Brown says he‘ll vote how he wants to vote

Feenmi · 04:41 PM

Quote:

John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Scott Brown emphasized his independence during the interview at the State House.

By Matt Viser and Eric Moskowitz, Globe Staff

US Senator-elect Scott P. Brown said today he would not always be a reliable Republican vote, and would chart a new course in Washington.

Brown, in a 30-minute interview with the Globe, said he told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Whip Jon Kyl last week that, "With all due respect, I really don't know a lot of you people, and you don't know me. But maybe that's good, because I'm going to vote how I want to vote.'

"They were cool,' Brown said. "They said, 'OK, you can do whatever you want. You can probably do whatever you want right about now, Scott, so that's OK.' They understand. They understand all eyes are on me.'

Brown's declaration of independence came after his Democratic opponent, Martha Coakley, had charged during the campaign that he was marching "in lockstep with Washington Republicans." Brown's stunning upset victory over Coakley in the special election has sent a shock wave through American politics.

Brown said he has started building his staff, and has hired a few staffers of the late Edward M. Kennedy, including his well-known immigration liaison, Emily Winterson.

"It's huge. It's huge now, especially with Haiti. It's huge,' Brown said. "It's the Number One issue that will affect my office, and I have the best person in place to handle it. And I'm so, just, overwhelmed. I almost cried when she said, yes, she'll stay.'

"Kennedy had some of the best people in the country,' he added. "I'm honored to have some of them.'

Brown, who received 1,800 applications, said he has filed about a quarter of the 28 positions in Washington and is fully staffed in Boston with about eight people.

Brown also said he planned to focus on four areas as senator: the military, veterans affairs, education, and disability.

He wouldn't name what his first piece of legislation would be, but said he would have signed onto a bill filed by US Senator Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican. The bill, which failed this week, would have formed a bipartisan fiscal task force to try and tackle the burgeoning federal deficit.

"You have to have a sense of humor,' Brown said. "One of the things I think is wrong with Washington is they don't kind of lighten up a little bit and have a laugh.'

That's one of the things he pointed to that he liked about President Obama, referencing a portion of his State of the Union address last night.

"You could tell he was genuinely having fun,' he said.

But Brown's ascendancy has been dramatic. Letters have poured into his office from around the world. Some of his supporters have mentioned creating a flag in his honor. His local breakfast spot now features the "Scott Brown Special.'

"There's a lot of pressure to be everything to everybody,' Brown said. "I'm hopeful that they don't put such high expectations that I let them down.'

http://mobile.boston.com/news/local/...brown_declares

Novela · 01-28-2010, 05:43 PM

I wonder if we can somehow convince him that the DREAM Act is beneficial and necessary. He's interested in Education, after all.
We could win his vote through that...

dreamy14 · 01-28-2010, 07:03 PM

Call him. Leave a message. We might have a shot.

Novela · 01-28-2010, 07:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamy14

Call him. Leave a message. We might have a shot.

I was thinking about writing. You think that might be better than a voice message?
Or maybe would it be risky for me to write to him and send from my home address? I mean, I AM undocumented and subject to deportation if they find me, after all...

marcjacobs · 01-28-2010, 08:18 PM

then use another address

lol

dreamactmass · 01-28-2010, 09:29 PM

things can change....
But for what I know he is against any form of legalization....
Before the election he introduced a bill that would make it impossible for undocumented workers to go after employers that did not pay them.

Novela · 01-28-2010, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamactmass

things can change....
But for what I know he is against any form of legalization....
Before the election he introduced a bill that would make it impossible for undocumented workers to go after employers that did not pay them.

Yeah, I know, but I was thinking about trying to get to him with the DREAM Act side of the story. He IS for education, right? If we explain it right, I think he'll get it.
I mean, usually the only reply the opposition has for OUR case is the extremist hater comment of "It doesn't matter that they grew up here, their parents still committed a crime so they can take responsibility for their kids and go have a life somewhere else that's not taking the college seats from American kids" etc etc, and more stuff along those lines.
And to me he just doesn't strike me as the kind of hater who'd bash on and punish "kids" (we're still considered kids in their eyes) for something they did not do nor had a say in the matter to begin with.

Idk, I wanted to brainstorm on how I could write something meaningful that would really hit home for him...

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Brown says he‘ll vote how he wants to vote