The Brown Party: No More Red or Blue?

Of course, there's no real reason to think that U.S. Senator-elect from Massachusetts Scott Brown will be much different than any other of the vote-down-the-line Republicans who have been resistant if not to say obstructionist to the Democratically led health care proposal initiated by the Obama administration. But he did run more as an Independent than as a Republican, actually a very canny thing to do for a man who hoped to capture the Senate seat so long held by the late Edward M. Kennedy. And as a state senator in Massachusetts he did vote for the state's health insurance program even if he now opposes the proposed federal health insurance package now stalled in Congress. He even told ABC's Barbara Walters that he supports Roe versus Wade, the woman's right to choose. And on gay marriage he says that should be left up to the states. In Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal, he states that the matter is "settled."

It would be nice to think that as a United States Senator for Massachusetts, Mr. Brown would be a genuine Independent. So far, he has called himself a "Scott Brown Republican" -- whatever that means. Might we dream perchance of a Brown Party that would help us break the gridlock that so often seized Washington? I really don't know whether the guy has what it takes. But maybe the former Cosmopolitan magazine centerfold has more going for him compared to that other rising rising (or is that falling???) star of the Republican Party, Sarah Palin, the former Governor of Alaska, lampooned on Saturday Night Live for saying she can see Russia from her house. Ahem.

Independent parties have not faired well in American politics; the national government has long been sewn up tight by the two main parties. Still, it would be nice to think that someone could throw some spice into the mix to get us out of the current impasse.

For more on Brown and a look at that Cosmo centerfold, tap the link through the title.