Ted Undead

What Ted Kennedy Wants - WSJ

Ted Kennedy's death bed request to change the law he sought for is quite possibly the highest form of hypocrisy and abuse of power that I have witnessed in my life.

In 2004 when Senator Kennedy pushed to have the law in Massachusetts changed so that vacated senate seats would no longer be filled by appointment from the Governor, but by special election, it was clearly a politically motivated, self serving tactic. The panic in 'The Peoples Republic of Massachusetts" Democratic party was evident. Senator Kerry had become the Democrats nominee for president and would have to vacate his seat if elected president. The fear that then Governor Romney, a Republican, would have the power to name Senator Kerry's replacement was incomprehensible. And so, with imagery from the knights of camelot, the "liberal lion" rode from Washington to Beacon Hill to slay the dragon that threatened his party's grip on single party rule in the state of Massachusetts.

"Prodded by a personal appeal from Senator Edward M. Kennedy," reported the Boston Globe in 2004, "Democratic legislative leaders have agreed to take up a stalled bill creating a special election process to replace U.S. Senator John F. Kerry if he wins the presidency."

While it was clearly a partisan tactic to preserve the preponderance of power maintained by the Massachusetts democrats, it was principled. Clearly, having a representative to government elected by the people is preferable to one by political appointment. Even people who saw the ruse as nothing but a political ploy had difficulty with serious arguments against making the process more democratic! And so the law was changed.

But Now?

Now that the state has a Democratic Governor, Mr. Kennedy wants to revert to gubernatorial appointments

"I therefore am writing to urge you to work together to amend the law through the normal legislative process to provide for a temporary gubernatorial appointment until the special election occurs," writes the Senator.

I mean WOW! How do you disguise this type of hypocritical naked aggression? What principled argument do you make to justify this reversal of ideals? I have warned in various posts on this blog that we are witnessing a time where Chicago politics is going national. If thuggery and corruption are the tools necessary to get the job done, well then the democrats are just the party to do it. After all, it was Illinios Governor Blagojevich who taught us that a Senate seat "is a f***ing valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing".

In all probablity, the Senator will get his dying wish. Where the 'Liberal Lion' can be emboldedned when principle and the good of the people are arguments on his side he won't let those same arguments stop him when they are not.

So who might Obama's good buddy Governor Deval Patrick choose? You know?

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Senator Caroline Kennedy (D-MA)