One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn’t belong:
Scott Brown, Mitch McConnell, Mike Johanns, Lee Terry, Mark Fahleson

We’d argue that Senator Scott Brown sticks out like a sore thumb in this mix, and it’s not just because he’s arguably the best looking of the bunch.

The Nebraska GOP is cackling with delight that they got Scott Brown to come to their state convention, like it’s some big coup according to their tweets, blogs and press releases.

Well pardon us for raining on the “victory” parade, but we just don’t see it.  Has the NE GOP looked at Brown’s voting record? (We’re sure they have, that was a rhetorical question.)

Let’s look at the OpenCongress.org facts:  Scott Brown voted with his party 82% of the time.  Sure that’s a solid majority, but on big pieces of legislation like Wall Street Reform, Brown has given the Republicans the boot.

Mike Johanns voted with Republicans 93% of the time, Mitch McConnell 94%, and Lee Terry 95%.  So if you’re going to pick the poster boy of the Republican party, try Senator John Cornyn or Senator John Thune who voted with their party 96% and 97% of the time (respectively).  They could also just get a parrot to fill in at the podium.

Or, if we go with our NE GOP members of congress and their latest public appearances, maybe they should have asked a tea party caucus member like Michele Bachmann or GOP candidate Rand Paul.  They both agree we need to “repeal” the health reform law which is clearly in line with the NE GOP.

Sen. Scott Brown is solidly pro-choice.  Unless we missed a major shift in the NE GOP, we are pretty sure all of them are pro-life.  The folks at Right to Life deserve to know if things have changed so they can edit their voter guides.

Even more important, the folks at Right to Life deserve to know why Senator Johanns, a politician who states he is pro-life all the time, invited Scott Brown. (Afterall, being pro-life is why Johanns is opposing Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.)

Sen. Scott Brown also voted for Wall Street Reform.  He saw the need to reign in big banks and reckless Wall Street behavior in order to protect our country and main streets’ fiscal integrity.  All of the NE GOP members in Congress voted AGAINST Wall Street Reform.  Maybe they can discuss those differences at the barbecue Saturday night.  

If they don’t want to talk about Wall Street Reform, OpenCongress also shows that Brown most often votes with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME, votes with her party 68% of the time) and our own Ben Nelson (D-NE, votes with his party 61% of the time).  That conversation could be juicer than what’s on the barbecue.  

So if the NE GOP wants to bring in progressive Scott Brown to their convention, we say go for it.  Give Nebraskans a chance to see what a bold politician looks like.

P.S. Bold Nebraska did send an invite to Sen. Brown to join us in celebrating Wall Street Reform.  The invite is below and we will let you know when we hear back.

Dear Senator Brown,

Bold Nebraska would like to invite you to an event to celebrate the passing of Finance Reform.  Our nonprofit worked to pass the law for months and are so proud that you showed true leadership beyond party label.