Oh my: Scott Brown to vote with Dems on Obama’s jobs bill
posted at 6:09 pm on February 22, 2010 by Allahpundit
No crying. We knew this day would come.
“I came to Washington to be an independent voice, to put politics aside, and to do everything in my power to help create jobs for Massachusetts families,” Brown said in a statement issued by his office. “This Senate jobs bill is not perfect. I wish the tax cuts were deeper and broader, but I will vote for it because it contains measures that will help put people back to work.
“I was disappointed with the continuation of politics-as-usual in the drafting of this bill, as it was crafted behind closed doors, without transparency and accountability. I hope for improvements in that process going forward. All of us, Republicans and Democrats, have to work together to get our economy back on track. I hope my vote today is a strong step toward restoring bipartisanship in Washington.”
Well, look. Obviously he needs to signal the left-leaning indies back home who voted for him that he’ll break their way sometimes. Even armed with a huge war chest for 2012, he ain’t getting reelected as a party-line Republican. In which case, two reasons why this might not be a bad time to throw a vote to the Dems. One: The bill might not pass, even with Brown’s vote. Because of Frank Lautenberg’s illness, Reid only has 59 at the moment with the roll coming up later tonight. If Brown can prove his “bipartisanship” on a bill that’s going down in flames anyway, sweet. Two: Even if it does pass, Reid already had to pare the bill all the way down from $85 billion to just $15 billion to keep the heat from fiscal conservatives off of his caucus ahead of November. What’s left won’t do much to create jobs, but then, that’s not really the point; the point is to give Dems some sort of cosmetic measure to point to in the run-up to the midterms so that they can say, “See, we’re trying to create jobs!” Brown’s strategy, essentially, is to use that logic against them by throwing them a vote he can use to try to keep the seat red in two years.
Stand by for an update once the floor vote begins. All eyes, as usual, are on Ben Nelson. Exit question: On a scale of one to 10, what’s the heart-ache rating on this one?
Update: Cloture passed, with Snowe, Collins, and Voinovich also voting yes. No surprise, really. Like I say, this was a (relatively) cheap way for moderates to purchase bipartisan cred. Or rather, most moderates: Ben Nelson voted no.
Update: Evan Bayh pronounces Scotty B “the cure”:
Retiring Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana said Monday that electing more lawmakers like new Republican Sen. Scott Brown may be the “ultimate cure” for partisan gridlock in Washington.
Brown’s upset victory over a Democrat who held a double-digit lead a week before Massachusetts’ special Senate election last month signaled that voters wanted “more practical problem solving,” Bayh said in an interview Monday on ABC-TV’s “The View.
“Scott Brown is a good example of what I think the ultimate cure might be,” Bayh said. “My read on what happened in Massachusetts is the vast majority of moderates and independents rose up and said enough already.”
Blowback
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It’s not the end of the affair, Allah… we are still getting screwed. Pass the KY
abobo on February 23, 2010 at 8:25 AM
How to become a one-term Senator in less than 2 weeks.
shaken on February 23, 2010 at 8:26 AM
Exactly.
maverick muse on February 23, 2010 at 8:27 AM
Wake up and look at Massachusetts. They WANT federal government involvement to clear up their acne with taxes, more taxes to pay for more government bureaucracy (tax funded jobs).
maverick muse on February 23, 2010 at 8:29 AM
With respect, you are completely misreading the situation here in MA and if you want to take the time to understand it, listen over the net to WTKK from 10 – 3 and then from 3 – 6 or 7 switch to WRKO and then back to WTKK until 10pm. Then you’ll at least have a sense of why he was elected and what the people here feel.
BTW, Brown was not “vetted” by Mitt. McCain is not Brown’s mentor.
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 8:30 AM
The notion that every vote has to be “NO,” even if constiuents want the bill, is the same type of thinking that I see coming from Dems. They are pushing Dems who represent much more conservative voters into backing bills that their own constituents hate.
It’s partisanship to the max, and the public doesn’t respect that. The public is OUT OF PATIENCE with excessive partisanship, people.
Time to move forward.
