Health Care

Kennedy's Successor Confirms His Support for Public Option

Brian Beutler | September 28, 2009, 5:48PM

Interim Senate appointee Paul Kirk (D-MA)

There was never much doubt about this, but just to make it official, Sen. Paul Kirk (D-MA) does indeed support a public option.

"Senator Kirk believes there should be a public option to keep costs down and keep insurance companies honest," says his spokesman, Keith Maley. "[D]uring his short service in the United States Senate, he looks forward to seeing what can be done to reach that goal."

It comes as no surprise, of course, that a Massachusetts Democrat replacing Ted Kennedy supports a public option. But this demonstrates that, with Kennedy's seat filled, the 60th vote for health care reform won't necessarily belong to public option skeptic Olympia Snowe--and the question of a public option is technically one for Democrats to answer alone.

MA-SEN

Judge To Rule Before Noon Today On Massachusetts Senate Appointment

Eric Kleefeld | September 25, 2009, 9:41AM

Sen.-designate Paul Kirk (D-MA)

A judge will rule before noon today in the Massachusetts Republican Party's lawsuit to stop the appointment of Sen.-designate Paul Kirk (D-MA) to Ted Kennedy's Senate seat.

Suffolk County Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly heard from both sides this morning. The GOP have argued that Gov. Deval Patrick did not have the constitutional authority to declare the law an emergency measure that would take effect immediately. The Dems have countered that Patrick did in fact have this ability -- and that Republican former Gov. Mitt Romney himself had used it in the past.

Kirk is set to be sworn in by Vice President Biden this afternoon. If Connolly were to suddenly nullify the appointment, that would certainly throw off Democratic efforts to get back to 60 seats -- and if he lets it go ahead, then there will be no time to appeal.

MA-SEN

Massachusetts GOP Challenge To Senate Appointment To Get Hearing -- But No Ex Parte Restraining Order

Eric Kleefeld | September 24, 2009, 3:19PM

The Late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA)

The Massachusetts GOP will get its day in court in their attempt to stop the appointment of Paul Kirk to Ted Kennedy's Senate seat -- but the immediate signs don't point to a win for them.

A spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Superior Court, where the case was filed, has just told me that there will be a hearing tomorrow morning at 8 a.m., presided over by Judge Thomas Connolly.

I asked whether an ex parte temporary restraining order against the appointment had been issued -- which can often happen in time-sensitive election cases, in order to stop a legally questionable outcome before a hearing has been conducted. There has not been any such order at this time. Kirk is set to be sworn in tomorrow.

MA-SEN

Massachusetts GOP Seeking Injunction To Stop Senate Appointment

Eric Kleefeld | September 24, 2009, 2:41PM

Sen.-designate Paul Kirk (D-MA)

The Massachusetts Republican Party has gone to court in an attempt to stop the appointment of Paul Kirk to the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat.

The issue here, the GOP claims, is that Gov. Deval Patrick did not have the constitutional authority to declare the bill empowering him to make an appointment to be an emergency law, thus having it take effect immediately. (For more background on this issue, check out this interview I did a few days ago with a GOP state Senator.)

It's not clear how much chance of success they have. As the Boston Herald points out, Kirk is scheduled to be sworn in tomorrow. The state GOP's filing was made this morning, and so far the courts have not responded. But if the courts do end up taking the case, it could have the effect of delaying the appointment, or perhaps even stopping it altogether.

MA-SEN

Patrick Officially Appoints Kirk As Interim Senator

Eric Kleefeld | September 24, 2009, 11:17AM

Interim Senate appointee Paul Kirk (D-MA)

Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA) has officially announced his appointment of former DNC chairman Paul Kirk, a Kennedy family friend, former Ted Kennedy staffer, and head of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, as interim Senator in the late Kennedy's Senate seat.

"Paul will not seek the open seat in the special election that's coming up in January," said Patrick. "But for the next few months he will carry on the work and the focus of Sen. Kennedy, mindful of his mission, and his values, and his love of Massachusetts."

