The new senator-elect suggested that he would not necessarily be beholden to the Republican party line and would be open to working with Democrats when he arrives in Washington.
New US Senator-elect 'will work with both parties' |
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January 21, 2010 Fresh from his stunning election win in Massachusetts,mbt shoes clearance, Senator-elect Scott Brown said Wednesday that while his victory is a major coup for Republicans, he will be his own man in advancing the interests of voters of his state. “I’m a different kind of Republican. I’ve always just wanted to go down and solve the problem, regardless of party,” he told NBC television’s “Today Show” program. But he took a somewhat softer line in the NBC interview, saying he was eager to get to work in Washington, not so much to derail health reform as to press an agenda that benefits voters in his state. Brown, who as the Senate’s 41st Republican dissolves the Democrat’s supermajority,mens timberland boots, has promised to vote against a landmark health care reform package now before Congress, threatening Obama’s top domestic priority. |
“The call to Mrs. Kennedy was very nice. I felt it was important to call her because I’ve known Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy for a while,” he said, adding the liberal lawmaker had been “a living legend.”
Brown described himself as “somebody who’s always been accountable and attentive and independent thinker and voter and looking at every single issue on its merits, whether it’s a good Democrat idea or a good Republican idea.”
With nearly all votes counted, Brown had 52 percent to 47 percent for his Democratic rival Martha Coakley.
“Do we do a one size fits all plan? Do we allow the states to get more involved and do what we did?”
He pulled off a surprise victory late Tuesday,timberland kids boots, capturing the seat of the late Democratic icon Edward Kennedy in a stinging setback to President Barack Obama exactly a year after he swept into office.
He added: “Whatever bill comes up, I’ll look at it and make my own decision, but if it is the health care bill, we already have 98 percent of our people insured here already in Massachusetts, so we do not need the plan that’s being pushed upon us.
“We would have lesser care, longer lines and pay higher taxes and it makes no sense,” he said.
The Massachusetts state lawmaker added that his first move upon confirming his victory was to call the late senator’s widow Victoria Kennedy. Related article: Kennedy seat loss haunts Obama agenda.
“I never said I was going to do everything I can to stop health care. I believe everybody should have health care, it’s just a question of how we do it,” said Brown.
