Commonwealth No Longer Aghast

(Opinion alert)

Remember that last post where I praised Deval Patrick's transit plan? Remember how astounded you were when you realized that his plan called for reduction of government agencies? Well, you can calm back down--things have returned to normal.

According to the Boston Globe, Deval Patrick is considering changing Massachusetts law to allow the Governor to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy rather than the people by a vote. Why? Because he feels like it.

Senator Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with brain cancer and Senator John Kerry may be accepting a new job in the Obama administration soon. Therefore, there is a legitimate concern that both of these positions will need to be filled in current months. However, this does not give the Governor the right to change the law for his own convenience.

This particular law has a history of being changed at the whim of the Democrats.

In 2004, Democrats in the legislature created a law under which an empty Senate seat is filled by vote rather than by appointment. The reason for this? John Kerry was on his way to the presidency and the Democrats (rightly!) feared that Mitt Romney would appoint one of his Republican buddies.

At least this law brought the decision back to the people. The law should remain the same. No governor should have the power to appoint a U.S. Senator whos job is to represent their voters.

Do we really want to allow whoever is in power to change the laws so it is convenient for them to do whatever they want?