In Massachusetts, Democratic bureaucrats are laying the groundwork to keep Republican Scott Brown out of the Senate long enough to pass ObamaCare.

The U.S. Senate ultimately will schedule the swearing-in of Kirk’s successor, but not until the state certifies the election.

Today, a spokesman for Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin, who is overseeing the election but did not respond to a call seeking comment, said certification of the Jan. 19 election by the Governor’s Council would take a while.

“Because it’s a federal election,” spokesman Brian McNiff said. “We’d have to wait 10 days for absentee and military ballots to come in.”

Remember, in NY-23′s special election, Nancy Pelosi swore in Bill Owens almost immediately, even before the recount, in order to squeeze ObamaCare through the House. I’m not predicting a Brown win over Democrat Martha Coakley. Massachusetts is one of the safest Democratic states in the country. Nor are we in the business of telling people who to vote for. But if the people of Massachusetts elect Brown, he should be sworn in as soon as possible. If there’s a recount, the swearing-in should wait. If absentee and military ballots would change the outcome, the swearing-in should wait. But political hacks shouldn’t be able to manipulate the timeline based on whether or not they like the voters’ decision.