Scott Brown’s Fox News Debut: Kind of Dull

Scott Brown made his primetime debut as a paid contributor to Fox News Wednesday night on the Sean Hannity show. We watched with some interest—most pundits consider the new gig a sign that he’s abandoned any hope of appealing to a Massachusetts electorate in the governor’s race, but we think that depends a lot on how he uses his screen time. Sensibly, Brown didn’t sound terribly doctrinaire—he said he was open to hearing Obama’s plans for immigration reform—but nor did he distinguish himself in any other particular way. Here are a few things we noticed:

Scott says he’ll be of use on Fox News. Not so much in the Senate. 

Here’s what he had to say about his decision not to run for John Kerry’s seat:

To do five races in six years and raise another $30 million to $50 million and then go and participate in Congress that’s dysfunctional and extremely partisan—I felt I could make a difference being on this show and doing other things…

He still talks more like a candidate than a pundit

When Hannity asked why he didn’t seek John Kerry’s seat, he reminded Hannity that it was “the people’s seat,” a distinction about which we’re sure Hannity does not give a hoot. He also made sure to talk up his past achievements in the Senate, noting that while it’s hard to get anything done when Harry Reid controls what legislation goes to the floor, there are moments of triumph, like when he asked Obama to help him get an insider trading bill passed at the State of the Union. Relive that magic below…

Sean Hannity is still hilariously fixated on Brown’s failed role as the 41st vote against health care reform.

Hannity worked in the fact that Brown ought to have been the vote that blocked health care reform twice. Witness how manages to worm it into an unrelated question about the Senate’s budget:

Hannity: How is it the Senate didn’t pass a budget, the Democrats in the Senate for four years, how is that possible? Isn’t that a constitutional duty sort of like you were supposed to be the 41st vote against health care and didn’t work out that way either?

What? How are those two things the same? Anyway, Brown noted that “it worked out somewhat,” before focusing on the question about the budget.

Scott+Fox News = family.

Hannity ended the segment by saying, “Welcome to the family. Appreciate you being here.” Brown may have spent much of the segment saying he was open to hearing Obama’s ideas on immigration reform, but that’s still a clip that could be run in an attack ad against him.