the federal deficit.  That is, Brown had a choice:  Raise taxes for millionaires or hurt kids.  He chose to hurt kids.  He was happy to let the government pay him to work, but he slammed the door shut on kids who need a leg up today.  Scott’s radical Republican hypocrisy trumped real human need.  This has never been the Massachusetts way.

While we’re talking about young people, it’s also worth noting that Brown not only voted with the Kentuckians against expanding student loans, including Pell Grants, he also voted for the ultra-radical Republican spending plan, H.R. 1, that would have cut those Pell Grants by nearly 25%.

But young people aren’t the only target of Brown’s Kentucky outlook.  H.R. 1 would also have cut funds for:  training for jobless workers, safe drinking water, the WIC nutrition program, CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Even more revealing, when Tea Partier Paul Ryan offered his voodoo budget proposal, which would have ended Medicare and slashed federal spending – not to reduce the deficit but to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy – our junior Senator eagerly jumped on board.  “Thank God” for Ryan’s plan, Brown told one local business group.  But once it was clear that Ryan’s plan wouldn’t pass, Brown started tap-dancing:  With an eye on this year’s election, GOP leadership gave him the nod to cast a meaningless vote against the bill even though he still supported the plan’s “general direction.”  Too cute by half, as the Brits say.

And just like his Bluegrass brethren, Brown is perfectly willing to lend Wall Street a hand, while giving the back of his hand to Main Street.

You may remember the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, a fairly feeble attempt to correct the financial abuses that led us into the Great Recession.  The House version of the bill would have given the government authority to split up big Wall Street banks and force that obscenely profitable industry to pay for its own massive failures.  Brown chose instead to hold the bill hostage, refusing to support it until those provisions were removed.  So, thanks to Scott Brown, you and I are still on the hook for Wall Street malfeasance.

Of course, in true Kentucky conservative tradition, Brown has also gotten cozy with dirty-energy companies.  While most Bay Staters accept the fact that the climate is changing and we need to reduce carbon emissions, our junior Senator voted to eliminate EPA’s authority to regulate same.  His vote, by the way, came shortly after a chat with Tea Party funder and climate-change denier David Koch, a chat in which Brown was asking Koch for money.  And yes, David Koch will certainly benefit from Scott Brown’s April 16 vote.

Finally, if he were to be re-elected, Scott Brown’s first vote in the new Congress would be to vote for Senate leadership, which really sets the agenda for the entire Congress.  And who would he vote for? You guessed it:  Republican Senator Mitch McConnell from Kentucky.

So, yeah, no matter how he tries to camouflage his record, we’re finally getting a pretty good idea of just who Scott Brown really is – the Third Senator from Kentucky.

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