An interesting Op-Ed piece in today's Boston Globe ponders the political repercussions of a Kerry victory.
Filling Kerry's Shoes
With his senate seat vacated, the law as it stands now says that Republican Governor Mitt Romney appoints a senator to fill in until 2006. The Democratic state legislature is trying to pass a bill that would allow for special elections if a seat is vacated, meaning that in February 2005 Massachusetts would elect a replacement for Kerry. Naturally, the Republicans are fighting this, but this piece considers whether a special election would benefit the Democrats after all.
This article may be more interesting to those from Massachusetts, but the outcome does have national consequences. I personally would love to see Rep Barney Frank, an openly gay Democrat become a Massachusetts Senator, especially given Romney's harsh anti-gay position. I'm not sure whether there would be a brutal primary, as I'm not old enough to remember the last time there was an opening for a Senate seat, but I think even allowing Romney to select a Senator for two years is dangerous enough. It may be dirty politics, but the Republicans do much the same. I'm just glad that my state is so overwhelmingly Democratic that I am fairly confident that this legislation shall pass.
Any thoughts?