Brown: health care ‘wrong’

By Matt Viser, Boston Globe Staff

Scott Brown: "Health care wrong"

WASHINGTON – US Senator Scott Brown this morning railed against the Democrats’ health care plan, saying they were failing to learn the lessons from his own surprising election in Massachusetts.

“I was sent here in a message almost, to the administration and people up on Capitol Hill that the American people expect us to do better,” Brown told a conference of the National Association of Health Underwriters. “You’re going to basically ram through something that is really unpopular and is clearly not good for the people in my state.”

Brown, in his most extensive public comments on health care since arriving in Washington, also criticized Democrats for considering using the budgetary reconciliation process to approve the health care overhaul. That process would require a majority vote instead of the 60 needed to overcome the expected Republican filibusters.

“Right now the health care plan they’re pushing — in particular and the way they’re trying to do it — is wrong,” Brown said during an 8-minute address, saying if reconciliation was used it would “be problematic for the next few years.” “We can do better. The administration can do better. And they say we have to do it now. With all due respect, what we need to do now is create jobs.”

“As I speak to people all across this country, they’re not really talking about health care,” he said. “…Enough of the backroom deals, enough of the parliamentary maneuvers. Enough, enough, enough. We need to focus on jobs, jobs, jobs.”

Brown said he believes that everyone should have health care, but it should be accomplished on individual state levels.

“Of course everybody deserves health care, a basic kind of health care. But why is there a one-size fits all for every single state in the country. We do it one way, Texas may do it another way, Oklahoma may do it another way. Why do we need this total domination of the government interference into our states? I’m a strong state’s rights believer.”

In a brief interview after the speech, Brown said there weren’t any components from the health care bill that was salvageable.

“What they’re trying to do is push something that really has no support,” he said. “When you have something that is clearly not done in an open manner, I don’t see how you push it through right now. I just don’t.”

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.

Brown’s election may ending up being a positive for health-care reform

Since Brown’s election cost them their filibuster-proof supermajority in the Senate, Democrats have been in a more pragmatic mode.”

By Shailagh Murray

Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 7, 2010

Remember how Republican Scott P. Brown’s victory in January’s Senate race in Massachusetts was supposed to represent a mortal blow to health-care reform?

“Probably back to the drawing board,” Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) declared the next day. “Might be dead,” Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) surmised. “We’re back to where we were maybe even years ago,” concluded Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

But rather than dooming the effort, Brown’s win appears to have helped Democrats refocus the legislation and their strategy for selling it. Once on track to produce a bill that Republicans were prepared to depict as partisan and laden with special-interest perks, Democrats now expect to unveil legislation that costs less and more aggressively tackles health-care inflation — a package they say could leave them less vulnerable in November. It drops the “Cornhusker Kickback” that so infuriated voters, and includes a few Republican ideas tacked on by President Obama.

“There’s no government takeover of health care; there’s an expansion of the private market, subsidies, more choice — I mean, it’s so much of what many of us had hoped for from the very beginning,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), a moderate and reluctant supporter of the original Senate bill.

The House and Senate will launch the final legislative phase this week, with the aim of holding votes before the end of the month. The action will come in two phases. First the House will vote on the bill the Senate approved on Christmas Eve. Then each chamber is expected to consider a package of “fixes” offered under a budget rule known as reconciliation that will protect it from a GOP filibuster in the Senate.  Continue…

Brown team takes campaign template on the road

By MICHELLE R. SMITH and GLEN JOHNSON (AP)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The political team that helped Scott Brown stage his improbable victory in the Massachusetts Senate race wants to apply its winning strategy elsewhere this election year. First stop: Rhode Island.

The Shawmut Group, led by aides to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, is helping GOP congressional candidate John Loughlin, who’s campaigning to replace retiring Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I.

The handiwork of two Shawmut Group principals, Eric Fehrnstrom and Peter Flaherty, was evident in Loughlin’s campaign announcement speech, staged shortly after Brown’s win on Jan. 19. Loughlin, like Brown a state legislator and longtime member of the National Guard, said suspected terrorists should be handled in the military justice system, not civilian courts.

