....the satire(s) / sarcasm(s) of today;
becomes the reality of tomorrow!
...so STOP IT!
*grin*
Posted on 09/20/2009 8:46:31 AM PDT by IbJensen
Richmond, Mass. (AP) - Gov. Deval Patrick said Friday that President Barack Obama had personally talked to him about changing the Senate succession law in Massachusetts, and White House aides were pushing for him to gain the power to temporarily replace the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy amid the administration's health care push.
A month after a White House spokesman labeled the issue a state matter, Patrick said he and Obama spoke about changing the law as they both attended Kennedy's funeral in Boston last month. He also said White House aides have been in contact frequently ever since and pushing for the change so they can regain their filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate.
"He and his whole team have been very clear about that," Patrick told reporters after holding a Cabinet meeting near his Berkshire Mountains vacation home.
"It's out there that the Senate president and the (House) speaker are tyring to figure out whether this can be accomplished, and he fully understands, as do his aides, who I have talked to more about it, the importance of having the support for a change agenda down in Washington," Patrick added.
The governor spoke just moments after Republicans in the Massachusetts Senate temporarily blocked a bill allowing Patrick to name an interim appointment.
Democrats changed the succession law in 2004 to create a five-month special election campaign 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, the GOP says. The special election campaign is underway, with party primaries scheduled for Dec. 8 and the general election set for Jan. 19.
Sen. Bruce E. Tarr, a Gloucester Republican who raised the objection, said he assumes Democratic leaders believe they have the votes to pass the bill, yet he still holds out hope enough Democrats may be swayed to vote against it.
"I think there is some doubt about the ultimate outcome. Clearly the vote in the House was not a completely partisan vote," he said. "I'm not sure that anyone has an accurate count on who is on the yes side and who is on the no side."
Republicans, who hold just five of 40 seats in the state Senate, objected to the bill being taken up without formal notice. Under Senate rules, the objection means the bill can't be debated until the next formal session.
The body will next meet in a formal session on Monday. Senate President Therese Murray, a Democrat, has been tightlipped about the bill's chances.
The delay came a day after the Massachusetts House voted 95-58 in favor of the bill, with 42 House Democrats joining all 16 Republicans in opposition.
Supporters, including House Speaker Robert DeLeo, a Democrat, said the change is needed to ensure Massachusetts continues to be represented by two senators until voters can choose a replacement in the special election.
Kennedy, in a letter sent to lawmakers before his death, urged the change in law in a letters to Patrick and legislative leaders shortly before his death last month of brain cancer.
He said, "It is vital for this Commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens."
Besides Obama and his team, others in Washington closely watching the debate include Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Massachusetts' all-Democratic delegation to the U.S. House.
Obama presidential counselor David Axelrod has contacted Massachusetts officials and the Massachusetts branch of Obama's political arm, Organizing for America, has sent out e-mails advocating for the change.
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. said Friday that qualms about whether to allow the interim appointment shouldn't be used to help defeat major policy issues like expanding Americans access to health care.
"Public policy questions important to everyone in America shouldn't be decided by a tragedy of death or some other non-electoral factor," Frank said.
The bill initially would have required the appointee be from the same party as the person who created the vacancy, a Democrat in the case of Kennedy's successor.
That requirement was stripped after critics in the House raised constitutional concerns and noted that more than half of voters in Massachusetts aren't enrolled in any party and would be barred from consideration.
Patrick has said he would extract from the appointee a promise not to be a candidate in the special election.
Ok, how about a 99.99 percent gross revenue tax on all radio stations and combine that with govt. subsidies for non profit radio stations (this is already done with taxes on radio stations and subsidies for NPR and college stations, it is just the tax rate is not 99.99 percent., so it should be legal.)
I'd bet Kennedy wasn't even in the ground yet.
I am sick of hearing about little Teddy.
His funeral was more fancy then any US President in the past. Actualy any other leader or person I can think of at this moment.
God would not get the send off loving & caring Teddy did when he passed over to join Mary Jo. I bet she had a great welcome party planned for his arrival.
Laboratories of democracy are the stomping grounds for neo-marxists. Socialism has no separation of powers. King Obama runs the chessboard.
“Kennedy was probably unconscious when this letter was written on his behalf.”
I think you are right.
I heard about the letter and then a few days later heard a report saying he had been unable to communicate for about the last week.
There is a crises in America.
There are not enough people voting for Democrats which is stifling my plans to get America going again.
To correct this problem, I, Barack Obama, am now appointing an ELECTION CZAR, to make sure this problem does not continue.
You’re making a big assumption that I am a Romney hater. I think Romney was a much better candidate than Swift. Romney did an incredible job as governor given that the senate and house were both overwhelmingly Democrat.
That said, it is a fact that Swift’s office got a call from the White House around 3:45 in the afternoon and they were told to pack their bags, they were out. It came as a shock to at least her chief of staff if not to Jane herself.
“Patrick said he and Obama spoke about changing the law as they both attended Kennedy’s funeral.”
==
Looks like his mind was somewhere else that day if he was having that discussion during a time of mourning. He should have just held a health care speech at the funeral while he was at it.
When I was in high school, the state(PA) set certain requirements for graduation, one of them was a POD (Problems of Democracy) class in the senior year. I wonder how long it’s been since that was a requirement for graduation.
Anything goes with this crowd and damn the law that prevents them getting their way.
Obama fires the GM CEO. He orders them to file bankruptcy. Does the same for Chrysler. He told Paterson to resign. Now he’s appointing Kennedy’s successor. Obama has appointed himself Czar of the entire nation.
Sorry for my erroneous assumption. There is so much gratuitous Mitt/Rino bashing on FR, I jumped the gun.
Anyway, even if Bush wanted her out, she did not have to go. She could have fought and lost. I think it was her calculation that she would have lost and that is why she left.
Were you actually living in MA when that supposedly occurred? If you were, you’d know how unpopular Swift was. Also, how things are reported aren’t always the way they happened.
I can understand why you assumed I was a Romney basher. There is so much of it on FR, it’s tiresome.
So much for the separation of powers and the 10th amendment.
Sewrentoe lied again.
a 99 percent tax would be “defacto” suppression of free speech.
that is, it may not violate the letter of the law, but it violates the intent of the law so much that it is unconstitutional.
I’m saying, you can’t go 100% by the letter of the law because, the word smiths will be able to violate all laws if the words are crafted carefully enough.
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