Video: Ted Kennedy's Senate seat should be filled sooner rather than later

Senator Kennedy's office should be filled quickly.  AP Photo Evan Vucci

It has only taken days for controversy to follow Ted Kennedy in death just like it did in life.  A political battle is brewing over how quickly the Senate seat held by Kennedy should be filled with Democrats urging a quick replacement while Republicans urging more patience.

Currently the law in Massachusetts states the U.S. Senate seat should be filled by a special election at least 145 days after the seat is opened up.  Waiting this long would deprive Democrats of a crucial vote in the health care reform battle for the next five months.  This is why Ted Kennedy himself requested the law be changed before his death so that the Governor could appoint a temporary filler in his seat until a special election is held.  The governorship and legislature in Massachusetts is currently dominated by Democrats so a quick-fill would undoubtedly benefit Democrats.  Republicans meantime oppose the measure as partisan and point out the fact that Democrats opposed such measures when Mitt Romney, a Republican, was Governor of the state in 2004.

I for one believe that a Senate seat should be filled quickly regardless of the party that benefits.  Any of my Republican readers can certainly call me out on this position should I contradict myself when future seat openings occur.  It simply makes sense to fill a Senate seat quickly rather than waiting months as the current Massachusetts law prescribes.

First and foremost waiting for a seat to be filled effectively disenfranchises a large population for a prolonged period of time.  By waiting for a special election 6,497,967 Massachusetts citizens will be deprived of a full representation in the Senate.  That represents a full 2.3% of the overall U.S. population lacking full Senate representation.  Furthermore, these citizens will be deprived of this vote in the Senate during one of the most crucial legislative debate of the last decade when health care reform is on the floor.

Republicans have a right to be upset regarding the Democratic hypocrisy on this issue from 2004.  However, continuing the practice of disenfranchising citizens does nothing to solve this problem.  By waiting months to fill Ted Kennedy's seat the people of Massachusetts will have been lacking full representation in the Senate for a large period of time over the last five years.

Furthermore, the opening of a Senate seat has become a common phenomenon that will continue to take away representation from citizens if seats are left open for long period of time.  The failing health of Senators like Ted Kennedy and the political rise of people like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will continue to leave Senate seats open in the future.  What is needed is not a system where these seats are left open for a months but instead a unified system where the seat is temporarily filled until an election can be held.  A law such as the one Senator Kennedy proposed would allow citizens to be represented until they can vote for their new, permanent U.S. Senator.