http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_politics/2014/03/scott_brown_calls_out_jeanne_shaheenScott Brown calls out Jeanne Shaheen
Rips ‘People’s Pledge’ push as hypocritical
Sunday, March 16, 2014
NASHUA, N.H. — Granite State Republicans are calling U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen a hypocrite for asking potential GOP challenger and former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown to keep “outside” money out of the campaign while she fills the Democratic war chest on the West Coast.
“She asks him to keep out third-party money, but meanwhile she’s out in California raising money for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. So while she’s out there fundraising, she’s asking Scott Brown — who’s in Dover — to sign a pact to keep out out-of-state money,” New Hampshire state Rep. Joe Sweeney said at the Northeast Republican Leadership Conference yesterday. “The whole thing is so hypocritical.”
Brown on Friday formally launched an exploratory committee to enter the N.H. U.S. Senate campaign, ending months of speculation. Shaheen yesterday asked Brown to sign a “People’s Pledge” — the same pact he signed with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in 2012 during his failed Bay State campaign — which would limit the financial influence of outside groups. Brown did not say whether he would sign the pact, but attacked Shaheen for her “Washington-style game.”
“Jeanne Shaheen’s allies in Washington were running negative ads against me for months. And right now, while I’m meeting with the people of New Hampshire, she is on the West Coast raising money so third-party groups in D.C. will have money to run even more outside negative ads against me,” Brown said, in a statement. “It’s hard to view Jeanne Shaheen’s actions as anything other than hypocritical and self-serving.”
Some New Hampshire pols think he should stay away from the pact and simply focus on winning.
“He should not even talk to anyone on the other side. If he’s a Republican, be a Republican, and start acting like one. It’s not the time to accommodate,” said New Hampshire state Sen. John Reagan. “Just because he did it in Massachusetts doesn’t mean he has to do it here.”
Sweeney believes Shaheen is participating in political gamesmanship.
“Politically, it’s an interesting scenario. She’s trying to connect him with big, out-of-state money, while she’s in their pockets, too,” he said. “So, if he says no, it could be politically bad, but I think he can step up, sign it, and force her to live up to the same rules. That could be a positive.”
The everyday voter won’t pay much attention to the back-and-forth over the “People’s Pledge,” according to New Hampshire state Rep. Glenn Cordelli.
“Honestly, I don’t think people pay that much attention to that kind of issue. They’re more focused on so-called kitchen table issues,” he said. “People want to know what’s going to affect their family, and I don’t think this will hurt him one way or the other.”
