TODAY'S THE DAY – AT 8:41 A.M. ET:  It's the day when Scott Brown, Massachusetts resident, becomes the 41st GOP vote in the Senate.  From Fox:

WASHINGTON -- Republican Scott Brown is poised to take over the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's long-held seat a week earlier than he had planned, ending the Democrats' Senate supermajority and giving the GOP 41 votes they can use to block President Barack Obama's agenda.

A swearing-in ceremony was set for 5 p.m. Thursday for the little-known Massachusetts state senator who shocked the nation with his upset victory last month over a favored Democrat and put the 2010 midterm elections in play for a possible GOP takeover of Congress. Originally, Brown had said he did not want to be sworn in until Feb. 11.

He felt he needed time to hire a staff.  But Brown, who will probably make the mistakes of a Washington newcomer, has learned that he's the senator, and that no one outside the Beltway cares about the staff.

But in response to criticism from conservative radio hosts and newspaper columnists, he pressed Massachusetts officials on Wednesday to certify his election for the hurry-up swearing-in to fill the last two years of Kennedy's term....

...Brown said Wednesday there were upcoming Senate votes he wanted to participate in, after saying earlier that he needed time before taking office to hire a staff and prepare for his new job.

COMMENT:  Welcome Senator Brown.  Now the real show begins.

February 4, 2010