[Cross-posted from the ProgressMass blog. Like ProgressMass on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.]
Last week was a week of subtle (and not-so-subtle) reminders for Republican Scott Brown.
Republican Scott Brown’s Democratic challenger, Elizabeth Warren, gave an extremely well-received and rousing defense of the middle class and small businesses in her address to the Democratic National Convention. Not only did the speech give Warren another opportunity to raise her profile and frame key issues, but it also served as a reminder of how desperate Brown was to distance himself from the Republican Party and Mitt Romney while making a token appearance at the Republican National Convention.
We were also reminded last week of how hollow Republican Scott Brown’s political posturing has been. Brown has been on a campaign tour for which the theme appears to be denying that our government has served any meaningful role in helping businesses succeed. Unfortunately for Brown, his message is wholly refuted by the fact that many of the companies he has stopped at on his campaign tour have benefited from government assistance, services, tax credits, and contracts.
Readers of the MetroWest Daily News were reminded of Republican Scott Brown’s shallow campaign, as Brown “demonstrates a dramatic and persistent lack of substance; there’s little articulate vision or independent thought; there’s no real ‘beef.’” Readers of Go Local Worcester were reminded that Brown is a loyal footsoldier in the Republican Caucus of the U.S. Senate when it comes to economic policy, including when it comes to voting against major jobs bills. Readers of the Harvard Crimson were reminded that the “us” in Brown’s “He’s for us” slogan refers to Brown’s corporate funders:
Since the policy is an economic burden to his constituents, Senator Brown must have other motivations for voting to extend fossil fuel tax loopholes.
Republican Scott Brown complaining about the less-than-stellar numbers in the latest jobs report only served as a reminder that Brown has indeed voted against tens of thousands of jobs for Massachusetts. (It’s all the more disingenuous that Brown would try to pin the lackluster jobs numbers on Elizabeth Warren when Brown is the person actually voting against jobs!)
There were also updates in the media-pushed storyline regarding the endorsement of Boston Mayor Tom Menino (who reportedly tends to wait until late in the game to endorse anyway). It is incredibly unlikely that Mayor Menino would buck the Democratic Party and endorse Republican Scott Brown, so the best Brown can hope for is Mayor Menino staying quiet. That seems unlikely given this:
Asked by a television reporter whether it was unusual that the mayor of the capital city hasn’t endorsed the Democratic nominee, Menino said, “No it isn’t. I usually wait until the proper time.”
A decision will come “very shortly,” he said. (Worth noting: Menino did not endorse Gov. Deval Patrick, a fellow Democrat running for a second term in 2010, until Sept. 10.)
Asked by another reporter if Brown has separated himself from the Romney-Ryan ticket enough, Menino said, “No, he hasn’t.”
Menino pointed to Brown not voting to extend unemployment benefits. “I mean, let’s get real about this, guys. You know, he’s a nice guy, but I mean, you’ve got to be with people, the working people of Massachusetts. That’s what I think about all the time. The people I represent, what do they need? When they’re unemployed, they need unemployment benefits. They need health care. All those issues. I mean, he’s a nice guy but I need a consistency,” the mayor said.
If/When Mayor Menino endorses Republican Scott Brown’s Democratic challenger, Elizabeth Warren, it won’t be a token endorsement, according to Menino, but rather one that carries a lot of weight:
“We’ll make a decision very shortly and we’ll have an impact on the election whoever we support,” said Menino, who called it still early yet with 64 days until the election.
Mayor Menino’s vocal support for Elizabeth Warren would bring him in line with Senator John Kerry, the Worcester County political operations of Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray and Congressman Jim McGovern, and the hard-working families of organized labor, the last of which expressed some support for Brown before Brown’s right-wing drift upon arriving in Washington D.C.
At the end of the day, all Republican Scott Brown has left is his negative, misleading, divisive gutter politics.
What reminders of Republican Scott Brown’s record of partisan obstruction does this week have in store for us? Find out in the next “Weekly Scott Brown-d Up”!
Elizabeth Warren stepped up to the podium at the DNC in prime time as a warm up for President Clinton in front of 19,000 delegates and a national TV audience and showed herself not just admirably but as the real deal. Everyone in that audience and those who I asked who watched at home were very impressed. This was her first time with such a large viewership and although a little nervous at first she eventually stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the park. Now pan to Scott Brown at the RNC, a no show after being asked to be part of the program. On the floor interviews it showed him to be extremely nervous like a deer caught in the headlights. He couldn’t wait to leave and said so, “I just want to get back to my truck….” Honest to God that was his reply. This man fails the leadership test and our candidate Elizabeth Warren is a true fighter for everyday folks. Scott Brown just plays one given who he actually hangs around with. As Julien Castro remarked, “You can tell a man(or woman) by whom he(she) walks with.” Time to give Elizabeth our all. Just do it or pay the price. Maybe progress will come if things get bad enough but why prolong the suffering.
“President Obama is ready, Vice President Biden is ready, I am ready. Are you ready?”
because he was fulfilling his guard duty commitment, this time at the Pentagon. You know, doin’ guard stuff – at teh Pentagon and the next thing he knew, the wind blew him to Tampa and there he was in front of a camera.
I half-expected to see him at the DNC reclaiming his democrat credentials.