WORCESTER — U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is casting himself as a political outsider and portraying his likely Democratic opponent as an angry and divisive ideologue as he launches his re-election campaign.
Taking the stage inside historic Mechanics Hall in Worcester last night, Brown used his official campaign kickoff to tout himself as an independent-minded leader who eschews the bitter partisanship of Washington, D.C.
“Once again, I won’t have the political establishment behind me — certainly not the one on Beacon Hill, and definitely not the one on Capitol Hill,” said Brown. “All I will have going for me is my independent record as your United States senator and the independent spirit of the Massachusetts voter.”
The 25-minute speech came on the two-year anniversary of Brown’s stunning victory over Attorney General Martha Coakley in a special election to capture the seat once held by the late Edward Kennedy.
Brown is now facing a tough challenger in Democrat Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard Law professor and consumer advocate who is running even with him in the latest polls.
Brown praised Warren last night as “hardworking” and “talented” before hammering her for delivering “angry lectures” and inspiring the Occupy protests.
“She talks about how she’s a, quote, ‘rock thrower,’ and rather than compromise she prefers to leave “blood and teeth on the floor,” said Brown, as the 500-strong crowd let out a chorus of jeers. “That sure doesn’t sound like the kind of compromise and progress this country needs right now. I’m a bridge- builder, not a rock-thrower.”
To read the rest of the story click here.
This story first ran in the Lowell Sun on January 20, 2012.
