More Dems Jump Ship to Join Brown
Monday, September 10, 2012
Representative Chris Fallon was the first Democrat currently serving in the State Legislature to cross over when he gave his public endorsement to Republican Senator Scott Brown late last week.
Fallon joined the likes of Springfield's former Democratic Mayor Charlie Ryan and Boston's Ray Flynn, as well as Worcester's own former Mayor and current City Councilor Konnie Lukes, who appeared in one of Brown's campaign ads earlier this election cycle.
The three former mayors will serve as co-chairs of the newly-formed coalition.
Flynn and Lukes have a history of giving cross-party endorsements. Both supported acting Republican Governor Paul Celucci during his 1998 run, and Flynn backed Brown in his 2010 special election victory over Attorney General Martha Coakley. Flynn has also come out in support of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in his presidential bid this year.
Former Bristol County District Attorney, Democrat Paul Walsh, is heading up the South Coast division of Brown's new coaltion, and he and Lukes both received flack for supporting Republican William Weld over John Kerry.
"I'm truly honored to receive the support of so many Democratic leaders across our state," Brown said in a press release.
"During these challenging economic times, we need to be working with - not against - each other to get things done for the people we represent. We need more bridge-builders and fewer rock throwers. I'm extremely grateful for the support of these Democrats, and pledge to continue working across party lines with any person of good will to find common ground and move our country forward."
Aiming to Cross the Aisle
The creation of the "Democrats for Brown" coalition is the latest in a series of moves by the Brown campaign to emphasize the Republican Senator's work with, and support from, Democrats in the Bay State.
While the message has been all about Democrats crossing the aisle, its real target is likely the independent and undecided voters straddling the middle.
In Massachusetts, registered Democrats, with 1,486,648 voters on the rolls, outnumber their 471,829 Republican counterparts by more than a 3 to 1 margin.
The 500 Democrats who have come out in support of Brown make only a negligible dent in their party's numbers advantage.
With this year's Massachusetts Senate race coinciding with the presidential election, Democratic hopeful Elizabeth Warren is positioned to benefit from President Barack Obama's name at the top of the ballot.
Courting the Middle
However, the Commonwealth's nearly 2.2 million unenrolled voters dwarf the numbers of both major parties, and how they vote is widely predicted to be the deciding factor in the Brown-Warren race.
By appearing equally at home working with Republicans as well as Democrats, said Morgan Marietta, a professor of Political Science at UMass-Lowell, Brown is improving his chances among voters who may feel allegiance to neither party.
"Brown is the everyman who simply wants good government and will work with everyone to make it happen," he said.
"The Brown campaign is consistently communicating to both his base and independents, while Warren has been concentrating more on her base of support among traditional liberals."
Brown's efforts seem to be paying off as recent polling has shown the Senator with a several point lead over his opponent Warren.
Related Articles
- Endorsements Piling Up for Brown and Warren
- NEW: Brown Leads Warren By 5 Points In New Poll
- NEW: Councilor Lukes Featured in Scott Brown Ad
- NEW: Micky Ward Backs Out of Brown Endorsement
- NEW: Brown: “We’re in Deep Trouble and We Need to Work Together”
- Did Warren’s DNC Speech Live Up to the Hype?
Comments:
Harry Huckum
9:49am on Monday, September 10, 2012
The headline should read:
More INTELLIGENT Dems Jump Ship to Join Brown
I saw this because supporting Lizzy Warren just because she is a Democrat is a really stupid thing to do. For once we all need to put the interest of our country before that of your party. To save America's future we need to vote for people that can get things done. People like Senator Brown who has already proven his ability to get bi-partisan legislation passed.
His opponent is in her own words a "rock thrower".
A Vote for Scott Brown is a vote for America's future.
Harry Huckum
10:07am on Monday, September 10, 2012
Geronimo descendant calls Senator Brown's opponent a "disgrace"
See the video here -> http://bit.ly/SxqwQf
Edward Saucier
11:56am on Monday, September 10, 2012
Actually there are only three republicans in the US Senate who are willing to "reach across the aisle" sometimes, not a lot but only sometimes. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both from Maine and our Scott Brown. Olympia Snowe is not running for another term because she is fed up with the obstructionist republican party.
Reaching across the aisle by democrats has been done and they get their hands slapped away. The only way to do away with this do nothing congress, led by the GOP, is to get rid of all of them and let the democrats do the job of fixing the economy. Whenever the republicans were in charge they always screwed the pooch.
Democrats for Brown is an oxymoron. Liz Warren will do the right thing all of the time and won't water down any bills like the republicans do to help their elitist pals.
tom Beaudet
2:32pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
Liz Warren will vote along party lines 100% of the time. That's what's wrong with Washington. We need leaders like Scott Brown who are willing to work across party lines for the good of the country, not just their party affiliation. There is absolutely no good reason to replace Scott Brown who has proven to be a stand-up guy who made good on his promises, and especially with someone so deeply entrenched in the extreme, far left liberal wing.
Harvey Beehive
9:55pm on Monday, September 10, 2012
Brown will win...
Kristin Mayo
8:01pm on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Scott Brown is NOT the moderate he claims to be. His voting record shows he uses his Massachusetts Senate seat to obstruct Democratic legislation, he always votes for the Karl Rove backed GOP economic agenda. On other issues, he counts noses and crosses the isle to vote when the outcome is not in doubt. He hopes to hide the facts with video ads that spread a false image of independence.
“Scott Brown and the Republicans are doubling down on policies that will hurt seniors, make it tougher for families to educate their children, and leave small businesses struggling,” Ms. Warren said in a statement. “The Republican vision of the future is tax breaks for billionaires and repeal of reforms for Wall Street.”