RHETORIC: “Scott Brown Accepted $1.1 Million Dollars From Wall Street.”
REALITY: Scott Brown’s Fundraising Is No Different Than Other Members Of The Massachusetts Delegation.
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) Has Taken Over $19.7 Million From The Financial Industry Over The Course Of His Career. (Center For Responsive Politics,www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 11/15/11)
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) Has Taken Over $4.3 Million From The Financial Industry Over The Course Of His Career. (Center For Responsive Politics,www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 11/15/11)
Frank Said He Didn’t See Any Problem Taking Money From Wall Street. “Frank, the co-author of the sweeping financial regulatory reform bill signed into law last year, said in a recent interview with POLITICO that he didn’t see any conflict between supporting the protests and taking financial servicesmoney.”(Anna Palmer, “Barney Frank Supports Protesters, Raises Wall St. Cash,” Politico, 10/19/11)
· “‘If You Take Money From Them, But You Don’t Vote [For] The Things They Want, How Does That Put You In Conflict?’ Frank Questioned.” (Anna Palmer, “Barney Frank Supports Protesters, Raises Wall St. Cash,” Politico, 10/19/11)
Kerry Said That Wall Street Support Doesn’t Translate Into Political Support. “Former Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), both major recipients of Wall Street money, said that industry campaign contributions don’t translate into political support. ‘It’s how you vote, it’s what you vote for that matters … But in my judgment, it’s what you fight for and how you vote, it always has been,’ Kerry said.” (Anna Palmer, “Barney Frank Supports Protesters, Raises Wall St. Cash,” Politico, 10/19/11)
RHETORIC: “Scott Brown Used His Swing Vote To Water Down Wall Street Regulations.”
REALITY: Elizabeth Warren Called The Final Legislation That Scott Brown Supported The “The Strongest Set Of Financial Reforms In Three Generations.”
Warren Called The Financial Reform Law “The Strongest Set Of Financial Reforms In Three Generations.” “Warren, who would face stiff opposition from Republicans in the Senate, praised the new law as ‘the strongest set of financial reforms in three generations.’ She called the consumer agency ‘a tough, independent cop in Washington to help clear out the tricks and traps hidden in consumer credit agreements.’” (George E. Condon Jr. “Obama Signs Reg Reform Into Law,” Congress Daily, 7/21/10)
Elizabeth Warren: “Now We Are Here At An Historic Moment. Three Days Ago, President Obama Signed Into Law The Strongest Financial Reforms In Three Generations. And In My View, The Strongest Of Those Financial Reforms Is The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – It’s Tough.” (Elizabeth Warren, Netroots Nation Bloggers Convention, Las Vegas, 7/24/10)
Barney Frank (D-MA) Said The Senate Actually Strengthened The Financial Reform Law. BARNEY FRANK: “On the other hand, I want to give the proper credit. This bill became a stronger bill as we went forward, for one reason. … This year, when the Senate took it up, the expectation was — well, that’s the Senate. They need 60 voters. It will get watered down. Instead, it got strengthened. And then we went to a public conference. And that’s one reason why I insisted and Chris Dodd agreed, on a big public conference, because we knew, the more the public was paying attention, the better this bill would be. Now, our job is to make sure public attention doesn’t go away.” (MSNBC’s, “Countdown,” 7/22/10)
Brown Worked Across The Aisle With Barney Frank & John Kerry To Improve The Bill For Massachusetts & The Country
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Author Of The Financial Reform Law, Said Senator Brown “Didn’t Change Anything,” But He “Added To The Leverage” Frank Had During The Negotiations. “But Frank told POLITICO that Brown didn’t win any new concessions. ‘What [Brown] did was to tell the Senate that he supported the House bill,’ Frank said. ‘He asked me if I would write to Sen. Dodd and Sen. [Harry] Reid and tell them I am going to stick by my bill. … He didn’t change anything. He added to the leverage I have’ to insist on the House bill’s provisions.” (Chris Frates, “Finance Lobbyists Keep A Low Profile,”Politico, 6/7/10)
Barney Frank Sent A Letter To Harry Reid Offering His Guarantee The Final Bill Would Address Senator Brown’s Concerns About The Bill’s Effect On Massachusetts Banks. “The Massachusetts Republican, who had voted against ending debate on Wednesday, met with Reid Thursday morning to voice his concerns regarding the bill’s effect on Massachusetts banks such as State Street and insurance firms such as MassMutual. House Financial ServicesCommittee chairman Barney Frank, also of Massachusetts, weighed in Thursday with letters to Reid offering his own guarantees that the final bill would resolve Brown’s concerns.” (Jim Kuhnhenn, “Senate Clears Way For Financial Regulation Bill,” The Associated Press, 5/21/10)
The Republican [Springfield, Mass.]: “We Also Applaud Brown For Collaborating With U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry And Springfield-Based MassMutual Financial Group To Come Up With A Compromise That Addresses The Company’s Concern That New Rules On Fiduciary Responsibility Might Negatively Impact Its Agents Who Are Independent Contractors.” (Editorial, “Financial Reform Bill Victory For Consumers,” The Republican [Springfield, Mass.], 7/19/10)
The Boston Herald: “And Working In Partnership With Rep. Barney Frank, Who Led House Efforts On The Reform Bill, Brown Helped To Secure Protections For Massachusetts Financial Institutions, While Prompting Supporters To Drop That $19 Billion Bank Tax Slipped In To Finance All The New Regulation.” (Editorial, “Financial Reform Revived,” The Boston Herald, 7/14/10)
RHETORIC: “Forbes Magazine Called Scott Brown: One Of ‘Wall Street’s Favorite Congressmen.’”
