A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing or Outlier?

Pastor Cheryll A. Bellamy, Attorney and Pastor

“You’ve got that magic touch.” That’s what the voters said about Scott Brown. Brown ignited the emotions of hope and the possibility of real change. Enough of the political games and score cards -many voters believe that both the Democratic and Republican parties have failed to deliver the promises of change.

The Republicans are still in a political quandary for true leadership after their loss in 2008. They are searching to find that political right fit and relevant gravitas of issues that can bounce the party back into a relevant institution for all to salute.

John McCain, the Republican candidate, lost his reputation as a maverick because his ideas were too Bushsonian. Sarah Palin, though she had a populist charisma, failed the academic portion of the political campaign which resulted in a public disapproval of her true political leadership. The present revisionary idyllic image of Sarah Palin has become an onerous task on the part of Fox News and the Tea Party contenders. We all are watching her new makeover. Will she be replaced by another political rising star, Scott Brown, who is now being courted by the leaders of the Republican Party? This political picture reinforces the notion that the Republicans are still undergoing an identity crisis. The resulting symptoms of this crisis are the party's ineptness at every turn, new factions within the party, and a lack of cohesive mutual respect for moderates and Tea Party contenders.

By Brown's own admission during the campaign, he is that self-described outsider who is not the usual politician in Washington. The political pundits are now drawing comparisons between Brown and Obama. It may be a political game-changer or a ploy initiated by the media. After watching Senator Scott Brown's interview this past week, his sizzle may not hold water when it comes to making effective transformation in the political arena of Capitol Hill.

Brown held on to the Republican's political philosophy of reducing the deficit by tax cuts. He refused to give President Barack Obama the credit for job creation because of the stimulus money. When the question was asked about whether or not the stimulus package created jobs, Brown's answer was a flat “No.” This was not a true statement. Brown's response had the hint of cynicism from a politician who appeared to be joined at the hip of his status quo party.

A leader claiming independence is not afraid to speak on behalf of his constituency even if it means committing political incorrectness or suicide in the eyes of the party's majority. Could it be that we saw Brown as the forty-first Republican joining the rank and file of his colleagues in “the party of no?” Will Brown gain the reputation of adding to the Republican deficit of getting nothing done when his only focus will be on sabotaging the efforts of President Obama and Democratic Party? If that is the case, he will gain the reputation as the forty-first obstructionist.

An outlier is a person or thing who lies outside the main body or expected place. Does that mean outside the norm? Can Brown create himself as a human political outlier distancing himself from the majority of Republicans when it comes to health care and the jobs bill? Can Scott Brown reach across party lines and use the number forty-one as a hammer to break gridlock between the two existing parties? Or will he, like his party, continue filibustering legislation concerning jobs and health care that are morally right for the American people?

Here is what Scott Brown and others can learn from Senator Ted Kennedy. We hear the echoes of this prophet's words challenging this nation's destiny to become a nation where it is said that justice for the poor and needy will run down like water and righteous acts like a mighty stream. It was Senator Kennedy who caught the vision of these words. He ran with the vision for all to respond. He held up this torch for the next generation to embrace. Many other leaders have studied the spirit of these words. It is those who place themselves under the mantle of change who are quickly reminded of a

similar mandate of social justice defined in the history of our Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

On the night of the democratic convention, August 28, 2008, we watched Ted Kennedy, a man of great political stature, physically frail, but strong in spirit, reciting his own dream of passing a long-awaited health care law for all Americans. Holding onto this dream relentlessly for forty-seven years, the dream for him never died. Health care was not based on privilege but a moral right. Kennedy's hope was not deferred. The transfer was completed when the torch from his hands was given into the hands of the next generation and to President Barack Obama on the eve of his presidential nomination - an event never to be forgotten, placed into the eternal historical annals which flames the fire of this nation's great destiny. For most African Americans and all Americans not born into privilege and money as was Senator Ted Kennedy, it was a defining moment. Each of us must take up this torch and run the race to serve this nation with zeal and compassion. This mantle is one of service for every American to shoulder and demonstrate in their lives. “The Lion of the Senate,” is a name which most Americans are not embarrassed to assign to Senator Edward Kennedy. The spirit of this man will live on for all to ruminate on his life's passion that every American should have health care.

Outliers are independent thinkers. They are outsiders. When you, Scott Brown, move into the late Senator Ted Kennedy's office on Capitol Hill, the Lion of the Senate will hopefully remind you that an outlier is neither a Republican nor a Democrat. He is just an outlier who happens to be a transformer.