By Kathleen Gilbert
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 25, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Massachusetts Democrat Governor Deval Patrick has appointed Paul Kirk, a Democrat Catholic attorney sympathetic to Sen. Ted Kennedy's health care agenda, to fill in the late Senator's seat in Washington until a special election can be held in January.
Kirk was a longtime friend and advisor to Sen. Kennedy, with whom associates say Kirk shared a nearly identical political philosophy.
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid hailed the appointment, saying Kirk “embodies the values of Senator Kennedy.” Kirk has never before held public office.
Earlier this month Massachusetts lawmakers complied with a request by Kennedy, who died August 25 of brain cancer, to change state law to allow the governor to appoint an interim senator.
Republican leaders blasted the arrangement, noting that Massachusetts Democrats had prevented former Republican governor Mitt Romney from choosing a replacement had Sen. John Kerry won his 2004 bid for the presidency.
“What the totally Democratic-controlled Massachusetts state government should have done is just be honest about it,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said at a news conference yesterday, according to the Boston Globe.
“They should have written a law this way: If there's a Republican governor, there's no appointment. And if there's a Democratic governor, there is an appointment,” he added.
The Massachusetts Republican Party's lawsuit against the appointment was thrown out by a Suffolk Superior Court judge today.
Following Kennedy's death, the U.S. Senate Democrats were left without a supermajority to guard against a filibuster by Republicans opposing President Obama's health care overhaul.
The legislation has met with stiff opposition from pro-life leaders, as both House and Senate versions are open to including abortion in a standard benefits package, which would be defined under the pro-abortion Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Kennedy, who earned a 100% pro-abortion rating from NARAL, was a crucial force behind and symbolic champion of the legislation.