Republican Pac wants its money back over Scott Brown

MoonHowler

The Washington Times:

 

 

The National Republican Trust spent nearly $100,000 last year to help Scott Brown win the U.S. Senate seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, but now the conservative political group wishes it had that money back to help kick Mr. Brown out of office.

Saying the Republican senator is no different from a Democrat, the head of the group is calling for Mr. Brown to donate to charity or disgorge campaign money equal to how much the trust spent supporting him during the 2010 campaign.

The trust’s executive director, Scott Wheeler, said supporters knew Mr. Brown wasn’t going to be a die-hard conservative when they supported him early and often in his run against Martha Coakley, the Democratic state attorney general and once heavy favorite to succeed Mr. Kennedy

This was very predictable.  I have always liked this guy.  If I like him, probably the National Republican Trust wouldn’t.  From what I can tell, his great sin is voting for START.  Surely this can’t be it.  Why else is he not liked?

Just out of curiosity, How much to these politicians pledge to do what their voters want?  What ever happened to voting what a person thinks is right?  This ownership thing is a bit much…both parties. 

Tea Party Candidates…and the ‘winners’ are…..

MoonHowler

Senator Scott Brown is impressive.  He was ushered in to take the Massachusetts Senate seat held by Edward Kennedy for decades.  Brown also was supported by the local tea party from that region.  He ran as a Republican and appears to be his own person, which is refreshing. 

Sharron Angle(NV) , Carl Paladino(NY), and  Christine O”Donnell (DE) are NOT impressive.  The women mentioned are far right social extremists who simply do not reach the mainstream voter.  O’Donnell has some fairly well documented ethics problems.  She is not new to politics.  Carl Paladino comes out of the gate with pornographic email issues and a problem with racists remarks and jokes.  Angle performs so poorly in front of the media her handlers kept her away from it just to preserve her campaign.  She has said she will debate Harry Reid. 

If the tea party wants to convince the American voter of its prowess and concern for the country, it will have to do a better job offering up candidates.  From an outsider’s point of  view, it looks like the tea party is trotting out old, well used, candidates like O’Donnell who appeared on the Bill Maher Show in the late 90’s.  Frankly, the set of three winners look ridiculous.  If they manage to pull off a win and actually go to the Senate, then the American people will look ridiculous.  Right now, it appears that Beck and Palin are the leadership and the chosen are Angle, O’Donnell, and Paladino.   That selection might appeal to the tea party masses but it doesn’t to the people who aren’t part of a special interest group.  In fact, most I have talked to laughed, and then got very quite because of their concern for their country. 

If the tea party wants to reach American voters, they are going to have to throw in behind candidates who are properly vetted by someone, anyone,  and they are going to have to offer up candidates who address fiscal responsibility issues as a main platform, rather than these extremist social conservatives who just talk the talk about fiscal conservatism.  Regardless of the mood of the country, we need more Scott Browns and no people who are just jokes.  These lastest ‘winners’ are a sure fired way to have defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

GOP Filibuster Fails on Jobs Bill Thanks to 5 Republicans

MoonHowler

 

 

The GOP filibuster failed to materialize after 5 brave Republicans cast procedural votes in favor of the Democratic jobs bill.  Newly elected Scott Brown on Massachusetts led the charge and 4 other Republicans followed his lead:  Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and  Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.).  Sen. Bond is retiring.

The Democrats ended up with 62 votes, 2 more than needed to avoid filibuster.  according to Huffington  Post:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) thanked the newly-elected Republican from Massachusetts. “I hope this is the beginning of a new day here in the Senate. Whether this new day was created by the new Senator from Massachusetts or some other reason, I’m very, very happy that we were able to get this done. But there are some winners. Not any individual Senator, not Democrats or Republicans. The winners are small business people throughout this country.”

Senator Voinovich spoke with Senate Majority Leader  Harry Reid to make certain a surface transportation reauthorization bill was brought to the floor this year.  Reid Agreed.  The Republican senators didn’t seen to be too worried about what the minority leadership said or thought. 

Voinovich, who was patted on the back by a grateful Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) after the vote, said that he could see himself working jointly with Brown and Democrats for the remainder of the term.

“I think he and I are going to do a lot of music together,” said Voinovich. “My vote was reflective of what I thought made sense.”

Voinovich didn’t stick around for any loyalty lectures after his vote. “I have no idea,” said Voinovich when asked what leadership thought of his vote. “I voted and took off.”

Brown also said that he had “no idea” how the rest of his colleagues would vote. But it was good enough for him. “It’s not a perfect bill. I would have liked broader and deeper tax cuts, but I was comfortable with that first vote,” said Brown.

Of the 41 Republicans, 29 opposed the measure, while six skipped the vote. More Republicans skipped the vote than voted in favor.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), meanwhile, muddled the message of Democratic unity behind the jobs bill. He voted against it.

Those who did the happy dance over the election of Scott Brown the other week are probably scratching their heads wondering what happened.  It looks like the Republicans have themselves another. ‘maverick’.’  So what will the minority party do about its new kid in town?  He obviously isn’t going to behave himself.

Senator Reid played a little hard ball when he made a direct challenge:

 “So to my Republican colleagues, here is your chance. Show us you’re serious about legislating. Show our constituents you’re serious about leading. Show the skeptics that you know putting people back to work is far more important than putting points up on the political scoreboard.”

Regime Change with a Smile: Senator Centerfold

MoonHowler

Alas, the Lion of the Senate’s old seat old was snagged by a young stag.  I don’t know much about Scott Brown other than he is a hunk and a Republican.  Born in 1959, Brown has held several political offices.  He will serve as Massachusetts U.S. Senator for the remain 3 years of Senator Kennedy’s term.  He will probably irritate the good people of Massachusetts and a Democrat will be in at the next election.

The significance of this win cannot be understated.  It brings the Senate down to 59 Democrats  rather than the 60 needed to pass legislation the easy way.  There is fear that health care reform will not make it through now.   The balance of power has been tipped. Democrats need to pay careful attention and so do Republicans. It was only a year ago that the GOP got their heads handed to them. Perhaps both parties need to change–big time.

 Now I am sitting here wondering if  the playmate of the month could ever win a U.S. Senate seat.  I am guessing someone would make a huge deal out of  her ‘past.’   Scott Brown was a centerfold in Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1982. Apparently being a centerfold doesn’t hurt males, especially good looking ones.

Warning! Incredible HUNK pictures!

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