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WaPo: Brown’s Win Hardly Repudiation Of Health Reform — Massachusetts Already Has It
The Washington Post points out that Sen.-elect Scott Brown’s (R-MA) win was not a repudiation of health care reform, but something much more complex. Massachusetts already has health care reform and a very low rate of uninsured people, which Brown supports, and Brown ran effectively against a national plan: “Brown’s message underscores a little-noticed political dynamic in a country where rates of the uninsured vary widely, from Massachusetts to Texas, where 25 percent are uninsured. Seeking national universal coverage means sending money from states that have tried hard to expand coverage, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest, to states that have not, mostly in the South and West.”

Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama and Vice President Biden will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:30 a.m. ET, and the economic daily briefing at 10 a.m. ET. Obama will meet at 10:30 a.m. ET with senior advisers. Obama and Biden will meet at 11:10 a.m. ET with Presidential Economic Recovery Advisory Board Chair Paul Volcker, and Obama will deliver remarks at 11:40 a.m. ET on financial reform. At 2 p.m. ET, Obama will address a delegation from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. At 3:45 p.m. ET, Obama and Biden will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will attend President Obama’s morning briefings and meetings listed above. In addition, he will meet at 12 p.m. ET with British Foreign Secretary David Milliband. In the afternoon, he will introduce Obama at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. At 3:45 p.m. ET, he will join with Obama to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Scott Brown’s Meeting Senators On Capitol Hill
Sen.-elect Scott Brown (R-MA) will be touring Capitol Hill today. He will meet at 10:10 a.m. ET with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), at 10:30 a.m. ET with Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), at 11 a.m. ET with interim Sen. Paul Kirk (D-MA), and at 11:45 a.m. ET with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Obama To Appear With Reid In Nevada
President Obama will make an appearance next month in Las Vegas, alongside Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. It is not yet clear whether the event will be overtly political, but any public appearance by Obama in Reid’s home state would likely be seen as an attempt to help Reid, who for his part has been trailing Republican opponents in the polls.

GOP Works To Channel Euphoria Into Recruitment
Roll Call reports that Congressional Republicans are working to channel the excitement from Sen.-elect Scott Brown’s (R-MA) victory into helping them with more candidate recruitment. “We have been recruiting for a long time but there’s some people that when you are [recruiting them] you think, they will be great for the job, great to run, the community wants them, but this might not be the best time in their life,” said Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-MA). “I called a lot of them today and said if there ever was a time, it was now.”

Massachusetts Dem Congressmen Brace For Re-Election Fights
The Boston Globe reports that some of the ten members of Massachusetts House delegation, all Democrats who usually run without significant opposition, are preparing to face real challenges after Scott Brown carried their districts. “Some people will come out of the woodwork to go after me. There is clearly a lot of angst out there,” said Rep. James McGovern, who also added: “We need to do a better job of communicating that we are spending the people’s money wisely.”

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