Sherrod Brown's mother would be so proud of him and we should be, too

[EffieBlack]

Brown strode into the chamber at 10:45 p.m., wearing a dark suit and no smile. He placed his arm around Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), shook the hand of Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and then gave the clerk a thumbs up, ending what had been one of the longest votes in Senate history . . . Brown, whose 88-year-old mother died of leukemia last week, had dashed from her memorial viewing in Ohio last night and boarded a government aircraft provided by the White House that landed at Andrews Air Force Base. The journey illustrated the extraordinary steps Democrats took to guarantee a major victory.

For Brown, the moment turned on the memory of his mother, who was raised in a small Georgia town during the Great Depression. A champion of social and racial justice, Emily Campbell Brown read and reread Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" and insisted that her boys address African American adults not by their first names but with "Mr." or "Mrs." She cast her first vote in 1944 for Franklin D. Roosevelt, and even as she lay dying she wanted to live long enough to see Barack Obama in the White House. And so it was a poignant moment last night for the son who knew that his vote would make a difference.

"I know she would want him to be there for the vote," said Brown's wife, Connie Schultz. "There was just no question that Sherrod would have to cast his vote."

After Brown voted, an aide whisked him and Schultz through an empty marble hallway in the Capitol, into an elevator and toward a car that would carry them to Andrews for their flight back to rejoin family in Mansfield, Ohio. There his mother, who died Feb. 2, will be buried after a funeral this morning at a Lutheran church.

As the wait for Brown grew, Reid and Durbin took turns presiding over a chamber so quiet that only Reid's sneezing was audible from the galleries. With nothing much to do, both men thumbed through the Congressional Record and stared out at 100 wooden desks without occupants. At one point, Durbin began reading "Traitor to His Class," a biography of Roosevelt by H.W. Brands.
. . . For days at a time, Brown, 56, stayed at his mother's side, sometimes sleeping on a hospital cot. Once his mother returned home, neighbors brought them casseroles and cornbread. Brown used his BlackBerry and laptop to keep in touch with aides and monitor the stimulus bill's progress. When he was needed for critical meetings or votes, Brown flew to Washington in the morning and returned to Ohio that night. His wife joked that the couple spent so much time looking up flights that they memorized Continental Airlines' schedule for the Cleveland-to-Reagan National Airport route.

"I have only one mother, and my mother is dying, and I'm going to be with my mother," Brown told Reid.

"We'll try to make this work," Reid replied.

And Senate leaders did.
. . .
On Feb. 2, when Brown knew the end was near, Schultz said, he hovered close to his mother and gently said, "It's over, Mom. I promise. It's almost over."

She opened her eyes and looked at him. And within a few minutes, she was gone.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/13/AR2009021302342_pf.html

Rest in peace, Mrs. Brown. You fought the good fight and you have left us with a remarkable son and Senator. Thank you.

[Danger Mouse]

1. What a moving story.

:cry:
I'm really proud of Senator Brown...and disgusted with the Repukes who forced him to come there and make the vote.

[EffieBlack]

3. It's a damned shame that one Republican did not switch their vote out of deference to Senator Brown

so that he did not have to leave his mother's wake in order to cast his vote.

Certainly one senator could have made the gesture to his/her colleague and voted yes in order to spare him this hardship.

The most likely person would have been his fellow Ohioan, George Voinovich. I'm sure that all but Voinovich's most rabid and hateful Republican constituents would have understood and not held it against him if he had changed his vote so that Senator Brown could stay in Ohio to mourn his mother. He's not running again so he didn't have to worry about losing votes. And, in fact, he would have probably gotten tremendous political mileage out of such a gesture - especially if he had issued a statement that made clear exactly why he voted as he did on this measure.

It broke my heart last night watching Senator Brown looking so sad and serious going to the Senate floor alone just before 11:00 last night to cast his vote. Senator Reid and the leadership should be commended for holding open the vote for him but that should never have been necessary. And President Obama sending the plane for him was a class act. But this never should have happened.

Shame.

[prolesunited]

18. Yeah, that's their "Christian" values

in action again. You're right. There was no question he would be there and it would pass. What an act of true charity it would have been for a GOP senator to have done that.

If that was ever the case in reverse, I would hope a Democrat would have the courage and compassion to step forward.

[glowing]

2. Wow.. He's a good Senator.. and didn't he join the populist caucus.

I wish I had a Senator like that.. I've got a Nelson and a Martinez.. I'm not represented fairly.

[Raine1967]

4. Brought me to tears.

Wow. He is a noble person. I wish he wasn't put in such a position.

I have to say that Karma does come around.

Thank you Mrs. Brown, you raised a very good son.

