Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) has performed a complete 180 within the past two weeks, pivoting from praising the Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) plan to phase out Medicare to penning a Politico op-ed voicing his disapproval for the plan, according to Talking Points Memo.
Brown, who is up for re-election in 2012, headlined his Politico screed, "Why I don't back Paul Ryan's Medicare plan."
"While I applaud Ryan for getting the conversation started, I cannot support his specific plan — and therefore will vote 'no' on his budget," Brown wrote, citing additions to the national deficit and the $500 billion that has already been cut from the private side of Medicare.
However, Brown told state business leaders on May 13 that he would vote for the plan, though he acknowledged that it would fail when put to a vote in the Senate. At another meeting in Westminster, Mass., he praised Ryan's plan again.
