Freedom Line Blog

In an environment that did not (and in many ways, does not) favor Republicans, Scott Brown tossed his hat into the ring to replace liberal icon Ted Kennedy. At the time, the conventional wisdom held that whoever won the Democratic Primary was a shoe-in to win the special election Senate race. Maybe that’s why Martha Coakley took a vacation after securing the Democratic nomination. Scott Brown went to work.

But the important lesson about Brown isn’t that he worked hard, shook hands outside Fenway Park, or reminded Beltway mandarins like David Gergen that the seat up for grabs belongs to the people of Massachusetts. It’s that he was in a position to do those things in the first place. He ran when the only people supporting his candidacy were his family and friends. He campaigned when the eyes of the nation were fixated on the Senate health care debate, the undie-bomber, and NBC’s late night implosion. And because he labored in obscurity when bigger names took a pass, he was in a position to speak truth to people; simple, common sense truths like “we can do better” on health care reform.

Scott Brown has no business being this close to becoming Massachusetts’ first elected Republican U.S. Senator since 1972. If he loses, he ran the race of a lifetime. If he wins, he gets to claim a special piece of campaign history. Either way, he’s been more inspirational than most political celebrities pining for just the right time. Take a look at Scott Brown – he just created his.