Scott Brown Votes Yes On Jobs Bill: The Sexy Allure Of Bipartisanship

February 23, 2010 / 8:23 am • By Dr. Melissa Clouthier

Are Scott Brown voters betrayed with his vote for the Jobs Bill that he helped to get out of cloture yesterday?

Dan Riehl says:

When Scott Brown starts crafting national health care legislation, or sounding like the liberal lion of the Senate, get back to me. Until then, it’s Massachusetts. We’re still a long way ahead on the deal. Winning the seat was more than worth it.

A Twitter friend said that he’s still better than Teddy Kennedy. Well. The only reason for a Republican Senator is to stop any sort of spending bills.

Still, as Allah points out, this isn’t the worst bill in the world. It can also make Republicans look interested in bipartisanship when the legislation is right (even though this bill doesn’t do much of anything). Basically, it’s a purely political vote as the substance isn’t there.

Now, I’m hoping that the next big spending bill that comes along Scott Brown body slams. That’s unlikely to happen before the midterms in November. Even Democrats are worried about big spending bills right now.

Posted in Republicans

  • http://sisu.typepad.com Sissy Willis

    Hope’s not a “strategery,” but I hope you’re right. I blogged and twittered and phonebanked my heart out for him, but he’s a pol, after all, and has said along he’s “independent.” Again, I’m “hoping” those who say this was a relatively small price to pay for strategic reasons know what they’re talking about.

  • http://melissaclouthier.com Dr. Melissa Clouthier

    Well, he’s in Massachusetts. I also suspect that he has Republican support for this. They are all holding the line voting “no”, save five of them. The bill ends up looking bipartisan so Republicans don’t look reactionary and obstructionist, but the Republicans can say (most of them) that they voted no for the bill due to spending.

    That’s my thought, anyway.

  • http://sisu.typepad.com Sissy Willis

    And if our luck holds, the bill will go down in the final vote so Brown can have his “bipartisan” cake and eat it too.

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  • Beverly

    I don’t live in MA but I sent a contribution to Scott Brown’s campaign. He led me to believe that he would be for the Country before his state.
    Pre-election:
    “State Senator Scott Brown has led the fight in Massachusetts against wasteful government spending and higher taxes. He is a free-market advocate who believes our strength as a nation flows from its people. He believes in a culture of family, patriotism and freedom. At his September 12 announcement of candidacy for the U.S. Senate, Senator Brown articulated a core set of beliefs that guide his thinking.

    Government is too big and that the federal stimulus bill made government bigger instead of creating jobs. Taxes are too high and are going higher if Congress continues with its out-of-control spending”

    Post-election:
    “I hope my vote today is a strong step toward restoring bipartisanship in Washington.”

    I don’t remember Scott Brown as selling himself as a bipartisan advocate. And I feel angry that he misrepresented himself. In my opinion people voted for him and supported him through contributions and phone-banking to be a voice for American sanity.

    If I remember correctly, the first stimulus bill created few jobs and went toward political paybacks and bribes. It was sold to us as a fund to be used for shovel ready jobs (ha!)and now there is Stimulus Bill #2 for the same thing, and Scott Brown evidently supports it even though all the money in the first stimulus bill has not been used. The people have been conned once again!