The Massachusetts legislature appears to be
inching toward approving a bill that would give Gov. Deval
Patrick the power to appoint an interim successor to the late
Sen. Ted Kennedy. That power was stripped from the governor in
2004 when Beacon Hill Democrats feared Mitt Romney would appoint
a Republican to the U.S. Senate in the event that John Kerry was
elected president. Local Democrats may be succumbing to national
pressure to restore the power now that it leaves Senate Democrats
short a critical vote on issues like health care.