C'mon Safi

Said it last time.  If you're just going to link an article, make a comment.  Blockquote something from the article.  I mean, you want to have a discussion about this, give us something to discuss.  

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by: JeremiahTheMessiah @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 at 20:20:26 PM UTC

I don't mean to sound prissy

But if you didn't like my post, why comment on it? Second, and IMO less importantly, I don't know how to block quote. I'm sure its not difficult but I've never cared enough to find out how.

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by: safi @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 at 23:08:35 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

There's a difference between a comment and a diary, that's why I mention it

Blockquoting is simple, I had to learn this, and I enjoy passing the information down.  
(blockquote) blah blah blah words here (/blockquote)

Replace () with <> and the magic happens.  It is a means for better provoking discussion.  Such as: http://thehill.com/leading-the...

Rep. Pete King (R) said Monday that the appointment of Caroline Kennedy to New York's open Senate seat would push him further toward a run for the seat in 2010.
...
"If anything, it makes me more definite that I want to run," King said. "I don't think anyone has any right to a New York Senate seat, or anyone has any claim on it because of their family name."

Anyone concerned about a matchup between King and Kennedy?  It would be nice of Patterson to bait King into a race so we could pick up his seat.  I don't doubt Kennedy's fundraising ability or political connections.  

Referring to the article you linked here...

If appointed, Ms. Kennedy would fill the seat once held by her uncle, Robert F. Kennedy.

Ms. Kennedy has been making calls this morning to alert political figures to her interest.

Do you guys think political allies of Caroline's can win over Patterson's favor on her behalf?  It would certainly be an institutional boost to his re-election bid, get the Kennedy political team in New York for statewide Democrats + Schumer's re-election should be unbeatable across the board.  

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by: JeremiahTheMessiah @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 at 23:37:40 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

What is Governor Paterson's problem?

Why would he just give away a Senate seat for free?  It makes so much more sense to attempt to shake down powerful people like the President-elect and the richest man in the world in order to gain financially from an open Senate seat.

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by: ChadInFL @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 at 22:24:24 PM UTC

And now Chris Kennedy in Illinois...

His name is being floated as a possible Quinn appointee... With Salazar apparently leaving the Senate, it looks like we'll soon have more Kennedys than Hispanic and African-American Senators combined.  

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by: LeftistAddiction @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 at 22:51:14 PM UTC

Just imagine

How confusing it would have been had John Kennedy won in Louisiana!

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by: James L. @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 at 23:00:32 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

And Mark Kennedy

Won in Minnesota.

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by: safi @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 at 23:06:06 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That wouldn't have been confusing

We could've called them "Douchebag 1" and "Douchebag 2" to make it easier on ourselves.

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by: adam.kretz @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 at 23:52:59 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

We would have

A whole new caucus in the Senate - the Kennedy Caucus. It would have more votes than the Senate African-American caucus and the Senate Latino caucus combined!

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by: mkpowers @ Tue Dec 16, 2008 at 06:58:18 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

One senator is excited about the possibility of Caroline Kennedy getting to the US Senate

"I hope she is interested in the Senate, I would love to serve with her."

Reid said he first met Kennedy during the veep vetting process this fall.

"She's a wonderful person," he added.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/...

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by: JeremiahTheMessiah @ Mon Dec 15, 2008 at 23:45:26 PM UTC

Am I the only one...

...who think this would be awful?

Didn't she always ask for privacy to raise her family, shun politics, avoid everything the family political legacy was about?  And when its an appointment, shouldn't qualifications count? (I agree with most people on here though that in an election the voters get to decide what counts).

She has done nothing really.  I appreciate her focus on the arts but that is the last thing we need to focus on right now.  Given she will be Senator from New York, home of all financial/legal issues hammering the country, I'd love someone with Finance/Legal experience since Wall Street will be a mess for decades to come.  She has no legislative experience that I can find, and only seems interested in the political process due to the changing times it seems.  I mean Schumer's seat was open only 12 years ago (??) and Hillary's open just 6 or 8 years ago.  I read that is that she's not really a fighter.

I think it would be disgraceful to appoint her.  So many qualified Dems in NY with executive experience, legislative experience, Finance/Law experience.  The states Congressional delegation is almost all Dems and Patterson wants her.  Why pick her?

Sorry, I know a lot of people don't like Hillary but can anyone, ANYONE say appointing CK isn't a huge step down?  

And why is it so okay for Patterson to have his focus on people not because of credentials but based on gender, ethnicity and location.  Picking someone to represent the state in the Senate to further his political career seems to be the beginnings of a Spitzer/Blagojevich career.  Shocking that a white male from anywhere seems to not even be a conversation starter so far, except Cuomo.

I guess I feel more strongly about this than I thought when I first started typing.

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by: rdw72777 @ Tue Dec 16, 2008 at 17:03:10 PM UTC

Funny, a couple of problems with that.

First, if voters were given the opportunity to pick their senator, do you know which way they are leaning?  Polls show Caroline Kennedy significantly in first place.  I don't doubt she could survive and win a primary and general election if that is the case.  The reason she is angling for an appointment as MANY people are is because then she doesn't have to run against someone who has been a sitting senator for two years.  

Second, Caroline Kennedy has done things.  You say she's done nothing and that's a flat out lie.  

Via Populista's comment: http://www.swingstateproject.c...

-Chief fundraiser for the NY School System where she's raised well over tens of millions of dollars a year to serve the over 1 million students in NYC school system

-Intern for Senator Ted Kennedy
-Writer for Rolling Stone and the NY Daily News
-Serves on the boards of lots of very important organizations which is NOT just some kind of honorary post with no work.
-Published author including In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights In Action (1990) and The Right to Privacy (1995)
-Co Chair of the VP Vetting Team
-A bunch of other philanthropic stuff

Have you done more than "nothing"?  I sure as hell haven't.  

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by: JeremiahTheMessiah @ Tue Dec 16, 2008 at 18:05:11 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Ehh, I think just...

...about everyone else seems to have accomplished mor epolitically.  She is goig to represent us, try and legislate, run a staff, a campaign etc.  

Most of this stuff is nice and all, but heck even I do some of that stuff.  I'm on the board of Directors that serves tens of thousands of meals to the homeless each year.  I've done extensive fundraising for the same organization.  So I guess yes I have.

I think her lead in the polls is a bit about name recognition, but no one can really predict future elections 2 years out I think we've all learned.  I mean I'm not sure why Cuomo would be in 2nd but 3rd place would be such a drop off.  I see Kennedy/Cuomo as quite varied in what they do and figure a third person would poll a closer third, but they don't.  Obviosuly the two of them at the tope makes sense, jsut thought a 3rd person would poll somewhere close to them.  Who knows about the polling though, its a science but like all science its inexact.

Honorable men can differ :-)

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by: rdw72777 @ Tue Dec 16, 2008 at 23:09:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]