Brown now wants to be the anti-corruption Senator

[karynnj]

He is co-sponsoring a bill that would expand the list of reasons that Congresspeople would lose pensions. Needless to say Glenn Johnson does not mention who wrote the existing law and called it the Cunningham Law after Duke Cunningham.

Brown wants them to lose pensions for things done AFTER leaving the Congress. http://www.boston.com/Boston/politicalintelligence/2011/07/brown-expands-anti-corruption-push/GCsqGQU7Ncucny2zqri4sK/

It does seem funny how often Brown has gotten press for announcing he would do some things that Kerry already did. (The strangest saga was when he got tons of press for co-sponsoring 2 Small Business programs - both originally Kerry/Snowe and then with no real expanation filibustering them.) He also has copied some of Kerry's legislation for returning soldiers and veterans.

[ObamaKerryDem]

1. And of course, certain elements of the media will act as though..

..Brown came up with alll those ideas himself! :thumbsdown: Though it does seem lately that he is getting called to task at least a tiny bit more in the press, which is good to see. SOME hope at least that we will get a choice next year when it comes to that race!

[karynnj]

2. Not to mention - this is a big article for simply signing as a co-sponsor

to something that very well may not pass. (Not to mention when Kerry's law went into effect, it didn't affect Cunningham - as that was not the law in effect when he committed the crimes he did - it was said that there was some legal reason for that. So, I don't think they can affect the people they name.)

But, looking at news feeds, I see all of Kerry's co-sponsors get local press. I think the truth is that the treatment of Brown may be normal - and only Kerry exists under the rule that for him something counts only if he is lead sponsor and it passes - and it passes separately, rather than being taken into a bill! (Very few have any legislative success under the special JK rule - that was not used in 2008 for ANY candidate.

[Mass]

3. No surprise from Glen Johnson, but I cannot locate the bill.

Note: did Johnson announce Kerry was co-sponsoring Brown's bill on the fisheries. I found that when I was looking for this bill, but I do not remember having read anything. The last thing I read was Johnson complaining that kerry had too many press releases.

[Mass]

4. I just noticed that the article does not identify the sponsor of the bill, or

any of the co-sponsors.

[karynnj]

5. I don't think so - I never read it and didn't know it

Poor Johnson having to ignore all those Kerry press releases! (I still will never forget that he is the jerk who accused the Senator of lying (because he didn't explain he had cancer when asked why he looked bad) at Kerry's press conference announcing he had cancer and was undergoing surgery in a day or so. No one deserves that.)

[Noisy Democrat]

6. I've met Glen Johnson and wasn't impressed

I didn't know who he was, yet -- I'd been a Kerrycrat for quite a while then but didn't have the names of the major players in the Massachusetts press in my mind. I was waiting to film JK at an event in Worcester and asked the press guy next to me what paper he was with -- just trying to be friendly. He wasn't particularly stressed at that moment or trying to concentrate on anything that I could see, just waiting, but he took a haughty and somewhat snippy tone with me that made me want to say "Well, excuuuse me!" (though I didn't). Anyway, that was Glen Johnson. To be fair, it's always possible that I was being annoying in some way, but I distinctly remember being taken aback because I don't usually get that reaction from people -- so I think I can safely say that I don't normally have an annoying manner with the press people at JK events. I think he just has an attitude.

[karynnj]

7. He really is a piece of work

You are one of the nicest, politest people I have ever met. I can't imagine why he would have reacted that way to you. It is kind of amazing to think that these very imperfect journalist, who raise to the level that he has are so able to color the image people have of the actual representatives.