And thank you Senator Brown, you are a wonderful American

:patriot:

[Adelante]

5. Oh, gee

:cry:

[Barack_America]

6. She was blessed to have a son like that, and he to have her as a mother.

Thanks for posting this.

:cry:

[napi21]

7. Yes I'm proud of him, but his actions made me much more ashamed

of the Pubs! Those idiots KNEW the bill was going to pass, but NOT EVEN ONE had the respect for a fellow Senator to step up and say "In respect to Senator Brown's loss of his mother, I will vote for the bill in his absence." Those jerks babble all the damn time using the term "With all due respect to my dear friend and honored collegue", but when it can time to actually SHOW somw respect for a really decent human reason, they all stuck their heads up their collective.......

[liberalmuse]

11. I don't ever expect them to do the decent thing.

I was angered and disgusted by that as well. Family values, indeed.

[Botany]

12. It is one thing to talk of "family values" but quite a different thing ...

..... to live them.

I wish I had read this earlier because I would have gone to Mansfield, OH
to stand and salute Mrs. Brown & her son.

Shame on Voinovich .... shame. :grr:

[Orangepeel]

13. particularly Voinovich, who is from the same state and retiring anyway

[Hamlette]

30. I wonder if this was Brown's decision?

Maybe, in honor of his mom, he wanted to cast the vote himself.

If so, I wish someone would tell us. I'm so angry at the GOP senators this am I can't see straight. I can't see how it would have cost them votes and it might have gained them votes (I would vote for one of my GOP Senators had they done that, they win in my state with 70% of the vote so it doesn't matter.) It was the right thing to do and 37 of them couldn't bring themselves to do it.

[Spazito]

8. Tears here...

Very moving. Senator Brown is a wonderful son raised by a incredible mother and is a credit to his constituency.

My condolences to the Brown family.

Recommended.

[MoJoWorkin]

9. I have a story to share concerning Sen. Sherrod Brown

Last fall (I don't remember the exact day) I got a call from someone at the St. Louis Obama campaign office. I was somewhat surprised, as I live in Springfield, MO.

The caller was asking me to help out with the campaign, and I told him that I already was--as much as I could. I told him how my father had died in June, and I had now taken over the full-time care of my mother who has Alzheimer's; and that because of this, I wasn't able to do as much as I liked, but I had done a bit of canvassing,etc. He then said "you have your priorities straight,family comes first".

At the end of our somewhat lengthy conversation, he identified himself as Senator Sherrod Brown--he told me he happened to be in St. Louis and was making some calls on behalf of the campaign.

Needless to say, I was blown away.

He is, indeed, a good man. I send the best to him and his family, and thank him for going those extra miles for us all, during a difficult time.

[Tatiana]

27. What a nice story. Brown is, indeed, a class act. n/t

[geiger]

34. he never hesitates to pick up the phone for the cause....eom

[EffieBlack]

35. That's a lovely story - thanks!

[liberalmuse]

10. Ho boy, that teared me up.

What a poignant story. He's from my home state and I'm damn proud of him. I wrote him last night and told him as much. My family still up in Ohio are sure to be happy with him. Bless him and his family.

[TBF]

14. I'll bet Mrs. Brown is looking down very proudly at her son for making

that vote. She raised a wonderful son.

[Jennicut]

15. Senator Brown has made his mother very proud by being a class act

which is more than I can say for most of the Republicans. Mrs. Brown raised a good son, a good man, a great Senator for Ohio.

[madmom]

16. george voinovich show class? LOL, the best laugh so far!

[Armstead]

17. Agreed....Brown has always been on the side of the people

[hileeopnyn8d]

19. Oh gosh

that made me cry.

[windbreeze]

20. brought me to tears...RIP Mrs.Brown and thank you to two incredible people...n/t

[ebdarcy]

21. Mrs. Brown was a good woman, and Senator Brown is a good man.

Peace to Mrs. Brown and her family.

[tilsammans]

22. What wonderful people!

Rest in peace, Mrs. Brown. Thank you for all you've done.

:patriot:

[CitizenLeft]

23. that's my Senator.

And I'm proud of him too.

Condolences to Sen. Brown and his family. A very courageous woman will be missed.

[Berry Cool]

24. Mrs. Brown, you've got a lovely son.

You raised him right, and we all owe you thanks for him.

He's already got my vote again.

[firedupdem]

25. Wow. Sounds like Mrs. Brown was a great lady and raised her

son with values. This made me cry. I'm glad he was able to be with his mother until the end. God bless the entire family.