AnninCA on February 23, 2010 at 8:30 AM
abobo
/Don’t drag Kentucky into this mess.
maverick muse on February 23, 2010 at 8:30 AM
Okay, you have no idea what you are talking about. Try reading a few of my posts here to better understand the real Massachusetts rather than the made up on people like to parrot as truth.
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 8:32 AM
Bull . . . that bill will create few or no jobs. This is just another left wing wealth redistribution effort. Wake up people, this country is broke and is heading for default. Where will this nanny state be when there is absolutely no money left for political pandering. This once great Republic is heading for the abyss at warp speed.
rplat on February 23, 2010 at 8:44 AM
Hey, he’s still better than Senator Marcia.
Disturb the Universe on February 23, 2010 at 8:45 AM
I find the thought that he did this to please Mass. Independents hilarious. Wasn’t he elected to be, you know, independent? Rolling over for the majority on this one hardly speaks to independents, espexially when it is the renamed sequel to the Stimulus bill he criticized during the campaign. Now we see why Glenn Beck was so hard on this guy when he was elected.
The only use we have for him is that he blocks Obamacare until true Conservatives can take back Congress or at least strengthen their numbers. Look at the people he voted with, Collins? Snowe? both of those women have a long time before re-election and have always been RINOs at heart. Voinovich also does not have to worry about re-election since he is not running again. Ben Nelson on the otherhand is voting no, is in the political battle of his life, and represents what is TRULY going on this country – STOP BUYING VOTES. Brown ran a good campaign but perhaps Obama was right when he said the two are alike, both are lightweights when it comes to turning their campaign rhetoric into actual policy. He easily could have voted against this second stimulus bill on a platform of fiscal responsibility, the same platform he ran on during his upset election.
Hey Romney – is this the type of President you would be after a campaign? You might want to speak out on this because what G.Q. boy does rubs off on you whether you like it or not, fair or not.
Daemonocracy on February 23, 2010 at 8:51 AM
..but..but….the Tea Party Revolution…..? Is it all for nought?
Grow Fins on February 23, 2010 at 8:51 AM
If you disagree with it on Principle, you vote NO. This bill is politics as usual in Washington, there is no moving forward here. It is the second Stimulus, wake up already. Bipartisanship is overrated crap. It is nothing more than a political pitchline and a shield for spineless bureaucrats to hide behind. It is like saying, “hey this may be bad policy but at least we got support from both sides! Let’s all go to hell together.”
With Nelson voting against, the bill also has bipartisan OPPOSITION.
Daemonocracy on February 23, 2010 at 8:56 AM
figures a liberal puss like you would have a stutter.
The Tea Party got this guy elected, their influence is clear. Once he gets his fat cat hind in that Senate chair, they can only hope for the best.
Daemonocracy on February 23, 2010 at 8:58 AM
I doubt it, but who really knows? Time will tell. But a few things do seem clear. If the tea party revolution fails, it doesn’t mean a victory for your side. I tend to think the Atlas Shrugged/Lord of the Flies/1984 scenario plays out, and it’s only a matter of time before your lights go out.
I realize you’re just here to provoke, but honestly, in all seriousness, I don’t think you accomplish that (and certainly you change no minds.) The reason you don’t accomplish anything is because the people you’re speaking to here have already felt and contemplated what further losing would mean. We’ve stared into that abyss. And while we don’t intend to lose, we recognize what it would mean. Are you similarly prepared?
JiangxiDad on February 23, 2010 at 9:00 AM
Hmm… I kinda sorta understand the politics here. Brown is not playing checkers, but chess (looking at moves down the road). As a Oklahoma guy, I am not bent out of shape by his strategery.
That said, it was also that kind of thinking that got us McCain-Feingold. Somebody has to be the grown up and simply not allow for the movement of legislation that is on-its-surface just BAD for the country as a whole.
My doctor-senator from the Sooner State needs to have a chat with young Mr. Brown and teach him the ways of the Force before he succumbs to the Dark Side and becomes RINO or worse.
itzWicks on February 23, 2010 at 9:02 AM
In your ear dipstick . . . this has nothing to do with the grass roots revolt that is taking place in this country and only a small, ignorant mind with conclude otherwise.
rplat on February 23, 2010 at 9:03 AM
My point is that congresspeople are elected by their own voters in their own states to represent THEM, not some ideology.
