By jumping into the national controversy over coverage for contraception, US Senator Scott Brown is playing a political hand that has a long history in modern Massachusetts politics - attempting to drive a wedge between socially conservative voters and liberal Democratic candidates.
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The contraception battle, which is drawing national attention, underscores the class and religious lines that often emerge in Massachusetts as Roman Catholic traditions and the liberal political leanings collide.
Seasoned political observers say they see Brown’s embrace of the moral exemption issue as a political move to gain him support in a very critical bloc of voters: the socially conservative so-called Ronald Reagan Democrats and GOP-leaning independents that he will need to beat back a challenge from likely Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren.
Brown has signed onto a Senate Republican proposal that would allow any employer, not just religious institutions, to deny its workers benefits if they have moral objections to any health service. He then touted that support in a radio blitz launched this week, along with an opinion piece in yesterday’s Globe.
Brown has signed onto a Senate Republican proposal that would allow any employer, not just religious institutions, to deny its workers benefits if they have moral objections to any health service. He then touted that support in a radio blitz launched this week, along with an opinion piece in yesterday’s Globe.
“It doesn’t look like a shrewd move, when you play it out against the liberal stereotype of Massachusetts,’’ said Jack Beatty, a former senior editor at Atlantic Monthly magazine who wrote a much-acclaimed book on Boston’s legendary mayor, James Michael Curley, a master in political class conflict.
“But that is not where he is looking for his votes,’’ said Beatty, who is also an analyst on WBUR-FM radio’s “On Point’’ program. “He is looking to Reagan voters. So what looks like a blunder could very well be a shrewd move.’’
Reagan Democrats are typically defined as culturally and socially conservative working-class voters who often feel alienated by the Democratic liberal establishment.
Indeed, Brown’s endorsement of the proposal also highlights what appears to be an increasingly shifting image - he moves so quickly across the political spectrum that he is keeping voters, analysts, and even the Warren campaign guessing where he will land next. But Brown’s aides say the senator is merely displaying a degree of independence that they hope will play well in a heavily Democratic state.
Within days after backing the latest GOP plan on health coverage limits, he urged the Pentagon to allow women to serve in combat, breaking with some of his GOP colleagues in an effort to appeal to female voters. That move came on the heels of his backing the repeal of the military’s “’don’t ask, don’t tell’’ policy.
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More recently he also proposed a work visa program for Irish citizens, shifting away from the GOP’s hard line on immigration issues.
But in his latest move, he has swung back to the right, this time potentially alienating one key voting bloc - women - as he tries to make inroads into a critical part of the Democratic base....
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