When Scott Brown won the Senate seat left open by the late Ted Kennedy, liberals and Democrats feared the worst. President Obama himself recognized that Brown's victory would be a major setback for his party, ending the brief period of a Republican filibuster-proof United States Senate that began with Al Franken's election back in June.

Since the term of the hour seems to be "health care," that has been the focus of most news covering Brown's influence in his new position. Specifically, those in favor of health care legislation worry that he was elected just to prevent it. But there are some who think that Brown's victory can be chalked up to his close ties with the American financial industry. The Daily Kos suggests that "this wasn't a 'kill health care' Senate seat purchase. This was a 'preserve my $100 million bonus' Senate seat purchase."

To remind us of why, if this is true, we should be concerned, the Kos posted this ad from Americans United for Change, released the same day that Brown was elected: