Rep. Joe Wilson’s loss of self-control during President Barack Obama’s address to Congress could give Senate Democrats a crucial 60th vote as they try to block Republican filibusters this fall. Wilson’s outburst has moved Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature closer to fulfilling Senator Ted Kennedy’s dying wish—to change state law on how his empty seat would be filled. And that could well put Michael Dukakis in the Senate.

Massachusetts, now short one U.S. senator, is weighing whether to return power to the governor to appoint an interim senator until a special election is held in January. As Kennedy, an astute head counter, argued before his death in a letter to state legislative leaders, the change would give the state two votes on crucial Senate legislation over the next five months.