Paul Kirk has been named to replace the vacant US Senate seat of the late Ted Kennedy. Kirk will take this seat as an interim until January 2010 when a special election will take place. This appointment will give Democrats the crucial 60th vote in the Senate.(CNN) -- Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick named Paul G. Kirk as the interim U.S. senator from Massachusetts on Thursday. Kirk will fill the U.S. Senate seat left empty by the death of former Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Patrick said Kirk will begin serving immediately.
"[Kirk] shares the sense of service that so distinguished Sen. Ted Kennedy," Patrick said.
Kirk will not seek the open seat in January's special election, Patrick said, "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."
Primaries to fill the seat for the remaining three years of Kennedy's six-year term are set for December 8, while the general election will take place on January 19.
Kirk said the appointment to the Senate seat is a "profound honor" that he accepts with "sincere humility."
"During our years together, I was personally privileged to have had Sen. Kennedy's friendship, his trust and his confidence," Kirk said. "He often said that representing the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the Senate of the United States was the highest honor that he could possibly imagine. And it's certainly nothing I imagined, but it will be my highest honor as well."
Kirk said he expected to be sworn in on Friday. Link
So who is Paul Kirk? He is a 71yo attorney (graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School) and had been a longtime senior aide to Ted Kennedy. His appointment to fill Kennedy's seat did not disappoint. Kirk was also a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee between 1985 -1989.
Today, he is the chairman of the Board of Directors for the JFK Library Foundation and the Co-Chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debates.
Already the Republican Senatorial Committee Executive Director, Rob Jesmer is complaining.
The appointment has nothing to do with principle and everything to do with politics.By naming another Democrat to fill the seat, the Democrats would get another vote for the health care legislation.
Well, Duh! Is this any surprise to anyone?
It is Massachusetts. You have a Democratic Governor, Deval Patrick, seeking to fill a vacant senate seat formerly held by a Democrat.
Is this so over-the-top political to replace the seat with another Democrat?
If the parties were reversed, I would expect a Republican Governor replace a vacant seat formerly held by a Republican - with a Republican. Not brain science, not complicated and it is logical. Why Jesmer thinks this is "political", is just being a nonsense cry baby!
So Jesmer, stop crying and choke it up.
Kirk is only interim for a few months. You will have a new election where your Republican buddy, Scott Brown will run for the seat.
