Not all.
Posted on 08/31/2009 8:15:18 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
As Edward Kennedy was mourned and laid to rest over the weekend, talk about what will happen to his open Senate seat grew louder.
On Friday, there were reports that the Massachusetts legislature would follow Kennedy’s final wish and change the five-year-old Senate succession law. Such a change would permit Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint an interim senator until the special election is held no earlier than 145 days after Kennedy’s death and no more than 160 days. (That means in January).
This would be the second Democratic opportunistic change to the law. The last time – when Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry might have vacated his seat for the presidency -- the Democratic legislature took the power of gubernatorial appointment away from then-governor Mitt Romney.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) encouraged the Bay State lawmakers to give the governor power to appoint a senator. Reid seemed to be speaking for many national Democrats on Thursday when he voiced the feeling that as many Democratic votes as possible were needed in the Senate if Obama-backed health care reform comes to a vote before January.
On Thursday, there was speculation that if the rules change was passed, Gov. Patrick might appoint a “senior statesman” such as former governor and 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis to serve in the Senate until January. By Friday night, however, speculation on a stopgap senator seemed to move toward former Democratic National Chairman Paul Kirk, Jr. As Joe Kennedy noted in his remarks about his uncle, Kirk had been a close friend of Ted Kennedy since his first Senate race in 1962.
Few in Massachusetts would think the state legislature is not shameless enough to reverse itself in four years for blatantly political reasons. But sources in Boston said that there were a number of Democratic legislators -- notably State Sen. Brian Joyce -- having jitters about a reversal that is that self-serving. The Boston Herald’s columnist Howie Carr was his usual cynical self when he concluded: “Ultimately, there’s nothing in the bill [to permit a Senate appointment] for the Legislature, so we must assume it won’t be passed.”
Three Dems Are Cinches to Run
The worst-kept political secret among Massachusetts Democrats is that State Attorney General Martha Coakley would be a candidate if a Senate seat ever opened up. She is the lone woman mentioned for the Senate and the sole prospective Senate hopeful to have already won statewide. Money will be no problem for her, since she can count dollars nationwide from the pro-abortion EMILY’s List.
Among the Massachusetts Democratic House delegation, Reps. Steve Lynch of South Boston and Mike Capuano of Somerville are considered certain candidates in the special election. Lynch is a “moderate,” which in Massachusetts means that he is pro-life and against gay marriage. Capuano is firmly on the left on every issue.
Could other Democrats get in the race? Sure. But for now, Coakley, Lynch, and Capuano are clearly in the running.
Speculation about Joe Kennedy running rises and falls. Republicans would privately love to see him run, as they would have a field day with Kennedy’s ties to Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez and questions about how much the former congressman has been making from his company that provides oil to lower income citizens.
Then, again, the Senate seat has been in the hands of a Kennedy for all but two years since Jack won it in 1952. That was 1960-62, after JFK resigned to become President and family friend Benjamin Smith took it over until Ted turned 30 and was constitutionally eligible to be a senator. As Howie Carr observed, Joe “[p]robably wouldn’t mind keeping the seat warm for his red-headed twin son Joe IV [who turns 30 in November 2010].”
Healey Sends Signals; Beatty Salutes Fellow Vet
Among Republicans, there were reports last week that former lieutenant governor and 2006 gubernatorial nominee Kerry Healey was sounding out prospective supporters for a Senate race. A former state party chairman, liberal GOPer Healey is the wife of Sean Healey who heads Affiliated Partners Group, an asset management company, and is apparently worth over $100 million. He is a former vice president of Goldman Sachs.
While Kerry Healey would presumably use her husband’s wealth in a campaign, GOP sources I talked to her have serious reservations about Mitt Romney’s lieutenant governor as a candidate. They pointed out that when she ran for governor against Democrat Patrick in ’06, she got the worst showing (35%) of a Republican gubernatorial nominee since 1986, when a scandal forced out the Republican nominee and George Kariotis became the substitute nominee and got 31% against Dukakis.
Running as an unabashed conservative, decorated veteran and security company owner Jeff Beatty got about the same percentage against Sen. Kerry in ’08. Some would argue that this is not impressive. But Beatty enthusiasts point out that their man had little money and managed to energize the GOP base by simply being himself -- a conservative.
