BROWN CAUSES FAINTING SPELLS – AT 9:24 A.M. ET:  Scott Brown is making his way to Washington, and making waves.  This is a very independent man.

Don't say he didn't warn us.  When he was elected, Brown told the nation that he would work for his constituents, and would take orders from no one, including the GOP.  He's proving it, as the Washington Post notes:

Fresh off an election victory in Massachusetts, Republican Senator-elect Scott Brown advocated a big tent outlook for the GOP when asked whether his party should move in a more moderate direction.

"They can do whatever they want," Brown said of other Republicans, on ABC's "This Week." "I just know that I'm a Scott Brown Republican. What does that mean? That means I'm going to go down there and be accountable, accessible, open, and honest, and I'm going to bring good government and fairness back to the equation."

Brown said his win in a solidly-Democratic state, along with the interest in the Q&A session President Obama and House Republicans had on Friday, is proof that voters want more transparency and less backroom dealing.

"What it means is that now there will be full and fair debate," Brown said of his 41st Republican vote in the Senate that erased a Democratic supermajority. "And there will be no more behind-closed-doors actions."

That's a tough order.  Watch out for the meat grinder, Scott.

Brown, a socially moderate Republican in an age where the national party is nearly unified on opposition to abortion rights and same-sex marriage, said states should be allowed to make their own decisions on marriage rights. He said while he is pro-choice, he is against partial- birth abortions, federal funding of abortions and believes in strong parental consent notification laws.

COMMENT:  Look, this guy is a star right now, and I get the feeling that he wants to remain one.  He's chalked up one of the most stunning wins in modern American political history. 

Republicans must understand that politics is local.  Officeholders will reflect their constituencies.  Rudy Giuliani, for example, one of the toughest law-and-order types ever to hold office in New York, favors some gun-control laws.  Within limits, a party must have some flexibility.  Otherwise, it will soon be holding its meetings in a closet. 

So Brown's views may not meet every conservative test, but they will meet most tests.  It will be utterly fascinating to see how this guy, from the bluest of the blue states, functions within his party.

February 1, 2010