PRO-IMMIGRANT SEAT UP FOR ELECTION 01/19/10

The Senate seat long been held by Senator Ed Kennedy, who passed away last year, is up for election is in the state of Massachusetts today. The race is between Democrat Martha Coakley and Republican Scott Brown. Normally, a single special state election is inconsequential on a national level. But if Republican Scott Brown wins this election, the Democrats would lose their supermajority and may thwart the efforts of Congress to get health care reform passed.

Both health care reform and immigration reform have been battling for attention. Comprehensive immigration reform legislation has been placed on the “back-burner” until health care reform is “finalized” one way or the other: either passed or put to rest. Both bills – health care reform and immigration reform – are hotly contested as to whether the proposed legislation is the right method of reform. It’s also been questioned whether Congress can effectively take on two major reform bills in the same year.