Sen.-designate Paul Kirk then addressed the media. He reaffirmed that he will not run in the special election, and he thanked the Kennedy family for their support, and discussed his own long-time friendship with Ted Kennedy himself. "To also have the encouragement and support of his family, that I be a voice and a vote for his causes, and his constituents, in the Senate that he loved, is a blessing I can only repay by giving my very best efforts to be the best public servant I can be in the few months ahead."

Kirk also said that he is keeping Kennedy's staff for the duration of his service, maintaining constituent service work that the office had been conducting.

MA-SEN

Report: Ted Kennedy's Sons Ask For Ex-DNC Chair Paul Kirk To Be Appointed To Senate Seat

Eric Kleefeld | September 23, 2009, 12:23PM

The Late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA)

The Associated Press reports that two of Ted Kennedy's sons, Ted Kennedy Jr. and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), have asked Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint former DNC chairman Paul Kirk as interim Senator, once a bill providing for an appointment is signed into law.

Kirk is a long-time Kennedy family friend, who served on Ted Kennedy's staff from 1969-1977 and regularly visited the late Senator before he died. He is currently the chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

A lot of press speculation has centered around former Gov. Mike Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic nominee for president. But this development is a sign that a Dukakis appointment isn't necessarily a foregone conclusion.

MA-SEN

Massachusetts State Senate Passes Appointment Bill For Kennedy's Seat

Eric Kleefeld | September 22, 2009, 2:52PM

The Late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA)

The Massachusetts state Senate has passed the bill to provide for a temporary appointment to Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, voting by a 24-16 margin. Gov. Deval Patrick is expected to name an appointee by the end of the week, putting Democrats back at 60 seats.

Until 2004, state law had provided for a gubernatorial appointee who would hold the office until the next regular Congressional election. State Democrats changed the process to a special election with no appointment in 2004, when John Kerry was running for president and Republican Mitt Romney was governor.

The new law, which was requested by Kennedy shortly before his death, will provide for an appointee of the same party as the departing Senator, who will be expected to not run in the expedited special election. Former Gov. Mike Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic nominee for president, is widely viewed as the favorite for the appointment.

MA-SEN

Capuano TV Ad: He Stood With Ted Kennedy, "Mirrors His Progressive Record"

Eric Kleefeld | September 18, 2009, 9:11AM

Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA)

Rep. Mike Capuano (D-MA) is the first candidate to come out with a TV ad in the special election for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. In Capuano's new ad, he very strongly ties himself to Ted Kennedy's legacy, and puts himself forward as the truly progressive candidate.

"Only one candidate stood with Ted Kennedy against Bush's Iraq War, and mirrors his progressive record," the announcer says. "Mike Capuano: passionate, progressive, supports a strong public health care option, equal marriage, middle class tax cuts, ethics reform, pro-choice, and against the death penalty."

Michael Steele

Steele: "Bad Form" For Obama To Invoke Kennedy At Last Night's Speech

Eric Kleefeld | September 10, 2009, 4:31PM

RNC Chairman Michael Steele

RNC Chairman Michael Steele told the Washington Times that it was "bad form" for President Obama to talk about a letter he received from the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), at last night's speech to Congress.

"I'm sorry, but I just felt a bit unnerved by it, in the sense he just passed," said Steele.

"His wife was still clearly emotional," Steele added. "I just thought that was bad form. We all understand and appreciate the role Sen. Kennedy has played in this debate and the passion he brought to health care. I just thought that was a little bit much for me, so soon after his death, using that as a political tool."

Steele seems to be under the impression that this was all a surprise to Vicki Kennedy -- that it was some kind of coincidence that she'd been invited to sit as a guest of Michelle Obama during a speech on one of her late husband's biggest political issues.

(Via Political Wire)

Barack Obama

Kennedy Letter to Obama: At Stake Is the Character of Our Country

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 9:11PM

At the end of President Obama's speech tonight, he read from a letter Ted Kennedy wrote to him in May, but which was only delivered upon his death.

