"Leaders cool to Kennedy request; GOP blasts proposal for naming successor" by Frank Phillips and Matt Viser, Globe Staff | August 21, 2009
Republicans, both in Massachusetts and in Washington, warned Democrats in the Legislature that they would face a political backlash if they engineered a change in state law to benefit their party. Republicans pointed out that Democrats rejected making precisely this change five years ago, because they did not want Governor Mitt Romney to have a chance to appoint a Republican to the Senate in the event that Senator John F. Kerry won the presidency.
“The hypocrisy is astounding,’’ said House minority leader Bradley H. Jones Jr. “If we had a Republican governor right now, would we be getting the same letter?’’
Jones continued: “If this institution supports the change, it is clearly a corrupt institution. It’s not making judgments based on what’s best for the whole Commonwealth, but based on what’s best for one political party.’’
--more--""Murray may shift on Kennedy Senate request; She is open to bid altering selection law" by Frank Phillips, Globe Staff | August 25, 2009
Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray, who had privately expressed opposition to Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s plea for a temporary appointment to any US Senate vacancy, is now open to the idea, according to a colleague, who said she has given him the green light to round up the necessary votes.
State Senator Robert A. O’Leary, a Democrat from Barnstable, said Murray told him yesterday that she is listening carefully to the arguments for a change in a 2004 law that established a special election process to fill any vacant US Senate seats, but made no provisions for a temporary appointment during the five-month election process.
“She is listening to the members and keeping an open mind,’’ O’Leary said yesterday. “I am full steam ahead and she understands that and is fine with it.’’
In a letter to Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo last week, Kennedy - who is battling brain cancer - said that it was vital for Massachusetts to have two votes in the US Senate during an interim period. He asked them to approve a law swiftly giving the governor the power to appoint a temporary successor.
Murray, who has remained publicly silent on the issue, could not be reached for comment yesterday. But her apparent signal that she will not block any attempts to make the change - and could potentially support it - is significant, given that her opposition could defeat the effort.
Murray’s initial rejection of Kennedy’s request last week blocked Governor Deval Patrick and DeLeo from issuing statements on their positions. According to senior State House sources, they have expressed private support of Kennedy’s request but did not want to make their positions public until Murray was on board.
Kennedy has not been in Washington for several months, raising a potential problem for President Obama and Senate Democrats as they prepare for a potential showdown over health care legislation in coming weeks. The success of the legislation, which Kennedy has championed for decades, hinges on a few votes.
His letter, which reflected an extraordinary public recognition by him that his historic Senate career is coming to a close, created a political uproar, including a partisan backlash from Republicans and conservatives, both here and in Washington, who are accusing the senator and Democrats of trying to pull off a power grab.
Democrats had pushed through the 2004 law in order to deny Republican Mitt Romney, then the governor, the power of filling a vacancy if US Senator John F. Kerry won the presidential election that year. They also at the time rejected GOP attempts to provide for a temporary appointment.
But....
I keep saying it: the Ted Kennedy Memorial Healthcare Act.
Who could be against that?
Who would want to deny the great liberal lion his death wish?
