Ted Kennedy passed away this week. It didn’t receive the same coverage that Michael Jackson’s death did, but chances are you probably heard a little something about it these past few days. At first, the death of the popular, long time senator looked like it would be one of those moments that transcends politics and brings Republicans and Democrats together in common mourning. And it was, for about fifteen minutes.
Then, the Democrats started their political wrangling. Before Teddy was buried, Democrats in Massachusetts started plotting to subvert the state law that requires a special election to replace a senator mid-term. Interestingly enough, these are the same people who demanded the law be passed just five years ago.
In 2004, John Kerry was running for president and potentially would have left a vacant senate seat. The governor of Massachusetts at the time was none other than Mitt Romney, a Republican. Rather than risk Romney appointing a Republican to fill Kerry’s spot, the Democrats forced through a law taking the power out of the governor’s hands and mandating a special election. It turned out to be completely unnecessary as Kerry was so stiff and unlikeable that he couldn’t unseat the most unpopular US president since Jimmy Carter.
Fast forward to last week. Same scenario, different outcome. Now a Democratic governor holds power in Massachusetts, so the same politicians who created the law now want to ignore it. As unlikely as it would be for a Republican to win in Massachusetts, the Dems want to take no chances and want to skip their own newly minted process in a shameless display of partisanship.
While I find it hard to imagine that a Republican could steal the seat in my father-in-law’s hotbed of liberalism up in the Northeast, it would be wonderful poetic justice. I’m throwing the full and considerable weight of the Camp Campaign endorsement solidly behind whoever the Republican’s can put up in the special election, just for the ironic value. If the Democrats cannot find a way to stop the election from happening, that is.
