Senator Kennedy requests Massachusetts Senate to change state law on how his successor is chosen

It seems as if 77 year old Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts has given up on life after being diagnosed with brain cancer last year as he is already worrying about how his successor will be chosen according to a recent article from the New York Times. The New York Times has reported that Senator Kennedy has requested that the Massachusetts state legislature change the law on how his successor will be chosen. He wants to allow Governor Deval Patrick to appoint a replacement to finish his term after he dies. Current state law requires a more democratic approach, but the seat would have to be vacant for at least 145 days as a special election would have to be scheduled. Kennedy wrote a letter to Governor Patrick with his concern that Massachusetts residents will not have full representation in Washington during this period after he dies, but if this is a real concern, why was he not worried about not doing his job for the past year since he was diagnosed with brain cancer in May 2008? Although he did write, introduce, and sponsor the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (a committee that he was supposed to chair but is now being chaired by fellow Democrat Chris Dodd of Connecticut who was also recently diagnosed with cancer but is being treated and is still serving) version of the health care bill, he has not actively been on the Senate floor for a while. With his health currently getting worse, Senator Kennedy, who has been a major supporter of overhauling the health care system, may not be able to vote on this important piece of legislation when the moment comes and under current state law, Massachusetts will not be fully represented for about five months after his death. Senator Kennedy's request, however, proves to many conservatives and Republicans how hypocritical Ted Kennedy really is. The current law that Kennedy wants changed was put into affect in 2004. Before this, the governor was the one that appointed the successor rather than a special election. In 2004, Kennedy and other Massachusetts Democrats called for this law to be changed so that then-governor Mitt Romney, a Republican that many believed would stick to his own party when choosing a replacement, will not have the power to choose a successor if John Kerry won the 2004 Presidential Election. In other words, Kennedy wants to put an end to a law that he helped create in Massachusetts and replace it with a law that he did not previously like because it did not suit him and his political party. Whatever happened to country (or in this case, state) first? According to the New York Times, Kennedy, who has held the seat for 47 years, addressed the 2004 issue in his letter where he stated that he supported the law in 2004 but that he also feels that "it is vital for this Commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election.” For more regarding this story, check out the New York Times article I linked to above.