Heads We Win, Tails You Lose – Massachusetts Changes Rules to guarantee a Dem. Kennedy Senate successor

by The Peripatetic Pundit | 2:23 am, September 18, 2009 | Comments Off

Late Thursday night, the Democrat-controlled Massachusetts state House of Representatives passed a bill designed to ensure that Democrat Governor Deval Patrick can quickly appoint a Democrat to fill deceased Democrat Ted Kennedy’s open Senate seat in order to guarantee an uninterrupted filibuster-proof Democrat majority in the U.S. Senate.

The bill was immediately moved to the Senate, and leaders called for a formal session at noon Friday. Senate President Therese Murray, a Democrat, has been tightlipped about the bill’s chances in that chamber.

 If passed, the bill would fulfill a dying Senator Ted Kennedy’s final public request – but would deny the people of Massachusetts their recently-gained right to vote for an open Senate seat for the first time in decades.  Naturally, Massachusetts Republicans (presumably a lonely bunch) are not amused:

They point out that Democrats changed the succession law in 2004 to create a special election and block then-Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, from naming a temporary replacement if Sen. John Kerry had won his presidential bid.

To change the law now that there is a Democrat in the governor’s office smacks of hypocrisy, they said.

Hypocrisy?  From Massachusetts Democrats?  Perish the thought.

Naturally, there is far more at stake than a now-junior Senate seat from a smallish East-Coast state in economic, population, and even sports-prowess decline:

The debate is being followed closely in Washington, where Democrats hope to regain a 60-vote, filibuster-proof margin in the U.S. Senate ahead of any debate on President Obama’s health care overhaul.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Massachusetts’ all-Democratic delegation to the U.S. House also back the change, saying they need all the votes they can to support the health care change.

Obama presidential counselor David Axelrod has contacted Massachusetts officials, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. The Massachusetts branch of Obama’s political arm, Organizing for America, has sent out e-mails advocating for the change.

Nothing like really stacking the deck – pulling out all the stops to be sure of another reliable cog in the Democratic machine, the rights of the people of Massachusetts to choose their own representation be damned.

Interestingly, another state (Illinois) also recently passed legislation to ensure that a Senate vacancy be filled by a vote of the people, in response to the corruption evidenced in selecting a replacement for the seat vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama.  Obama‘s appointed replacement, Senator Burris, is increasingly unpopular in his home state, and is unlikely to even seek re-election.

It would be interesting to tally the states which have moved to legislate special elections to fill vacancies – either from political expedience (Massachusetts) or adverse experiences (Illinois) versus states which fill vacancies by gubernatorial appointment (such as Colorado governor Bill Ritter’s appointment of “accidental Senator” Michael Bennet) and compare notes.  Judging from the historical record and recent popular reaction to appointed Senate replacements, it would seem that the people of most states have a marked preference for having a choice in who represents them…

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