Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts said Obamacare’s individual mandate is a penalty, not a tax, and sided with the Obama administration in its approach to stopping Iran from going nuclear, the
Boston Herald reported.
Brown, who appeared to buck fellow Republicans on the two issues, is in a tight re-election campaign against democrat Elizabeth Warren.
Conservatives have pushed for military intervention to thwart Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and have criticized President Barack Obama for allowing Iran to make progress toward their goal under his watch. Brown appears to back Obama’s approach.
“Nobody wants a nuclear Iran,” Brown said, according to the Herald. “We’ve given the president the tools to bring them into line . . . I’m going to be monitoring it and working with the administration to make sure they don’t get nuclear capabilities.”
Brown was asked if Obama should take military action against Iran and Brown responded, according to the Herald, “That’s up to the president. That’s why he’s the president.”
During a Fourth of July parade in Plymouth, Brown reacted to the news that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said that requiring all Americans to buy health insurance amounts to a tax. “I’ll stand by my positions,” Brown said, according to the Herald. “My position has always been that it’s not a tax. It’s a penalty, as it is in Massachusetts.”
Brown’s comments quickly drew fire from his opponent Warren.
“Scott Brown intends to repeal the affordable care act,” she said, according to the Herald. “He ran on that in 2010. It’s all over his website. He may try to run away from Mitt Romney and his fellow Republicans, but he said he’s there to repeal the affordable care act. That’s a big deal in this election.”
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