During the recent campaign for U.S. Senate, I called upon Senator John Kerry to make a commitment to serve out his term, if he was re-elected. I was well aware that Senator Kerry had his eye, first and foremost, upon the position of Secretary of State in a potential President Obama Administration. I further called upon Senator Kerry to put up the millions of dollars it would take to hold a special election to fill his seat if his ambition came to fruition. Well, here we are. Senator Kerry is lobbying for Secretary of State and there is a good chance he may end up leaving the Senate job he was just elected to perform for the next 6 years and Massachusetts taxpayers will be left holding an empty bag.
At a time when firefighters and teachers are being laid off and, those teachers who are employed are dipping into their own pockets to pay for students’ essential supplies, Massachusetts taxpayers should not be burdened with the multi-million dollar cost of a special election for the U.S. Senate.
On the other hand, Governor Patrick should not be given full reign to appoint the next U.S. Senator, which could logically be seen as a lifetime appointment. This is a Democracy and Governor Patrick was elected to keep government open to the people.
In 1960, when Senator John F. Kennedy left his position as Massachusetts U.S. States Senator to become President of the United States, long time Kennedy friend and confidant, Benjamin Smith, was tapped to fill out the remainder of Senator Kennedy’s term. As a trusted and loyal friend, there was a tacit understanding that Senator Smith would not run for election when the Senate term expired in 1962. Keeping his word, Senator Smith did not run for election in 1962 and Edward M. Kennedy was elected by the people of Massachusetts to serve as the next U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. There is little doubt, in 1962, the people of Massachusetts made a great a choice.
However, as we have witnessed during the last campaign cycle, loyalty that existed in the early 1960's is a rare commodity these days in politics.
I am proposing that the Massachusetts Legislature pass a bill that gives Governor Patrick the power to appoint a U.S. Senator, if Senator Kerry gets his wish. Written into the legislation would be the condition that the person getting this appointment would only serve until the next statewide election--approximately two years from now. He or she would not be eligible to run at that time for the U.S. Senate and would be prohibited from promoting another candidate.
My proposal would save Massachusetts taxpayers millions of dollars and allow the money that would be spent for a special election to be invested in our local communities for education and public safety. In addition, it would allow Governor Patrick to appoint someone who could not only work with the new Administration, but also shake up the Senate a bit. After all, it was the U.S. Senate that grabbed the bailout ball from the House and gave it to the richest people in America and submissively asked these same people to allow some of the taxpayer money to trickle down to the people who need it the most. At this special time in history, we need someone in the U.S. Senate who will speak boldly for "ordinary" working people, fight special interests and not worry about being re-elected. Under this proposal, we could realize this rare opportunity.
The result of this legislation would be the culling out of those politicians who have a propensity to only run while being paid taxpayer dollars to work in another elected position. We need bold change in this country and encouraging personally and professionally conservative, self serving, calculating, and professional politicians to participate in a safe special election is not going to attract the kind of person we need to be our next U.S. Senator.
In order to talk about bold change in health care and economic justice, I, for one, believe a risk taker is the right kind of person for the job. For now, let's save Massachusetts taxpayers money and in two years, let's see who has the political courage and willingness to run.
The bottom line is that the people of Massachusetts can have their cake and eat it, too. My proposal is just simply the right thing to do.
Respectfully,
Ed O'Reilly
Former Democratic Candidate for U.S. Senate
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2 comments:
I voted for you in the primary. Actually, I could have voted for you, twice, as the poll worker handed me two ballots. Being an honest person and, in full view of my teenage child, who generally has accompanied me to the polls since he was a baby, I returned the extra ballot.
As to your proposal to appoint a successor for Senator Kerry for a term certain... I would argue that Senator Kerry had no intention to serve as a U.S. Senator at the time of the election, given the opportunity to take a cabinet position under the new President. Thus, perhaps we should hold the special election and bill him. (If he had been up front with his intentions, before the primary, I would bet your name would have appeared on the ballot in the general election. And I wonder how Mr. Beatty, his opponent in the general election, will feel if Senator Kerry deserts his post to join the Cabinet.)
BTW, you cannot eat your cake and have it, too, is actually the phrase from the old English. In other words, once you have eaten your cake, you no more possess it. (The Proverbs of John Heywood, 1546: "Would ye both eat your cake and have your cake?")
You can have your cake and eat it too, you just need extra cake.
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