What changed since the Massachusetts AFL-CIO endorsed Scott Brown in 2008? Mostly Brown's positions.

by Laura Clawson

In 2008, the Massachusetts AFL-CIO endorsed Scott Brown in his race for state Senate. In 2012, it's a different story. In a Labor Day op-ed Boston newspapers wouldn't run, Steven Tolman, president of the state labor federation, writes that in 2008,

Brown did not try to hide his Republican leanings, but he did stress his support for the issues important to the working people of Massachusetts. He mentioned he was a member of two unions—dating back to his time as a magazine model.

But after two short years in the U.S. Senate—manipulated by extremist Republican colleagues—Brown has changed. He has become much more K Street, Washington D.C. than Main Street Wrentham. He is Wall Street’s favorite senator. [...]

Party affiliation did not matter to him then. Now it clearly does.

Do not believe what you are hearing about Brown being an independent voice. He has turned his back on his Massachusetts constituents, regularly siding with the archconservative leaders of his party to the detriment of those of us back home.

The Massachusetts AFL-CIO has endorsed Elizabeth Warren this time around, of course. But as this op-ed reminds us, it's Brown who changed, not the unions. Once he was in a position to pull in Wall Street money, he left behind his pretense of supporting workers on the issues that matter to them. Now all that's left of that is the faux-populist veneer, the pickup truck and the Red Sox fandom. It's quite a contrast with Warren, who Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention said:

People feel like the system is rigged against them. And here's the painful part: they're right. The system is rigged. Look around. Oil companies guzzle down billions in subsidies. Billionaires pay lower tax rates than their secretaries. Wall Street CEOs—the same ones who wrecked our economy and destroyed millions of jobs—still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favors, and acting like we should thank them.

And it's senators like Scott Brown who make that possible, who give the favors and defend the oil company subsidies and vote to protect the wealthy from paying their fair share.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/06/1128495/-What-changed-since-the-Massachusetts-AFL-CIO-endorsed-Scott-Brown-in-2008-Mostly-Brown-s-positions

Micky 'The Fighter' Ward KOs Scott Brown

by Joan McCarter

Scott Brown's reelection campaign in Massachusetts relies heavily on one thing: his purported love for all things local sports. So his campaign was thrilled with the big coup they were going to announce today: the endorsement of beloved Lowell boxer Micky Ward, of "The Fighter" fame, at an event scheduled at Ward’s favorite gym. He used the pending endorsement as a cheap shot against opponent Elizabeth Warren.

“My message to Professor Warren is, ‘I’m right here.’ She’s running against Scott Brown, not Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan,” Brown said to WBZ-TV. “And I’ll be back tomorrow getting Mickey Ward’s endorsement. She’s welcome to come up to Lowell, if she can find it.”

Then a little wrinkle in those plans came up.

Reached on his cell, Ward said he admired Brown’s spirit and respected the way he could “go out there and listen and talk like a guy who is positive and wants to do right by us.” <...>

Roughly a half-hour after Ward confirmed he was backing Brown, ‘The Fighter’ called back. He said he had given his endorsement a little more thought.

“I can’t support Scott Brown,” Ward said. “I just can’t do it.”

Within 30 minutes, Ward either did some Googling or someone close to him reminded him about where Brown stood on some hot-button political topics.

“I found out Scott (Brown) is anti-union and I’m a Teamster guy,” said Ward. “I found out he’s also against gay marriage and I say if you love someone you should have the same rights no matter who you are.”

Very nicely said, Mr. Ward, and thank you for that. And damn, that's really left Scott Brown stinging.

But that's the thing with Brown. The more you get to know him, the better you understand that he's not what pretends to be. He's not "a guy who is positive and wants to do right by us," however much he can talk like one. He's just another homophobic and sexist Republican doing the bidding of Wall Street. We've got plenty of those in the Senate. It's definitely time for an upgrade.

<...>

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/31/1126417/-Micky-The-Fighter-Ward-KOs-Scott-Brown