The Overreaction to Scott Brown's Vote

Senator Scott Brown has drawn cries of betrayal after he voted to let Obama's Jobs Bill (a.k.a. The Stimulus, Part II) proceed to the Senate floor. Tammy Bruce writes:

The people of Massachusetts send a message that resonated with the entire nation–we do not like the Democrat agenda and we want the grotesque liberal destruction of this nation, as embodied by the Obama agenda, to be stopped. Voting for another Crap Sandwich is not honoring the conservatism expected of him.

Methinks Ms. Bruce doth protest too much. It's not like Brown hasn't said he wasn't always going to vote with the GOP on every matter. All Brown has done is to permit the bill to come to the floor of the Senate. This doesn't preclude Brown from voting against the bill once it comes up for a final vote.

Conservatives are entitled to disagree with Brown but we ought not pillory Brown on the basis of a single vote. Now if this becomes a pattern over the next couple of years then that is a different matter. But until then I think conservatives would be prudent to reserve judgment on the junior Senator from Massachusetts.