Compounding The “Mass Mess” By Dumping Dukakis

(I also posted here; also, posting is iffy for the rest of the week.)

This NPR story tells us the following…

The Massachusetts legislature has passed legislation to allow Gov. Deval Patrick to name an interim successor to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.

The legislation, which Patrick requested, means the governor could name a replacement to Kennedy as soon as Thursday.

I don’t know how else to say it, so I’ll just spit it out, as they say.

I think all of this is pretty damn pathetic, people. And in no way am I trying to demean the memory of Sen. Kennedy by saying so.

Yes, I want to see a Dem replace Kennedy when all is said and done, but if the Repugs had engaged in these types of shenanigans, I’d be screaming my head off.

For those who aren’t aware of the whole story, Sen. Kennedy pushed for a change in the law back in 2004 in which the governor of Massachusetts would no longer be able to appoint a successor to that state’s U.S. Senate seat (the hope was that then-Repug governor Mitt Romney would not be allowed to appoint another Repug to John Kerry’s seat, in the event that he knocked off Dubya that year). The successor would be named based on a special election, which actually is preferable. And the law was changed.

Well, as we know, Kerry lost, so the whole issue became moot.

However, with Kennedy well aware that his time was growing short, he wanted to ensure a Democratic replacement for his seat, and with Dem Deval Patrick currently in charge, he pushed for a change back to allow for the gubernatorial appointment, which, by all appearances, will pass.

Now the compromise here is that the individual named by appointment will only be able to serve for about four months until the special election winner takes over, which I suppose is fair.

As we know, however, what is driving all of this is the Senate quest for the illusive 60 votes to form a filibuster-proof majority to pass health care reform (with the Massachusetts Dem replacement and the ailing Sen. Robert Byrd hopefully on hand to make this happen).

And this is why individuals like Repug Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine are being treated like Lucy holding the proverbial football in the “Peanuts” comic strip (here, and we all know how that always turns out, by the way). It is assumed, for some reason, that Snowe will be the “Plan B” to ensure the 60th vote in the event that one of the Nelson twins or either of the two Senators from Wal-Mart, Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln, go all “weak in the knees” at the last minute.

This leads me to my second point of disgust.

Assuming the party I basically represent had enough of a collective spine (a huge assumption, I know), they would announce to all who have ears to hear that they’re going to use reconciliation to hammer home health care reform, and for that, all they need is 51 votes instead of 60.

And for anyone who complains, I offer three words: “elections have consequences.”

But as long as the Dems have the means to name a “placeholder” of sorts for Kennedy’s seat, I can think of no reason why that person would NOT be former governor Michael Dukakis; as noted here…

Dukakis doesn't mince words in talking about health care reform. “The market doesn't work when it comes to health care,” he declares. “It never has and it never will.” He calls for government-regulated universal health care—something, he says, that was initially advocated by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912.

I don’t know much about Paul Kirk (the other person who seems to be getting consideration for Kennedy’s seat; the New York Times reports here that he seems to have the inside track), but I’m sure he’s a good candidate. However, his main “claim to fame” is that he seems to be a family friend.

But again, I’m sure the Dems are just sooo scared about the Repugs conjuring up ads with Dukakis riding around in the tank like Snoopy, worrying about whether or not the conservative echo chamber will be resurrecting images of Willie Horton, Boston Harbor pollution, and anything else they can dredge up from the Lee Atwater archives, all noted here (you know they will, but so what?).

So to sum up, I have to say that I don’t approve of this arrangement (and as I said, the whole damn thing wouldn’t matter if the Dems decided to “grow a pair” and concentrate on the 51 instead of the 60).

But as long as this situation has presented itself, why not give the prize to somebody looking for a little payback?