Last modified: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 2:20 AM EDT HAND: Brown takes a back seat Under normal circumstances, it would be good news for state Sen. Scott Brown that he does not appear to have much of a primary fight in the special election for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's seat. But this time around, it might be a detriment. Brown, R-Wrentham, has had to take a distant back seat in the media to the Democrats who have a wild primary. Every day, it seems, there are stories in the Boston media about the Democratic battle with state Attorney General Martha Coakley dominating the scene. When Brown gets mentioned, it is only in passing. His attempts to create news have barely caused a ripple. If it were not for the gossip column in The Boston Herald, his name would disappear for long stretches at a time. The good news for Brown is the lack of competition means he can conserve his resources for the general special election in January and is not being tarred in a negative primary tilt. The Democrats appear ready to carve each other up pretty well. The bad news is Brown is not well known across the state and needs the publicity that comes with an exciting primary. Brown does have a primary opponent in Canton Selectman Bob Burr, but he has raised less than $5,000 and has not been aggressively pursuing the seat. Even other Republicans are not taking his chances seriously. The party establishment has lined up behind Brown. By the time the Democratic scrum is settled on Dec. 8, Brown will have little time to get his message out in time for the Jan. 19 special election. Gathering names Brown has apparently crossed the threshold of 10,000 signatures on nomination papers needed to qualify for the ballot. Reports state his campaign volunteers gathered 17,000 names. His campaign did not return phone calls seeking comment. McGovern on TV U.S. Rep. James McGovern presented the anti-escalation side of the argument over the war in Afghanistan earlier this week on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopoulos." U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, gave the opposing point of view. McGovern, D-Worcester, said adding more U.S. troops to the fight would be a mistake. He said intelligence reports estimate there are only 100 al Queda fighters in Afghanistan, but the U.S. military wants almost 100,000 troops to battle them. The military, however, says it needs up to 40,000 more troops to prevent the Taliban from taking over the country. McGovern has been a leader in the House in opposing an escalation and has been asking the White House for an exit strategy after eight years of war. Cheap trip True to his environmentalist beliefs, state Rep. Steve D'Amico, D-Seekonk, drove to Washington, D.C., this week with a House colleague in a hybrid vehicle. He said the round trip cost them only $30 in gasoline. Impressed Charlie Baker, the Republican candidate for governor, said he had a 90-minute meeting with Attleboro Mayor Kevin Dumas a few weeks back and said he came away impressed. JIM HAND covers politics for The Sun Chronicle. His commentaries appear in this space on Saturdays. Contact him at 508-236-0399 or at jhand@thesunchronicle.com.