"For me, this cause stretched across decades," Kennedy wrote. "[I]t has been disappointed, but never finally defeated. It was the cause of my life. And in the past year, the prospect of victory sustained me-and the work of achieving it summoned my energy and determination."

There will be struggles - there always have been - and they are already underway again. But as we moved forward in these months, I learned that you will not yield to calls to retreat - that you will stay with the cause until it is won. I saw your conviction that the time is now and witnessed your unwavering commitment and understanding that health care is a decisive issue for our future prosperity. But you have also reminded all of us that it concerns more than material things; that what we face is above all a moral issue; that at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country.

And so because of your vision and resolve, I came to believe that soon, very soon, affordable health coverage will be available to all, in an America where the state of a family's health will never again depend on the amount of a family's wealth. And while I will not see the victory, I was able to look forward and know that we will - yes, we will - fulfill the promise of health care in America as a right and not a privilege.

I've obtained a copy, which you can read below the fold.

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MA-SEN

Kerry Testifies For Senate Appointment Bill -- Admits Kennedy Made Mistake Pushing For No Appointments In 2004

Eric Kleefeld | September 9, 2009, 3:57PM

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) spoke today before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Election Laws, testifying in favor of the proposed law to empower Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint a Senator to Ted Kennedy's seat until the special election in January.

"This is no time for the people of Massachusetts to not be represented fully in Washington. We need to be in the strongest position possible," said Kerry. "Big decisions are being made now -- not in five months. And important votes are coming now -- not in five months. Massachusetts cannot and should not be underrepresented."

There's a certain irony in Kerry coming before the committee -- the legislation that took away the power of governors to appoint Senators was passed by the state Democrats in 2004, when they thought that Kerry himself might get elected President while Republican Mitt Romney was Governor. The old law had provided for an appointment until the next regular general election, and legislators rejected the possibility of even having an appointment combined with an expedited special election.

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Chris Dodd

Dodd Chooses Not to Take Kennedy's HELP Committee Gavel

Brian Beutler | September 9, 2009, 9:05AM

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)

In a move that comes as a fairly big surprise, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) will reportedly announce today that he is not taking over the chairmanship of the Help, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which became vacant upon the death of Ted Kennedy. Dodd had been expected to take up Kennedy's mantle, leaving a vacancy on the Banking Committee, which he currently chairs.

The HELP chairmanship will instead go to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who is next in line after Dodd. Dodd had been the focus of much attention, because if he had taken the HELP chairmanship then Banking would have gone to Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), whose home state is a major base for the credit-card industry.

To round out the game of musical chairs, Harkin will have to vacate the Agriculture Committee chairmanship, which will likely be filled by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)--the only senior member of that committee who doesn't already have a chairmanship.

Harry Reid

Reid: Kennedy's Death Will Help On Health Care, "He's An Inspiration To Us"

Eric Kleefeld | September 1, 2009, 2:07PM

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was asked by the Reno Gazette-Journal what effect Ted Kennedy's death will have on the health care bill -- and Reid said it would help.

"I think it's going to help us," said Reid. "He hasn't been around for some time," he added, seemingly in response to the (unstated) issue of Kennedy's vote getting lost. Reid also said the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will have a new chairman, either Chris Dodd or Tom Harkin.

"He's an inspiration for us," Reid said of Kennedy. "That was the issue of his life and he didn't get it done."

MA-SEN

Patrick Announces January 19 For Special Election

Eric Kleefeld | August 31, 2009, 3:38PM

Gov. Deval Patrick (D-MA) has announced that January 19 has been set as the date for the special election to replace Ted Kennedy in the United States Senate -- and that he is still pushing for legislation to allow an interim appointment.

The Boston Globe pointed out today that the primary election would be held on December 8 under such a schedule. The winner of the Democratic nomination will be heavily favored to ultimately win the seat.

