Scott Brown Goes Negative In a Senate Race He Has Yet to Join

Sen. Scott Brown gave everyone a little preview of the attack he would likely use on Rep. Ed Markey, who has already declared his intention to run for John Kerry’s Senate seat, if Brown decided to give it a go. Brown said Wednesday on the Jim & Margery Show, “I’ll tell you what; They’re making it awfully tempting. You got Ed Markey: Does he even live here any more?” He added: “You’ve got to check the travel records. I’ve come back and forth (from Washington to Boston) every weekend, almost, for three years, and I see, you know, most of the delegation, and I have never seen Ed on the airplane – ever.”

This isn’t a surprising line of attack. Just this morning, The Globe’s Glen Johnson called Markey’s residence “a sure negative for Brown to exploit.” He’s been a congressman for 36 years, and for much of that time, he declared his parents’ house as his Massachusetts voting address. He and his wife own a house in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Just ask Dick Lugar how voters feel about a longtime legislator who seems to have moved permanently to the D.C. area.

This little bit of bravado from Brown has of course set the speculation machine atwitter over the prospect that he’ll announce a run for the seat. Sure we just got done laying out the reasons Brown’s odds aren’t as strong as people once thought they were. Who knows what sense Brown has about that, but in public at least, it seems he’s committed to acting as if the race is his to lose.