Adrian Walker brings the heat on a thwarted attempt by Boston teens to lobby their US Senator:
“Constituents (even if some in the group are not yet old enough to vote) should not be treated like an annoyance when they try to walk into a federal building – the people’s building. Certainly a man who was elected on the strength of his regular-guy credentials should get that. Trust me, 25 developers wouldn’t have to meet with Brown’s staff on the sidewalk.
Paying more than lip service to summer jobs is not a bad idea, either. The biggest misconception about kids is that they don’t care about issues, and don’t want to work. Somehow, disproving both those errant notions got these kids nowhere.”
But I’m sure that Scott Brown’s staff, and Scott Brown himself, wouldn’t want anybody to get the wrong impression.
It’s not that Scott Brown opposes summer jobs for teenagers. It’s just that he voted against federal funding for summer jobs for teenagers.
It’s not that Scott Brown opposes federal funding for summer jobs for teenagers. It’s just that he supports them “as long as they are paid for in a fiscally responsible way, without adding to the trillions in national debt”. (Note to Sen. Brown’s staff: nobody has proposed a summer jobs program costing “trillions”; at most we’re talking $1 – 2 billion.)
And it’s not that Scott Brown actually cares that much about reducing the national debt, because just last week he voted against the “Buffett Rule” which would have reduced the debt by at least $47 billion in the coming decade.
Finally, it’s not that Scott Brown doesn’t care about city kids. It’s just that he and his staff won’t even allow them past the metal detectors on the ground floor of the federal building in which Scott Brown has his Boston office.
Related question: do Democratic city officials like Boston’s Mayor Tom Menino care more about the kids in their cities than they care about what a “good guy” Scott Brown is?
Crossposted at: http://masscommons.wordpress.com/
