The Massachusetts legislature passed a law today allowing Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to appoint a Senator to fill Ted Kennedy's seat until the special election is held in January. The bill passed the Massachusetts Senate, but with less than a two-thirds majority. This forces the Governor to declare the law an emergency in order to make the appointment
This is not about representing Massachusetts. Massachusetts has been represented by one Senator since Senator Kennedy became ill. If having two senators from Massachusetts had been a critical need, Senator Kennedy would have resigned and allowed a special election. This is about the Democrats' desire to pass some sort of healthcare reform before the end of the year. The more people learn about the current healthcare proposals, the less support there is, so the Democrats want to pass healthcare quickly. Ted Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts represents the sixtieth vote--the one needed to break a filibuster.
It is unfortunate that the Massachusetts legislature chooses to change the law on filling a vacant Senate seat according to which party controls the Massachusetts state house.
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