# Is Republican noise about Susan Rice just a ploy to get Scott Brown back into the Senate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 26, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166 "2012-11-26T16:38:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/41 "2012-11-29T17:47:20Z")
It looks like Rachel Maddow has the same thoughts as the op. That trio that questioned Rice the other day? (Collins, Mccain, and that other guy)Well guess who they’re buddies with? Go on Guess. [Link](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#50003672) Skip to 5min in. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/42 "2012-11-29T17:50:18Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > That trio that questioned Rice the other day? (Collins, Mccain, and that other guy) The trio was McCain, Lindsay Graham, and Kelly Ayotte. Later Rice met with Susan Collins, Bob Corker and Joe Lieberman. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/43 "2012-11-29T18:32:19Z")
Yeah, I can’t imagine the Democratic candidate losing a special election to Brown, presuming they don’t go insane and take a vacation from campaigning while insulting the voters like Martha did. Brown really damaged his standing with the whole Native American debacle. Now Richard Tisei would be an interesting Republican candidate. Was a popular state Senator for twenty years, came within a few thousand votes of unseating the incumbent (who admittedly had major image/ethics problems), and he’s gay, which would help assuage liberal guilt for not voting for a Democrat. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/44 "2012-11-29T19:11:18Z")
However, he also just lost to somebody any Democrat would have pounded in a primary (that’s my district, and I certainly would have welcomed the chance). Tierney needed to go and still does, and the Dems needed to primary him - seniority or not, he’s useless even without considering his wife’s and her brothers’ ethics problems. Tisei’s a good guy, sure, but he’s sailing under the wrong flag. And now he’s the guy who couldn’t even beat Tierney. ETA: Just to show you the state of the GOP bench, Tierney’s last challenger was a simple embarrassment of a Teabagger, who’s now left his law practice to promote some late-night-infomercial company. The guy worked in my town, and was notable for parking his SUV on the street with NOBAMA license plates and anti-government slogans painted all over it, and had some birther sign in his lawn. He’d always seemed pretty sane before that, though. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/45 "2012-11-29T19:45:42Z")
May not be about Scotty. Any open Dem seat is worth it for them. And its good to see how forgiving they can be to Kerry. ---
**Author:** ![Enlightening\_Meditation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecc23a/32.png) [@Enlightening\_Meditation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enlightening_Meditation)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/46 "2012-11-29T19:47:00Z")
I think there’s some truth to the GOP wanting Kerry’s Senate seat to open up. Brown could win another low turnout special election like he did in 2009 after Ted Kennedy died and left the seat vacant and then temporarily filled by appointment. The swiftboat propaganda is eerily silent. Several Republicans have endorsed John Kerry’s nomination for Secretary of State. I’m not certain that the Secretary of Defense position is open yet. Has Panetta declared that he’s stepping down? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/47 "2012-11-29T19:54:50Z")
> [@Enlightening\_Meditation](#): > > The swiftboat propaganda is eerily silent. He’s not running for president, therefore not worth swiftboating. > [@](#): > > I’m not certain that the Secretary of Defense position is open yet. Has Panetta declared that he’s stepping down? He hasn’t _declared_ it, but [it sounds like he doesn’t plan to stay on the job that long](http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=118519) and I don’t think he is expected to stay. > [@](#): > > “It’s no secret that at some point I’d like to get back to California,” Panetta told reporters traveling with him on his fourth official trip to the Asia-Pacific region. "It’s my home. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/48 "2012-11-29T20:04:47Z")
Kerry won’t be swiftboated because the next SOS and SOD are going to be Democrats no matter what, and because his seat won’t open up if they do it, and because they know they probably can’t get away with the same lies twice anyway. That’s it. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/49 "2012-11-29T20:11:32Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > However, he also just lost to somebody any Democrat would have pounded in a primary (that’s my district, and I certainly would have welcomed the chance). Tierney needed to go and still does, and the Dems needed to primary him - seniority or not, he’s useless even without considering his wife’s and her brothers’ ethics problems. > > Tisei’s a good guy, sure, but he’s sailing under the wrong flag. And now he’s the guy who couldn’t even beat Tierney. > > ETA: Just to show you the state of the GOP bench, Tierney’s last challenger was a simple embarrassment of a Teabagger, who’s now left his law practice to promote some late-night-infomercial company. The guy worked in my town, and was notable for parking his SUV on the street with NOBAMA license plates and anti-government slogans painted all over it, and had some birther sign in his lawn. He’d always seemed pretty sane before that, though. Didn’t Tierney have a boatload of cash to spend? I live in that district too, and I’m sure he outdid Tisei’s mailings 3-1, and I got two different push-poll calls about Tisei. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/50 "2012-11-29T21:22:53Z")
While in principle any Democratic senate vacancy favors the Republicans, wouldn’t it favor them a lot more in a state where they’d have a good chance of replacing him? Even with an open seat, any Republican is going to have a serious uphill climb in a statewide Massachusetts race. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/51 "2012-11-29T21:59:59Z")
