A Liberal's Heart: Peter Gelzinis wrote a STERLING piece for the Boston Herald, a conservative sensationalist newspaper I do not usually read (See link below.) I did not consider the things about which Mr. Gelzinis wrote when I heard the 60 Minutes Scott Brown revelations. I wish I had. I am a softy and sometimes, although not usually, I fall for a sad story and think it is an intrinsically good story told without economic motivation behind it. How, at this point in my life, can I still be so naive?

I am NOT a Scott Brown supporter BUT from day 1 I was trying to listen to what he had to say. I was trying to like him. Every time I listened to him, however, I was less than impressed by his articulate abilities and his lack of intellectually well thought out ideas.

When the sex abuse and violent chaotic childhood he revealed to 60 Minutes came out he touched my soft liberal heart. Why I did not think his rationale for this expose is because he has a book to sell in our winner-confess-all-no-matter-how-ugly culture I will never know. Next he will be on Oprah.

While Scott Brown's story is a compelling, sad and yet a triumphant one the fact that he is selling his book makes financial sense and gives a rationale to why he would make his personal, private and sordid story public now. It is ALWAYS about the buck isn't it?

Moreover, there may be another reason for releasing the details now. The polls show Mass. voters rather like Scott Brown. He seems to have just what the American doctor ordered -- good looks and a success story beneath his ugly childhood. If he can make it then why cannot anyone else do the same? But Scott Brown has lost some in the radical right Tea Bag movement who do not want to hear about this abuse and who think those with a different sexual orientation have no right to be treated equally. They are angry at Scott Brown’s yes vote to repeal DADT. By revealing his story, however, he has more than made up for the small right wing extremist loss. He has gained more votes across the entire political spectrum. Even I, a consummate progressive Democrat after hearing his story, for a millisecond thought maybe I could give him my vote.

Then reality strikes and Gelzinis’s piece alerts the hypocritical nerve alarm bells warning me about the danger of giving most any Republican my vote. In the final analysis Scott Brown will have to do more MUCH more to win this progressive’s heart. Apologizing to Lisa Allen for his politically motivated dismissal of her own abuse among many other things would be a good place start!

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1317660