“When it comes to terrorists, we should be getting information from them, not the other way around,” said Loughlin, reprising almost verbatim one of Brown’s campaign lines.

It also was a shift for Loughlin, who previously had focused on taxes and his belief that Kennedy, the son of the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the man Brown replaced, had lost touch with average people.

The Shawmut Group also is working with New York gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio, Long Island congressional candidate George Demos and Massachusetts state auditor candidate Mary Connaughton. A relationship with Connecticut Republican Tom Foley ended when he switched from a U.S. Senate to gubernatorial campaign.

Their marquee “product,” Brown himself, was in Arizona over the weekend, campaigning for Sen. John McCain. The 2008 GOP presidential nominee is facing a primary challenge from former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.

“I think the Brown campaign really was a perfect storm, but they learned a lot of lessons about the Internet, raising a lot of money and sharpening a message that can be taken to other states and races,” said Scott Reed, a Republican political consultant who managed Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign.  Continue…

Johnson reported from Boston.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

“Did I drive here in the truck and, yes, it’s right outside”

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., Feb. 18, 2010. (Photo by CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)

Washington (CNSNews.com) – Scott Brown keeps pulling surprises. He was not on the agenda at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), but the new Republican senator from Massachusetts showed up, went on the stage, and was greeted by thunderous applause.

“My name is Scott Brown and I am the U.S. senator from Massachusetts,” he said as the audience cheered.

He spoke briefly, as he came to the event to introduce former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, who he credited for encouraging his own start in politics.  Continue…

Stimulus Failures

No amount of political spin can change the fact that we have lost jobs every month since the stimulus passed,” said Brown spokesman Colin Reed. “Only in the alternative universe that is Beacon Hill would they consider that a success.”

Biden misses the mark (again)

Biden to Scott Brown “Get your facts straight”

Responding on CBS’s “Face the Nation” to Brown’s comments that the United States should be spending money catching terrorists, not spending money to give them a lawyer, Biden said, “I don’t know whether the new senator from Massachusetts understands: When you get tried in a military tribunal, you get a lawyer too.”

Maybe Joe should get his facts straight – Sen. Brown is a military JAG officer (attorney). They’re already on the payroll, and Gitmo is secure. Why should America spend hundreds of millions of dollars to secure a US city to hold a trial there?

This latest attack on Scott from the administration appears to be yet another attempt to distract from their failed policies.  Really Joe, really?

But Who Will I Have To Kick Around Any More?

Posted by Jay Tea
(Wizbangblog.com)

Patches and Camelot ... the end

It’s a sad day in New England, and across the land. An era is ending. For the first time in over half a century, there will be no Kennedys in the federal government. Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) will not be running for re-election.

The reason, of course, is health — the voters of his district are sick of his carpetbagging ass. Continue…

Democrats crumble under Scott Brown victory

President Obama will need to do more than change speech writers as a reaction to the Scott Brown win. The democrat’s best hope to stay in office will be to govern from the middle and follow the Scott Brown Republicans. Help make history and get your free Scott Brown for President bumper sticker (while supplies last) at http://ScottBrownForPresident.com

“Snowmageddon” – stopping government in it’s tracks.

“No man’s life, liberty or fortune is safe
while our legislature is in session.”
– Benjamin Franklin
(1706-1790) US Founding Father

Scott Brown Writes a Book

Scott Brown Book

Senator Brown is honored and humbled to be approached by many people who want him to tell his inspirational personal story about his life leading up to his election as a United State Senator from Massachusetts. He will tell his story in a book in hopes of providing insight and encouragement to others and also to ensure that the record is complete and accurate. Part of the book proceeds will be donated to charity. Senator Brown will work with a collaborator so he can continue to focus fully on his service to the people of Massachusetts, which is, and always will be, his first priority….” — – Gail Gitcho, spokeswoman