Republicans Demand Kennedy Replacement Be Sworn In Immediately

Republican House members had stern words for Democrats in Massachusetts and Washington Wednesday amid talk that the winner of the Massachusetts Senate race would not be seated immediately after the Jan. 19th special election to fill the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's seat.

The sitting senator from Massachusetts, Paul Kirk, was named as Kennedy's temporary replacement by Gov. Deval Patrick on Sept. 24 and was sworn-into the Senate the next day. He is not a candidate in the special election.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, a Democrat, said it could take weeks to certify the results of next week's special election. Every day that passes would give Democrats more time to bring health care reform up for a final vote, when Democrats would need all 60 members of their caucus to pass the bill. If Democrat Martha Coakley wins the race, she has said that she will vote for the bill. If Scott Brown, the Republican, wins, he has vowed to vote against it. Kirk has said he will vote for the bill as long as he is still in the Senate.

Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), a senior member of the House Republican cauces, told Politics Daily, "I would say that if the Democrats don't seat him (Brown) immediately, if he wins, then I think that is pretty risky conduct on their part. The American people are watching and this is supposed to be a republic governed by democracy where we're supposed to follow rules and abide by them. What's going on in that race is fascinating and has a great impact on (the health care) legislation."

"Look at the history of what they did before. They switched how you select the interim (senator) so they could affect the vote," said Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas). "We remember that Sen. Kennedy had requested that the law be changed so that that the governor not appoint the senate candidate, and then before his untimely demise ask that it be switched back and they did because of politics. I would certainly hope they wouldn't be that blatantly hypocritical."

The AP notes that Galvin did not wait to certify the results of a 2007 election, when Democratic Rep. Nikki Tsongas' vote was needed to override a veto of then-President George W. Bush. But Galvin's office said that Senate rules, which require the state to certify the election before a senator can take office, mean that he could not do the same after the Coakley-Brown contest.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office said a certificate of election would be necessary to seat either Coakley or Brown. "When there is a certified winner in Massachusetts, the Senate has received appropriate papers, and the vice president is available, the successor to Kennedy/Kirk will be sworn in," Reid spokeswoman Regan Lachapelle told the AP.