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.
