Profiles in Political Cowardice

It takes a real lack of guts to flip around and vote for a bill only because you know it will pass without your jumping into the parade.

In a rare bipartisan breakthrough, the Senate pushed a $15 billion measure intended to spur job creation over a crucial preliminary obstacle Monday night after five Senate Republicans broke ranks to back consideration of the Democratic leadership initiative. ... Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts, the newly elected Republican, was the first to join Democrats in backing the measure. He was then joined by Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, George Voinovich of Ohio and Christopher Bond of Missouri, who voted after it became obvious Democrats would prevail.

Brown probably knows that if he is portrayed in the next election as a lock-step Wingnut, that his tenure on Capitol Hill will be a short one. What he did here was give cover to other Republicans who don't have the guts to be the first to cross the Club for Oligarchy Growth and their useful idiots. Brown is also useful to the rest of the GOP, who might otherwise run the risk of being hammered in the upcoming campaign as a bunch of hive-minded drones.