When I reached Beatty on Friday, he wasn’t talking politics. In a rare act in politics, the former GOP Senate hopeful had returned from the JFK Library where he paid his respects to someone he disagreed with on every issue.
“I was there to say farewell to someone who served in the military and who provided outstanding constituent service to people in our state,” Beatty told me, recalling how he spoke to numerous Kennedys, Shrivers, and Smiths. “And when I passed the senator, I saluted him.”
As for another Senate race, Beatty said he would call with his intentions “after a respectable period” -- an obvious reference to Healey’s apparent start.
Other GOP prospects mentioned are former State Party Chairman Jim Rappaport and former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan. All that remains to be said is, “stay tuned.”
-- John Gizzi is Political Editor of HUMAN EVENTS.
1) Another Kennedy
2) Another Leftist
3) Anyone but Romney
Taxachussetts wouldn't dare give it to anyone else.
Other GOP prospects mentioned are former State Party Chairman Jim Rappaport and former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan. All that remains to be said is, “stay tuned.”
Squeaky Fromme is available...
This country was founded to escape self-proclaimed “royals” like the Kennedys.
there is a 99.9% chance this seat will stay with the Dems
that being Said i guess Kerry Healey would probably have the best shot for an R pickup - she has boatloads of cash, has run statewide before and people have serious voters remorse electing Deval.
of course this is MA so i highly doubt any R could win this seat but she may make them have to spend money in an otherwise safe seat
I notice that all the pictures and sketches of Mary Jo drowning in Ted’s car — as well as sites which have featured Ted’s criminal career — have been removed from the internet. THAT’s political power!
Are you serious? I haven’t looked at those since Saturday, but I learned quite a bit of new information reading the research and seeing the diagrams. If this is true, and they have been removed, there must be mirrored sites somewhere.
how about carolyn kennedy, she’s so damn qualified and pays her taxes on time.
Not all.
“Who Now Will Replace Ted Kennedy?”
Another Liberal Democrat, of course. (What the present law says really doesn’t matter...it can always be changed you know.)
/S/
IMHO
Who will replace Kennedy? Another RAT face communists. Does that answer the question! No such revolution in MASSASSASSachusetts
Um... his 'wish' can be used to circumvent law? Didn't Kennedy himself argue for a LAW that prevents this just 4 years ago?
Let's just show video of kennedy himself arguing against that
If MA allows this we should KICK THEM OUT of the union
Yes. The Wayback Machine has a mirror.
I’m a resident of Illinois, and we went through this when then-Senator Obama became President. Our law was - and still is - that if a Senator resigns or dies or is convicted of a felony or otherwise leaves office, the Governor appoints a successor who serves until the next regularly scheduled statewide election. Our present governor had long lobbied that the law should be changed to set up a special election in such cases, so that the people could be heard. Of course, now that he’s succeeded to the Governorship (because Blago got inpeached), he’s not pushing for any such thing.
I actually favor having the law in Illinois be changed to what’s proposed here; have the Governor immediately appoint someone who would then serve until a special election is called and conducted. There’d have to be a time frame involved; you don’t want to have a special election if the general election was only 6 more months later, say. And it might be wise if the appointee was ineliglble to stand for the special election. So to my mind changing the Massachusetts law would be the right thing to do.
But the blatant and unashamed partisanship is breathtaking.
It seems to me that, given the current state of affairs, anyone qualified to become a candidate for the Senate seat under the current rules could sue to prevent changing the rules until the seat is filled as currently prescribed.
Kennedy’s death started a clock on the process, and the Supreme Court has ruled against changing the rules after the game starts.
Perhaps some “legal eagle” out there could either confirm or dismiss this idea, but I believe that any declared (or even potential) candidate could obtain an injunction against any changes to the current process until it is completed.
Nah. Her wikipedia page is still up, as well as a wiki article on the “Chappaquiddick incident.” I haven’t read the last one to see if it’s been written to favor Kennedy, but the Death section of her own page seems pretty straightforward.
Shamu..
That would be the most enduring way to honor his legacy.
The Kennedy family didn't seem to have many black friends and family members at the front of the Church during Ted's funeral...yet, still, there are prominent blacks who could represent MA in the US Senate. Skip Gates comes to mind. So does the gay, female, black Mayor Simmons of Cambridge
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