Feingold: End the Senate Appointment Circuses

Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisc.) said Sunday he will introduce a constitutional amendment seeking to end gubernatorial appointments filling vacancies in the Senate.

“The controversies surrounding some of the recent gubernatorial appointments to vacant Senate seats make it painfully clear that such appointments are an anachronism that must end,” Feingold said in a statement announcing the amendment.

The “recent appointments” almost surely refer to Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s (D) selection of Sen. Roland Burris (D) to fill the Senate seat vacated by President Obama in Illinois, only after having been accused of trying to sell the seat for monetary or political remuneration. New York Gov. David Paterson’s (D) appointment of Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) to replace Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Senate after weeks of political drama has also aroused scrutiny.

“I plan to introduce a constitutional amendment this week to require special elections when a Senate seat is vacant, as the Constitution mandates for the House, and as my own state of Wisconsin already requires by statute,” Feingold added.

The Wisconsin Senator is chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, which under Feingold’s leadership will hold hearings on the proposed amendment.