"a populist man of the people"

Today, Gail Collins notes:

[Senator] Brown came around and voted for the bill when it passed the Senate. Then he backed away when it came out of conference committee because the conferees had added a tax on big banks.

Which Brown claimed he could not support. This was at the same time that he was refusing to give the Democrats a final critical vote on extending unemployment benefits. We have here a populist man of the people playing the role of friend to the big banks while not being particularly helpful to the long-term unemployed. What can I tell you? The guy is extremely popular in Massachusetts. Maybe it’s because he drives a truck.

I don't understand this. People seem to pay much more attention to the things politicians say they will do than the things they actually do do...

Which is why I'm actually a bit pleased at the stuff Republicans are saying these days. Maybe somebody will think about a Senate with an Energy Chairman who thinks BP is the victim.