This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," January 22, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Senator-elect Scott Brown. You know his name, but how much do you really know about the man who is turning Washington upside-down? Well, you're about to find out from people who know him best, and even from the senator-elect himself. We are live in Wakefield, Massachusetts, for the next hour, giving you the inside story.
We start first with the senator-elect. Earlier, our own Griff Jenkins tracked him down.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFF JENKINS, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Senator-elect Brown, congratulations.
SCOTT BROWN, SENATOR-ELECT, R - MASS.: Thank you.
JENKINS: Tell me about your trip to Washington. How were you received?
BROWN: Oh, it was very exciting. People were very gracious and it was humbling to be there and walk through the halls that I used to walk through as a tourist. Now I actually have an office to go to in a little bit of time.
JENKINS: You're "41." There's a very important issue, health care, there. What did -- what can you share with about what the other senators spoke to you about with regards to the health care?
Watch the exclusive "On the Record" interview with Senator-elect Scott Brown
BROWN: Well, now everybody's the 41st senator, and what it does is it gives the ability for the debate to begin again and bring it back to the drawing board. And when I was in caucus, they were talking about issues that I'd been talking about on the campaign trail, and they actually asked me for some thoughts on, you know, what the pulse is in Massachusetts and how it affected my race.
And the biggest problem with it -- you know, people says, Well, what would you do? And let me tell you what I wouldn't do. I wouldn't, you know, raise taxes. And I wouldn't cut Medicare half a trillion dollars. And I wouldn't continually raise fees and do these backroom deals because it's not how the people want. They have spoken loud and clear that they want transparency. They want to know what's in the bills. And hopefully, they'll get it.
JENKINS: That's an interesting point. Senator Nelson of Nebraska, we've all heard about the "Cornhusker kickback."
BROWN: Yes, I know. That's (INAUDIBLE)
JENKINS: Are you prepared to go to Washington and tell your now colleagues like Senator Nelson, Hey, we got to knock that off?
BROWN: I think he already knows. He's gotten it from his own delegation. From what I understand, his own -- you know, the caucus -- they were outraged at that kind of backroom deal. He was going in on one issue, then came out with a deal that, basically, every state in the country was going to be subsidizing Medicaid forever. And it's not how people want to do business. They want a fair and free debate and they want to have a -- know that they're getting their money's worth by sending people down there who are going to represent their interests, but doing it -- doing it in a fair and open way.
JENKINS: What's your first priority? When you hit Washington, you're going to hit the ground running? What are the first priorities, I should ask?
BROWN: Well, I'm hopeful that people will just give me a couple of weeks to get settled and get the office and the staff up and running because, obviously, there's an appropriations bill coming up. I think the first priority is to make sure that, you know, Massachusetts's interests are secured in that effort. And I'm going to be working with Senator Kerry and the delegation to, obviously, you know, hopefully, learn from them and see what they suggest and try to join forces to, you know, fight for, you know, our interests.
JENKINS: A lot of reporters, colleagues of mine, have been trying to now define what is a Scott Brown Republican. I ask you, what's a Scott Brown Republican?
BROWN: I think somebody who believes in good government and believes in fairness and openness, who, you know, knows the value of a dollar and wants to make sure that, you know, when he gives his word, it's gold. And when I -- when I -- when somebody asks me a question, I give them a straight answer and so they can best make their own decisions from that answer and not give them a wishy-washy answer.
A lot of times, when people are here, or in Massachusetts, whatever I've been dealing with, they may not like the answer, but they respect the fact that it's honest. So then they can then determine where they need to go from that. I think, you know, somebody who has a sense of humor, too, once in a while, who can crack a joke and laugh at himself and laugh at his family and -- and you know, sometimes a pat on the shoulder and a smile, you know, goes a long way not only here but in Washington.
JENKINS: Talking about your family, on election night, take me behind the scenes. When did you know you had won? And what was happening?
BROWN: Well, we had a sense through the polling throughout the weeks that things were going our way. But you know, I -- I just -- we were getting calls from people saying, you know, You won this town 2-to-1, this town 3-to-1. And we had a sense. You know, obviously, you know, when it was announced, when I got the check from a couple of stations, the check- off in the little box, it was probably about, you know, 45 minutes after the race. And then Martha called me before they really announced, so she knew right away.
JENKINS: What are you doing now? What are you doing this afternoon?
BROWN: Well, I -- basically, I'm just opening up mail, trying to answer letters and e-mails. I have, like, 700 e-mails. So I went through all those last night and this morning, so I'm caught up. I took all the phone messages off my phone. And I'm trying to get caught up. I still have bills to pay. I'm not a wealthy man. And so I'm trying to wrap up some business things, and you know, make sure that the kids are good and they're safe and that my wife is balanced at work. So just trying to get my life in some semblance of order.
