I have been predicting this. He didn’t want to get his a** kicked again; he didn’t want to have to answer for his lies; and he wants to try and look senatorial for a change.
Chicken.
UPDATE (by David): WGBH has announced via email that the fourth debate is cancelled. An earlier Globe story does an outstanding job of calling out Brown on his opportunistic flip-flopping re the fourth debate:
On Friday afternoon, Senator Scott Brown was asked about the possibility of an approaching Hurricane Sandy affecting plans for his fourth and final debate with Elizabeth Warren today.
“That’s why I have a truck,” Brown told WBZ-TV. “You know, it has four-wheel drive. If she needs a ride, I’m happy to pick her up, and I’ll be there, providing the electricity is on.”
Well, the power is on at the WGBH-TV studios, but Brown won’t be there tonight for the debate, which was to be sponsored by the Globe and other Boston media outlets….
It also was noteworthy in that Brown announced he was pulling out of the debate about five hours after the Globe published online the results of its latest poll in his race with Warren….
While Warren officials believe their internal polls show her still leading the race, a sentiment backed up by other recent public polling and a Suffolk University poll today showing the professor leading the senator by 7 percentage points, the Globe poll underscored that there might be little political upside from Brown participating in another debate.
Warren’s campaign manager issued the following statement via email:
“It is unfortunate voters will not have the chance to hear from both candidates on the important issues facing Massachusetts. Elizabeth was working with the debate organizers to move forward on Thursday. Unfortunately but not surprisingly, Scott Brown is again ducking questions about his record voting on the side of big oil and billionaires and against equal pay for equal work, against a pro-choice Supreme Court Justice and against insurance coverage for birth control. Elizabeth agreed to additional debates that Brown refused in Worcester and the South Coast as well as a forum hosted by the NAACP. Scott Brown doesn’t want to have to talk about his record – plain and simple.”
bluetoo says
…pulling out of a debate that is more than 24 hours away? He found the time today, though, for photo ops and handshaking at the state’s emergency bunker.
I think he’s afraid that Elizabeth Warren will clean his clock in the debate…again. If there’s any justice in the world, she’ll clean his clock once again on November 6th.
whosmindingdemint says
if the power outages are high enough 🙂
Ryan says
he ducks out of a debate, just as he airs a new ad on how Liz supports giving “illegals” free money and stuff.
It may sound good in a 10 second clip, but if he had to defend that crazy ad in a debate, he would be embarrassed by the end.
I really despise that person. What a self-entitled scared-i-pants.
johnk says
Headline:
David says
Battenfeld and Carr, are spinning like a top in an effort to portray Brown’s cowardice as some sort of win for MA voters. Embarrassing.
farnkoff says
What a coward Brown is. This was, without a doubt, one of the most despicable campaigns I’ve ever seen. Scary that we might have to watch this deceitful, pusillanimous fool prance and prattle about for the next six years, “representing” Massachusetts.
If he’s too scared to debate Warren maybe he can send Karl Rove or somebody in his place.
Pablo says
Let’s see the third debate again – it didn’t get much play in the eastern half of the state.
johnk says
Globe
farnkoff says
His words are completely worthless. Dishonesty and artifice have taken such a hold on this “nice guy”, he’s got GOP Presidential nominee written all over him. Stupid as Bush and oily as Romney- if he wins this election I fear we’ll never see the end of him.
jessefell says
Adlai Stevenson said that the hardest thing for politicians to do is win elections without proving that they are unworhy to win them.
Scott Brown will lose this election, having shown us that he was unworthy to win it.
Superficiality, dishonesty, and meaness in the end just weren’t enough.
Donald Green says
John King, the chosen PBS moderator in the timeslot of debate on Channel 2 explained the timeline of the contest.. The campaigns were asked in view of the weather to wait until 10am Tuesday before a decision was to be made. Scott Brown did not wait he, as we know, backed out early. There’s more. His excuse. Senatorial duties trumped telling the people his views? He tried to visit disaster sites and I use “tried” because it basically did not happen. A reporter for PBS, also on last night’s show, tried to document his inspections but site after site had been properly dealth with. There were no major disasters in Massachusetts or none Brown could find. The reporter had a hard time keeping up with the campaign as they rushed here and there for an opportunity to meet citizens under water. They could not find any. Trying to be fair the panel at PBS gave the sitting Senator up for reelection the benefit of the doubt on his motives but quite frankly found his activities more self serving and less service to his constituents. It is clear we have a non transparent candidate. He wants to hide he favors misguided bankers and financiers over working people. We also don’t deserve to be drawn into future wars because neo-conservatives and Tea Partiers have his ear. It would also be risky to count on his vote to confirm rights preserving Supreme Court Justices. In short our efforts to elect Elizabeth Warren must be doubled down over the next few days. Any help will be appreciated and the benefactors will be all of us. GOTV! Let’s go, go, go.
mski011 says
I can’t find this story online.
fenway49 says
Story down.
fenway49 says
not giving Scott a pass on this one. Today’s front page trumpets the fact that Scott’s already done three, count ’em three, televised debates. The front page refers readers to the fraud Battenfeld’s column, where Scott is hailed as a hero for skipping the debate to take his case “directly to the voters.” The logic is hilarious.
1. Scott’s already done three debates. Fine, but Scott agreed to four. And Scott, in his usual snide asshole way, said on Friday he’d be there Tuesday, come hell or high water, because he has a truck with four-wheel drive. And he offered to give Warren a ride if her non-truck-vehicle couldn’t drive through all the destruction. On Monday he said that he’d do it Tuesday as planned “if it’s appropriate” and if not they’d reschedule.
So it really doesn’t matter that Scott did three already, or that Ted Kennedy didn’t do as many. The time for that argument was when they were scheduling debates.
2. WGBH is “an unfriendly media conglomerate.” No, Joe, WRKO is an unfriendly media conglomerate. Murdoch and Purcell are an unfriendly media conglomerate. Today’s Herald is an unfriendly media conglomerate (In other news at the Herald, you may not have known Mitt Romney is “set to win, maybe by a mile.” Back in the real world, Nate Silver and Sam Wang have Obama as an overwhelming favorite and the early voting news is all good for Dems).
Last I checked, John King was not well known for being in the tank for the left wing of the Democratic Party. I am always amused that regular Herald readers and Fox News viewers are so willing to believe that PBS is biased. Why don’t you remove the planks from your own eyes first, you hypocrites?
I am less amused that Battenfeld would make this assertion just as Brown’s campaign again is criticizing Elizabeth Warren for declining to “debate” on Dan Rea’s show. If Brown had such a problem with WGBH, he should not have agreed to the debate in the first place. His behavior with the Kennedy Institute debate shows he knows how to do it.
fenway49 says
Jon Keller does not approve of Brown’s refusal to debate. Herald still thinks Scott’s a hero.
mike_cote says
I’ll take “The BloodyObvious for $1000, Alex.