Patrick acknowledged that the possibility of an interim appointment had been rejected when the law changed in 2004 -- when state Democrats stripped then-Republican Gov. Mitt Romney of the ability to appoint a Senator, in case John Kerry would have won the presidency. But Patrick said he was not there at the time, and is not familiar with all the facts, but that the best way to get the state full representation is through an appointment.

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Ted Kennedy

Massachusetts Groups Urge State Government To Act On Kennedy's Wish For Temporary Successor

Brian Beutler | August 28, 2009, 3:02PM

A coalition of Massachusetts based interest groups and non-profits are putting together a petition urging elected officials to do Ted Kennedy's bidding and change state law to allow Governor Deval Patrick to appoint a temporary replacement for Kennedy as quickly as possible in advance of the special election that will determine his successor.

MassVOTE is leading the effort called We Need Two, which has the backing of SEIU Massachusetts, UFCW, and several other groups.

The petition is addressed to Patrick as well as Speaker of the Massachusetts House Robert DeLeo and Massachusetts Senate President Therese Murray. It warns that "keeping [Kennedy's] seat vacant for months will deny us the chance to finish his work in the Senate."

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Ted Kennedy

Massachusetts Senate GOP Leader Not Ruling Out Legal Challenge Against Appointment Law Change

Eric Kleefeld | August 28, 2009, 1:54PM

State Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei (R-MA)

I just got off the phone with Massachusetts state Sen. Richard Tisei, the leader of the minority Republicans in the state Senate, and he confirmed to me that the GOP is not ruling out a court challenge against any possible new law to quickly fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat through an interim appointment.

Tisei said that when Democrats changed the law in 2004 to provide for special elections instead of gubernatorial appointment -- when John Kerry was running for President and Republican Mitt Romney was Governor -- the GOP offered an amendment to have interim appointments. The Democrats, he said, are all on record shooting it down back then. And Tisei says that Dems can't change the rules to fit the new circumstances of a current vacancy.

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Ted Kennedy

Stephanopoulos: Kennedy Would Have Agreed To Ditch The Public Option

Brian Beutler | August 28, 2009, 11:35AM

Last night, ABC News' George Stephanopoulos appeared on The O'Reilly factor and echoed a growing conventional wisdom.

"It's pretty clear right now that there aren't the votes in the senate to pass a public health insurance option as much as a majority of Democrats in the House would like it," he said. "It's not going to get through the Senate right now and I think that what Democrats may try to do is remind people of another side of the Kennedy legacy. That was Kennedy the compromiser. Kennedy the negotiator. The man who was willing to take a portion, incremental gain even if he couldn't get everything he was calling for."

Both of those ideas--that the Senate will not pass a public option, and that Ted Kennedy would support giving up on it--are pretty deeply seeded in the media at this point. But compare that to Lawrence O'Donnell--chief of staff of the Senate Finance Committee during the Clinton Care years--who says that's all wrong.

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Ted Kennedy

Frank: Appoint Interim Replacement Who Will Promise Not To Run In Mass. Special Election

Rachel Slajda | August 27, 2009, 2:14PM

Rep Barney Frank (D-MA)

Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) said today he advocates appointing an interim replacement for Sen. Ted Kennedy, but wants that person to pledge not to run in a special election for the seat.

"We are going to have an election, that's not in question," Frank said today on MSNBC. "We will have a clean, open, honest, fast election. ... The question is what do you do during the interim period, and I think it makes absolute sense to have someone appointed who will have promised not to run again."

He admitted that the state couldn't legally hold someone to that promise.

"You cannot, I think, constitutionally enforce that, legally. But I believe you can easily find someone who will say, 'Yes, I'll serve for these months, I will vote,'" he said.

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Ted Kennedy

Dingell: Name The Health Care Bill After Kennedy, Too

Brian Beutler | August 26, 2009, 4:46PM

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) and fmr. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA)

Though Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) lost the chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee late last year, he never lost the respect of his colleagues in the House. He was given the honorary title of Chairman Emeritus, and as a lifelong advocate of health care reform, House leaders had planned to ceremoniously name health care reform legislation after him.

