The Massachusett's Kennedy Conundrum

With the passing into ancestry of Senator Edward Kennedy, a critical void has been created in the United States Senate. Republicans are playing pure politics when they suggest that this is NO time to talk about his replacement--because what they don't say is that NO time is appropriate in their playbook. I will step out of the pack of reverent apoliticism and say this; the BEST way to honor one of this nation's consummate politicians is to speak about the political future of his very and deeply vested seat. I do so here with reverence and without apology.

The IDEAL: Massachusetts deserves a full compliment of senators, which reflect the state's progressive majority ethos at a time when every senator matters to the nation as a whole.

The REAL: Because the majority of the citizens elected progressive Democrats to make their laws, those elected officials created a scheme to protect their interests from the possibility of being represented by a conservative appointee sent to the senate by a former Republican governor.

How to proceed? What's the bottom line? Here's my perspective: The people of Massachusetts elect legislators whom they feel will protect and promote their interests. The law to deny former Republican Governor Mitt Romney the ability to appoint a conservative politician to the Senate did that. And now their imminent reversal of that law simply does the same thing: it represents the will of the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. You can dislike it, you can pooh-pooh it, but it ultimately boils down to something South Carolina's Republican Senator Lindsay Graham, most recently reiterated during the confirmation hearings of Sonya Sotomayor to the Supreme Court: "Elections have consequences. Period."

So I predict that Massachusetts governor Duval Patrick is about to have the opportunity to appoint Senator Kennedy's replacement, and this is my suggestion. Appoint someone who will on-face commit to only fulfill the five months between their appointment and the special election. Appoint someone who will exemplify the legacy of Senator Kennedy's life of service. Appoint someone who represents Senator Kennedy's commitment to diversity and justice.

Therefore, APPOINT the retired Suffragan Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America, the Right Reverend Barbara Harris. A black woman of impeccable progressive credentials, whose life's mission has been to serve all of the people of Massachusetts without prejudice in the pursuit of a more perfect union, with liberty and justice for all.