In the wake of Senator Ted Kennedy's passing, Mitt Romney might be thinking of his own political self preservation. There is speculation that Mitt Romney is eyeing the special election to replace the Liberal Lion. We can not let that happen. It is be tantamount to Norm Coleman sitting in Paul Wellstone's old Senae seat.
In the memory of Ted Kennedy, we have to defend that seat!
Through our calls, our canvasses, and yes, our pocketbooks we must follow up Kennedy's tremendous service to the Senate, with a true Liberal Senator.
We must find a suitable replacement and bolster his cause, the same way we did for Senator Franken.
It is hard for me to think about electoral horse races today. But time is a luxury that we have not been afforded. Romney has the finical ability to self fund a campaign, and trounce any Democratic opponents. Over at Political Wire, Taegan Goddard has this to say.
[Romney] would be a serious threat to the Democratic hegemony in Massachusetts's congressional delegation. Meaning Romney likely would win.
The first step to stopping this is to allow Governor Deval Patrick to appoint a suitable seat filler until the regularly scheduled elections in 2012. We do not want to let Romney roll over Democrats by spending his millions in a short race. It was Ted's wish that the Mass. legislature restore the pre-2004 rule change that allowed the Governor to appoint a replacement until the schedule election could take place. In his letter Kennedy said this:
I am now writing to you about an issue that concerns me deeply — the continuity of representation for Massachusetts should a Senate vacancy occur,’’ he says, adding: ‘‘As I look ahead, I am convinced that enabling the governor to fill a Senate vacancy through an interim appointment followed by a special election would best serve the people of our Commonwealth and country should a vacancy occur.
I do not live in Mass., but from media reports it seems that the legislature is sitting on their hands. If the death of the Senator does not spur action, then it is up to us. It is imperative that we give ourselves a fighting chance against Romney and his deep pockets. If we are able to push the election back to 2012, Romney will likely forgo Kennedy's seat in search of the Presidency. U.S. News and World Reportreports that Romney will use Kennedy's seat as a platform for his Presidential run.
If he did, Romney would then have a platform to actually introduce legislation modeled on the proposals he put forward as a presidential candidate in 2008 and planned to put forward in 2012. No guesswork. No empty rhetoric. Real ideas, on the Senate floor, that could be evaluated, debated, and perhaps even voted on.
From the Senate floor, Romney could show his fellow Republicans, and the country, just what kind of president he would be. How he would approach national problems. As an added political benefit, it would give him the opportunity to establish true conservative bona fides allowing him to finally overcome the suspicions many conservatives in the GOP's primary electorate still harbor about him. Rather than tie him down, Romney could actually use the Senate seat to lock up the GOP nomination in 2012.
It is sickening to think that Romney will use the seat of our hero in the Senate to bolster a right-wing campaign that will undermine everything that Kennedy will stand for.
Think of what Teddy would have wanted. Can we allow his seat to fall in the hands of someone that will fight against everything Kennedy and Democrats stood for? I for one will not let that happen.
UPDATE
From Political Wire:
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) said today that he supported a recent proposal by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy "under which an interim senator would be appointed to serve in Kennedy's place until a special election takes place," the Boston Globe reports.
This is great news.
UPDATE
Just wanted to answer a few things from the comments.
- I am aware that Romney is running for President. The idea was he would use his position as Senator to oppose everything Obama does legislatively. More to the point, he could introduce legislation that would help him in a GOP primary, were voters do not look kindly upon him. For instance, he could introduce legislation to stop all unspent stimulus funds from being spent. There are plenty of things he could do that would endear him to his lunatic fringe base.
- I am aware that Romney is unpopular in MASS. I am also aware that he trashed MASS. in his past and current bid for president. However, my point was, in a short, low turnout election, the candidate with high name recognition and lots of money has a good shot of winning. Even if he is disliked. I believe i have read that Democratic Governor Deval Patrick is highly unpopular. If the economy continues its downturn, it could spell trouble.