Monday, January 18, 2010

Mass. Senate election: how long is the winner's term?

Since it took me some time to find an answer to this, I figure others might be interested. The winner of tomorrow's election will be in office through 2012, completing Ted Kennedy's term that began in 2006. So think of this as close to a three-year Senate term.

I hope Martha Coakley wins. Her weakness reminds me of California Democratic party leaders, ineffectual and insipid. Andrew Sullivan speaks for me on this:

The Republican party right now is largely bonkers. The Democratic party is a lily-livered hackfest of mediocrity.

And I'm no independent. I work politically as a Democrat, believing progressives have to work through what avenues are available to us. But a politics that fails either to engage ordinary people's pains or to inspire their hopes kills democracy.

Should Coakley lose, expect the Democrats in the Senate to become more interested in breaking down the anti-majoritarian features of that body a year sooner than they would have otherwise.

2 comments:

Kay Dennison said...

I hope she wins, too. Sarah Palin likes the guy running against her which raises red flags for me!!!!

naomi dagen bloom said...

Last couple of years I lived in NYC, switched my registration to the Working Families Party. Doing the same here in Oregon because I so want to be part of something that stands reliably for things I believe in.