LETTER: Scott Brown: An advocate for people, not politics

To the Editor,

Scott Brown, an independent voice in the Senate, understands that compromise and reaching across the aisle are necessary to make progress on Capitol Hill. Senator Brown stands resolutely for the people of Massachusetts and their beliefs across the board. He shows incredible courage, consistently working against party pressure, and outside the Capitol he doesn’t engage in divisive, exclusionary rhetoric that derails bipartisan efforts. Senator Brown’s voting record proves it. Since his induction in 2010, Senator Brown has voted with the Republican Party 66 percent of the time where the average U.S. senator votes with their party over 90 percent of the time. He refuses to partake in partisan bickering and political gamesmanship and will continue to oppose the extreme partisans on both sides as our Senator. He is the second most bipartisan senator this country has ever seen, and he will continue to be if re-elected.

Scott Brown’s success was serendipitous for him, and even more so for Massachusetts. Senator Brown became Massachusetts’s junior senator in the January Special Election to fill the seat previously held by the late Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy for nearly 50 years. “In 2010, you made it possible for a regular guy like me to become a U.S. Senator. With that high honor, I set out to use what influence I have to ensure that every other kid lives in a country where it doesn’t matter where you come from, only where you want to go,” Scott said.

A man of humble beginnings, Scott never got special breaks. Senator Brown lived a nomadic childhood amidst abusive, household turmoil. He grew up fast and learned what it takes to be successful in this country. In his book, Against All Odds, his courage and convictions ring true. He recounts a tough life from the age of six on, concluding that, amidst his hardships, he has grown and he has learned what he believes in as a son, a student, a husband, a father and as an American. Politics is about priorities and Scott Brown always puts the good of the residents of Massachusetts and of America first. He isn’t voting or advocating for the sake of partisan ideology or symbolic victories against political opponents.

Senator Brown’s opponent, Elizabeth Warren, a professor at Harvard Law School and avid supporter of the Occupy movement, is a champion of unchecked government power and would work against the recent bipartisan advancements in the Senate. In her own Senatorial debate against Senator Brown, she mistakenly named Richard Lugar of Indiana as a Republican she would work with in Washington. To Professor Warren’s surprise, Richard Lugar lost the primary in May. When asked again to name Republicans she would work with, she began listing policies, not people. She could not name a single one. Throughout her campaign, Professor Warren has been on the attack with a divisive and inflammatory critique of Washington that seems disconnected from the actual facts of who has exercised control in Washington over the last four years. Professor Warren has, by her language, already marked herself as someone who will pursue political victories over actual results that serve the real interests of the residents of Massachusetts.  Electing Professor Warren would be a blow to bipartisanship in Congress and would add to polarizing our representatives, turning them away from the moderation that so many Americans crave.

Scott recognizes problems that affect everyday Americans and is not afraid to do something about it. College costs have become utterly astronomical. Senator Brown introduced a compromise bill that extends the subsidized Stafford student loan interest rate of 3.4 percent for one year. In order to keep the interest rate low, the senator dissected our government’s spending and found over $21.9 billion of improper payments in Medicaid along with misuse of taxpayer’s money by the federal unemployment insurance program and the Supplemental Security Income program. After reaching across the aisle and sitting down with members of Congress, a bipartisan vote passed Senator Brown’s proposal of the Subsidized Stafford Loan Reduced Interest Rate Extension Act of 2012 (S. 2834) keeping interest rates low at no cost to Americans nationwide. Not only does Scott support affordable education for Americans, but he also works to support good, quality education. Brown cosponsored a bipartisan bill, Securing Teacher Effectiveness, Leaders, Learning and Results (STELLAR) Student Act of 2011 (S.763), that reforms teacher and principal evaluations to include measures of actual student academic growth. This bill also requires that evaluation systems be used in determining pay and teacher retention policies.

To be frank, I am worried about the future. More than half of recent college graduates are unemployed or underemployed. Scott Brown sees the faults of our system and attacks them. As a junior at Boston University, I do not look forward to entering a job market characterized by ever-dwindling opportunities. Senator Brown devotedly supports quality education for American people and our continued success as college graduates in the workforce. Scott’s voting record reveals his unwavering principles as the peoples’ representative. He is determined to get our economy back on track, increase job growth, balance our government’s budget and keep America safe.

Mara Mellstrom
CAS 2012
Vice President of BU College Republicans
Director of membership for Massachusetts Alliance of College Republicans
Campus Liaison for Scott Brown campaign
maramell@bu.edu