Ted Kennedy's recent request that Massachusetts legislators change the law on the filling of a senatorial vacancy really burns my ass. Until 2004, Massachusetts law gave the governor the power to appoint a temporary replacement in the event of a vacancy in one of the state's two U.S. Senate seats. But the state legislature, controlled by Democrats, changed the law that year in anticipation of the possibility that John Kerry might win the presidency, leaving his vacant Senate seat to be filled by then-Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican. Now, Kennedy wants the law changed back so that Deval Patrick, the current governor, could appoint someone to replace him immediately in the event of his death while in office. Kennedy's position is that the urgency of contemporary problems (especially the need to pass health-insurance reform) argues in favor of giving the governor the power to fill the vacancy so the seat would not be empty for the five months or so before a special election could be organized.
The Boston Globe today editorialized in favor of Kennedy's proposal. I'm glad to see that the reaction of the state's Democratic leaders to Kennedy's request is decidedly cool. Mine is downright hostile. I think it's a terrible idea. Kennedy's proposal is cynical, manipulative, and hypocritical. Yes, now would be a terrible time to have a vacant U.S. Senate seat. But what isn't such a time?! Moreover, there is no reason in the world to leave the choice of a U.S. Senator (even a temporary one) to one person. There is too much of New Jersey and Illinois in the Massachusetts political culture for me to be comfortable with gubernatorial appointment of a senator. Deval Patrick is no Rod Blagojevich, but the Kennedy tentacles are too strong in Massachusetts for anyone to trust that an appointment would be on the merits. We all know that American elections are not exactly examplars of fairness and equality, but an election is still the proper way to fill a vacancy. Massachusetts legislators should leave the law alone.

