The teabaggers helped fuel Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts, but when he was asked to appear a a Boston-Palin-Tea Party rally he declined.
Scott Brown and Sarah Palin are the stars of the Republican Party, but you won't be seeing them together anytime soon.
Brown is passing on the opportunity to appear at a Tea Party rally this week in Boston along side the former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Michael Graham: show some courage, Scott Brown. Come to the Tea Party.
An earful of criticism from Boston conservative talk radio host Michael Graham and his supporters aimed at Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown following word that Brown will not be attending Wednesday's Tea Party rally on Boston Common - featuring Sarah Palin and expected to draw thousands of people.
Peter on Cape Cod: I'm going to harbor a guess that Scott Brown isn't going to be there because Sarah Palin is going to be there.
The Tea Party is a populist protest movement that promotes fiscal conservatism --national attention grew last year as members became vocal opponents of health care reform at rallies around the country.
Mass. Republican convention delegate: I'm not afraid to ask his people, what is this all about. These are the very same people who got you elected Mr. Brown.
It looks to me like Scott Brown has his eyes focused on the ultimate prize, the White House, and I think he's realizing that if he wants to achieve that goal, then linking himself too tightly to the Tea Partiers will have a negative impact on his overall credibility. He'll keep saying positive words about them so he can keep some of their followers at bay.
Brown already disappointed teabaggers by voting against a GOP filibuster on a jobs bill.
In addition to offering its support, the Tea Party Express PAC spent nearly $300,000 backing Brown or attacking his opponent Martha Coakley. “If it wasn’t for the Tea Party movement, Scott Brown wouldn’t have gotten that seat,” said one Tea Party activist.
But after Brown voted to block a GOP filibuster on a $15 billion jobs bill, tea partiers shot back with charges of “letdown,” “betrayal,” “sellout,” and “RINO” (”Republican in name only”). The Boston Herald reports that Brown has now “snubbed” the group:
U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, whose stunning victory in January was fueled in part by Tea Party anger, has snubbed the fiery grassroots group and declined its invitation to join Sarah Palin Wednesday at a massive rally on Boston Common, the Herald has learned.
Brown’s decision to skip the first big rally in Boston by the group whose members are credited with helping him win election has some experts saying he’s tossed the Tea Party overboard, as he prepares for re-election in 2012.
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Tea Party Express chairman Mark Williams downplayed Brown’s move, saying, “It’s not about paying favors back.” And Brown’s spokesperson said the Senator is simply too busy to get away from the Senate. But experts called Williams’ view “naive” and questioned whether Brown has to stay in Washington
Mark Williams is playing the useful idiot game at this time and he's good at that. Sarah Palin couldn't care less if he's there because she's found that being a quitter can really pay off: $12 million worth, that is.
Scott Brown voted yesterday with the Democrats again on a jobs bill that included a year-long extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits.
In two cases now Brown joined several other Republican moderates to buck his party and help Democrats narrowly defeat filibuster.
The most recent occurred Tuesday afternoon – a cloture vote on Democrats’ most recent jobs bill, which has a year-long extension of unemployment and COBRA benefits as well as extending popular tax credits for a host of issues. Cloture was invoked 66-34.
The problem is that the bill adds $100 billion to the federal deficit. And Brown said today he doesn’t support it.
Brown sounded downright Senatorial explaining his vote on the Senate floor, explaining that while he opposes the bill in its current form, it has been debated for a week and he feels like it is time to “move the process forward.”
He has to win reelection first in 2012, so I imagine he'll straddle the fence on a lot of these votes to make Massachusetts happy and for now many in the teabagger movement will suck it up.
Hey, the Sally Quins in the media won't mind as long as he remains a beefcake. Maybe he'll do a Christmas calendar just for her.
