GOP Attorneys: Mass Dem Senator Kirk Can't Vote After Tuesday

Teddy Kennedy’s replacement, Senator Paul Kirk, will no longer be able to vote after Tuesday’s election and therefore cannot be the 60th vote on Obamacare.
The Weekly Standard reported:

Appointed Senator Paul Kirk will lose his vote in the Senate after Tuesday’s election in Massachusetts of a new senator and cannot be the 60th vote for Democratic health care legislation, according to Republican attorneys.

Kirk has vowed to vote for the Democratic bill even if Republican Scott Brown is elected but not yet certified by state officials and officially seated in the Senate. Kirk’s vote is crucial because without the 60 votes necessary to stop a Republican filibuster, the bill will be defeated.

This would be a devastating loss for President Obama and congressional Democrats. The bill, dubbed ObamaCare, is the centerpiece of the president’s agenda. Brown has campaigned on becoming the 41st vote against ObamaCare.

But in the days after the election, it is Kirk’s status that matters, not Brown’s. Massachusetts law says that an appointed senator remains in office “until election and qualification of the person duly elected to fill the vacancy.” The vacancy occurred when Senator Edward Kennedy died in August. Kirk was picked as interim senator by Governor Deval Patrick.

Democrats in Massachusetts have talked about delaying Brown’s “certification,” should he defeat Democrat Martha Coakley on Tuesday. Their aim would be to allow Kirk to remain in the Senate and vote the health care bill.

But based on Massachusetts law, Senate precedent, and the U.S. Constitution, Republican attorneys said Kirk will no longer be a senator after election day, period. Brown meets the age, citizenship, and residency requirements in the Constitution to qualify for the Senate. “Qualification” does not require state “certification,” the lawyers said.

In related news… Senator Teddy Kennedy’s hometown paper The Cape Cod Times endorsed Scott Brown this week.

#1 January 17, 2010 at 1:29 pm
JenBee commented:

“But based on Massachusetts law, Senate precedent, and the U.S. Constitution, Republican attorneys said Kirk will no longer be a senator after election day, period.”

Yeah well these things have not stopped Dems from stealing power before, and it certainly won’t stop them now. The spit on the Constitution, they make their own precedent, and they change Massachusetts law to suit whatever need they have to fill.
#2 January 17, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Winston commented:

US DemoNRats remind me of the Islamic Mullahs of Iran.
#3 January 17, 2010 at 1:39 pm
notsurprised commented:

Time for pitch forks, tar and feathers…….
#4 January 17, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Dell commented:

Harry Reid will do just as he damned well pleases – the Constitution, Laws, Rules and Regulations be damned. And just who’s going to stop him?

#5 January 17, 2010 at 1:56 pm
wildman commented:

The democrats have to be the most loathsome political party. They really make me sick.
#6 January 17, 2010 at 1:58 pm
sandy commented:

Well well if Kirk can’t vote after Tuesday no wonder Reid is talking reconciliation with 51 votes again. How do you spell Relief — Defeat Coakley and Obama’s Healthcare Kill Bill.
#7 January 17, 2010 at 2:00 pm
sandy commented:

This is getting to be more and more like a Road Runner/Wylie Coyote cartoon.
#8 January 17, 2010 at 2:04 pm
sandy commented:

I don’t think that Harry Reid will do as he pleases. If, God Willing Scott Brown wins the tide of Democrats will turn against this bill. How many of them are going to be happy to spend more time with their families? THIS IS MASSACHUSETTS — it ain’t supposed to happen here.
#9 January 17, 2010 at 2:06 pm
sandy commented:

Stay positive — everything the Dems are threatening now is a bluff in order to try to depress the vote.
#10 January 17, 2010 at 2:23 pm
jainphx commented:

Constitution? Whats that? Rules and precedents! There only for those called Republicans, Demoncraps are never affected.
#11 January 17, 2010 at 2:36 pm
jainphx commented:

Wait a minute, we all know that Demoncraps never have to follow the law or precedent.
#12 January 17, 2010 at 2:37 pm
jainphx commented:

Why wont my posts go through?
#13 January 17, 2010 at 2:39 pm
jainphx commented:

Demoncraps don’t have to follow laws or precedents, only us riff raff.
#14 January 17, 2010 at 3:14 pm
davidr commented:

Sandy: “Stay positive — everything the Dems are threatening now is a bluff in order to try to depress the vote.”

Ironically, even depressing the vote is a bad move for the Dems. All the analysis shows that a depressed turnout would only increase Scott Brown’s edge in the polls!
#15 January 17, 2010 at 3:28 pm
hermie commented:

Delaying certification was the same ploy attempted with Roland Burris when he took Obama’s old Senate seat. His appointment was another shady deal made by the impeached IL Governor. Of course, there was nothing that could be done other than criminal charges, which were never pursued by the Attoenry General or the US Attorney.
#16 January 17, 2010 at 3:32 pm
swift boater commented:

I am under the impression that the Senate has the final say on its members, not the voters. If the Senate refuses to recognize someone they don’t have to. It has happened in close races but who is to say this crew wont just toss the whole vote out and keep Kirk ad infinitum?

I am surprised that the atty’s don’t know this psssst, they do). I am sure they are just putting this out there as an opening salvo.
#18 January 17, 2010 at 4:51 pm
BarbaraS commented:

You would think that Kirk would look up the law before he opens his mouth but this is just a spoiler. He hopes to turn voters for this issue away from Brown.
#19 January 17, 2010 at 5:02 pm
jonyjoe101 commented:

I only have one thing to say “dead people aren’t allowed to vote either” but they seem to vote in every election. The democrats count on the dead vote in close races.

Who is going to deny Kirk from voting? Pelosi = no, obama =no, supreme court=no. He is an elite, rules don’t apply to him.