Free Republic

Though his win last year was heralded as an early victory for the tea party, Sen. Scott Brown said Tuesday that he doesn’t think of himself as part of the movement. “I’m a Republican, period,” the Massachusetts senator said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I have respect for the tea party. I’m a fiscal conservative – I always have been. When you talk about national security, I’m a hawk, probably more than anybody that I know in Massachusetts.” On other issues, however, Brown said, “I’m not a social crusader. I’m going to keep an open mind on each and every issue.”...