Cape & Islands News

Who is waiting in the wings?

UPDATE: On Thursday it was widely reported that Mr. Kennedy wished that his second wife, Vicki, could replace him as the United States Senator from MassachusettsIs there yet another chapter to "Camelot"?
The game of politics continues

By Walter Brooks

As the senior US Senator from Massachusetts begins a fourth day in Mass General Hospital in Boston with the announcement that he has a malignant brain tumor, it was inevitable that speculation on his possible successor would begin.


Among the Republicans mentioned as possible candidates for the GOP nod should Mr. Kennedy retire are two former Governors affectionately known as Mitt & Muffy. cctoday photo by Pat BrooksMr. Kennedy will hopefully return to reasonably good health for a 76-year-old, overweight male with a history of health problems stretching back to a plane crash in 1964, and there is every possibility he will decide to stay in the Senate for the rest of the year, but someday soon there will be a special election for his US Senate seat.

Hoisted on their own petition

What is ironic about the present situation is the fact that a Democratic-controlled Beacon Hill took away the Massachusetts Governor's prerogative to make interim US Senate appointments back in 2003 when Senator John Kerry appeared to be a shoo-in for President in the '04 elections - the Boston Pols didn't want to let Republican Governor Mitt Romney name his replacement for the two years remaining in Kerry's senate term at that time.

Who would Patrick have picked?

Had the law not been changed, Democratic Governor Deval Patrick could make such an interim appointment today. His choice would have been fodder for the press for weeks, and this reporter thinks he would have named Congressman McGovern who was Patrick's earliest supporter in Massachusetts Congressional Delegation.

My second guess would have been Congressman Barney Frank.

Who would run in a Special Election?

Might there still be a "Senator Kennedy" here after Ted? Other s include nephew, former Rep. Joseph Kennedy II, who is sitting on about $2 million in leftover campaign funds or one of the senator's sons, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., or Edward Kennedy Jr.But if Edward Moore Kennedy chooses to retire after his hospitalization, there would have to be a special election called for the post. Were he to resign or die in office, state law requires a special election for the seat no sooner than 145 days and no later than 160 days after the vacancy occurs.

If there were a special election with the necessary primaries, one assumes Ted Kennedy might wish  that another member of the clan take his place.

In that case the Democratic contenders who  would probably include Congressmen Jim McGovern and Edward Markey and ex-Congressman Marty Meehan, and every other hungry Democrat (in a Special Election they wouldn't have to give up their present job unless they won) would have to fight Ted's choice, a formidable task.

My own favorite "dark horse" is Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg who many think is the only decent member of the clan, but insiders suggest that it might be time once again to roll out Robert F. Kennedy's eldest son "Call Joe 4-Oil" Kennedy.

How about an "Independent" like Christy Mihos?
One of Cape Cod's favorite sons is a natural to replace Mr. Kennedy. Christy Mihos ran a great race for the Governor's slot in '06 earning the respect and admiration of every other candidate except Kerry Healey. 

He could return to the GOP or run again as an Independent and he would certainly beat either Joe Kennedy or any of the probable Republican candidates including MS Healey who i9s also mentioned as a possible candidate.

Not that it matters, but what about the GOP...

Who the Republicans would pick in this state during this particular time is most probably an exercise in futility and naiveté.

Since there are already two Republicans contesting for the GOP nomination to oppose John Kerry in November, one would expect both candidates, Jeff Beatty of Harwich and Jim Ogonowski of the North Shore, to vie for the open seat instead.

But also look for Mitt Romney to make a second run for that seat - after all, he did better than most in his previous run against Ted for the job in 1994. Back then Romney won the Massachusetts Republican Party's nomination for U.S. Senate after defeating businessman John Lakian in the primary. Some early polls showed Romney close to Senator Kennedy. One Boston Herald/WCVB-TV poll taken after the September 20, 1994 primary showed Romney ahead 44 percent to 42 percent.

When Republicans won around here

There was a time when Democrats and Independents routinely voted for Republicans like Frank Sargent, Elliot Richardson and Ed Brooke.

The first two are gone, but I wish the last Massachussetts Republican US Senator, Ed Brooke, was about twenty years younger (he'll be 90 next year).

He's better than them all.