Senator John Kerry calls for quick seating of Scott Brown

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: The Washington Post

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator John Kerry on Thursday called for the seating of Republican Senator-elect Scott Brown "as expeditiously as possible."

In meetings with lawmakers in Congress, Brown said he might be sworn in as Massachusetts' first Republican senator since 1972 sometime next week. A senior Democratic aide said that timeframe was possible.

Brown will be the 41st Republican in the 100-seat Senate and he could provide the crucial vote to potentially block President Barack Obama's agenda in the Senate, including healthcare reform.

Opposition to the healthcare legislation was a key issue in Brown's upset victory in Massachusetts on Tuesday, when he won the seat formerly held by the late Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democratic icon.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/21/AR2010012101958.html

[CoffeeCat]

1. I agree with this action...

Maybe we're truly going to try to push meaningful healthcare reform through. Yes, I'm dreaming, but
what if we decided to include a public option and just get it through? Would you want to give
the Republicans more talking points about why this is unfair?

Get the administrative stuff off the table. Seat Brown, and let the games begin.

Otherwise, we're just loading up the Republican attack machine with ammunition.

Let's focus on healthcare and passing good legislation, and not get bogged down
in arguments and side issues that will give the Republicans the upper hand.

[SKKY]

24. There you go again. Being all reasonable and stuff.

[louis-t]

2. You know what? Get it over with, might as well see what

kind of dumbass he really is.

[Demeter]

3. In the Smoking Section

Ninth circle of Hell.

[blm]

4. good...hurry up and make him 1/100 so corpmedia stops breathlessly reporting how he dazzles them.

Palin In a Man Suit.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. All excellent points, especially the Palin observation...

McCain started the "seat him now" banging of the drum yesterday, so the sooner that is silenced, the sooner Mr. Staple In The Navel can fade into the day-to-day.

[karynnj]

16. Though McCain also nonsensically said that MA spoke for the country

Now, he didn't say that last year when Obama got 62% of the vote - or even in 2002, when his then friend, John Kerry, got over 80%.

Can we get McCain to agree from now on that MA decides for the country?

[paulsby]

29. it's a crap observation

right up there with the dumb claims that republicans and conservatism are dead...

we heard that ahistorical myopic crap all the time this past year. how'd THAT work out? just helped the repubs win in NJ, VA and MA. an entitlement attitude based on a false perception

brown is NOT palin. they are both pretty, but so is kerry.

brown is quite smart, an attorney, well spoken, and also not a fundie. he's pro choice, too.

underestimating your opponent is always bad. sun tzu knew it. you don't.

he aint palin.

[rayofreason]

35. Well said. n/t

[groundloop]

7. As fucked up as Senate HCR is, delaying the inevitable will accomplish nothing

except piss off voters even more.

[Rebubula]

6. As always....

...John Kerry shows his class.

We will never know if would have done well as President, but it is freaking obvious that he is an excellent Senator and a good person.

[wisteria]

8. I agree with the call for quick seating, but the idea that he won over the Health Care issue is

nonsense. The media is once again, spinning the results of this election and ignoring some of the real reasons we lost in Massachusetts.

[sabrina 1]

11. According to polls, a huge majority of voters in Mass opposed

the helathcare bill. They have Romneycare there so they've had a chance to see how it actually works. Not a good state to try to sell this corporate give-away.

[Guilded Lilly]

9. I'm with Kerry on this.

Take away the glitter, dull this shallow spotlight and put him in the hardcore game.

.

[azurnoir]

10. I agree with Kerry on this

and the vote on HCR should wait until after Brown is seated, the bill as it is sucks and if the Repubs block it- well we did not lose much and it could be used to hang them in the coming election

[Gin]

12. I predict he will be an embarrassment just like SP

g

[sallyseven]

13. I live in his district

He is dumb aa a
stump. Let him talk and he will sink himself.

[karynnj]

18. Actually, we did lose a lot if nothing is passed

I hope that some of the better House and Senate members take everything done and create something that could pass. It might be informative to look at something like John Kerry's 2004 plan, which was consider excellent for that time when anything would have had to pass a Republican dominated House and Senate. It was estimated to get coverage for (I think) 95% of people.

[LiberalFighter]

14. STFU Kerry. As usual you talk more than you need to.

By law there would be a minimum of 15 days before the election can be certified. That doesn't include the time that the Governor and some other person I don't remember have to sign the election certificate.

