Brown‘s independence could face Senate test

By ANDREW MIGA, Associated Press Writer Andrew Miga, Associated Press Writer – Fri Feb 5, 7:26 am ET

But his independent bent is likely to be sorely tested in a bitterly divided Senate where party loyalty is often at a premium.

Brown tried to maintain a middle-of-the-road posture. "I‘m going to look at everybody‘s qualifications and make my own decision," he said.

Just ask Maine Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. Their independent ways and support for measures such as Obama‘s economic stimulus have stoked sharp criticism from some conservatives.

Or ask Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent and former Democrat whose strong support for Republican John McCain‘s 2008 presidential campaign had Democrats fuming. It nearly cost Lieberman a key committee chairmanship.

Republicans are aglow over the fact that Brown, a 50-year-old, little-known state senator, captured Kennedy‘s old seat last month in a stunning upset over Democrat Martha Coakley that ended the Democrats‘ supermajority and gave Republicans the 41 votes they could use to block Obama‘s agenda. Brown won with a "big tent" coalition of supporters, including backers of the Tea Party protest movement.

"The problem for (Brown) is the Republican Party that will welcome him in Washington is the Republican Party that will prevent him from getting re-elected in Massachusetts in a couple of years," said Wendy Schiller, a Brown University political science professor. "If he goes into that party and he toes the line with that party, he can‘t get re-elected."

Snowe and Collins have turned their moderate brand of politics into popularity in Maine, where pragmatism often takes a back seat to partisanship with voters.

"If he wants to have a future in Massachusetts politics, Brown has to live up to being a New England Republican — fiscally conservative, socially moderate, independent-minded," said Dante Scala, a University of New Hampshire political science professor.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.