On the heels of his election victory in Massachusetts, Republican Senator-elect Scott Brown appeared on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, and signaled he would not serve as his party’s strict, unwavering 41st vote in the U.S. Senate.
“Make no mistake, I am a fiscal conservative,” Brown told Barbara Walters. “And when it comes to issues affecting people’s pockets, and pocketbooks and wallets, I’ll be with the Republicans if they are in fact pushing those initiatives,” he said.
But in a few breaks from traditional GOP rhetoric, Brown stopped short from embracing his party’s platform on abortion, gay marriage and gays in the military.
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When Walters pushed him on his stance regarding “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which President Obama hopes to have repealed, Brown avoided a direct response, explaining he’d “like to hear from the generals in the field.”
Equally non-committal on the subject of gay marriage, Brown had this to say earlier in the interview:
“It’s settled here in Massachusetts, but I believe that states should have the ability to determine their own destiny and the government should not be interfering with individual states’ rights on issues that they deal with on a daily basis.”
Ok, so Brown isn’t necessarily waving the pride flag in support of gay rights issues, but he certainly seems to more of a social moderate that Republication were hoping for.
In fact, in direct response to Walters on abortion rights, Brown acknowledged he is pro-choice, because, he said “I feel this issue is best handled between a woman and her doctor and her family.”
“So when it comes to fiscal issues, I’m going to be very, you know, conservative and concerned about people’s dollars,” said Brown.
“And social issues, a little more moderate?” asked Walters.
“Yes, of course,” he replied.