There is nothing that allows expediting this procedure.

This would be no different than what happens in most if not all of the other states.

[karynnj]

20. The precedent is that Kennedy was seated immediately

even though the results were not yet certified. The result is not in question, so politically, it hurts to stand on ceremony and make it a story for the next two weeks.

There is likely no one in the Senate less happy about this. Kerry had at least 3 rallies and was with Coakley on the night she lost as well - even though it was he had hip replacement surgery 2 weeks ago and was suppose to be recuperating.

[LiberalFighter]

23. What was the law when Kennedy was seated?

The law has changed in regards to Senate vacancies in Massachusetts.

Are we not suppose to follow the law? Or does that only apply when effects Democrats?

[joeglow3]

28. Just a mere 2 years ago....

Niki Tsongas was elected to the House in a Massachusetts special election. She was seated 1-2 days later so we could get her vote to override Bush's veto of SCHIP.

Thus, while it may satisfy some juvinile urges, it serves NO purpose beyond getting people pissed at is.

[karynnj]

33. Nice catch - and far more relevant than my example

Same state and 2 years ago

[karynnj]

15. He clearly won, so there is no excuse to do otherwise.

Standing on archaic rules and processes to certify what is already certain is silly and gives the Republicans something to credibly attack us with.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

17. It's their "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" moment..."You MUST seat Scott Brown!"

Well, yeah...we're gonna do that. Why are you bringing that up?

:spray:

I was reminded of a classic Bill Murray bit on one of the National Lampoon albums. He used the same voice as his character in "Caddyshack," that drunken / stoned / slurred thing, and it was:

Oh my GOD, there's a LOBSTER loose! Quick, the only way you can REPEL them is with MELTED BUTTER!

So that's basically what the Republicans are doing right now...screaming about an escaped lobster and scrambling around looking for melted butter.

:rofl:

[karynnj]

21. Nice allusion

Fighting them on this gives them a victory.

[AndrewP]

27. Just as the Republicans were classy in giving Al Franken his Senate seat

Brown can wait 15 days

[karynnj]

32. Two wrongs do not make a right - we should be classier

-especially if it makes his relationship with the Democrats and especially the influential SR Senator from his state. I realize that he is a Republican and will be pushed to be as RW as possible, but pushing him there is not needed. We do not need to lose the PR war on this.

[snowshadow]

19. I have to disagree with the lot of you.

Sure we lost in Massachusetts big time, but does that mean we have to lay down and play dead? Did Norm Coleman do that when he lost, No. How about Senator Vitter when he was caught with his pants down and was asked for his resignation, did he step down, No. The list can go on and on with the same results, the Republicans don't give a shit and I personally don't think that we should either. Let's play by the rules like the Board of Elections in Massachusetts stipulate and wait the 10 days for all the votes to come in, even if we already know the outcome. Lets get HCR passed w/o Brown and do it so before it's watered down even more and there isn't anything left to water down.:mad:

[Best_man23]

22. Seating him now would speak volumes

Especially when compared to the months-long stonewalling Sen Al Franken was subjected to by the mouthbreathers (Coleman, et al) in Minnesota.

[Ed76638]

25. If they want Scat Brown, we'll give em' Scat Brown.

We're doing reconciliation anyways.

[SUMMERTREE2]

26. Lieberman now must deliver Republican Senate Votes in order to get special favors

Since Senator Joe Lieberman no longer represents the magical 60th vote there is no need to suck up and offer special favoritism to him of course unless he is able to deliver Republican votes.
:nopity:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. Weird.

Kerry would never steer us wrong....

[ShortnFiery]

31. I can't believe all our democratic "leaders" waiting in line to kiss GOP ASS!

It's embarrassing to watch these GUTLESS WONDERS.

The Senate is so damn OUT OF TOUCH with the American who barely makes ends meet, that they have been DISGUSTING to watch.

IMO, they can shove their upper-class collegiality up their arrogant asses! :grr:

Hey GUTLESS Democratic Senators?!?

[karynnj]

34. It would be stupid to make an issue of this - when Tsongus was seated within 1 -2 days

as was posted upthread. Same situation, same state. This is the right thing to do, doing otherwise would be a Republican PR coup.

Kerry is a class act, a great Democrat leader, and an admirable person.