Massachusetts law says that an appointed senator remains in office “until election and qualification of the person duly elected to fill the vacancy.” Democrat Senator Paul Kirk was appointed to fill the vacent seat. Tuesdy is the 'election', and if Republican Scott Brown wins, he will meet the age, citizenship, and residency requirements in the Constitution to 'qualify' for the Senate. In other words, Kirk will lose his vote in the Senate after Tuesday’s election in Massachusetts.
Oh, Democrats are going to howl about this- 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, and the Secretary of State for Massachusetts has vowed to delay certification for as long as is illegally possible. Without Kirk’s vote, the Democrats don't have the 60 votes needed to stop a Republican filibuster of Obamacare, and they'd have to seek other options. But 'election' does not mean 'seated,' and 'qualification' does not mean 'certified,' and so like it or not, today is Senator Paul Kirk's last day as a United States Senator.
According to the Weekly Standard:
When Republican John Tower of Texas was elected to the Senate in 1961, he wasn’t certified until April 17. But his pay as a senator began on April 2, the day after his election. Strom Thurmond was elected senator from South Carolina in 1956, succeeding an appointed senator. A resolution introduced by then-Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson established his Senate term to have begun the day after his election, weeks before his certification.
Thanks for your service to our country Paul Kirk- be sure the door doesn't hit you on the way out.
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