REALITY: Scott Brown Was 10th On The Forbes List. (Brian Wingfield, “Wall Street’s Favorite Congressmen,” Forbes, 6/1/10)
Notably Ahead Of Senator Brown On The List Were:
- Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, Who Forbes Called “The King Of Wall Street’s Political Contributions.” (Forbes Website, www.forbes.com, Accessed 11/15/11)
- Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. (Forbes Website, www.forbes.com, Accessed 11/15/11)
- Majority Leader Harry Reid. (Forbes Website, www.forbes.com, Accessed 11/15/11)
- Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln. (Forbes Website, www.forbes.com, Accessed 11/15/11)
- Democratic Senator Michael Bennet. (Forbes Website, www.forbes.com, Accessed 11/15/11)
- Democratic Senator Chris Dodd. (Forbes Website, www.forbes.com, Accessed 11/15/11)
RHETORIC: “Scott Brown Voted Against Extending Unemployment Benefits For 30,000 Massachusetts Residents.”
REALITY: Scott Brown Offered His Own Paid-For Extension Of Unemployment Benefits, And Supported The Tax Cut Extension Of December 2010 That Ultimately Extended Unemployment Insurance.
Brown Offered His Own Legislation To Extend Unemployment Insurance Without Adding To The Debt. “Brown said he opposes increasing the federal deficit to pay for the $34 billion proposal. The freshman senator had unsuccessfully proposed paying to extend benefits with unspent money from the stimulus program. ‘There have been numerous proposals offered in the Senate, including my legislation, to extend unemployment insurance by stopping the spending spree in Washington,’ said Brown.” (Mark Arsenault And Robert Gavin, “Impasse Ends On Jobless Benefits,” Boston Globe, 7/21/10)
Brown Supported The Tax Cut Compromise In December 2010 That Included Unemployment Benefits. “The senators from Massachusetts, DemocratJohn Kerry and Republican Scott Brown, supported the compromise … The legislation, the result of a compromise hammered out by President Obama and Senate Republicans, would extend all of the Bush-era income tax cuts for two years, renew a federal program to extend unemployment benefits for the longtime jobless, cut the payroll tax, and retain a series of other tax cuts for businesses and individuals.” (Mark Arsenault and Matt Viser, “Senate Approves Extension Of Bush Tax Cuts,” Boston Globe “Political Intelligence,” Blog, 12/15/10)
RHETORIC: “Scott Brown Voted For A Bill To Cut Pell Grants For 135,000 Massachusetts” And “A Budget That Would Have Cost Massachusetts 17,000 Jobs.”
REALITY: RethinkBrown Cherry Picks Provisions Contained Within A Budget That Would Have Reduced The Deficit By $61 Billion This Year And $862 Billion Over Ten Years And Begun To Restore Fiscal Sanity To Washington.
Brown Voted For The Budget To Begin To Reduce Spending, But Said He Would Have Had “Different Priorities.” “Brown voted for the House Republican plan, though he says he opposes many of the cuts. ‘I would have had different priorities,’ Brown said. He said he hopes the votes will move Congress toward ‘a realistic and pragmatic compromise package that will contain smarter and more judicious spending reductions.’” (Mark Arsenault And Theo Emery, “Senate Rejects Both Parties’ Budget Plans,” Boston Globe, 3/10/11)
