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Is Kennedy’s Seat The Lifeline For ObamaCare?
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| Former Democratic Party chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr. speaks as Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., listens during a news conference at the Statehouse in Boston on Thursday, where it was announced that Mr. Kirk will temporarily fill the late Sen. Edward Kennedy's U.S. Senate seat. (Elise Amendola/Associated Press) |
Former DNC Chairman Appointed To Replace Liberal Lion
By JOE MURRAY, The Bulletin
A relic of the U.S. Senate for 47 years, former U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy’s greatest impact on U.S. policy may have come from beyond the grave.
Recent approval by Massachusetts lawmakers have changed the Bay State’s election law as to permit Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick to name an interim lawmaker until the state’s Jan. 19 special election. The change in the law, which was motivated by partisan interests, repealed a law once supported by Mr. Kennedy that called for the seat to remain vacant until a special election was held.
The result? Mr. Patrick appointed Paul Kirk, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the executor of Mr. Kennedy’s will and resurrected the Democrat’s filibuster proof majority in the U.S. Senate.
“He is a distinguished lawyer, volunteer and citizen, and he shares the sense of service that so distinguished Senator Ted Kennedy,” Mr. Patrick said at a news conference at the Massachusetts State House.
“But for the next few months, he will carry on the work and the focus of Sen. Kennedy, mindful of his mission, and his values, and his love of Massachusetts.”
The news of the appointment came on the same day just three out of ten Massachusetts voters expressed a desire to re-elect Mr. Patrick. Republicans in the Bay State are hoping such Democratic dissatisfaction will make Mr. Kirk think twice before adopting Mr. Kennedy’s liberal legacy.
“My hope is Paul Kirk goes to Washington with the view that he represents the people of Massachusetts and not the interests of the White House or Deval Patrick,” said Massachusetts Republican State Sen. Scott Brown.
“I urge him to oppose a cap and trade tax; to vote against reckless federal spending; and on the issue of health care, I encourage him to look for ways to strengthen our private insurance system instead of expanding government involvement in our lives.”
But it is the issue of health care that fueled the mad dash to change the state’s election law and find a liberal replacement.
The partisanship and post-mortem politics exposed the lengths Democrats will go to ensure Obamacare – the president’s plan for nationalized medicine – passes the U.S. Senate. And to do so, state Democrats needed to invoke the image of their fallen leader of the left.
A staunch proponent of socialized medicine, Mr. Kennedy lobbied hard for a healthcare plan that would provide universal coverage to all Americans. But after losing a long battle with brain cancer, Mr. Kennedy’s death deprived Democrats of their 60 seat majority in the Senate and made Obamacare susceptible to a filibuster.
How was it that Mr. Kennedy’s death divested Democrats of their filibuster proof majority? Well, that answer also lies with Mr. Kennedy.
Almost five years ago, Democrats in Massachusetts were looking down the barrel of a political shotgun. With Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., running for president, his election would create a vacant seat in the Bay State.
No problem. Massachusetts is a solidly blue state, right? Not exactly.
At the time, Mitt Romney, a Republican, was the state’s governor and state law permitted the governor to name an interim appointment should a U.S. Senate seat became vacant.
Nervous at the prospect that Massachusetts could have a Republican lawmaker in Washington, U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., led the charge in Boston to change the law to strip the governor of his appointment power and require a special election.
In the end Mr. Kerry lost, but Massachusetts changed its election law.
But with the Governor’s mansion occupied by a Democrat, nervous lawmakers in Washington saw the ability to fill Mr. Kennedy’s seat, albeit temporarily, a lifeline in the deteriorating battle for Obamacare.
Earlier in the month, Sen. John Kerry went to Massachusetts’ state capitol to lobby for a reversal of Mr. Kennedy’s law. He based his reasoning on the fact President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda is suffering major setbacks and is losing even Democratic support; reasoning he restated at the press conference announcing Mr. Kirk’s appointment.
“Vicki, Teddy Jr., and Patrick keep his memory alive --and understand that Paul Kirk shares Ted’s love of this state and this country as well as his passion for public service,” Mr. Kerry said.
“And they well understood we’re facing an historic moment in this country, the most critical legislative work in Washington since the New Deal - work in which every vote will count and in which Massachusetts must be fully counted.”
But Mr. Kerry’s words rang hollow as Republicans slammed Democrats for prostituting Mr. Kennedy’s death for solely political purposes.
“The Democrats’ power play in Massachusetts has nothing to do with principle, and everything to do with politics,” Rob Jesmer, Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
“With their unpopular government-run health care bill on the brink of failure, Democrats in Washington desperately need another vote in the U.S. Senate, and it is clear that this Administration will stop at nothing to ram it through the Congress. By meddling in the affairs of state politics just weeks after promising to leave it up to the elected Massachusetts officials, Democrat leaders in Washington have demonstrated a willingness to put partisan politics over principle, a far cry from candidate Obama’s pledge to change the way business is done in Washington.”
