Kennedy Seat Appointment Is Imminent

With Senator Byrd’s health in a precarious position, and meaning no disrespect, below is the WV Constitution provision for filling a vacant U.S. Senate seat. For the record, his current term is not up until January, 2013.

“United States Senate

Vacancies in the U. S. Senate are filled by appointment of the Governor, and the appointed Senator serves until the next election that is more than two years and six months away from the date of the vacancy. In other words, if a vacancy occurs after the specific day in May of an election year which marks the 2-year 6-month cutoff, the appointment would not be filled at the election held that fall, but the appointee would serve until the certification of the election two years following. The law does not provide for nominations from any committee.”

Look for the GOP “squealing” to begin a nanosecond after Deval Patrick declares an “emergency” and Paul Kirk’s on his way to Logan!

Well, gosh! It’s nice to know that the Massachusetts governor has received the blessing of the Kennedy family to pick someone from the recently departed’s staff.

This whole story stinks to high heaven – changing the law five years ago specifically to limit a Republican governor’s authority, only to tweak it again to increase a Democratic governor’s power. And then this business of feeling it necessary to seek the approval of the all-powerful Kennedy family for the replacement? What a total crock!

I’m sooooo glad we fought a war a couple hundred years ago to rid ourselves of tyranny, corruption, and dynastic families, only to adopt corrupt tyrants and dynastic families to take their places. And we wonder why the Iranian dictator speaks ill of our system of government before the U.N.!

Unmitigated disaster!

Gee, I seem to recall Democrats screaming the last 8 years about the problem of democracy and majority rule. I guess this just confirms that Democrats really are not about principles but just about what the majority can ram down the throats of the entirety. Same with health care reform. Since all the Democrats can argue is majority rules or filibuster proof Senate rules, and cannot argue principles and right and wrong, the Democrats cannot convince anyone that health care reform is the right thing to do. Democrats cannot argue health care reform is the moral thing to do. All Democrats can argue is, as with the kennedy seat, the majority is well-entitled to ram it down the throats of the electorate, and principles of right and wrong so what.

Paul Kirk seems like a perfect choice to fill Mr. Kennedy’s seat. It is good Deval Patrick found someone suitable. A vacancy in a liberal Senate seat is never a good thing, especially with great political battles to wage still. Health care, environmental regulations, a host of social policies, and the economy all need to be reformed; and these changes can only be implemented efficiently with a large Democratic majority. The Republicans only know how to obstruct.

Mr. Kirk is the executor of Kennedy’s will, so it is natural , is it not, for the executor to manage Mr. Kennedy’s assets, including his ownership of the senate seat from Taxachusetts. Now the Kennedy estate has a few months to auction off this asset to see how much it wil bring. There is none of the feigned protests, which accompanied the eBay auctioning of Obama’s Illinois Senate seat. If no one offers enough fot the Kennedy throne, this also provides some time for the family to sort out how they will share the seat. Let’s see, this year this one goes to the senate, while that one has the use of the Palm Beach estate, and the other one can summer at Hyannisport. It is all quite civilized, really. If any of you peons can’t fathom all of this, perhaps you should renounce your Ivy league degree.