With the news of Ted Kennedy's death, though, he says that's an accolade he'd be happy to share. "I want a bill," Dingell insisted to me. "I don't care who it's named after. I have great respect for Teddy I would share any honor I get with him and do so happily."

"You don't count your chickens before they hatch," Dingell warned, "and we have to do a bill before we name it after anybody."

This morning, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV)--the Senate's longest serving member--called for health care reform legislation to bear Kennedy's name.

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Ted Kennedy

Tierney: Teddy Would Pull Me Out Of My "Stiffer Irish" Shell

Brian Beutler | August 26, 2009, 3:13PM

On the eve of his election to Congress in 1996, Rep. John Tierney (D-MA) received a call from Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) congratulating him on his victory, and on the energy he put into the race. Tierney says "it wasn't obligatory. He was just letting us know he cared."

"He wasn't a perfect guy, but he never pretended to be," Tierney says but as he was the sort of person who, despite all of his import, "took the time out of his personal schedule to make the call."

Perhaps that's the memory that will live with Tierney longest, but the two men had many, more spirited encounters.

"Teddy loved to dance and he loved to joke," says Tierney, adding that, by contrast he has "more of a stiffer Irish style." Tierney recalls a number of occasions--but particularly one at a meeting of the Salem Council on Aging--where Kennedy would sing and dance and belly laugh and goad, "Hey Tierney, get out here!" amused to put his colleague on the spot.

Ted Kennedy

Like it or not, Kennedy's Death Will Impact the Health Care Debate--But How?

Brian Beutler | August 26, 2009, 2:32PM

As Josh suggested on the home page earlier today it's futile to completely sequester the historical moment of Ted Kennedy's death from the political moment of the day. Kennedy passed away in the middle of a health care debate he couldn't really shape, but that, more than almost any living politician, he'd helped to engender.

For both personal and political reasons, a great number of Democrats find the notion that health care reform might fail in the wake of Kennedy's death unacceptable. Undoubtedly, just as many Republicans will declare that using Kennedy's memory in the service of passing legislation is inappropriate.

But while these two opposing stances will dominate the headlines, and media figures will breathlessly ask if Democrats or Republicans are politicizing Kennedy's death, the more interesting question will be, How much influence will these two factions have on those who sit on the fence?

Already we're seeing the first signs that Democrats hope Kennedy's death will galvanize the majority, end the squabbling over minutae, and pass legislation that would have made him proud.

Ted Kennedy

Dodd: Teddy's Passing Should Remind People We're Here To Get A Job Done

Brian Beutler | August 26, 2009, 1:31PM

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) was perhaps Ted Kennedy's closest friend in the U.S. Senate. The mens' history together goes back to the days when Kennedy served with Dodd's father, and continued until two weeks ago when, Dodd said today, they had one of their "best talks" about health care. According to Dodd, it was as if Kennedy had never been sick.

On a conference call with reporters this afternoon, Dodd recalled that Kennedy had tried to raise his spirits just a few weeks ago when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer--welcoming him, in Dodd's words "to the cancer club."

Dodd says he hopes Kennedy's death will spur Congress to action on health care and other initiatives. "Maybe Teddy's passing will remind people that we're here to get a job done," Dodd said.

MA-SEN

What Next For Kennedy's Senate Seat: A Long Vacancy -- Or A Law Change And An Appointment?

Eric Kleefeld | August 26, 2009, 1:14PM

Ted Kennedy died before his wish for a change to Massachusetts law could come to fruition, which would empower the Governor to appoint Kennedy's immediate successor. This has sown some confusion over whether the legislature might still change the law, or whether the seat will stay vacant until a special election is held.

As the law now stands, the seat would have to remain vacant for the next 145-160 days -- thus busting the Democrats down to 59 Senate seats -- until a special election can be held. The Democrats would be heavily favored to win that special Senate election.

