Good Move, Scott Brown

By: John Prothro


Who was it that said all politics is local? 

This week, it might as well have been Scott Brown. 

Bucking the Republican establishment and infuriating Conservatives around the country, Brown chose to support Obama’s “jobs” bill. 

To all my Conservative friends who are surprised at Brown’s vote, I ask them to consider the following:

First, Brown is running for reelection in two years in Massachusetts.  By then, the health care debate will be decided (hopefully) and conservative fervor may have dwindled.  But Brown will still be facing the most liberal electorate in the Union.  Remember, this is the state that proudly sends John Kerry and Barney Frank to Washington every election cycle and, according to the National Journal, has the most liberal House delegation in all of Congress.  (Considering Congress is also home to New York, Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Hawaii and others—the “Most Liberal” title does not come easily.)  If Brown has a chance of staying in the Senate, he can’t afford to be branded a lockstep Republican. 

From a political standpoint, then, the move was brilliant.  In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Republican leaders in the Senate suggested Brown buck them.  Mitch McConnell sure didn’t seem hurt by Brown’s “treason”:

“The Republican Party represents all parts of the country, different points of view.”

Think about it, Brown is now covered for the rest of his tenure.  Even if he votes with Republicans on every other bill, he can always point to this moment and say, “Look at that, see how independent I was!” The first impression always lasts, and—though conservatives around the country might now see a RINO—Massachusetts voters now see one of their own.

Which brings me to my next point.  Brown ran as an Independent Republican, and he just voted—independently.  So why are we surprised? 

And who wants a robot politician anyway?  The true sign of intellect is a critical mind.  If a politician agrees with every stance in the party platform, chances are he is either weak-willed or weak-brained.  Let’s not forget that many of our conservative heroes from Bill Buckley to Milton Friedman often bucked the established “conservative” stance.  These men were true intellectuals who didn’t care what conservatives were “supposed” to think.  They were “conservative” because they shared a worldview that honors tradition, is skeptical of big government, and believes a free society is a just society—not because they supported or opposed certain legislation.

This week Scott Brown’s vote proved he is not a hard-nosed conservative.  I get it.  But I still believe Brown has a worldview that is at least somewhat conservative. And, coming from Massachusetts, isn’t that better than the alternative?