Scott Brown meets and greets Webster constituents

State Representative Ryan Fattman took Senator Scott Brown on a whirlwind tour of three towns which will be in the 18th Worcester District come next year. The senator spent an hour in Webster, then headed off to meet supporters in Douglas and Sutton.

Dozens of people came out to Point Breeze Restaurant to meet and greet the senator, who is no stranger to Webster. He began his remarks noting that he'd participated in the Webster Lake triathlon and has been at Indian Ranch many times. (His daughter Ayla, a country singer, has performed there.)

Brown told the audience that he was in the White House twice this week to witness President Obama  signing two of his bills. The first was the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, which bans insider trading for members and employees of Congress and executive branch employees, and prevents government officials from receiving preferential treatment in any initial public offerings that are not available to the general public.

Brown told the story of how the bill had languished on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's desk until he mentioned it to the president after the State of the Union address in January. The moment was captured on live TV and President Obama promised to get it done.

The second bill was the CROWDFUND Act, which he sponsored with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and was a bipartisan compromise passed as an amendment to the JOBS Act. Crowdfunding will allow entrepreneurs to raise up to $1 million per year through an SEC-registered crowdfunding portal.

The senator went on to say that although “I've been disgusted with what's going on in Washington, there are good people on both sides of the aisle, like those who helped pass Hire a Hero bill. There are great people working hard to do the right thing.

“But we are in deep trouble,” he continued, “the deficit is rising. We're going to be like Greece in a very short time.”  We need to be Americans first, not Democrats or Republicans first, he said.

“I'm looking to solve problems, and there are a lot of them.”

He said that while his opponent Elizabeth Warren was “being a social crusader,” I'm saving the Post Office, and dealing with issues like Iraq, Pakistan, the energy crisis, and base closures.”

The senator took questions from the audience on the ongoing housing crisis, interest on the federal debt, immigration, voter identification, and whether he thought English should be the official language. “I always thought it was,” he said in answer.

Brown concluded his remarks by saying, “If you want to hang out at Indian Ranch and have some beer, vote for me. If you want to hang out in Cambridge, vote for her.”

Senator Brown with constituents at Point Breeze.