13th
Is the open Senate seat really open to the people of MA?
The Senate debate on HC is still stuck in the mud as a result of large groups of House Democrats not liking many of Senate provisions from the Christmas eve passage in the Senate. The main provisions in contention are the abortion language and the 40% tax on “Cadillac health policies”. These are health insurance policies that most labor union workers have and many state employees have had for many, many years. With this in mind, all eyes are now turning to the MA special election for the U. S. Senate seat which occurs Jan. 19, 2010. When the Governor of the commonwealth appointed former aid Paul Kirk, the President was quoted in an email as saying: “Paul Kirk’s appointment…………makes him an excellent, interim choice to carry on his work until the voters make their choice in January.” You see, when the voters of MA make their choice in a few days, they will either return to the Senate the 60th vote needed to pass HC in the Senate, or send to the Senate a Senator who has said he will vote to oppose the current HC bill making its way thru Congress. Now as the race for Senator Kirk’s seat tightens in the remaining few days, Senator Kirk was quoted this week as saying he will stay in the Senate to vote on the HC bill, notwithstanding the election on Jan. 19, 2010. But what seems to be even more bazaar is the Secretary of the commonwealth’s statement that seems to lay the groundwork for a delay in seating the new Senator, even before the results are in from the voters in MA. Brian NcNiff, a spokesman from William Galvin’s Sec. of the commonwealth’s office said: “Because it’s a federal election, we’d have to wait 10 days for absentee and military ballots to come in.” Another source from the same office said the election won’t be certified until Feb. 20. HUMM, the same officer of the commonwealth of MA, Mr. Galvin, certified another federal election back in Oct. of 2007 in just two days. This was the special election of Martin Meehan’s seat in the House of Representatives. Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) was sworn in at the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 18, 2007, just two days after winning a special election. She was then able to vote to over ride President Bush’s presidential veto of the expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. HUMM…the same officer of the commonwealth of MA, Mr. Galvin, was found in 2008 to have violated the Uniformed & Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act when his office failed to report and collect the number sent and the number returned of absentee ballots from overseas Military personnel registered to vote in Massachusetts. After an investigation by the Justice Department, a settlement was reached to force Galvin to comply with the law. HUMM…the same officer of the commonwealth of MA, Mr. Galvin, has announced that he is running for the office of Attorney General in MA. This is the office which is held now by one of the two candidates in the special election for the MA U.S. Senate seat. Given the statement made by the sitting Senator that he will stay in the seat long enough to vote for the HC bill in the Senate, and given the political aspirations of the man who has the responsibility to cerify the paperwork that permits the U.S. Senate to swear-in the new Senator and given the contradiction of his own office policy when it is politically expedient to do so, I wonder if anyone but me sees a conflict of interest brewing in MA.
