Scott Brown (R-MA) – Jobs Bill vote HR 2847 - Betrayal of the People’s Seat or Trojan Horse - Analysis

Scott Brown (R-MA)- image boston.com

Yesterday, the Junior Senator from Massachusetts, Republican Scott Brown, joined four of his colleges in voting “Yea” on a smaller version of Max Baucus and Harry Reid’s Jobs Bill, causing a firestorm from those who voted for Brown on a promise of fiscal conservatism. The final version of HR 2847, passed with a 62 to 30 vote with 8 Republican members not voting. The roll call here shows Nebraska Senator, Democrat Ben Nelson, as the only dissenting vote on the Democrat side.

As word spread that Brown had voted on the bill, Brown put the following note up on his Facebook page (twice)

“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. This Senate jobs bill is not perfect. I wish the tax cuts were deeper and broader, but I am voting for it because it contains measures that will help put people back to work... I hope for improvements in that process going forward.”

The individual “likes” amounted to 1231, and the 4149 comments under his posts ranged from enraged to supportive of the Junior Senator. The response was in indicative of the divide between those who would prefer no spending take place at all in Washington and those who are seeking a bi-partisan tone.

Brown, who was joined in this vote by the two Senators from Maine, George V. Voinovich, Ohio and Kit Bond of Missouri, has voted on legislation with both parties since taking office. In his first vote, Brown joined fellow Republicans to block the appointment of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. Becker, a union lawyer and Obama appointee, would have been responsible for certifying unions. This vote was seen clearly as “along party line” and the press was mainly negative on Brown.

Now, with his vote for the advancement of the jobs bill (meaning it now goes to committee), the press has taken a slightly different tone, one that at one point gives Reid Credit (Politico: ”Harry Reid snags victory on $15B jobs bill” to the Washington Post’s ”Analysis: Brown revives GOP moderates' pivot role”

The rub.

All of this ahead of Obama’s Health Care Summit this Thursday. The summit is being touted as an opportunity for Republican and Democrat lawmakers to work together in order to come to some agreement on a plan by the President. It is currently being viewed by some media outlets as a “Trap” , the televised conference being allegedly designed to show the Republican’s as the “Party of No”, (a phrase that the ever campaigning President continues to use. It remains to be seen if the Republican’s joining the President at the summit will be allowed to offer alternate solutions, or if this will be a strict up and down sale of the proposed plan available here at whitehouse.gov/health-care-meeting/proposal It also remains to be seen if the Junior Senator Brow, who campaigned on the strength of voting “No” on the Health Care Reform Bill, will be at the summit, and if he will offer alternatives that were part and parcel of his campaign, or rubber stamp the President’s proposal.

This particularly dangerous bill includes hefty taxes, a reliance on the already fiscally strained Social Security System as backup, and through hefty regulation of the insurance industry, it is the road to Government Controlled Health Care.

Brown was possibly setting the tone for the Republican’s as the Party of “sometime yes, if it suits us”, ahead of the Summit. According to a John Cornyn, Chair of the NRSC

Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas and chairman of the national Republican Senatorial Committee, said Brown did not upset the GOP leadership with his vote.
“This was a procedural vote. There was no sort of insistence by leadership that this was a place where we plant our flag or make our stand,’’ Cornyn said.

In the latest push for Health Care Reform, the President’s proposal will only need 51 votes to ensure passage with a simple majority. It does not require the vote of one Republican, however, the “litmus” test will come on Thursday, when the Republican’s meet with the President. As of today, they will be able to point to Brown, and his colleges as showing bi-partisan support if the conditions merit. In the final analysis, Brown either voted his conscious, in which he’ll find a good percentage of his constituents in disagreement, or he voted with the blessing of the Republican leadership, taking one for the “team” so to speak.