"Senator Scott Brown’s largest financial supporters are a who’s who of finance and business, while his political challenger, Elizabeth Warren, has drawn support primarily from universities, law firms, and left-leaning political groups, according to an analysis of federal filings.
Brown’s support from the financial industry — about $5.5 million, or 28 percent of the $19.5 million he has raised in total — also appears to reflect how much the sector does not want Warren in the Senate."
Related:
Who Bought Brown's Election?
The U.S. Senate's Chief Brownnoser to Israel
Not anymore.
Also see: Warren's Whoppers
Yeah, Israel will still get what it wants.
"Defense industry closely watching Elizabeth Warren; Jobs in Mass. are concern" by Bryan Bender | Globe Staff, November 12, 2012
WASHINGTON — It is one legacy of Senator Scott Brown’s tenure in Washington that Elizabeth Warren may want to continue: champion of the defense industry, a critical component of the Massachusetts economy.
And this with Massachusetts citizens holding a liberal, antiwar image of itself.
Yes, the PEOPLE are AGAINST the WARS and EMPIRE! The government ain't.
But how the liberal senator-elect will come down on one of the most pressing issues facing the new Congress remains a burning question for industry groups and company executives who are wary of the former Harvard professor and have been relying on Brown, a member of the Armed Services Committee, to protect Pentagon contracts, military bases, and thousands of Bay State jobs that depend on them.
“The defense technology community in particular is not quite sure of whether she is going to be supportive at the end of the day,” said Chris Anderson, president of the Massachusetts Defense Technology Initiative, which represents Waltham-based defense giant Raytheon, Textron, General Dynamics, BAE Systems, and other large and small defense companies and research universities in Massachusetts and across the region.
“She has an obligation to major sectors of the Massachusetts economy that are inextricably linked to the federal government,” Anderson said.
The defense industry was certainly not banking on Warren’s victory over the Republican incumbent last week. Campaign finance records show that defense firms contributed nearly 30 times more money to the campaign of Brown, a colonel in the Army National Guard, than Warren — $319,000 versus $11,000.
So far Warren has said little about her views about what programs should be funded and which ones should be cut, only to say that she supports reduced military spending as long as the cuts are made carefully.
“I think the key thing is this should not be about across-the-board cuts,” she said at her first postelection news conference on Thursday. “Across-the-board cuts are bad for the military and they are bad for the work done here in Massachusetts. We have an opportunity to reshape our military spending so that it fits our needs internationally, and that may mean cuts in some areas.”
She also expressed a desire to invest in certain capabilities that are a strong suit for Massachusetts companies and universities, while slashing other areas.
“We have ended the war in Iraq and are winding down the war in Afghanistan,” Warren said. “On the other hand, we may need more spending on issues such as research and development and cyber security. Here in Massachusetts, we do more of the latter instead of the former.”
Warren has privately shown a desire to build bridges to the defense sector in Massachusetts. For example, two people with direct knowledge said that back in June, in the heat of the campaign, she initiated a phone call with William Swanson, the chief executive of Raytheon, which is the state’s largest single employer.
“They discussed the defense industry in Massachusetts and the effects of sequestration,” said a Warren aide who asked not to be identified, referring to mandatory defense cuts set to go into effect in January unless Congress votes to reverse them. “It was a good, in-depth conversation.”
In a statement to the Globe Friday, Raytheon said that “our CEO has spoken with Elizabeth Warren. Raytheon has worked with elected officials representing states in which we do business for some 90 years. We are confident that all parties care about our capabilities, our very talented employees, and the communities in which we live and work. We congratulate Senator-elect Warren and look forward to working with her.”
However, from his perch on the Armed Services panel, Brown has been considered a sure bet by the industry, including taking a leading role in protecting the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford from cuts.
Earlier this year, he also helped to fashion a deal later approved by Congress to expand the base, while also playing a key role in reversing millions of dollars in proposed cuts to an Army communication system developed by General Dynamic’s facility in Taunton.
“Brown was effective and improving in his effectiveness,” Anderson said.
According to the Defense Technology Initiative, the defense industry employs more than 130,000 people in Massachusetts and generated $14 billion in contracts in 2011.
But even as Warren is lobbied hard by such a powerful bloc, she is also likely to hear from those in her political base who believe deep cuts to military spending are necessary in order to invest in other national needs — even if it may have adverse effects on local economic interests.
You know, like the people that voted for her (like me).
“We are way overcommitted internationally,” said retiring US Representative Barney Frank, who later this week will unveil a new report by the Cambridge-based Project on Defense Alternatives calling for $100 billion in defense spending cuts. “We have to get rid of this notion that we have to defend everyone everywhere.”
Frank said that many of the necessary cuts, such as to overseas military bases or troop levels, would not have much impact in Massachusetts. But he acknowledged that in some cases, weapon manufacturers in the region may be impacted by reduced defense spending.
Charles Knight, codirector of the Project on Defense Alternatives in Cambridge, suggested one example involved the F-35 jet fighter for the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps.
“It’s premature to invest that much in a new generation of aircraft that is three times as much as the one it is replacing,” he said.
