Scott Brown was the Tea Party's first success in Massachusetts, no less! Now, Ted Kennedy's successor often sides with President Barack Obama. You can bet some of the Tea Partiers now want to oust him!
If Brown can sustain his balancing act as he prepares for reelection in 2012, he’ll be well on his way to proving the impossible: that there’s still room in the post–Tea Party GOP—and, indeed, the country at large—for the kind of aisle-crossing politicians who’ve become increasingly endangered in recent years. The question now is whether he’s up to the challenge.
According to Brown, his favorite saying is: “I’m not from around here. I’m from Massachusetts.” Currently, Brown doesn't caucus with the Tea Party/Republican party. Brown’s party-of-one positioning has made him a uniquely powerful freshman—able, as he often reminds his constituents, to squelch legislation (as “the 41st vote”) or ensure its passage (as “the 60th”).
If Brown can sustain his balancing act as he prepares for reelection in 2012, he’ll be well on his way to proving the impossible: that there’s still room in the post–Tea Party GOP—and, indeed, the country at large—for the kind of aisle-crossing politicians who’ve become increasingly endangered in recent years. The question now is whether he’s up to the challenge.
According to Brown, his favorite saying is: “I’m not from around here. I’m from Massachusetts.” Currently, Brown doesn't caucus with the Tea Party/Republican party. Brown’s party-of-one positioning has made him a uniquely powerful freshman—able, as he often reminds his constituents, to squelch legislation (as “the 41st vote”) or ensure its passage (as “the 60th”).