That’s why people are so mad at Congress. Blue Dogs are voting for bills that their own voters hate. And they are liable to lose reelections as a result.
Brown is from a very liberal state. He needs to represent the will of HIS voters, not yours.
AnninCA on February 23, 2010 at 9:05 AM
He wasn’t the only one. Several other RINOs from the Northeast voted the same way.
Too bad we can’t finish spending 1 jobs bill before we pass another one.
hawksruleva on February 23, 2010 at 9:05 AM
retarded thinking
JiangxiDad on February 23, 2010 at 9:06 AM
Your point is well taken, but at some point elected patriots simply have to explain to the voters that bringing pork back home (not to mention the whoring going on in Congress) has to stop for the good of the country as a whole.
My senator in OK has managed to to be effective without asking for a single earmark. I only wish more could emulate his example.
itzWicks on February 23, 2010 at 9:09 AM
And vote him out.
hawksruleva on February 23, 2010 at 9:09 AM
Glenn Beck was right, though this time, the dead intern turned to be stimulus 2.
nyx on February 23, 2010 at 9:13 AM
OK, a bad RINO is better than the best Dem, as long as they have control of the Senate…..
DL13 on February 23, 2010 at 9:14 AM
This is not the change we are looking for!
Scott Brown managed to be worse than my lowest expectation of him.
nyx on February 23, 2010 at 9:17 AM
Yeah, maybe you missed his whole campaign message about fiscal restraint and a new politics in Washington. Maybe you missed how he himself acknowledged the teap party movement as vital to his election. Maybe you missed all that and don’t see how this vote makes him look like just another hack in Washignton. it’s got nothing to do with MY values, I would understand if he spoke in favor of Gays in the military or Roe V Wade but Mass. backed him because they are sick of the stranglehold of both Fed and State government and he tightens the grip further with his very first vote. You are asking him to pander, when there really is no pandering needed. He could be a true leader and convert many to the values of fiscal responsibility, he did just that when in campaign mode, but he may not be that leader.
As I said, wake up.
Daemonocracy on February 23, 2010 at 9:18 AM
Jesus you people are hopeless. Once again you hitch your fortunes to a politician’s star, and once again he b1tch slaps you and tells you to put some ice on it.
You will not find solutions to this country through the election of politicians.
ClassicCon on February 23, 2010 at 9:19 AM
I presume that Brown won election by figuring out his own constiuents.
If he called this wrong, then he’s made a mistake in reading the will of the people in MA.
But that’s his mistake to make. Then again, he could very well have called it right on the nose.
AnninCA on February 23, 2010 at 9:21 AM
Rationalization.
diogenes on February 23, 2010 at 9:22 AM
Wait, you are shocked that a politician, who happens to have an “R” next to his name, sodomizes the principles you believe in, and you are telling HER she needs to wake up.
If anyone is the political neophyte it is individuals such as yourself who swooned over this guy.
ClassicCon on February 23, 2010 at 9:25 AM
Okay, now I am done with him forever. I just called his office. It goes to voicemail and his mailbox is full. The man I voted for would not do this. A typical MA Dem Hack would.
I will be supporting Steven Lynch in 2012. Run Steve, run!
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 9:29 AM
I am so disappointed.
Just because he is from a NE state does not mean he has vote for this. This “jobs” bill like the previous “jobs” bill will not create a single job.
Brown was elected as a fiscal conservative. He can at least keep that promise.
nyx on February 23, 2010 at 9:29 AM
Eh. He’ll still help kill ObamaCare and he’s much better than Coakley.
gwelf on February 23, 2010 at 9:31 AM
FIFH
BobOfTexas on February 23, 2010 at 9:31 AM
Laura Ingraham is ripping Sen. Brown up. The only suggestion I have is to give him a little time. Right now he thinks the Democrats will deal with him in good faith. I think he is destined to be as disillusioned as anyone who thought Sen. Brown was going to be a hard core conservative.
