As a Beacon Hill vote on the push to allow Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint an interim U.S. Senator draws closer, President Obama's political committee sent another mass e-mail urging constituents to demand passage of the bill.The Herald reported today that the vote, scheduled to happen tomorrow, has a majority in both the House and the Senate. "Before they vote, all your state representatives need to hear loud and clear the support we all share for an interim Senate appointment," wrote John Spears, Massachusetts director of Obama's political committee Organizing for America.
Lawmakers in a 17-member committee are expected to endorse the legislation tonight and send it to the House floor. The move comes as U.S. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus released a detailed sketch of the $856 billion health care bill.
State legislators were originally leery of the push because they voted in 2004 to strip former Gov. Mitt Romney of his appointment power. The political move was done to prevent Romney from appointing a Republican in the U.S. Senate if Sen. John Kerry was elected president.
Critics have called the new law another political power grab and Senate Republicans plan on using legislative maneuvers to stall the bill.