The idea of Brown running again sounds a little like a Sartre-ish nightmare. He ran and won in January 2010, ran and lost in November 2012, and (assuming Kerry left office in January) would be campaigning again for an election in June or July 2013, and then would have to run for a full term _again_ in November 2014. It’s hard for me to see him winning a third Senate election in 3 1/2 years, let alone winning three out of four. It seems to me that voters would just be sick to death of him. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/52 "2012-11-29T23:21:17Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The idea of Brown running again sounds a little like a Sartre-ish nightmare. He ran and won in January 2010, ran and lost in November 2012, and (assuming Kerry left office in January) would be campaigning again for an election in June or July 2013, and then would have to run for a full term _again_ in November 2014. It’s hard for me to see him winning a third Senate election in 3 1/2 years, let alone winning three out of four. It seems to me that voters would just be sick to death of him. A lot of us are already sick to death of him. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/53 "2012-11-30T00:55:52Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > A lot of us are already sick to death of him. To be honest, I’ve been sick to death of him since he won the special election to replace Cheryl Jacques in the State Senate in 2004. This was back when same-sex marriage was the big issue in Massachusetts, with various attempts to amend the state constitution to ban it before the Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling took effect. Jacques, who’s a lesbian, resigned her seat to become chair of HRC. The special election to replace her was widely seen as a preview of how races would be affected by the issue. Brown, the anti-SSM candidate won, which was considered a bad omen for all the legislators who had voted against the proposed amendment. As it turned out, the election was a fluke, and the pro-SSM candidates won in every seat that was contested between the two sides for at least a couple years. The one thing from that time that cemented my opinion of Scott Brown was his mention of Cheryl Jacques’s “alleged family responsibilities” toward her partner and their daughter. ---
**Author:** ![Enlightening\_Meditation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecc23a/32.png) [@Enlightening\_Meditation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enlightening_Meditation)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/54 "2012-11-30T01:57:55Z")
Trust me, if Rice had the Senate seat and Kerry was UN Ambassador, then you’d hear swiftboat attacks with the prospect of open cabinet positions. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/55 "2012-11-30T02:42:09Z")
Scott Brown earned my disdain when I heard this interview with him: [http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/04/16/gop-senator-explain-opposes-financial-reform/](http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/04/16/gop-senator-explain-opposes-financial-reform/) > [@](#): > > Brown left open the possibility that he could support a compromise. > > “I want to see when it’s going to come up, how it’s going to come up,” he said. “I’m always open to trying to work something through so it is truly bipartisan.” > > Brown, whose vote could be critical as Democrats seek to find a GOP member to avoid a filibuster, assiduously avoided talking about specifics. > > **When asked what areas he thought should be fixed, he replied: “Well, what areas do you think should be fixed? I mean, you know, tell me. And then I’ll get a team and go fix it.** ” Emphasis mine. He’s a fucking dipshit. Which makes him perfect for the 21st century GOP, of course. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/56 "2012-11-30T03:17:09Z")
I saw coverage on MSNBC of Truckie Brown McBarnjacket at his debate with Elizabeth Warren; and during some campaign rally. where he was trying to wave his dick around, but only looked like a douchetruck. I’ve never even BEEN to Massachusetts and just want to punch him. What’s the big deal with him and the truck anyway? They sell them to anyone who’s got cash or financing. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/57 "2012-11-30T03:46:41Z")
> [@anya\_marie](#): > > What’s the big deal with him and the truck anyway? They sell them to anyone who’s got cash or financing. It shows he’s not one of them limousine liberals everyone hates. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/58 "2013-01-29T15:33:28Z")
For those who poo-pooed the idea that Brown could win a special election: [Scott Brown up big in early polls](http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/scott-brown-up-big-in-mass-senate-poll-86744.html). > [@](#): > > Former Sen. Scott Brown has a 20-point lead over the DSCC’s preferred candidate in a special election to replace likely incoming Secretary of State John Kerry, according to a poll released Friday. > > Brown draws 53 percent of the vote to 31 percent for veteran Rep. Ed Markey, according to the poll from MassINC. Kerry and the DSCC have endorsed Markey for the Senate seat. Markey actually does worse than a generic Democrat, who would draw 36 percent of the vote to Brown’s 44 percent. If Massachusetts Democrats don’t get their act together and find an appealing candidate, it’s starting to look like the Republicans may have finessed a Senate seat. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/59 "2013-02-01T18:31:54Z")
[Brown says he isn’t running.](http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/us_politics/2013/02/scott_brown_not_running_senate) ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166/60 "2013-02-01T19:14:13Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > For those who poo-pooed the idea that Brown could win a special election: > > [Scott Brown up big in early polls](http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/scott-brown-up-big-in-mass-senate-poll-86744.html). > > If Massachusetts Democrats don’t get their act together and find an appealing candidate, it’s starting to look like the Republicans may have finessed a Senate seat. It’s his name. Sounds like “malarkey.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-republican-noise-about-susan-rice-just-a-ploy-to-get-scott-brown-back-into-the-senate/642166.md?page=4)