Whether or not the political power play will be successful is still debatable, as a Rasmussen Reports poll found opposition to Obamacare hit a new high of 56 percent.
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
Recent approval by Massachusetts lawmakers have changed the Bay State’s election law as to permit Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick to name an interim lawmaker until the state’s Jan. 19 special election. The change in the law, which was motivated by partisan interests, repealed a law once supported by Mr. Kennedy that called for the seat to remain vacant until a special election was held.
The result? Mr. Patrick appointed Paul Kirk, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the executor of Mr. Kennedy’s will and resurrected the Democrat’s filibuster proof majority in the U.S. Senate.
“He is a distinguished lawyer, volunteer and citizen, and he shares the sense of service that so distinguished Senator Ted Kennedy,” Mr. Patrick said at a news conference at the Massachusetts State House.
“But for the next few months, he will carry on the work and the focus of Sen. Kennedy, mindful of his mission, and his values, and his love of Massachusetts.”
The news of the appointment came on the same day just three out of ten Massachusetts voters expressed a desire to re-elect Mr. Patrick. Republicans in the Bay State are hoping such Democratic dissatisfaction will make Mr. Kirk think twice before adopting Mr. Kennedy’s liberal legacy.
“My hope is Paul Kirk goes to Washington with the view that he represents the people of Massachusetts and not the interests of the White House or Deval Patrick,” said Massachusetts Republican State Sen. Scott Brown.
“I urge him to oppose a cap and trade tax; to vote against reckless federal spending; and on the issue of health care, I encourage him to look for ways to strengthen our private insurance system instead of expanding government involvement in our lives.”
But it is the issue of health care that fueled the mad dash to change the state’s election law and find a liberal replacement.
The partisanship and post-mortem politics exposed the lengths Democrats will go to ensure Obamacare – the president’s plan for nationalized medicine – passes the U.S. Senate. And to do so, state Democrats needed to invoke the image of their fallen leader of the left.
A staunch proponent of socialized medicine, Mr. Kennedy lobbied hard for a healthcare plan that would provide universal coverage to all Americans. But after losing a long battle with brain cancer, Mr. Kennedy’s death deprived Democrats of their 60 seat majority in the Senate and made Obamacare susceptible to a filibuster.
How was it that Mr. Kennedy’s death divested Democrats of their filibuster proof majority? Well, that answer also lies with Mr. Kennedy.
Almost five years ago, Democrats in Massachusetts were looking down the barrel of a political shotgun. With Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., running for president, his election would create a vacant seat in the Bay State.
No problem. Massachusetts is a solidly blue state, right? Not exactly.
At the time, Mitt Romney, a Republican, was the state’s governor and state law permitted the governor to name an interim appointment should a U.S. Senate seat became vacant.
Nervous at the prospect that Massachusetts could have a Republican lawmaker in Washington, U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., led the charge in Boston to change the law to strip the governor of his appointment power and require a special election.
In the end Mr. Kerry lost, but Massachusetts changed its election law.
But with the Governor’s mansion occupied by a Democrat, nervous lawmakers in Washington saw the ability to fill Mr. Kennedy’s seat, albeit temporarily, a lifeline in the deteriorating battle for Obamacare.
Earlier in the month, Sen. John Kerry went to Massachusetts’ state capitol to lobby for a reversal of Mr. Kennedy’s law. He based his reasoning on the fact President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda is suffering major setbacks and is losing even Democratic support; reasoning he restated at the press conference announcing Mr. Kirk’s appointment.
“Vicki, Teddy Jr., and Patrick keep his memory alive --and understand that Paul Kirk shares Ted’s love of this state and this country as well as his passion for public service,” Mr. Kerry said.
“And they well understood we’re facing an historic moment in this country, the most critical legislative work in Washington since the New Deal - work in which every vote will count and in which Massachusetts must be fully counted.”
But Mr. Kerry’s words rang hollow as Republicans slammed Democrats for prostituting Mr. Kennedy’s death for solely political purposes.
“The Democrats’ power play in Massachusetts has nothing to do with principle, and everything to do with politics,” Rob Jesmer, Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
“With their unpopular government-run health care bill on the brink of failure, Democrats in Washington desperately need another vote in the U.S. Senate, and it is clear that this Administration will stop at nothing to ram it through the Congress. By meddling in the affairs of state politics just weeks after promising to leave it up to the elected Massachusetts officials, Democrat leaders in Washington have demonstrated a willingness to put partisan politics over principle, a far cry from candidate Obama’s pledge to change the way business is done in Washington.”
Whether or not the political power play will be successful is still debatable, as a Rasmussen Reports poll found opposition to Obamacare hit a new high of 56 percent.
Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us
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