Sen. Brown: 'I'm a Massachusetts Republican'

Republican Sen. Scott Brown (Mass.) on Monday brushed aside recent questions surrounding his conservative credentials, saying he has always worked in a bipartisan fashion.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), a heroine in the conservative Tea Party movement, said last week that Massachusetts could "put up with" Brown, but he would not likely be tolerated by Alaska voters.

“I'm a Massachusetts Republican. When I go down to Washington, people say, what are you doing? They say, well you are working with the Democrats," he told Worcester's Telegram & Gazette. "I say, so what's the big deal? I do that all the time. I've been doing it for 15 years."

Palin's criticism came after a candidate she endorsed, Joe Miller, emerged from a primary election poised to unseat incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). The 2008 vice presidential candidate has endorsed several candidates in primary contests around the country who have challenged establishment GOP candidates.

Brown received the support of Tea Party activists during his campaign, which ended in a surprising victory to assume the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's (D) former seat. But Brown told the Telegram & Gazette that he campaigned on a record of political independence.

“I don't know what the surprise is,” he said about criticism from his right. “I said I was going to go down there and be an independent voice, an independent thinker and vote accordingly."

h/t GOP 12