Former Democratic State Rep. Paul Casey Cites Brown’s Independence
BOSTON - Another leading Democrat, State Representative Paul Casey (D-Winchester), today joined a growing list of Democrats who are crossing the aisle to endorse Scott Brown’s re-election campaign.
Casey, who served as Winchester and Stoneham’s representative from 1988 through 2008, appeared with Brown in Chelmsford and praised Brown’s ability to break through the gridlock and work across the aisle to get things done for the people of Massachusetts.
Casey also criticized Elizabeth Warren’s negative attacks attempting to link Brown to comments made by Rep. Todd Akin. “I hate to bring this up, but you heard the stuff about Akin, another part of the country and what’s the response–the Democratic response? Oh, Scott’s part of that. What? Is that how we think?” Brown was harshly critical of Akin and was the first Republican in the country to call for Akin to resign his Senate nomination.
Among the others Democrats backing Brown’s campaign are: Ray Flynn, the former Mayor of Boston; Konnie Lukes, the former Mayor of Worcester; Paul Walsh, the former District Attorney of Bristol County; Bob Antonioni, a former state senator from Leominster; former Democratic state representatives Arthur Broadhurst, Geoff Hall, Marie Parente, and Anthony Verga; and Medford City Councilor Rick Caraviello.
Click HERE for Casey video, and see transcript below:
FORMER STATE REPRSENTATIVE PAUL CASEY: ”The long and short is that when you’re voting you come out and say, ‘Hey listen, I got this bill; this is my thinking.’ Too often you get a message from the Speaker or you get a message from your party, so you have to vote this way. Well, when I was there, believe it or not, you actually had a little choice. Now Scott, you’re going to laugh and say ‘Oh no, well you guys always won!’ But, that’s not always the case. And what I liked about Scott Brown is that whenever you were tight on a vote, whenever you really needed a vote he’d say, ‘Ok, tell me about it.’ Instead of just taking a Republican view–and just saying, or a Democratic view, and saying ‘I’m going to be a rubber stamp and vote that way,’ he’d just say ‘What are you trying to do? What does this do? How does it hurt me, how does it hurt my constituents? How does it hurt the state?’ All the right questions, and this is what’s integral and what’s missing down in D.C. from what I see. You have one party versus the other and you all start going into like a ruck, you all start fighting each other. Instead of standing back and saying, ‘Ok yeah we have differences, but what’s our commonality?’ Scott Brown looks at that commonality. That’s why I’m here. Twenty years, two towns over, Democrat, and yet I’m coming out for him. Not just because he’s a Republican, sorry Scott, but because he’s a nice guy and he thinks. And that’s what’s missing down in DC, people who think, and won’t go party line. I hate to bring this up, but you heard the stuff about Akin, another part of the country and what’s the response–the Democratic response? Oh Scott’s part of that. What? Is that how we think?”
