Ted Kennedy died, and people are already discussing his successor. I don't really like that we've gone straight there, mere hours after his death, but I will contribute a little fuel to the fire, because one of the last things he did was request that Massachusetts change their state legislature, to serve his purposes.
A little background:
In 2004, Massachusetts had a Republican Governor- Mitt Romney. They also had a Democratic Senator, John Kerry, running for Presidential office. In order to deny Romney the chance to choose Kerry's successor, should he have won the Presidency, lawmakers in MA chose to create a law that would require vacancies like these to be filled by "Special Election." These elections are held 145-160 days later, and require an actual vote, to elect a replacement.
Now, these exact same lawmakers are considering revising the law they created, just 5 years ago (oh by the way, for an incredibly self-serving purpose), to accomplish ANOTHER selfish goal! They now want to allow the Governor, who is a Democrat, to choose Kennedy's replacement, so they can keep the Senate beefed up with Democrats during this incredibly formative time, in which we're on the edge of healthcare reform. The current Governor, Deval, is a huge Obama supporter, and would be expected to choose a successor who would help to push through the healthcare bill.
Could we just start something new, here? Could we get our heads on straight, and realize that the people who represent us do not have to be lifetime politicians? Yes, of course it's good to be represented by people who know the law, and know how politics work, but does the government have to be crammed full of them? Could we not seek a suitable balance between those we trust to have our best interests at heart, and those who can help faciliate the goals of the aforementioned? Really, the only benefit to a lifetime politician is that he or she knows the ropes, and knows how to get things done.
They can be our secretaries when we're elected :) We tell them what to do, and they do it!