Cindy Munford on February 23, 2010 at 9:34 AM
I’m sure I’m not the first to post it, but not going to wade thru 400 comments to check:
Heckuva job, Brownie!
Anybody seen that guy who hijacked every thread for 6 weeks to beg money for Scott Brown? Laying low is probably a good option for him right now. Something tells me that million dollar a day money bombs are not going to be in Brownie’s future in 2012.
james23 on February 23, 2010 at 9:36 AM
By then he’ll have destroyed the spirit here in MA that was building to throw them all out. Now they are disillusioned and throwing up their hands. The SOB just did more harm with one vote than anything the Dems could have done. SOB!
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 9:36 AM
re-read my posts, where did I ever say I was shocked. Had you any reading comprehension skills you would have clearly seen that I am just as frustrated as ever that Brown did what EVERY politician does.
She was arguing that he was just doing what was right for his constituents, I was arguing that his constituents didn’t vote for business as usual. Or did you miss that?
Daemonocracy on February 23, 2010 at 9:37 AM
Problem is, he didn’t just harm himself. He harmed everybody who hoped to follow in his footsteps but intended to stand by their principles.
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 9:39 AM
Funny, when he was running you could tune into any talk radio show and Scott would sooner or later call in. Now he’s MIA. Scott Brown is not the man I thought he was. Maybe it was my fault for believing him.
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 9:41 AM
The only good thing about Scott Brown is that by campaigning for McCain he will be personally responsible for layiing the real foundation for eliminating progressives from the Congress. McCain is toast and its about time. Thank you Scott Brown. Without you McCain had a chance.
volsense on February 23, 2010 at 9:43 AM
He’s getting support from Rick Santorium, anyway, who says that many GOP liked the bill and only wanted to be able to make amendments.
AnninCA on February 23, 2010 at 9:43 AM
Fine. Then fight for the right to amend it. That’s what true bipartisanship is supposed to be all about. You don’t cave for no reason but to get a hug from Obama, Reid and Pelosi.
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 9:47 AM
I said that too when some here were actually suggesting he should run for president. LOL*
Good golly.
See the article from Las Vegas showing a poll that Reid would fare better IF he passed public option. That’s definitely not in line with what a lot of people here imagine is the case.
But there it is.
I just know that I moved to Independent because I got tired of my representatives really veering away from the majority of supporters. No thanks. I want representatives who are responsive. Now, if I’m in the minority on this or that issue, so be it. You’re never going to have it YOUR way 100% of the time.
But this partisanship crud going on right now isn’t good for the country.
I liked my local teaparties, and I’ll participate again, provided it’s local and relevant. I’m tired, personally, though of everything being tied to some national ideology.
One size doesn’t fit all, and our government system was designed to reflect all of us, not some ideologues.
AnninCA on February 23, 2010 at 9:48 AM
Thread winner.
Dark-Star on February 23, 2010 at 9:54 AM
Brown always struck me as tenacious and lively but not especially bright. This vote sort of confirms he’s not that bright. His coalition is based on fiscally conservative democrats, tea partiers and independents. Pretty basic, no? In failing to use this opportunity to inveigh against “business as usual” nugatory, window dressing, waste-of-money legislation, he blew it with the core group of people who sent him there. The Left was never going to like him anyway.
rrpjr on February 23, 2010 at 9:58 AM
Scott Brown is not fully conservative.
He’s already learned about congressional horse-trading, which inevitably involves selling out to an extent. He hasn’t done his homework on the “jobs bill” either.
Mark7788 on February 23, 2010 at 10:02 AM
Brown is from a very liberal state. He needs to represent the will of HIS voters, not yours.
AnninCA on February 23, 2010 at 9:05 AM
AMEN!
I live in a deep blue state(ill-annoyz) near the border of a red state. What passes for ‘republican’ here wouldn’t necessarily pass over in Indiana.
annoyinglittletwerp on February 23, 2010 at 10:03 AM
With even more respect, I listen to WRKO daily for four hours. I personally heard Mr. Brown’s words during several phone calls to the Howie Carr show both before and after his election to the US Senate. He is a RINO and I should know, I am a Maine Republican (Conservative not progressive /Meghan McCain. Mr. Brown is nuttin new to me. Just another GREAT DISAPPOINTMNENT
screwauger on February 23, 2010 at 10:03 AM
I sent money to Scott Brown to get his “no” vote on Obamacare. I was hoping for more, but even if I don’t get it, the money was well spent to kill the government run health care program.