Yeah, except Israel wants them, so.... (sigh).
According to the prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, there are 99 suppliers for the fighter jet program that account for nearly 1,500 jobs in Massachusetts and account for an estimated $90 million worth of economic activity. There are more than 6,000 F-35-related jobs in New Hampshire, according to the company.
US Representative Bill Keating, a Cape Cod Democrat, said Warren will have to walk a fine line between voting for reforms that cut wasteful defense spending and protecting jobs back home.
“There are times there might be collisions” between both objectives, he said, citing weapon systems he called “Cold War vestiges.”
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I guess I'm not commenting much, readers, because I've been here six years already and the empire continues to expand, the globe-kickers continue to advance their plans, and no one seems to give a damn except bloggers.
At least the press is on her side:
"Elizabeth Warren holds back with reporters" by Noah Bierman and Michael Levenson | Globe Staff, November 08, 2012
It was a bit of a rough start for Senator-elect Elizabeth Warren, who held her first official press conference following her victory Tuesday. Suddenly, the voluble Harvard Law School professor and longtime media commentator sounded uncertain and impatient, offering terse answers to questions about fiscal policy and the success of women candidates.
“I’m glad” was all she said when asked to expound on the support she received from women voters and on the influx of women elected Tuesday. Asked to elaborate, she refused, saying: “I’m glad that women turned out to vote for me. I’m delighted.”
Asked a third time, Warren turned to Governor Deval Patrick, who was standing at her side at the State House press conference. “You want to try this?” she said.
Oh, I'M LIKING HERE EVEN MORE!
Many expected Warren, freed from the attacks of her tough campaign, might be more expansive in discussing the meaning of her victory and the issues she will face in her new job. Traditionally such postelection press conferences are an opportunity for the triumphant candidate to look forward with relish to the challenges to come and reflect on the lessons of the campaign.
Instead, Warren, looking out on a large press corps eager to hear from the state’s new political star, brushed aside several questions, including ones about how to cope with the looming “fiscal cliff,” a year-end deadline to avoid tax increases and large spending cuts.
“Right now, the parties are in negotiations,” she said.
Pressed for her own views on the subject, she sought to cut off further inquires. “Well,” she said, “I think that’s where it is.”
Warren also declined to say which Senate committees she wants to serve on. She said she was speaking with majority leader Harry Reid about her assignments and would like to focus on those related to the middle-class issues on which she campaigned.
Speaking later to a handful of reporters after the press conference and away from the glare of the television cameras, Warren gave an explanation for her reluctance to engage, saying she needs to be more discreet now that she is making the transition from candidate to senator-elect.
Party politics have gotten to her?
“I’m trying to learn it,” she said, after she walked down the hall from Patrick’s office to meet with House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo. “Listen, all I can say is I was a lot more discreet as a candidate than I was in real life.”
Turning to a press aide, she said: “Can I say that? Maybe it’s indiscreet to talk about discretion.”
:-)
Aides said Warren was also fatigued after a long and grueling campaign.
Not all her answers at the press conference were clipped. After initially declining to talk about more women winning Senate seats, she offered a longer answer....
Then WHY the DISTORTED TONE and TENOR of the PIECE?
You reporters were mad that she wasn't being all buddy-buddy, huh?
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Also see: Elizabeth Warren a woman of few words
I'm not laughing at that one.
"A low-key return to D.C. for Elizabeth Warren; Avoids spotlight as she gets down to building staff" by Matt Viser | Globe Staff, November 13, 2012
WASHINGTON — As Elizabeth Warren walked through the marble corridors of the Capitol on Tuesday, she tried assiduously to keep a low profile. Walking arm in arm with Senator-elect Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Warren passed paintings of historic politicians, busts of former vice presidents, and the doors to the Senate floor they will enter once sworn in.
A small gaggle of reporters awaited one of the rising stars in Washington, and Warren knew it. She leaned into Baldwin and was overheard saying, “Pretend you’re talking to me.”
Oh, so now Liz Warren is some sort of evasive, two-faced equivocator, huh?
She answered no questions, and strolled into a luncheon as reporters from the biggest news organizations in the country scolded themselves for not getting more information....
One of the biggest subjects of speculation concerned Warren’s committee assignment. Warren has not said what committee seat she is seeking, but the Banking Committee would be a natural fit for the former consumer advocate and consumer credit watchdog....
Warren also is said to be interested in the Judiciary Committee....
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UPDATE:
"Financial sector wants ties to Elizabeth Warren; Campaign views are set aside" by Noah Bierman | Globe Staff, November 22, 2012
The financial services industry has begun a careful and unlikely mission to thaw relations with Warren, even if its motives behind the scenes remain unclear....
I think we can gue$$ at their motives.
David D’Alessandro, former chief executive of John Hancock, said, “They’ll do what big companies always do. They’ll say, ‘The election’s over and what contortions do we have to perform to get on her good side?’ I’m sure they’re already figuring out which lobbyists might get in good with her, how to get their chief executives to have breakfast with her.”
D’Alessandro said corporations never expect someone like Warren, an activist, to win. But now, they will have little choice but to work with her for the next six years....
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