The senator of Massachusetts, Edward Kennedy, died late Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, after a long struggle with brain cancer. The senator was 77 years old and was called the "Lion of the Senate". Kennedy will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery near the graves of his brothers, who preceeded him in death. Since he served in the army from 1951 to 1953 and because of his congressional service, he is eligible for burial at Arlington (CNN).The family of Kennedy gave this statement to the press: "We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice."
Obviously everyone knows who the Kennedy's are. They've been well known ever since JFK (Edward's brother) took the White House. Most of the Kennedy's were or are involved in politics in some way, and Edward Kennedy was no exception. The liberal Democratic senator served 9 terms, 47 years total. He and his staff wrote more than 300 bills that were enacted into law. Most recently, Kennedy was seen backing Barack Obama as the future president was running for office, until his cancer took over.
But now that Kennedy is gone, who will take his place? A successor must be chosen between 145 to 160 day of a vacancy, according to Massachusetts law. However, Kennedy was pushing this to change just before he died, according to YahooNews. "In a recent letter to lawmakers, Kennedy, who died Tuesday night, said the law should be changed to allow the governor to appoint someone to serve in the Senate during the course of the election — provided that person pledge not to run for the seat" (YahooNews). Unlike most states, a successor to a vacant U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts is chosen by special election, not appointed by the governor.
The actual election must be held either the last two weeks of January or the first week of February. According to MSNBC, one of Kennedy's nephews, former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, and state Attorney General Martha Coakley. If Coakley were elected, she would be the first woman elected to the Senate from Massachusetts. Gov. Deval Patrick is in line to be interim senator for Kennedy.
I can honestly say that I don't follow politics very much, although I wish I could say I did. However, whenever a Kennedy dies, everyone in the country hears about it.