[chill_wind]

26. Democracy Crumbles Under Cover of Darkness, Sherrod Brown, 2004

Senator Brown knows the dangerous opposition. This is one of his most memorable speeches about Republican mob rule, given while most of America was still sleepwalking toward this day we came to find ourselves in. I welcome a chance to post it here as a tribute to him, and as a reminder of what anti-Democratic forces we will always be fighting.

Democracy crumbles under cover of darkness
by Sherrod Brown
in Journal issue January-February 2004


House Republicans bend rules, press for votes during wee hours to escape the light of accountability.

Never before has the House of Representatives operated in such secrecy:

At 2:54 a.m. on a Friday in March, the House cut veterans benefits by three votes.

At 2:39 a.m. on a Friday in April, the House slashed education and health care by five votes.

At 1:56 a.m. on a Friday in May, the House passed the Leave No Millionaire Behind tax-cut bill by a handful of votes.

At 2:33 a.m. on a Friday in June, the House passed the Medicare privatization and prescription drug bill by one vote.

At 12:57 a.m. on a Friday in July, the House eviscerated Head Start by one vote.

And then, after returning from summer recess, at 12:12 a.m. on a Friday in October, the House voted $87 billion for Iraq.

Always in the middle of the night. Always after the press had passed their deadlines. Always after the American people had turned off the news and gone to bed.

What did the public see? At best, Americans read a small story with a brief explanation of the bill and the vote count in Saturday's papers.

But what did the public miss? They didn't see the House votes, which normally take no more than 20 minutes, dragging on for as long as an hour as members of the Republican leadership trolled for enough votes to cobble together a majority.

They didn't see GOP leaders stalking the floor for whoever was not in line. They didn't see Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay coerce enough Republican members into switching their votes to produce the desired result.

In other words, they didn't see the subversion of democracy.

And late last month, they did it again. The most sweeping changes to Medicare in its 38-year history were forced through the House at 5:55 on a Saturday morning.

The debate started at midnight. The roll call began at 3:00 a.m. Most of us voted within the typical 20 minutes. Normally, the speaker would have gaveled the vote closed. But not this time; the Republican-driven bill was losing.

By 4 a.m., the bill had been defeated 216-218, with only one member, Democrat David Wu, not voting. Still, the speaker refused to gavel the vote closed.

Then the assault began.

Hastert, DeLay, Republican Whip Roy Blount, Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas, Energy and Commerce Chairman Billy Tauzin - all searched the floor for stray Republicans to bully.

I watched them surround Cincinnati's Steve Chabot, trying first a carrot, then a stick; but he remained defiant. Next, they aimed at retiring Michigan congressman Nick Smith, whose son is running to succeed him. They promised support if he changed his vote to yes and threatened his son's future if he refused. He stood his ground.

Many of the two dozen Republicans who voted against the bill had fled the floor. One Republican hid in the Democratic cloakroom.

By 4:30, the browbeating had moved into the Republican cloakroom, out of sight of C-SPAN cameras and the insomniac public. Republican leaders woke President George W. Bush, and a White House aide passed a cell phone from one recalcitrant member to another in the cloakroom.

At 5:55, two hours and 55 minutes after the roll call had begun - twice as long as any previous vote in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives - two obscure western Republicans emerged from the cloakroom. They walked, ashen and cowed, down the aisle to the front of the chamber, scrawled their names and district numbers on green cards to change their votes and surrendered the cards to the clerk.
ne
The speaker gaveled the vote closed; Medicare privatization had passed.

You can do a lot in the middle of the night, under the cover of darkness.

U.S. Congressman Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, is the ranking member on the Committee on Energy and the Commerce Subcommittee on Health.

http://freepress.org/departments/display/20/2004/204/1/25


A great collection of links from one of his DU constituents while he was still in The People's House.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5137131&mesg_id=5143518

His mother has much to be proud of.


K & R.

[greymattermom]

28. Steve Chabot is gone now

Ohio is waking up. My daugher spend 2 months day and night working for Steve Driehaus. He's the new Ohio 1 representative. That's Cincinnati including the west side, and remarkable if you know anything about the region. Sherrod Brown walks the walk.

[chill_wind]

32. NE Ohio transplant here, from Western Pa.

Conservative stomping grounds, especially in the latter. Little by little, people are waking up here in my town and old one alike just to see how bad we've let things get. In Ohio everywhere we have truly been toiling for way too long beneath the GOP conservative bone-crunching wheel. Send this hug and a grateful thankyou for your daughter's fierce dedication.

:hug:

[rvablue]

29. Wow. What a moving story. Thank you, Senator and thank you Mrs. Brown for raising him so well! n/t

[grantcart]

31. What a great story on Valentine's Day

[Still Sensible]

33. Even though I moved away long ago

this story makes me proud to be a native of the Buckeye State! Thank you Senator and may your mother rest in peace.