On January 19th, in what many consider a stunning setback to the Democratic Party, Republican Scott Brown defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in the race for the vacant Massachusetts Senate seat. For much of the race few people expected Massachusetts - a largely liberal state - to vote in a Republican. However, many independent voters have veered away from the Democrats and are now voting for more conservative candidates, as seen in recent elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and now Massachusetts. These elections point towards the public's increasing displeasure with the Obama Administration. Democrats no longer have a 60-seat majority in the Senate.
Brown's election creates a major setback for President Obama's national health care bill. Brown pledged to be the 41st vote against the President's health care initiative. He believes that everyone should have access to health care, but that the bill needs reworking. He also believes that health care ought to be determined by the states. “People do not want the trillion-dollar health care plan that is being forced on the American people,” said Brown, “and this bill is not being debated openly and fairly. It will raise taxes, it will hurt Medicare, it will destroy jobs and run our nation deeper in to debt." Already, an alternative health bill - one which leaves out many aspects of the original bill - has been proposed.
Many Democrats are suggesting that the White House focus more on jobs than on nationwide healthcare.
However, press secretary Robert Gibbs said on Tuesday that “regardless of what happens in Massachusetts, we face a set of circumstances that have to be addressed and have to be dealt with. We still have to work hard to make the promise of affordable, accessible health care for millions of Americans a reality."
But Brown's election ramifications hardly stop with his vote against the health care initiative. Many past stances of his are drawing the interest of both conservative and liberal voters.
Despite his current vote against the President's health bill, Brown voted in 2006 for the Massachusetts health care law that “has been used as a blue print” for the national health care bill.
In 2005 Brown drew the attention of many Christians - and the laughter of both Republicans and Democrats - when he proposed “an amendment which would have allowed emergency room doctors to deny emergency contraception to rape victims based on the doctor's religious beliefs” (the amendment would allow for other emergency room staff to provide the contraceptives). For emergency room doctors with pro-life stances, this would have provided them a way to avoid personally aiding abortion.
Despite this, Brown believes that abortions should always be legally available. “While this decision should ultimately be made by the woman in consultation with her doctor, I believe we need to reduce the number of abortions in America,” said Brown. He does, however, oppose partial-birth abortion.
While Brown personally believes that marriage is between one man and one woman, he believes “states should be free to make their own laws in this area, so long as they reflect the people's will as expressed through them directly, or as expressed through their elected representatives.”
On many issues - including abortion, gay marriage, and health care - Brown believes that the states should make the laws.
Regarding the economy, Brown said on his website he has "been a fiscal watchdog in the state legislature fighting bigger government, higher taxes and wasteful spending.” Despite this statement, several articles pointed out that he voted against a 2008 initiative “that would have eliminated the state income tax and saved the average taxpayer about $3,700 a year according to supporters.”
On foreign policy, Brown supports sending more troops to Afghanistan. He also believes that suspected terrorists ought to be tried in military tribunals rather than civilian courts. He supports using “enhanced interrogation techniques” to extract information from terror suspects. Concerning Israel, Brown supports a “two-state solution that reaffirms Israel's right to exist and provides the Palestinians with a place of their own where both sides can live in peace and security.” For now, however, Brown's election leaves the Obama Administration scrambling to salvage the situation regarding the now-in-jeopardy health bill.
Sources:
Alonso-Zalvidar, Ricardo. "Obama, allies now seek pared-down health care bill." Web. 20 Jan 2010. .
"Brown for US Senate - Issues." Web. 20 Jan 2010. .
Burns, Alexander. "Scott Brown pulls off historic upset ." Web. 20 Jan 2010. .
LeBlanc, Steve. "Brown record doesn't always match everyman image." Web. 20 Jan 2010. .
"Scott Brown." Wikipedia. Web. .
"Scott Brown on the Issues." On the Issues Web. 25 Jan 2010. .
Sidoti, Liz. "Democrats see Mass. message: Jobs, jobs, jobs." Web. 20 Jan 2010. .
Smith, Ben, John Harris, and Jonathan Martin. "Forces of change now target Obama." Web. 20 Jan 2010. .
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