Ted Kennedy Looks Ahead
AUGUST 20, 2009 TAGS:
UPDATE: Ted Kennedy died on Tuesday, August 25. He was 77. CLICK HERE for full coverage.
Ted Kennedy knows that he is going to die. The liberal lion sent a letter to the governor of Massahusetts, Deval Patrick, asking the governor to appoint a temporary replacement for Kennedy’s Senate seat, “should” that seat become vacant during the upcoming legislative session.
Current Massachusetts law stipulates a period of 145- 160 days of vacancy for a Senate seat until a special election can be held, unlike states like New York or Illinois where the governor has the power to appoint a replacement whenever he or she can. (This rule was instituted in 2004 when Democrats feared that then-governor Mitt Romney would appoint a Republican to John Kerry’s seat if were Kerry elected president. That situation clearly never came about).
In the letter (strangely dated July 2, 2009, but not sent until August when The Boston Globe heard talk of the Massachusetts law change) Kennedy phrases his recommendations carefully, making clear that “from the days of John Adams and Daniel Webster,” legislators from the Commonwealth have played a critical role in shaping policy." Kennedy wants to make sure that continues for the sake of the State. Could it also be for the sake of his party?
The subtext isn’t hard to divine. Democrats need every vote they can get during the upcoming session when President Obama’s embattled healthcare reform package will top the Senate’s docket. Kennedy’s role in moving public opinion and the votes of his Senate colleagues has been severely hampered by his brain cancer this year, which is somewhat of a travesty considering that the proposed legislation would be a fitting capstone to Kennedy’s 47-year Senate career.
But what is commendable, and ultimately quite sad, is that Kennedy, looking directly at the consequences of his mortality, chose to recommend a course of action that highlights quite poignantly that insipient death.
Playing politics until his last card? Massachusetts House Minority Leader Brad Jones thinks that's exactly what Kennedy is doing. The Globe quotes the Republican:
"The hypocrisy is astounding. If we had a Republican governor right now, would we be getting that same letter?"
Probably not.
--
From The Boston Globe, "Republicans Balk at Kennedy's Attempt to Proposal Election Law."
Ted Kennedy knows that he is going to die. The liberal lion sent a letter to the governor of Massahusetts, Deval Patrick, asking the governor to appoint a temporary replacement for Kennedy’s Senate seat, “should” that seat become vacant during the upcoming legislative session.
Current Massachusetts law stipulates a period of 145- 160 days of vacancy for a Senate seat until a special election can be held, unlike states like New York or Illinois where the governor has the power to appoint a replacement whenever he or she can. (This rule was instituted in 2004 when Democrats feared that then-governor Mitt Romney would appoint a Republican to John Kerry’s seat if were Kerry elected president. That situation clearly never came about).In the letter (strangely dated July 2, 2009, but not sent until August when The Boston Globe heard talk of the Massachusetts law change) Kennedy phrases his recommendations carefully, making clear that “from the days of John Adams and Daniel Webster,” legislators from the Commonwealth have played a critical role in shaping policy." Kennedy wants to make sure that continues for the sake of the State. Could it also be for the sake of his party?
The subtext isn’t hard to divine. Democrats need every vote they can get during the upcoming session when President Obama’s embattled healthcare reform package will top the Senate’s docket. Kennedy’s role in moving public opinion and the votes of his Senate colleagues has been severely hampered by his brain cancer this year, which is somewhat of a travesty considering that the proposed legislation would be a fitting capstone to Kennedy’s 47-year Senate career.
But what is commendable, and ultimately quite sad, is that Kennedy, looking directly at the consequences of his mortality, chose to recommend a course of action that highlights quite poignantly that insipient death.
Playing politics until his last card? Massachusetts House Minority Leader Brad Jones thinks that's exactly what Kennedy is doing. The Globe quotes the Republican:
"The hypocrisy is astounding. If we had a Republican governor right now, would we be getting that same letter?"
Probably not.
--
From The Boston Globe, "Republicans Balk at Kennedy's Attempt to Proposal Election Law."
RELATED CONTENT
TO ADD A COMMENT, PLEASE FIRST SIGN IN OR REGISTER.
