Scat Brown to GOP: Don't Count On My Vote
Date: January 28, 2010 05:23PM
BOSTON – Scott Brown says he has already told Senate Republican leaders they won't always be able to count on his vote.
The man who staged an upset in last week's Massachusetts Senate special election, in part by pledging to be the 41st GOP vote against President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday that he staked his claim in early conversations with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Whip Jon Kyl.
"I already told them, you know, `I got here with the help of a close group of friends and very little help from anyone down there, so there'll be issues when I'll be with you and there are issues when I won't be with you,'" Brown said Thursday during the half-hour interview. "So, I just need to look at each vote and then make a proper analysis and then decide."
Asked how McConnell and Kyl responded, Brown said, "They understood. They said, `You can probably do whatever you want, Scott. And, so, just let us know where your head's at, and we'll talk it through, and just keep us posted.'"
The senator-elect did not elaborate on possible breaking points, though the Washington newcomer dismissed any suggestion he will relent once he starts working in the highly partisan capital.
"That's not pressure; pressure is what I'm going through right now," said Brown. He cited his efforts to complete a transition in 2 1/2 weeks, compared with the normal 2 1/2 months for regularly elected senators, while preparing to surrender his responsibilities as a state senator, become a Beltway commuter and resume his triathlon training.
He started Thursday with a one-hour bike ride and 1,500-meter swim.
"I'm trying to do it very well and be balanced and still get my workouts in," said Brown. "There's nothing wrong with having good conversation and debating. We do it here in our own caucus, at a smaller level. ... It's just a different building, really."
Brown also said he hopes to use his newfound celebrity to achieve one personal goal: meet cyclist Lance Armstrong.
"I would love to go on a bike ride with Lance Armstrong, just for those few hours, just like to say hi, just to like hug him," said Brown.
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Hey Scat,
Are you there? What's up with this "loving and hugging Lance Armstrong" stuff? Please explain to the American people.
Pat Buchananly,
Bobbie Fran(R)