ANOTHER Update 9/24/09:
The Massachusetts GOP is seeking an injunction to stop the appointment of Paul Kirk, Jr. The GOP claims the governor didn’t have the authority under the state’s constitution to declare the bill an emergency law (for history on the bill, read the paragraph below, beginning with “Five years ago“).
Update 9/24/09:
Massachusetts’ governor has appointed Paul Kirk, Jr to succeed Ted Kennedy and restore the supermajority enjoyed by the Democrats in Congress before Senator Kennedy’s death.
The obvious, unscrupulous behavior of the U.S. government astounds me sometimes.
Update 9/22/09:
Massachusetts’ state Senate and state House have both approved a resolution to change state law back to what it was before 2004, to allow the Democratic Governor to appoint another Democrat to replace Ted Kennedy, rather than take the time to have a public referendum and risk the people voting in a Republican.
The governor is expected to sign the bill into law as early as tomorrow, just in time to appoint someone to vote on Baucus’ health care reform bill and to re-establish the Democratic supermajority.
Five years ago Massachusetts legislators changed the law governing vacant U.S. Senate seats by requiring a referendum to determine a successor within several months of the vacancy. The original law authorized the Governor to appoint a successor. The law was changed in 2004 because Senator John Kerry was running for president and if elected, Governor Mitt Romney would likely have appointed a republican to the vacant seat.
Fast forward to present day and we see Senator Ted Kennedy, in a letter sent before his death, requesting the law be changed back to ensure the Democratic party has all the votes it can possibly muster behind health care reform.
So far, Democratic leaders have been quiet on the request.
This is just another shining example of ‘if the rules don’t favor you, change them.’
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