Candy Mero Carlson: Brown Won’t Be There for Central Mass

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Candy Mero Carlson, GoLocalWorcester Guest MINDSETTER™

The jobs numbers released last Friday are a sign that our economy is moving in the right direction. But there is still more work to be done to move our country forward and put people back to work here in Worcester and across the country. In the Massachusetts Senate race, there is a clear choice between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren when it comes to jobs and the economy.

Last fall, with a quarter of a million people unemployed across Massachusetts, Scott Brown voted in lockstep with the Republican Party against three of President Obama’s jobs bills that would have helped put people to work and strengthen our economy. Elizabeth Warren has fought throughout her career for working families, and she will fight to support jobs for people here in Worcester and across the Commonwealth.

It shouldn’t really come as a surprise that Scott Brown would side with Republican leaders in Congress to block President Obama’s agenda on jobs. During his time in the Senate, whenever it really counts, Brown has joined Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans in standing up for big corporations, Big Oil, and billionaires instead of regular people here in Massachusetts.

Just recently, when Brown was asked if he would vote to extend tax cuts for 98 percent of families and 97 percent of small businesses, he said his answer would be a “crystal clear” no unless those at the top got even bigger tax breaks. He said this, even while he continues to support sending billions in tax subsidies to big oil companies.

On Wall Street reform, while Elizabeth Warren has been fighting her whole career to make sure the big banks play by the rules and compete on a level playing field, Brown has worked to weaken the Dodd-Frank law before and after it was passed and delay its implementation.

Scott Brown also showed his true colors on women’s issues, joining an extreme conservative Senator from Missouri to co-sponsor an amendment that would have allowed employers to deny women important health care services, including access to contraception.

None of this should be a surprise: On issues important to people in Central Massachusetts and across the Commonwealth, Brown just hasn’t been there for us. In fact, while Elizabeth Warren accepted an invitation to debate in Worcester, Scott Brown turned down the bipartisan invite from groups including the local Republican Committee. I want a Senator who believes Worcester is important; Scott Brown clearly would rather spend his time elsewhere.

In the past several weeks, Scott Brown has been spending much of his time launching false personal attacks against Elizabeth Warren. The reason for this is clear: Scott Brown doesn’t want to talk about his record. Despite his frequent claims to be a bipartisan and independent voice for the people of Massachusetts, Brown can’t hide his history of standing with the Tea Party and Republicans against the interests of families here in the Commonwealth. I can only question: Which Scott Brown will we get when he doesn't have to worry about reelection for six years?

The Senate election in Massachusetts could play a pivotal role in determining which party controls the United States Senate. If Scott Brown is reelected and the Republicans regain the majority, Brown would vote to make Mitch McConnell Majority Leader – a man who said his top priority was to make President Obama a one-term President.

If Republicans control the Senate, they would be able to set the agenda, and it would put extreme conservatives in charge of key committees. And it would allow the GOP to have the final say on Supreme Court nominees. At last week’s debate, Scott Brown let us know his model Supreme Court Justice is Antonin Scalia, who is a vocal critic of Roe v. Wade and has said there is no right to equal protection for women under the Constitution.

Brown knows this, and that’s why he’s been going around the country raising money by telling people this race could put Republicans in control in the Senate and that his election might be “the only sure hedge to a potential second term for President Obama.”

Scott Brown doesn’t want to talk about his record of standing with Republicans in Congress in support of billionaires and big corporations, but local voters deserve to know what’s at stake in this election. Elizabeth knows that people in Central Massachusetts should be able to hear from the candidates about the important issues affecting families in this part of the state.

Elizabeth Warren has spent her life standing up for working families and small businesses, and that’s why we need her voice in the United States Senate.

Candy Mero Carlson is the Chair of the Worcester Democratic City Committee.