Independent voters are going to decide the Senate race on Tuesday. It is an important, far-reaching and humbling responsibility, electing someone not to be just your representative in Washington, D.C., but also an expression of your own conscience and will. 

Amid the roar of the race we need to remember to listen to the quiet but steady voice of conscience that guides us in the privacy of the voting booth.  We are shaping a nation each time we vote, which is the gift of democracy; the fluid nature of the phrase “we, the people.”   Over 50 percent of Massachusetts voters are registered Independent, and in the Senate race independent voters owe it to both their conscience and their family to vote for the only candidate that mirrors their independent spirit; Senator Scott Brown.

As a Republican, Scott Brown has been publicly endorsed by twenty Democratic movers and shakers in Massachusetts politics.  Thus far, he has voted with
his own party only 54 percent of the time. Those are facts; not spin. Will you be able to say the same of candidate Elizabeth Warren, if she wins this race? 
If you are truly independent, Elizabeth Warren should be an anathema to
you; someone who votes in lock-step with their party. That’s not an independent
spirit; that’s political servitude. Scott Brown is in his office late into the night poring over proposed bills; will Elizabeth Warren do this, too? 
How much do you need to read if you already know how you are going to
vote by looking to the White House for the thumbs-up or thumbs-down that will
determine your vote?

Believe me, as my Senator Scott Brown will not vote the way I would have him vote every time.  But as an adult who understands that compromise is essential to moving forward, I accept this in order to have a free-thinking Senator who is not encumbered by extreme party loyalty but instead feels encumbered by the needs of his people.  And what we need is jobs, and we need them now.
Brown introduced legislation to provide a payroll tax cut for working families,
a policy that has put an extra $1000 in workers’ pockets for the past two
years. Senator Brown has voted more than 50 times to advance legislation that
would create jobs, including 24 times against the majority of the Republican Party.  That’s an independent thinker who cares less about being popular and more about doing the job we sent him there to do. He is pro-choice, pro-Planned Parenthood, an ardent supporter of equal pay, and very proudly active military, and speaks his mind on all issues, for better or worse.  He’s a “let the chips fall” kind of Senator that has the doggedness, grit and passion to take on the complex
issues of our day.

Don’t look back and regret the loss of a Senator that closely mirrors your values,
Independents.  Vote for Scott Brown on Tuesday – for the good of Massachusetts.

Deirdre Reilly, Reading, MA