Officials in Massachusetts certified Republican Scott Brown's election to the US Senate today, clearing the way for him to be sworn in at approximately 5:00pm this evening. Unfortunately, Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin, a Democrat, could not resist one final political swipe before signing the certification.

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"There has been a diligent effort on behalf of all election officials to honor the rights of Massachusetts' voters," said Galvin. "I think this process is about honoring the rights of the majority. So before I affix my signature to this, I'd like to call on Senator Brown to respect the rights of the majority. I hope we will be able to see an up or down vote on all the nominations of President Obama and that the rights of the majority as they have been respected here are respected in the United States Senate." (source)

This is the same Secretary of State Galvin who, days before the special election won by Senator-elect Brown, talked about potential delays of the certification in spite of his previous actions to speed up the certifications of Democrats who won previous elections in his state. (source)

It's understandable that Democratic officials in a state that has been so blue for so long are having difficulty letting go of what many still call "Ted Kennedy's seat" without at least a few last political attacks. But Mr. Galvin's bringing his personal politics into his official duties by publicly lecturing a man who, by the end of the day, will be a United State Senator is neither understandable nor appropriate.