Meeting Scott Brown

It was my great honor to meet Republican U.S. Senate candidate Scott Brown last night at a reception in my town. Sen. Brown is running against Democrat Martha Coakley in the January 19 Massachusetts special election for the seat of the late Teddy Kennedy.

I’m not a good judge of crowds, but the political types at the reception told me the turnout was very good. What was more remarkable, though, was how many of the attendees were not political types. About three-quarters of the people I talked to said they had never been to any sort of campaign event before, but thought it was important to come to this one and do something about what’s going on in Washington. Clearly, Scott has a lot of grassroots support.

When Sen. Brown came in he made a few remarks outlining the themes of the campaign:

- If you like the direction that the country is going, vote for Martha Coakley. If, on the other hand, you’re worried about the trillions in new spending that the Democrats are pushing through Congress, and the enormous debts and high taxes that will be needed to pay for it, vote for Scott Brown.
- If Martha Coakley goes to Washington, the first thing she will do is get her marching orders from Harry Reid and Barack Obama and then proceed in lock step with them. If Scott Brown goes to Washington he will be an independent thinker who will vote for what’s best for Massachusetts, regardless of what the GOP leadership wants.
- The Republicans in the U.S. Senate need one more vote to shut down the Democrats’ big government agenda. We in Massachusetts have the opportunity to give them that 41st vote by electing Scott Brown.

Mr. Brown went on to make some suggestions how we could help. Coming to the reception and donating at the door was a good start, but we could also volunteer to man phone banks, tell our friends and neighbors about the Brown campaign, and most important, vote on January 19 (see http://www.nexusofpower.com/how_to_help.htm for my own thoughts on how to help Scott win).

After completing his stump speech, Scott went around the room and shook everybody’s hand (Some of you know my story about the time I met the CEO of Raytheon. In case you’re wondering, no, I did not pick up a greasy hors d’oevre just before Scott got to me!) I had the opportunity to exchange a few words with Scott, wish him well, and give him my 2 cents about the campaign. I told him I thought this election is really about freedom: Will we have the freedom to choose our own health plan or will the government decide what’s best for us? Will we have the freedom to spend our own earnings or will the feds tax it and spend it the way they think is best. In light of this, I asked Scott, how come he doesn’t talk about freedom? Sen. Brown replied that he thought he didn’t need to since it is so clear that freedom is the common thread through the campaign issues. Nevertheless, he said he would give some thought to speaking about it more. “It worked for Reagan,” I pointed out.

One of the nice things about an election for Senator, compared to one for President, is that there are many opportunities to meet the candidate and tell him what’s important to you. If you would like to meet Scott Brown and show your support, check out the calendar of events on his website at http://www.brownforussenate.com/events.

Note to the FEC: At no time during the evening did I consult with or receive a request or a suggestion from the candidate, the candidate’s authorized committee, or their agents, concerning the content of the Nexus of Power website. Satisfied?