Scott Brown pity party: "Why is it that I'm always the one that has to vote with the Democrats?"

[WI_DEM]

“Why is it that I’m always the one that has to vote with the Democrats?’’ Brown lamented. “Bipartisanship is a two-way street, you know? Why can’t they also work together to pay for these things within the budget, within the monies that we already have? Why is it that we always have to add to the deficit?’’

Brown’s unemployment plan — which calls for diverting $35 billion in stimulus money to pay for benefits for the long-term jobless and several other items — has attracted little support, even from Republicans.

The Democrats’ bill is expected to pass next week without him, meaning that on unemployment, an issue that directly affects millions of Americans and tens of thousands in Massachusetts, Brown won’t be playing a pivotal role as he did on the passage of tougher financial regulations this week.

“It’s going nowhere,’’ Senate majority whip Richard Durbin of Illinois said of Brown’s proposal.

“I haven’t seen it,’’ said Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican.

For weeks, Brown has been hammered by his critics for refusing to sign on to legislation that would extend unemployment insurance that expired six weeks ago. His opposition played a key role in killing the bill several times, prompting protests in Massachusetts staged by hundreds of union workers and community activists.

Brown said he could not abide by the Democrats’ plan to extend payments by adding to the deficit, and he has declined to join two moderate Maine Republicans, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, who are expected to help pass the legislation next week.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/07/17/browns_jobless_bill_wins_little_support/

[JVS]

1. Because your own party filibusters everything.

[Jennicut]

2. Because he is a Senator from Mass, because the Rethugs stab Dems in the back on every attempt at

"bipartisanship" and because on the issue of the deficit, neither party is being serious because the Pentagon is what needs the deepest cuts. All other proposals are utter BS.

[Recursion]

3. Brown's compromise seems workable to me

Take the 35B from authorized but unallocated stimulus funds. Fix the authorization later. Stop using the unemployed as a political football (and I'm talking to Reid at this point).

[karynnj]

7. Why ask Reid to do that now - they have the votes

In the firt place Brown says where in the stimulus to take the money. Such as high speed rail and broadband and other things like by not increasing food stamps. You forget that getting dollars assigned to infrastructure needs like these was quite difficult and is needed both as stimulus and because these things are needed. I think the money has been allocated, but that the projects aren't at the point of needing those dollars yet. Do you think the Republicans will allow those dollars to be replaced.

Note Brown is NOT calling for offsets if the Bush tax cuts expire.

Note also - he ha no leverage here and is offering nothing except his own vote on hi own bill - that the Democrats like far less than the current bill. His bill has no Republican support and he doesn't offer something like extending the benefits for a year in exchange. It's like a little kid asking you to trade a dollar for his dime. The offer is nothing except a fig leave to cover a vote that i very unpopular in his state.

[karynnj]

4. poor Brown - the real reason - his state wants him to and he wants to get re-elected.

Those votes were no profiles in courage moments. Brown i showing his thin skin here - sound like he believed the media when it said he was special.

If Brown represented Kentucky, he could vote against all the bills the Democrats wrote if that was his desire with no consequence. He could do that representing MA, but he would not get re-elected. I assume that all his votes with the Democrats were because he agreed or because he voted to try to extend his Senate career beyond 2012.

Not to mention, the Democrats DID make major changes - for the worse - in the financial bill to get his vote because they had no other potential vote. It is to him (and to a lesser degree, Feingold and the Republicans) that the large Wall treet banks are not themselves paying for the regulation they proved they needed and for the emergency fund and that banks can still put 3% of their assets in hedge funds. That belies that he gets nothing.

Here, the Democrats had the option to wait a week and get the WV vote rather than eliminate increases to food stamps (now I can't imagine why that increase is needed.) defund the longer term amounts on stimulus projects - including rail and broadband, both of which have long term MA projects. Kerry recently announced the western MA broadband project. There was an earlier Cape Cod one. Eliminating that money would take jobs and infrastructure from MA. If, there were no other vote available, they might have had to find an offset somewhere (likely not the one that Brown picked) = as it was absolutely necessary to pass the extension.

The truly funny comments are they are whining that the paper does not scrutinize Kerry's votes to the same degree or cover everything he does. (Note they are not saying the coverage is not true) I know we in the JK group complain that they don't cover what Kerry does very well - and they should as he has done many good things.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. Oh boo hoo!!!!!

:eyes:

If he can't stand the heat...............well, I'm sure he knows the rest. He wanted this job, didn't he? He can resign if it's too tough for him, can't he? :shrug: Palin quit her cush job and look where she is now!!! I'm sure that the Democratic governor of Massachusetts could easily find a qualified person to take his place in the US Senate.

Perhaps he should be having this "bipartisanship" discussion with his party elders.

[flpoljunkie]

6. As NBC's Ron Insana pointed out this morning, short term deficits are not the problem, and extending

unemployments is a no brainer that would stimulate the economy. Long term deficits are a problem, but they will not be solved by not extending unemployment benefits.

Thank you, Ron Insana!

[JNelson6563]

8. That whiner overlooks the easy solutions

you can start by ending the wars and cutting the defense budget. Talk about low hanging fruit! Geez.

Julie

[Deep13]

9. Because you'll be crucified back home if you don't. nt

[Arkana]

10. Don't like it, Scott? Then quit and give your seat to someone who will actually represent us.

Asshole.

[secondwind]

11. WHY? Because we here in MA show up at his office at John Kennedy Center Bldg.,

almost on a weekly basis, with petitions and all. That's why. And because we storm the phone lines every chance we get.

He is a Senator from a very BLUE STATE, and we remind him every chance we get. We have him on a VERY short leash (but sometimes the 'Pubs get to him even more......awww, poor Scotty).....

He'll won't get another term. Highly doubtful.

[Cosmocat]

12. I will stick up for Brown a BIT ...

First, I want to thank you directly if you have helped to hold the fire to him, and in general to those who have ...

What he said was some whiny A stuff, but in the end, he has been one of the only three R senators to break ranks on anything imporant since he has been seated ...

[karynnj]

15. I think his advissers miscalculated on this bill

My guess is that they thought that they could get major Republican support behind the plan that Brown put out. Then - given the Democrats who voted against an earlier version of this citing deficit concerns would back it as well.

They likely thought that this would have then made Brown a hero to the Republican - if it passed after the Democratic bill failed. The junior most Senator passing major legislation. It would also have set a precedent of - in fact - reducing the already too small stimulus bill. Alternatively, it could have been a CYA if the Democratic bill failed without many Republican vote and many Republicans co-sponsored this. What might actually be the most jarring is that he got absolutely no Republican support at all - he does not have a single co-sponsor. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:2:./temp/~bd5RBe::|/home/LegislativeData.php?n=BSS;c=111| This when Brown has at times seen himself as a political power house - often contrasting his actions and goals with Obama.

Further proof that he thought it a big deal. look at this video his team produced. http://washingtonindependent.com/90637/brown-offers-deficit-neutral-unemployment-benefits-extension-bill Now he did introduce it in the Senate. he could have used the CSPAN footage (as other Senators have on their web site.) Instead, you have him speaking in front of a marble fire place in front of a flag.

The question will be how he will vote today. But, even if he switches now - even hi fan mag, the Boston Herald, wrote that the bill will pass -- "no thanks to Scott Brown". They editorialized that he support it, if his bill failed.

[depakid]

13. How about asking the Bobsie twins from the neighboring state of Maine?

They might be able to shed some light on it.

[joe black]

14. He's a stupid Ass.