Many GOP’ers are identifying themselves with Brown, a socially moderate Republican, hoping his good luck will rub off onto them. Anyone following the MA race was most likely shocked and energized when Brown won the seat to replace the late Ted Kennedy (D-Mass). Brown won by running on the healthcare issue, stating that he would be the 41st vote, a “no” vote to kill the bill. And as exciting as that is, it’s important to note that he is not totally against the idea of a government run healthcare program.
Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass)
Brown has stated during his campaign that he believes everyone should have some form of basic healthcare, and that, to him, that the real issue came down to how to fund the care (i.e. raising taxes, reducing Medicare expenses, etc.). No concern was given to the Constitutionality of the government forcing American to by something that they didn’t want or need. So based on that, it sounds like he wants a government run system, but not the way that the Democrats are currently purposing it. That doesn’t sound like an anti-big Government Republican. So is this merely a temporary win for the GOP?
Brown didn’t win by just appealing to the Conservative base, he won by also attracting the moderates. Several weeks ago GOP supporters, including the Tea Party movement groups, demanded that more conservatives run for office and some even wanted to oust progressives and moderate GOP’ers like Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz). Today, many of those same “big-tent Republicans”, including Sen. McCain, are aligning themselves with Scott Brown in an effort to use his momentum to either be elected or to retain their current seats. So, the question comes to mind; has the party changed its core values already just because they now have the chance to stop healthcare in its tracks…temporarily?
As nice as it is to see a Republican in the Massachusetts seat, let’s put this issue into a non-partisan perspective for a moment. Would Senator-Elect Brown have won the Massachusetts Senate race if the Healthcare debate was not on the table? Doubtful. Would Brown have received so much support from the various conservative and libertarian minded Tea Party groups if the Healthcare debate was not present? Probably not. Remember, these are the same organizations that demanded more conservatives and less “big-tent” Republicans.
Some in the media have already started mentioning Brown running for the office of President in 2012, which seems to be a ridiculous mention; but when you consider that Obama was a new Senator with very little experience, anything seems possible. None-the-less this is a clear case of putting the cart before the horse. At this point we have no real idea what Scott Brown will do in his seat, or how he will vote. Politicians run on campaign statements that very rarely ever get held up to. Only time will tell if Brown lives up to his words.
President Obama has already vowed not to let this recent Senate election stop his goal of a government run healthcare system. The real question here isn’t about how Brown will vote on healthcare; as the bill appears to be dead in the water at the moment. The underlying issue is this – has the GOP sacrificed its core values by identifying itself with more moderate Republicans like Scott Brown, or has it changed its image because the political winds are blowing in a different direction? You be the judge.
