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U.S. Sen. Scott Brown asked the governor today to back a controversial measure that would allow law enforcement to track illegal aliens, playing to his Republican base on the same day a tough new challenger joined the race for his job. In his letter, Brown writes to Gov. Deval Patrick urging for “full and immediate Massachusetts participation” in the Secure Communities program. “During a Senate Homeland Security committee hearing yesterday, President Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano described Secure Communities as ‘a key tool in our immigration enforcement efforts to identify those in the country illegally who are also...

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) will receive the Spirit of Lincoln Award next month from the LGBT-rights group the Log Cabin Republicans for his role in repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” legislation. “As I said when I voted to repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ when a soldier answers the call to serve and risks life or limb, it has never mattered to me whether they are gay or straight,” Brown said, thanking the group for the honor, according to On Top magazine. “My only concern has been whether their service and sacrifice is with pride and honor.”

WASHINGTON — Senator Scott Brown’s decision to buck his party leadership in recent days on the “don’t ask, don’t tell’’ military policy and on a nuclear arms treaty has set off a new wave of anger among some of the activists who helped elect him — and renewed talk among conservatives that he might face a primary challenge. Tweet 1diggdiggYahoo! Buzz ShareThis Some Tea Party movement leaders who dislike Brown’s votes acknowledge that the Massachusetts Republican has demonstrated his independent and pragmatic streak, and by doing so may strengthen his chances at reelection in 2012. No primary challenger has emerged,...

Sen. Scott Brown has done many things recently to publicly show his distain for the pro-family people who supported him. But this is probably the most personally offensive. As the Boston Herald reported this week, Brown went out of his way to contact hardcore anti-family homosexual activist Tom Lang and give him (and his "husband") a personal invitation to the Obama's signing ceremony in Washington D.C. of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" repeal. Lang had been part of the homosexual lobby's huge 10-month effort to persuade Brown to abandon his position against the repeal, and switch to supporting it. Brown...

Democrats are seeking to make amends in Massachusetts after Scott Brown’s (R) stunning election to the Senate last January. Party members and labor groups in the state said that beating Brown will likely be their top priority in 2012, presenting them an opportunity to reclaim the late Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D) longtime seat. Brown also represents one of the few pickup opportunities for Democrats, who’ll be defending 23 Senate seats in the coming election. “If you had to project right now, it’s top of the ticket in Massachusetts,” said state Democratic Party Chairman John Walsh of Brown. And while Brown’s...

After basically evading reporters all day, the Massachusetts Republican recently announced that he will support the arms reduction treaty. Brown told reporters following a closed-session intelligence briefing that he had given the issue “due diligence” and hoped see the treaty ratified. “I believe it’s something that’s important for our country, and I believe it’s a good move forward to deal with our national security issues,” he said. A cloture vote is expected on Tuesday.

That makes 60 votes for cloture, assuming Reid can keep the entire Democratic caucus in line. I’m not aware of any defectors yet but Tester, McCaskill, Ben Nelson and a few other red-state Dems who are up in 2012 will be thinking awfully hard about this vote, needless to say.Two big qualifiers, though. Collins, at least, is sticking by the GOP’s plan to vote no on everything until a deal is reached on the Bush tax cuts. Brown’s statement doesn’t address the subject, but since he also signed the Republican pledge to make the tax cuts top priority, presumably he’s...