JENKINS: And now, any indication when you'll be seated? Did you have any indications...
BROWN: You know...
JENKINS: ... with regards to that?
BROWN: I wish it was today, but you know, I understand that there is a process, and I don't want to be a -- you know, a pain in the neck about it. But I'm hopeful that they'll just get me down there as quickly as possible.
JENKINS: And when you get there, the health care bill, dead on arrival?
BROWN: Well, I think it's already that way now. I don't think it has anything to do with me. I think people realized, as the process moved on, that it was not really working because of all the backroom deals, the carve-outs. And people were getting more and more angry.
I may have been, you know, the election at the time and the health care was certainly one issue, but we're talking taxes and spending, terrorism and how we treat, you know, terrorists versus ordinary criminals. So there are a whole host of issues on the table. You know, the health care bill is just one of them.
And I've always said that I want everyone to have some form of basic health care coverages. It's just a question of how does it affect my state, and then how do we do it so it we're not raising taxes and raising the debt.
JENKINS: Last question. You clearly understood the anger, the populist sentiment with regard to things happening in Washington in your own race. When did you really realize that would bring you a victory? And what does it mean for 2010 with other races?
BROWN: Well, I knew from when I announced that I was -- obviously, I'm the candidate. I guess every candidate says they're going to win, but I had a feeling I would be competitive and it would be going down to the wire because I sensed throughout -- you know, being a legislator I sensed here in Massachusetts that we had some issues with speakers being indicted and senators resigning and out-of-control spending and taxation. And then you Couple what's happening nationally, and people are very concerned about good government.
And I think the message that my victory sends is that anyone running, whether they be Democrat or Republican, has to start to get back to doing the people's business, and that is solving problems.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAN SUSTEREN: And Griff Jenkins joins us live. And of course, Griff, we got to start with where we are because we have a very gracious host tonight. Where are we?
JENKINS: We're at the Wakefield High School. This is the court where Scott Brown was the co-captain of his basketball team, and one of the earliest episodes, perhaps, of him being somewhat of a leader. He was a quiet student, you know, didn't speak out a lot, but was apparently a driven athlete.
VAN SUSTEREN: And I imagine quite popular. We've seen that magazine cover. I imagine he was quite popular among the other students, especially maybe perhaps the women.
JENKINS: Well, I couldn't speak to that. And actually, full disclosure, we did try and track down his high school sweetheart, but we weren't able to do so. However, you know, his leadership on the basketball team, as well as the track team, are apparently attributes that he's carried elsewhere in his life, a pretty soft-spoken, down-to-earth guy, but very driven when it came to performance and excelling in some form or another. And the coaches and the folks I've talked to around the school when I was here yesterday told me that, for the most part, they weren't surprised that he had gone on to bigger and better things.
VAN SUSTEREN: When we were -- when he was in Washington yesterday -- and we just arrived today -- he was -- everybody in the media was trailing him. It was a big deal that he had arrived in town because he is number 41, and all the uncertainty of what happens now with health care and other bills. When you went to see him today, was he trailed by a ton of media? Where did you find him?
JENKINS: I found him in his campaign office in Needham, just south of Wakefield here about 20 minutes or so. And he pulled up in his pick-up truck by himself, no media in tow, got out in his barn jacket, carrying a stack of -- as you heard, he's paying bills and going through mail and trying to catch up. Came into the lobby. And I had just stopped by, doing a little bit of reporting work, so it was a bit of a coincidence that I had shown up at the same time that he needed to stop by before, I think, he was taking the weekend with his family to have some down time before it all starts.
But he was gracious and gave me time to talk to me there, as you just saw. And when he first came in, I asked him, you know, where he had been, and he told me off camera he'd been to the doctor's office because his throat was running a little scratchy and he was a little worn down.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, now, you've just arrived, and this is by no means a scientific study, but people recognize you from Fox. Did anyone say anything, people on the street, about whether, you know -- you know, I voted for him, I didn't vote for him, he's a lousy choice, he's a great choice? Anyone say anything to you at all?
JENKINS: Everyone we've talked to -- and we worked places where he grew up and where he lived, the people that know him are very much in favor of him. But we did -- when we did some talking to folks in diners, there were a few folks that said, Hey, don't talk to me, I don't want to talk about it. So I mean, you know, the guy doesn't walk on water, but he's certainly popular in the parts that we visited.
VAN SUSTEREN: Griff, thank you.
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