Thursday, August 20, 2009

Appointments With Destiny

It’s the middle of August, which normally means Congressmen are relaxing at home or travelling abroad. Instead, this year most of them are touring their districts and states, getting a healthy dose of vox populi at countless town hall meetings. While most of the media focus is on the health care debate, there are still news items slipping through the cracks. Here’s a run-down of a few of the big ones:

Down in Florida, Governor Charlie Crist co ntinues to ponder the difficult decision facing him: he has to appoint someone to replace retiring Senator Mel Martinez for the remainder of his term, and then has to try and take the spot away from them in next November’s election. So far he’s solicited applications from a number of Florida Republican figures, initially approaching former U.S. Attorney Roberto Martinez, former Attorney General Jim Smith and Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart. Diaz-Balart has since removed himself from consideration, and the Governor has added a couple more candidates to his short list: John Delaney, President of University of North Florida and former Mayor of Jacksonville, and state Rep. Jennifer Carroll. The most interesting name on the list is Carroll, as she would become the only African-American Republican in the Senate. It would also mean that the only two African-Americans currently in the Senate will have been appointed. The decision is certainly a difficult one for the Governor. There is political pressure to install a true conservative, in order to beef up his bona fides, and it couldn’t hurt his standing in the Hispanic community if he were to replace a Latino with a Latino. However, this appointment is only going to be a place-holder, so it might be difficult to talk someone into taking a year-long break from their current lives to play Senator in DC – especially with the Republicans so far out of power. Right now it looks like Roberto Martinez is the front-runner, having been interviewed by the Governor earlier this week. We’ll let you know who the pick is once it’s made, which is likely to be before the Senate reconvenes in early September.

Over in Texas, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) has formalized her decision to run for Governor against incumbent Rick Perry (R), the longest-serving chief executive in state history. Hutchison had considered running for the spot in 2005, but decided against it to avoid a divisive primary. While she hasn’t set an exact date for it yet, she’s expected to resign from the Senate sometime in October. That means Texas – after Governor Perry appoints an interim replacement – will be holding a special election to see who will fill out the remainder of Hutchison’s term. So far, the Republican candidates include Weatherford auto dealer Roger Williams, state Sen. Florence Shapiro and Railroad Commissioners Michael Williams and Elizabeth Ames Jones. The Democrats who have announced their interest include former state Comptroller John Sharp and Houston Mayor Bill White. Hutchison wasted no time in beginning her primary campaign, already tearing into her opponent at speaking events this week. It should be a long and entertaining show until the primary votes are cast in March, and it’s doubtful whether it will weaken the GOP’s chances of retaining the Governorship. The Democrats’ current leading candidate is Fort Worth attorney Tom Schieffer, with Garland therapist Mark Thompson also declaring. Of course, there’s always the chance that singer/songwriter/satirist Kinky Friedman will make another run as an Independent; he managed to garner 12% of the vote in his unsuccessful 2006 bid.

Up in Massachusetts, ailing Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has called on state legislators to change existing laws in order to allow the Governor to appoint a temporary replacement in the case of his death. Currently the law states that if the Senator - who has been diagnosed with brain cancer in May of 2008 - were to pass on, a special election would be held 145 to 160 days later. While perhaps spurred on by the recent death of his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, his concern is caused mostly by the fear that his seat will be vacant when the landmark health care bill comes up for a vote later this year. Kennedy has been one of the strongest proponents for health care reform in the Senate for nearly half a century, and missing just one vote in the Democratic caucus could allow the legislation to fall to a Republican filibuster. While his current condition is unknown to the public, the Senator did not travel to Washington to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom last week. No one has publicly expressed interest in succeeding the long-time Senator.

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