Really, did some of you expect him to be a “hardcore” conservative? That’s naivete I wouldn’t expect from most Hot Air members.
Better than a Democrat in the same position? I say yes, but evidently some think you can get a solid conservative from Mass. Romney, anyone?
donh525 on February 23, 2010 at 10:04 AM
Bipartisanship is a trick invented by the LEFT.
The Founders would have laughed at this word.
The Founders built grid-lock into the legislative process.
The Founders were anti-bipartisan.
So when I hear Scott Brown or anyone talking about bipartisanship, I hear another dunce taken in by the language of the Left.
Mark7788 on February 23, 2010 at 10:05 AM
Political fortunes?
He was ONE vote against Obamacare!
Reason enough to support him.
donh525 on February 23, 2010 at 10:10 AM
People really have no business even flirting with the idea of supporting Romney for President. Massachusetts should never be trusted.
Daemonocracy on February 23, 2010 at 10:11 AM
That has nothing to do with my comment which was on the situation in Massachusetts and what THE PEOPLE here feel and want which is what I was commenting on. If you listen to WRKO as you claim then you know I am right.
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 10:14 AM
I agree 100%!
My point is, did people really expect Scott Brown to be a great deal different than Romney?
If so, why?
donh525 on February 23, 2010 at 10:15 AM
Exactly right.
rrpjr on February 23, 2010 at 10:22 AM
Listen people. You have no idea what MA is all about or what is going on here so the idea that this is what MA voted for is dead wrong.
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 10:23 AM
Scott Brown is a traitor an I sent this jerk $100 during the election………..I tried to send him a “get screwed you idiot” e-mail but his DC website isn’t up yet. We’ve been royally F——! OMG another RINO I can’t believe this!
Cinday Blackburn on February 23, 2010 at 10:30 AM
Yep Scott Brown is just another lying politician.
petunia on February 23, 2010 at 10:30 AM
I wonder if this whole thing will hurt others chances when it comes to donating? As far as Romney goes.if he’s all we have in 2012,I won’t vote.
ohiobabe on February 23, 2010 at 10:31 AM
Brown’s election stopped Obamacare. Of course we are going to hold him and all Reps’ feet to the fire, but remember Marcia, Marcia Coakley? She would have voted for Obamacare, and our position would be 100 times worse right now.
PattyJ on February 23, 2010 at 10:32 AM
Romney is definitely going to run. That’s been documented. But there will be others, too. The primaries will sort it out, but it looks as though the GOP will have some very distinct choices this coming election.
AnninCA on February 23, 2010 at 10:33 AM
Scott has still done talk radio (WRKO, WTKK) the past couple weeks.
If you want someone more conservative for ’12 instead of him, well let’s see there’s….uh…anyone?
He said during the campaign he has worked with Dems (no choice, in the MA legislature it’s about 95 per cent Dem) and will be an independent voice. As I’ve said before you may agree with him on 7 of 9 issues or would you rather have had Coakley, on whom you agreed with on 0 of 9 issues? If he didn’t appeal to the center (at least) he would not have gotten in, and calls to Ted Kennedy’s old office (and they did give it to him, for the rest of the term) would have been answered, “Good morning, Senator Coakley’s office.”
raccoonradio on February 23, 2010 at 10:35 AM
First, who even knew who Brown was a few months before? Nobody. So by 012 who knows who’ll pop up. Unfortunately he has harmed the possibility that people will take the time to hit the streets again for anybody which is why this knife in the back is so deep. It’s not the bill as much as it is the balloon he popped.
Well where is he today? I can’t even leave him a VM at his Washington office because the VM box is full. That’s not the guy I worked and voted for.
You are missing the point. He specifically said, even AFTER he won, that the stimulus hadn’t created a single new job and that people were sick of the out-of-control spending and backroom deals. So, the first thing he does is vote for another bite at that apple.
