Brown being Brown
REMEMBER MANNY being Manny? Welcome to Brown being Brown.
Earlier this month, Senator Scott Brown voted for a GOP House budget proposal that included efforts to strip federal money for family planning, and specifically for Planned Parenthood, because it offers abortions as part of its medical services.
This week, Brown put out a statement saying “the proposal to eliminate all funding for family planning goes too far.’’
Confused? He wants you to be. It’s part of a pattern.
Brown was against the extension of jobless benefits until he voted for a budget that extended them.
He was against repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell’’ until he voted for it.
He was for defunding Planned Parenthood, until he was against defunding “family planning’’ — which may or may not be the same thing as being against defunding Planned Parenthood.
This is his statement: “I support family planning and health services for women. Given our severe budget problems, I don’t believe any area of the budget is completely immune from cuts. However, the proposal to eliminate all funding for family planning goes too far. As we continue with our budget negotiations, I hope we can find a compromise that is reasonable and appropriate.’’
On this one, Brown is giving himself definite wiggle room.
Tricia Wadja, director of public affairs for the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, said she isn’t sure exactly where Brown stands. When she asks his staff how he will vote on a specific proposal to defund Planned Parenthood, she said they tell her they don’t want to answer hypotheticals.
“We want to hear him say he opposes defunding Planned Parenthood,’’ said Wadja, who also believes her organization is making “some progress’’ in convincing him to do that.
But, Massachusetts Citizens for Life, an anti-abortion group, also picked up on Brown’s ambiguity. The group, which supported his US Senate run as a “pro-life vote in the Senate,’’ reacted to his statement with a blog post noting that “The mainstream media ‘reports’ that Brown has come out in favor of funding Planned Parenthood. That is not actually what he said.’’
The House budget proposal addressed family planning funding in two ways. First, it zeroed out so-called Title X funding, which provides an array of family planning services, but does not fund abortions. But the House budget also contained a separate rider, introduced by US Representative Mike Pence, a Republican from Indiana, which specifically prohibited all federal funds for Planned Parenthood, including Medicaid reimbursements.
As Massachusetts Citizens for Life interprets Brown’s statement, he is clearly expressing disagreement with zeroing out Title X funding, “but he made no comment on the Pence Amendment.’’ They are calling on their supporters to lobby Brown to support it.
If Brown is confusing Planned Parenthood supporters and opponents, there is nothing confusing about where Senator John Kerry stands.
The Bay State’s senior senator voted against the GOP House budget proposal. After it was defeated, he organized support for Title X and Planned Parenthood funding, including a letter to Vice President Joe Biden, which was co-signed by more than a dozen senators. In an op-ed piece, Kerry wrote, in an “ideological agenda cloaked in the guise of reducing our budget deficit, Congressional Republicans are trying to strip Planned Parenthood of money it uses to provide lifesaving, preventative care to millions of women each year.’’
In Massachusetts, Planned Parenthood operates seven centers that serve more than 34,000 patients annually in a wide variety of ways, including cervical cancer screenings, breast exams, and STD testing.
Given that Brown is running for reelection in the liberal Bay State, it’s possible he will end up opposing the GOP effort to defund Planned Parenthood. But, his vote counts, not his spin. Actions always speak louder than words.
For a time, Manny Ramirez was a popular Red Sox slugger with a charming habit of hitting the ball out of the park. Then his antics, which included drifting around left field, became good reason to ship him out of town.
Brown is a popular politician who looks golden — for now. But his charm could also wear thin, if there’s too much drifting in and out of left field.
Joan Vennochi can be reached at vennochi@globe.com. 
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
