Who’s the Senator?

It is funny how, the further away we get past the election, the more U.S. Senate seats become open! I remember Bush in 2000 picking for his Cabinet losing candidates Michigan’s Spencer Abraham (lost to Debbie Stabenow) and Missouri’s John Ashcroft (lost to dead Governor Mel Carnahan). So that didn’t involved open seats to be filled. But now, other than the never-ending recount in Minnesota between Al Franken and Norm Coleman, there are a few open seats due to Obama’s Cabinet selections and his (and his running mate’s) election.

--In Illinois, we have the scandal whereby Governor Blagojevich is being impeached, investigated, and accused of selling Obama’s open seat.

--In Delaware, Vice-President-Elect Biden’s seat will be filled by a relative unknown, with the “idea” that his son, currently serving in the military in Iraq, will come back to reclaim it for the Biden name in the 2010 special election.

--Hillary Clinton’s New York seat appears to be headed, barring any unforeseeable developments, for JFK’s daughter Caroline. Considering that the senator she would be replacing had no elected political experience when she won it in 2000, I consider discussions about her “inexperience” somewhat bogus.

--Ken Salazar, the Colorado senator who will be Interior Secretary, is vacating his seat as well.

All the above seats that have opened due to Obama’s victory should be kept Democratic, since all of those states’ governors (with the authority to appoint the replacements) are also Democrats. Of course, who knows what Rod Blagojevich is plotting to do over in Illinois!

As for the Minnesota race, it looks as if we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty of special committees legally designated to count challenged ballots. At this writing, Franken has about a forty vote lead over Coleman. It looks, right now at least, as if Franken may have the upper hand. But legal challenges from the eventual “losing” side are almost certain to delay the swearing-in of the “winner” in January.