You know what’s going on here. You know how deflated it’s made people here. He’s just done GREAT harm. Our chances of unseating these B’tards like Frank, Kerry and Delahunt just took a big hit b/c people are less likely to become invested the next time. Scott just proved it’s a waste of time and effort in the end.
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 10:53 AM
I agree with your priorities. I believe seeking perfection in a politician is a fool’s errand. Given the 60-40 advantage before his entry into the Senate, a nasty health care bill was almost all but guaranteed. In essence, we just spent $15 billion on a sack of crap to save us from a vat load of bigger, smellier crap. Not to mention a direct assault on reason and sanity. We can live with that.
anuts on February 23, 2010 at 10:55 AM
Where did you get that 7 out of 9 number? Is that scientific?
The problem people have here is not that Brown won’t agree with them all the time, it’s that he backpedaled one of the cornerstones of the Tea Party movement – Government Spending. Specifically, stimulus. That is a major Red Flag on how he’ll approach Health Care, Taxes and the deficit.
Daemonocracy on February 23, 2010 at 10:57 AM
Exactly. Well said. Who can trust him on anything now? I was one of his biggest supporters and defended him at every turn and I don’t even trust him anymore. He has shown himself to have no principles.
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 11:00 AM
Gov’t healthcare is dead, huh?
It did?
Tell you what, if he isn’t a solid NO on the new and improved h’care bill, it will be torch and pitchfork time.
Zero to hero and then back to zero in the space of about 2 months.
james23 on February 23, 2010 at 11:01 AM
bingo
james23 on February 23, 2010 at 11:01 AM
Hm, we’re broke, the stimulus didn’t work and they are spending on more stimulus, money we don’t have and Scott Brown is signing the charge slip.
Good grief, he is signing the charge slip. There is no good reason for him to do that, we already having trouble just paying the interest on what has already been charged.
Don’t get too comfortable Scott.
ORconservative on February 23, 2010 at 11:15 AM
You shut your pie hole.
long_cat on February 23, 2010 at 11:35 AM
They are answering the phones now. Call and register your disappointment in him (202) 224-4543
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 11:43 AM
Oh well then, Allah. I’m really sorry I donated money to his campaign and supported him.
Because, you know, I’m one of those legions of Hotair readers who is too stupid to see the vast difference between a far left politician like Coakley and a Scott Brown type.
chris999 on February 23, 2010 at 12:10 PM
So Scott shouldn’t be held accountable because Coakley would have been worse? Nuts! That’s how they get away with being hypocrites. They must have their feet held to the fire constantly or they betray us.
TheBigOldDog on February 23, 2010 at 12:13 PM
Big (old) Dog, I am not saying he shouldn’t be held accountable. I was just tweaking allah for constantly assuming that his readers/commentors will only contribute to down-the-line conservatives, even in the most liberal state in the country. You have every right (and I might do it, too) to email Scott Brown and voice your unhappiness.
But am I surprised? No, and I doubt most hotair folks are, either. Now if he deserts us on health care or the budget, cap and trade, big labor issues, supreme court appointment, etc., ask me again.
chris999 on February 23, 2010 at 12:24 PM
Brown has commited political suicide. Romney is backing McCaion too. The republicans can’t understand a damn thing.
volsense on February 23, 2010 at 12:34 PM
I called this damn nit wit 7 times in a row……..kept getting that his voice mail was full………….finally some guy answered and I unloaded on him………..said I wanted my $100 back that I sent this Pelosi/Reid ass kisser………I felt sooooooooooooooooooooo good yelling at these creeps!
Cinday Blackburn on February 23, 2010 at 12:37 PM
Rush is talking about this right now. I contributed $50 to Scott not because I was hoping he would vote no on a 15 billion dollar “jobs” bill. Scott Brown is out there right now publicly trashing Obamacare in its latest incarnation. That’s why I sent him money. I am grateful to you and everyone else who made his victory possible. So far (knock on wood) the money has been very well spent.
chris999 on February 23, 2010 at 12:44 PM
“41″ actually turns out to be “62″…
I’m diasspointed.
