Boston Globe Metro columnist Brian McGrory positions himself as a voice for the blue-collar working class, repeatedly tweaking wealthy towns for what he sees as snobbish, elite behavior -- recently criticizing Concord, Mass. for banning bottled water in plastic containers, for example. He's not a liberal or even necessarily pro-Democrat, defending Mitt Romney before the GOP conference as "an uncommonly thoughtful human being, wise in the ways of the world, even if earnestly so. He is neither mean-spirited nor venal, never one to score cheap political points at someone else’s expense."
McGrory is the sweet-spot demographic Brown needs to capture in order to win re-election: Locally born and raised, independent, white, male.
So here's what McGrory says about Scott Brown beyond the camera, lights (Boston Globe online is a subscriber-only , although they do offer a free trial)
Whenever I see the television ad where Scott Brown drives his pickup truck to visit Medal of Honor recipient Thomas Hudner, I can’t help but think of the late Sergeant Jared Monti.
Monti was killed in Afghanistan during his fifth combat tour trying to save a young soldier. He's a true hero, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. His hometown had three ceremonies to honor his memory: naming a bridge, a major intersection, and a room at the American Legion post in his honor.
You might think that Scott Brown, who made such a show of visiting Hudner, would have been a regular at these ceremonies, right?
Well, wrong. Brown was invited to all three events and attended exactly none of them, dispatching a junior aide in his place. I know he’s busy, but all three days? Apparently, Brown’s “On the Road” tour doesn’t go through Raynham, just 20 minutes from his house.
This has not sat well with the locals.
Monti's father: “If he chooses to send a representative and not show up, that’s his choice. Whatever makes him happy. . . . There are people who speak from the heart and those who speak in whatever way they’ll get votes.”
McGrory:
I really hoped Brown was better than this. But as the people of Raynham know, his actions can be far different than his words.