Lynch has also jumped into a special election against a Kennedy in the past; in 2001 he entered a congressional race despite word that Matthew Maxwell Taylor "Max" Kennedy was planning to run. In the end, Kennedy stayed out and Lynch ended up in Washington.
Lynch likely won't be afraid of a Kennedy this time, either. As for his opinion of changing state law to allow an appointed temporary successor, Lynch chose to stay neutral. Asked about it prior to Kennedy's death, the congressman responded with a statement: "I have no comment on the recent attempt to change the legislation."
What will happen with the proposal, and with the selection of the Bay State's next senator, remains hard to predict at this stage. After all, we're talking about the first open Senate seat in a generation colliding with the end of the Kennedy era. While everybody's talking about it, what might actually happen is anybody's guess.
To read the "Talking Politics" blog, go to thePhoenix.com/talkingpolitics. David S. Bernstein can be reached at dbernstein[a]phx.com.
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