Is This A Bad Sign?
A cancer-stricken Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has asked Massachusetts leaders to change state law to allow a speedy replacement of him in the Senate, fearing a months-long open seat will deny Democrats a crucial vote on President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
In a note to Gov. Deval Patrick and other state leaders, Kennedy wrote “it is vital for this commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election.”
…
Kennedy’s letter acknowledges the state changed its succession law in 2004 to require a special election within five months to fill any vacancy. At the time, legislative Democrats — with a wide majority in both chambers — were concerned because then-Republican Gov. Mitt Romney had the power to directly fill any vacancy created as Democratic Sen. John Kerry ran for president.
The letter was sent Tuesday, but Kennedy aides insist there is no material change in his condition since he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May 2008. Kennedy was initially treated with surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
I think this is a sign that Kennedy believes he will not be able to return to the Senate, and he wants to make sure Democrats have the 60 votes they need to overcome a filibuster. This news saddens me a lot and I hope Senator Kennedy will feel well enough to vote for comprehensive health insurance reform in the Senate.
Tags: Health Care Reform, MA-Sen, Ted Kennedy
So he wants the law changed because it doesn’t work for the Dems now?
I agree with you, h. The Dems should have thought of this eventuality. The law MA currently has is ideal, as it allows for direct election of the replacement within a reasonable time from the vacancy. It precludes the nasty business we saw in Illinois. If Kennedy is so concerned about the delay, he should have resigned months ago.
I think you have a valid complaint, h.
Exactly, h. You gotta problem with that? Elections have consequences. The “nasty business we saw in Illinois” was because laws were broken. Hey, we even had people here accusing Minner of being bribed by Biden to appoint Kaufman!
Let the elected gov appoint the successor so the people are represented.
Yeah, although selfishly I’d like to see them do it, it doesn’t quite sit right with me. Can we just agree to blame it all on Mitt Romney and move on? Nothing to see here, move along.
The bigger injustice though, in our 21st century tele-conference/video conference/holo-conference (ok, the last one might be the result of a night of Yuenglings and Star Wars) world is if he is alive and unable to get to DC for a vote. There really needs to be a contingency plan for remote voting in extreme circumstances.
Speedy elections aren’t always the best. If the Senate seat is so important, rushing it should not be an option. You need to have time for the people to weigh their options.
Personally, I think Kennedy is sadly on his last days and wants to see who he will be replaced by before he goes. He might not have 5 months.
Seriously, like Massachusetts would go Republican anyway.
Brian,
I think it’s about the Senate filibuster. The Democrats will be down to 59 again and Kennedy knows the importance of getting healthcare legislation passed.
Where are the mavericks now?
Is there not ONE decent Republican senator who is retiring and doesn’t have to run for re-election who will pledge to cast his filibuster vote for Kennedy?
Note: If Arlen Specter is responsible for passing health care, he will have come one tiny step closer toward his penance to the Kennedy family.
Oh my: Jan Ting is supporting single payer health care and tearing Rick Jenson a new butt. Jan just told Rick, “you dont believe in the Consitution”. Hooray….a sane republican! If Ting can support single payer, there must be many other educated republicans out there who understand the issue. I am so amazed and was not expecting Jan to stand up for what is sane. I would have thought the only reason the freak Jenson would have him on is because he would NOT be supporting single payer or the Public Option. Thank you Jan for your sanity.
Paging Mel Martinez!
I wonder if the newly-appointed Florida senator would be willing to? It would be the nice thing to do.
Is it his intent to speed up the election, or to go back to the pre-Romney process?
I think what he wants is to keep the election but have someone appointed to the seat until the election. The suggestion was to have them pledge (or perhaps bound by law) to not run for the seat. Others have suggested making it such that the appointed person has to be of the same party as the Senator leaving the seat. I actually think this is a good idea – it gives the best of all worlds: a quick election, no vacant seat and very little partisan jockeying in the meantime. Although the reason for the change is a bit self-serving I think the MA legislature has every right to make this change.
I think Ting is a Dem now.
Good….back him. He could actually win. He supported Obama against the repukes and supports single payer! He could get republican and democrat votes! Run him agains the carpet bagger Carper.
Yes, the days are winding down for Mr. Kennedy.
The sad state of Boston politics changed a law to restrict Romney if Kerry got elected but in the end the door is now open.
Yes, the Dems have the inside track. Is Sgt Crowley available?
Mike Protack
If Teddy really cared about Massachusetts having a voice, he would have resigned months ago. He has been too ill to be present and vote on anything resembling a regular basis, and has missed both a presidential award ceremony for himself AND his own sister’s funeral. If Massachusetts having two functioning senators has not been critical while Teddy the Hutt has been MIA, I don’t see how it will be when he is DOA.
I agree with elections. Look who we got for Fredo Biden…what’s the new senator’s name again?
h has a point. I, too favor direct elections. As to RWR’s comment, I am willing to forgive Teddy hanging on in the hopes of seeing a lifelong dream achieved with his help. Where there is life, there is hope. Reference Caeser Rodney’s heroic ride to cast a critical vote.
John Ensign not resigning? Not so much.
I admire his desire to stick around — but condemn the hypocritical statement that “Massachusetts needs a Senator” when it has effectively been without one for a year that he is now using to change the rules in (another) attempt to game the system for his side’s political benefit after that side adopted those rules to avoid giving their opponents an advantage.
it’s the party’s seat, so the political aspect of Kennedy vacating it is inherent.
attempt to game the system for his side’s political benefit
Yeah, like Repubs wouldn’t take advantage of his absence to filibuster health care.
Yes, anon, I remember DeLay’s mid-decade redistricting in Texas. In this case, although the interest is self-serving I think it is a good idea.
Actually, UI, the redistricting situation you mention has some subtlties that you fail to mention.
1) The Texas legislature, under provisions of the state constitution, meets only in odd-numbered years. Its session is limited to a total of 140 calendar days. It may not meet outside of that period unless there is a special session called by the governor.
2) In 2001, the Texas legislature was unable to adopt a redistricting plan, and one based upon the map adopted in 1991 was therefore imposed by a federal court — which stated in its opinion that the Texas legislature should go back and adopt its own redistricting plan during the next legislative session.
3) The 2003 produced the first GOP majority n both houses of the state legislature since Reconstruction.
4) In the 2002 election, about 55% of Texans voted for Republican candidates for Congress. Republicans only won 43% of the congressional seats, however, due to the court-imposed districts being based upon a 1991 map that was heavily gerrymandered to favor the Democrats.
5) The 2003 map, drawn in response to the federal court’s opinion, was balanced so that it would have resulted in partisan representation proportional to the voting patterns of the 2002 elections. The results of the 2004 elections bore that out.
6) While there was ultimately a decision that found against the boundaries of one congressional district based upon allegations of racial gerrymandering involving Hispanic communities (resulting in the redrawing of 4 districts to correct, but no significant change in the Hispanic numbers in any district), the Supreme Court recognized that there was nothing wrong with the adoption of the new districts in 2003 and that the process of drawing those lines had been no more partisan than had historically been the case in Texas and most other states.
Changing the rules in midstream is a great way to game the system but if you are a Kennedy, you can buy anything. Ted could try to cheat his way through Harvard but why did he even try? Al Gore got through on a variety of ‘fluff courses’.
Then there was the Mary Jo cover-up.
Why does not Ted sign a pre-dated letter of resignation and let a special election be called at the date of effective resignation?
I wonder what Kennedy’s liver would go for on the organ black market?
RWR, how dare you interject facts into UI’s platitudes?