He forgot where most of his last minute campaign cash came from.
JohnBG on February 23, 2010 at 1:07 PM
No.
Grow Fins on February 23, 2010 at 1:18 PM
That is the GOP’s argument for itself–”sure we’re bad, but they are worse.” They figure this argument, plus revulsion at Obama puts them back in power. No changes needed.
james23 on February 23, 2010 at 1:20 PM
I guess it’s easy for me to say since I don’t live there but at least it was the reduced “jobs” bill.
Cindy Munford on February 23, 2010 at 1:35 PM
What part of we don’t have any money and are in debt to the point of implosion do these senators not understand? We don’t have 15 billion and the Chinese aren’t lending… this just makes me want to pull my hair out!
CCRWM on February 23, 2010 at 1:57 PM
What we have here is a failure to communicate……
Please return my $100 – and don’t give me this crap about wanting to prove bipartisanship. Who cares…. just send me my money. You are either with us or you are agin us…. Go ride out of town with Romney and Mccain. What a joke this was…. on us! What part of Conservative Principles do you NOT understand????
highninside on February 23, 2010 at 2:00 PM
Ah we knew we could get this.
The RINO is still better than the alternative that was available.
Badger40 on February 23, 2010 at 2:27 PM
PREDICTION:
If and when ObamaCare becomes law …
Scott Brown’s “Yay” vote will be recorded upon it.
Bank it.
HondaV65 on February 23, 2010 at 3:19 PM
Wait a minute; this is more complicated than you might think.
Hatch got mad and withdrew his support. But not before penning this op-ed with Chuckie Schumer:
I guess you could call the $1,000 credit “new spending”, but the 6.2% Social Security tax credit is not new spending, per se. These are tax credits, the weak sister to real tax cuts. It’s not a true tax cut because you still have to do what they say.
Washington prefers credits to tax cuts, because they still get to boss you around with your own money by using tax credits. Still, it lets employers keep some of their own money. And this is a large part of the $15 billion jobs bill Scott Brown just voted for.
But is it really $15 billion? Conservatives should be very careful about calling tax cuts or even meh-tax credits “new spending”. It buys into the liberal argument that you have to “pay” for tax cuts. In other words, according to liberals, letting you keep your own money is a big favor from the Big Gummint, who rightfully has first claim on it.
But as far as creating jobs that wouldn’t have otherwise existed?
Marginal at best, I think. A few thousand bucks isn’t a lot for guaranteeing a job to someone for a year, especially when unemployment insurance and maybe medical and other hidden costs are figured in.
Businesses really need customers. That’s why bold, Bush/JFK/Reagan-style across-the-board tax cuts help everybody. That’s why Brown ran on them.
This bill might help business and new workers at the margins. But playing the margins got us into this mess. Still, it’s not exactly a sell-out by Brown to let employers have a tax holiday, either.
Noel on February 23, 2010 at 3:55 PM
WHERE WAS THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP as far as showing how the game is played to their wet-behind-the-ears new colleague, and seeing to it that he got with the program?
The Democrats were quicker and they just sweet-talked Scott Brown. That’s why “Bipartisanship” is suddenly Brown’s theme when it sure wasn’t his theme during his campaign.
So his first big move is to turn himself into the liberals’ patsy. Honeymoon’s over, pal.
Edouard on February 23, 2010 at 4:00 PM
She is right. Most of the people of the northeast loathe traditional America, and long to be the Eurotrash of the West. And you are telling me that the same constituents that gave Ted Kennedy power for 40 years are suddenly deficit hawks? Are you really going to buy that line of logic?
Sorry, but it appears that his constituents knew more about the true Scott Brown than you did. This is what happens when you invest so much in a cheap political victory and look at politics like a competitive sporting event.
Doesn’t really matter anyway, he is just another worthless congressmen. Someday you people will understand that the scumbag politicians we see today are simply a symptom of a dysfunctional culture. It is not the politicians that need changing, it is the voters.
ClassicCon on February 23, 2010 at 4:22 PM
Yes, the cure is for Republicans to compromise. The old, old story.
Aronne on February 23, 2010 at 4:29 PM
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