"There is nothing more sacred in a democracy than its election laws. They are what gives people confidence that their government is the servant of the people, not the master. Election laws are not meant to perpetuate the power of people in government. They should never be changed on a whim, or when it suits the convenience of the political party in power at the time. It is the responsibility of those of us in government to protect the integrity of the election laws. If our laws are seen as serving a partisan interest, this perception can destroy public trust in our system. The law must treat all political parties and candidates equally without discrimination or favoritism.
Sadly, that is not the case with this bill.
I think it's time for someone to tell the truth here. What's really going on is the national Democratic Party wants a rubber stamp in Washington. There are some important votes coming up in the U.S. Senate on issues like healthcare reform, cap and trade and immigration reform. White House aides and congressional leaders have been burning up the phone lines to lobby for this bill. The reason is simple: they need someone in the U.S. Senate to vote the way they want them to vote on these issues, and not necessarily in the interest of the people of Massachusetts. They want a "yes" vote on healthcare reform, even if that means higher taxes and a new public insurance option that means more government involvement in our lives. They want a "yes" vote on cap and trade, even if it will raise energy costs on the average family in this country by $1,761 a year. They want a "yes" vote on immigration reform, even if it means amnesty for illegal aliens.
Five years ago, the Democrats in the Legislature took away from a Republican governor the power to appoint a senator in the event of a vacancy. Now that there's a Democratic governor, they want to restore that power. It's impossible to escape the conclusion that the law is being manipulated to give one political party a strategic advantage over another. It's time we stopped playing political games. This bill does not strengthen our democracy; it cripples it. I hope it is defeated."
