Brown: Romney Speech Showed 'Courage'

The Hill reports:

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's (R) healthcare speech drew quick support from fellow Bay State Sen. Scott Brown (R), who called Romney's defense of the state's healthcare plan "courageous."

Brown, who's up for reelection in the typically Democratic state next fall, offered Romney political reinforcement following the former governor's highly anticipated healthcare speech on Thursday.

"Governor Romney showed a lot of courage today by standing his ground on the reforms he put in place in Massachusetts," Brown said in a statement. "What he did as governor worked for Massachusetts by getting health insurance to more people."

Brown's on the record as supporting Romney in the Republican presidential primary, and the two share a largely overlapping political operation based in Boston.

Romney strong>refused to apologize for the state healthcare plan he signed< into law as governor, despite conservatives' complaint that it compares largely to the reform law President Obama signed last year.