Push for Ted Kennedy's replacement: ... interim Senator [Now we see!]

Massachusetts voters will have to wait until Jan. 19 to elect a successor to Sen. Edward Kennedy, but Gov. Deval Patrick is pushing to name an interim appointee in the meantime.

Right now, Massachusetts law does not allow the governor to appoint a temporary Senate replacement. But Patrick said he supported plans for a hearing Sept. 9 on a bill that would give him the power to do just that.

Playing politics in a (mostly) one-party state. In 2004 Massachusetts had a clear law that when a US Senate seat from Massachusetts became vacant, the current Governor would appoint a replacement. However, the then junior Senator, John Kerry (served in Vietnam), became the Democrat Presidential Nominee and if, Horrors, he was elected, the then GOP Governor, Mitt Romney, would probably appoint a Republican to fill Kerry's seat.

Ted Kennedy, the SENIOR US Senator (for life) led a successful effort to change the law so that a new election had to be held before the winner would take the seat. Thus he would probably avoid having an attack of cooties and other bad outcomes.

Advance 4 years and Ted is now up close and personal with the afterlife. If HIS LAW stayed in effect, that vote yesterday, (11/21/09) would have FAILED CLOTURE unless massive bribes were given to Maine that would have made the new Louisiana Re-Purchasse look like pocket change. Instead by replacing the new law with a modification of the old law, now Senator Paul G Kirk, can vote the way his old boss would have wanted. How nice!

I’m sure one of the death panels in the legislation would have seen the last year of treatment for Teddy Kennedy as futile, therefore would not have allowed it.Likewise Specter, dignosed in his mid to late 70’s with a second lymphoma, particularly as his Hodgkin’s had undoubtedly already pushed him beyond his lifetime benefit. Biden himself should also be written off as his aneurysm repair expended funds which might otherwise be available for his rapidly progressive Alzheimer’s.

Senator Paul G Kirk - Appointed as replacement on Sept.10, 2009 to serve until an election is held in January (5 months from vacancy). Kirk was a senior aide to Kennedy and also DNC, thus a loyal soldier to the ‘cause’. He can be considered the deciding 60th vote since without this purely legislative law change, Harry Reid and Co could not have invoked cloture without at least one GOP member.

"Sen." Kirk (D-MA) voted for cloture with the 57 other official Rats and the 2 independent unofficial Rats (Lieberman and Saunders). 39 Republicans voted against it. Voinivich (R-OH) didn't vote (I've not found any explanation why he didn't vote and he does have a strongly worded press release against it dated Friday on his web site. I'm presuming he had a good excuse as I think I looked hard enough to have found commentary had it been a bad excuse.)

Appointing Kirk leaves Massachusetts with two ineligible, by purist standards, Senators. Teddy, of course, was guilty of vehicular manslaughter and as a felon should have been ineligible for office, but never was charged because the fact he drove off the bridge without an active driver's license, which would have upped his misdemeanor charges to mandatory felony charges, was covered up until long after his case was disposed of. Kerry also deserves to be an ineligible felon, in his case for a straightforward case of treason. The law enabling Gov. Patrick to pick Kirk failed to meet some legislative deadlines, IIRC, and would been thrown out by any honest court, had there still been such in Massachusetts. They might get the first eligible Senator from Massachusetts since Paul Tsongas with the special election, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

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