However, there appears to be at least a theoretical possibility that the seat could be filled sooner than that. In the final weeks of his life, Kennedy had called for the law to be changed to allow Gov. Deval Patrick (D) to make an interim appointment, selecting a caretaker who would represent the state and pledge not to run in the election.

The irony here is that the law in Massachusetts used to be that the Governor would appoint a Senator who would occupy the seat until the next regular Congressional election -- as occurred when John F. Kennedy was elected president, a caretaker was appointed, and then Ted Kennedy won the seat in 1962. Democrats used their veto-proof legislative majorities to pass the new law in 2004, when John Kerry was running for President and Republican Mitt Romney was the Governor at the time.

Now in 2009 -- with the health care debate in the balance this Fall -- that law appears to carry with it a serious unintended consequence.

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Ted Kennedy

Dean: Kennedy Won Over Americans with His Charm and Grace

Brian Beutler | August 26, 2009, 12:00PM

Former DNC Chairman Howard Dean was scheduled to contribute to a health care book club over at TPMCafe today. Instead, he sends over a reminiscence.

"My mother, who was a solid Upper East Side Republican until 2004, once happened to sit next to him at a wedding of a mutual friend," Dean writes. "She had never met him before. I'm sure the exchange was lively, and being a Dean, I doubt my mother gave him much quarter. A week later, a beautiful, kind, and very personal handwritten letter arrived from Ted Kennedy. My mother, like so many other Americans, was hooked by the Kennedy charm and grace."

You can read his entire remembrance below the fold, or at this link.

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Joe Biden

An Emotional Joe Biden Remembers Ted Kennedy

Eric Kleefeld | August 26, 2009, 11:01AM

Vice President Biden just gave a very emotional speech about the passing of his long-time friend, Ted Kennedy:

"You know, Teddy spent a lifetime working for a fair and more just America. And for 36 years I had the privilege of going to work everyday and literally -- not figuratively -- sitting next to him. and being a witness to history every single day the Senate was in session. I sat with him on the Senate floor, in the same aisle, I sat with him on the jUdiciary committee, physically next to him, and I sat with him in the caucuses.

"And it was in that process, every day I was with him -- and this is gonna sound strange -- he restored my sense of idealism and my faith in the possibilities of what this country could do. He and I were talking after his diagnosis, and I said, you know, I think you're the only other person I've met who like me is more optimistic, more enthusiastic, more idealistic, sees greater possibilities, after 36 years than after we were elected. He was 30 years old when he was elected, I was 29 years old. And you'd think that would be the peak of our idealism. But I genuinely feel more idealistic about the prospects for my country today than I have at any time in my life. And it was infectious when you were with him."

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Ted Kennedy

Kennedy As Legislator: "Very Liberal Instincts" Combined With "Practical Sense"

Zachary Roth | August 26, 2009, 10:55AM

Ted Kennedy's greatest legacy was as a legislator in the U.S. Senate. Over 300 bills bearing his name became law, most dealing with the day-to-day social and economic needs of children, families, or the elderly. What made him such an effective legislator?

According to David Rohde, a professor of political science at Duke and an expert on the legislative process, Kennedy embodied "a combination of very liberal impulses with a very practical sense of legislating."

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Ted Kennedy

Galbraith Recalls "Breathtaking" Kennedy Memorial Speech

Brian Beutler | August 26, 2009, 9:57AM

Economist James Galbraith--son of famed economist, and Kennedy-family confidant John Kenneth Galbraith--recalls Kennedy's fond remembrance of his father, who passed away in 2006.

"Kennedy spoke at my father's memorial--and I've just been looking for it.... He read a passage from the Pilgrim's Progress at the end of his remarks. The passage itself was totally breathtaking and the way he read it was even more so."

At that service, Kennedy said Galbraith "meant the world to all of us in the Kennedy family."

"There might not have been a 'New Frontier' without Ken.... In another age he would have been a Founding Father."

You can view a video of that speech--and the entire Galbraith service--at this link.