* Motorcade to leave at midday
* Crowds begin to form where Kennedy will lie in state
* Massachusetts governor wants to name interim successor
Family members of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy gathered on Thursday for a private mass at the seaside home where the 77-year-old towering figure in Democratic politics died two days ago.
As Boston prepared for three more days of tributes to the patriarch of one of America's most famous political dynasties, state officials took up the question of how quickly they could replace the state's senior senator, who had brain cancer.
Governor Deval Patrick told the Boston Globe that he wanted to honor Kennedy's wish to change state laws to allow him to name an interim senator to hold the post during the approximately five-month period until an election can be held.
Patrick and fellow Democratic lawmakers including Massachusetts Senator John Kerry have said that filling Kennedy's seat quickly will be vitally important as Congress works on overhauling the U.S. healthcare system.
Throughout his 47 years in the Senate, Kennedy advocated healthcare reform, which has become a key initiative of U.S. President Barack Obama. Kennedy's death leaves the Democrats one vote shy of the 60-member super-majority they need to override any attempted Republic filibusters.
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With President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, all the surviving former presidents and many current and former members of Congress expected to attend Saturday's funeral, security will be very tight.
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The Kennedy family gathers in Hyannisport after the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy.
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Showing posts with label Massachusetts Senate Seat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Massachusetts Senate Seat. Show all posts
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Death gives Massachusetts 1st open Senate seat in decades
Former Rep. Joe Kennedy may try to launch a political comeback amid all the Kennedy nostalgia.Rumoured to be the next candidate to take over Ted Kennedy seat.
Former Rep. Joe Kennedy, who held Capuano's seat from 1987 to 1999, may also try to launch a political comeback on the strength of the current wave of emotion and nostalgia. The nephew of Ted Kennedy and son of Robert F. Kennedy, he currently heads Citizens Energy Corp., which provides home heating fuel for low-income Americans.
But the most famous name in Massachusetts politics is, of course, Kennedy. Ted Kennedy's widow, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, has so far expressed no interest in filling the seat, according to sources. Speculation is nevertheless rampant that she might ultimately try to keep the seat in family hands.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick says the focus should be on mourning Sen. Edward Kennedy and that questions surrounding his Senate vacancy can wait.
Interviewed Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America," he acknowledged "a lot of interest" in Kennedy's seat. Patrick declined to discuss names and didn't directly answer as to whether he thought former Rep. Joseph Kennedy might be a candidate.
Under existing law, a special election has to happen within 160 days of a vacancy and the governor has no authority to name an interim senator. There has been talk of changing the law and Patrick supports that. With respect to people interested in the vacancy, he called that "very personal decisions." Patrick said, "We've got so much political talent in Massachusetts ... in that family and beyond."
For the first time in 25 years, the state of Massachusetts has an open Senate seat. Nobody knows who will take it, but virtually everyone agrees that the fight to replace the Bay State's liberal lion is guaranteed to be fierce.
Massachusetts is essentially a one-party state. Democrats control the governorship and every congressional seat and have overwhelming majorities in both houses of the state legislature.
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