The Senate race in Massachusetts is too close to call. The gut-instinct voters see Scott Brown as a likable, intelligent, articulate candidate, and their gut-instincts tell them to vote for him. Many of the so called “independents” who’s direction is determined by the prevailing winds are also leaning towards this so-called moderate.
Let’s look at Scott Brown on the issues. I’m taking these directly from his website http://brownforsenate.com/issues
Health Care
Scott Brown is against the insurance reform legislation under consideration in Congress and will vote against it. He says “It will raise taxes, increase government spending and lower the quality of care, especially for elders on Medicare.”
It’s true that the legislation will raise taxes and increase government spending. All government programs increase spending and rather than borrow the money, taxes need to be increased to pay for it. But is that such a bad thing. If we’re paying less for insurance but more in taxes, as long as the tax increase is less than the insurance savings, we’re ahead.
The last part of that statement is a lie. There’s nothing in the legislation that will lower the quality of care. He’s using scare tactics to try to win votes, which is a common tactic of the right-wing. Republicans want a scared populace. Their’s is the party of emotions, and overly emotional people are often irrational.
Scott Brown claims he “support(s) strengthening the existing private market system with policies that will drive down costs and make it easier for people to purchase affordable insurance.” He offers no ideas for how to accomplish that, though. Republicans have no real desire to reform health insurance to make it more affordable.
Economy
Brown says: “I am a free enterprise advocate who believes that lower taxes can encourage economic growth. Raising taxes stifles growth, weakens the economy and puts more people out of work. Our economy works best when individuals have more of their income to spend, and businesses have money to invest and add jobs.”
Scott should read the news once in a while. It was the free enterprise policies that brought down our economy. The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in the 1999 allowed banks to become high-stakes gamblers. The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 allowed speculators to drive up the price of oil and food, which contributed to the destruction of our economy. Every time there is irresponsible deregulation, it is the American public that foots the bill. The same thing happened back in the 1980s with Reagan’s deregulation and the subsequent S&L scandal and bailout.
Scott repeats the same tired right-wing mantra that “lower taxes encourage economic growth.” That is only true if taxes are stifling the economy, which very seldom is the case. Bush was able to use the “war on terror” to push through his massive tax cuts, but they had little positive effect on the economy. On the contrary: they doubled the national debt. Clinton, on the other hand, raised taxes, and what followed was a huge economic boom. Reagan cut taxes, which did little to spur economic growth. We had a mini tech boom back in the 80s with the PC, VCR, and other technological advancements resulting in job creation here in the U.S. Remember the days when things were made here in America?
Energy and Environment
Brown says: “In order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” Scott claims, “I support reasonable and appropriate development of alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal and improved hydroelectric facilities.”
Reasonable and appropriate? How about a fast paced plan that will spur economic growth? Few people want nuclear power plants in their regions, and hydroelectric facilities often damage the environment. So on energy and the environment, Scott has no ideas.
Education
Brown says: “I am passionate about improving the quality of our public schools. Accountability and high standards are paramount. I support choice through charter schools, as well as the MCAS exam as a graduation requirement. I have worked to ensure that all children have access to a quality education. I am a strong advocate for the METCO program, which provides lower income students with broader educational opportunities.”
What about higher education? We need a highly skilled work force. That means college education. Colleges and universities have become too expensive for many young people and students are graduating 10s of thousands of dollars in debt. How about some ideas on how to reduce costs for higher education? An educated work force will bring jobs back to America that have been outsourced to countries like India.
Immigration
Brown says: “I oppose amnesty, and I believe we ought to strengthen our border enforcement and institute an employment verification system with penalties for companies that hire illegal immigrants.”
How about going after companies that hire illegal aliens?
And finally, Scott Brown on foreign policy. He claims, “I support the bi-partisan Iran sanctions bill and believe that until Ahmadinejad gives up his nuclear ambitions he should be isolated from the rest of the world.”
Ahmadinejad is not the head of Iran’s military. That would be the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In other words, Brown is clueless when it comes to foreign policy.
Like almost all Republicans, Scott Brown has no answers — only the same old ideology that has destroyed our economy. Vote for America. Vote Democrat.
DRUDGE RETORT 