For a hundred years politicians have been able to bank favors to score Senate appointments during periods of vacancy, but recently the temptation to capitalize on this process has been too strong to bear. Enter Russ Feingold, the charismatic young buck in the video above with a reformers spirit.
Teaming up with Feingold is our other favorite maverick, John McCain, as well as Sen. Durbin (D-Ill) and Rep. Conyers (D-Mich) to introduce an amendment to end the gubernatorial rationing of Senate seats.
The McCain-Feingold camp has been successful before with enacting legislation in an attempt to keep government fair and balanced, but this one is quite a hefty request. The deciding factor, after all, will not be whether the amendment will give adequate power to the people, but how much time and money it will suck out of an already depleted well. Elections are expensive, so chances are, in the end, the decision will remain in the states hands and many will continue to go the appointment route to save money. Not to mention maybe even make some in the process.
Burris, Kaufman, Gillibrand and Bennet are our current appointed Senators who will have to run in the 2010 midterm elections to retain their positions. However, Burris might be pressured into not running by fellow Democrats, and Kaufman has been accused of being a seat holder for when Joe Biden Jr. is ready to inherit the seat. Also, had Judd Gregg of New Hampshire not gone back on his work to join Obamas cabinet, Bonnie Newman would've been included in this line up.
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