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MA-Sen: Joe Kennedy Won't Run

by: DavidNYC

Mon Sep 07, 2009 at 3:38 PM EDT


From the AP:

Former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, the eldest son of Robert F. Kennedy, announced Monday he would not run for the U.S. Senate seat held for nearly 50 years by his late uncle, Edward M. Kennedy. ...

The decision is expected to widen the field of announced candidates for Kennedy's seat. It became vacant Aug. 25, when the senator died of brain cancer at age 77.

Three veteran Massachusetts congressmen - Reps. Michael Capuano, Edward J. Markey and John Tierney - have said they are considering campaigns but would not run against a member of the Kennedy family. The senator's widow, Vicki, had previously ruled out a campaign.

Now the floodgates will likely open. I just hope Marty Meehan decides to stay put. On the other side of the aisle, former Lt. Gov. and 2006 Republican gubernatorial nominee Kerry Healey has also said she won't run.

(More from safi in the diaries.)
DavidNYC :: MA-Sen: Joe Kennedy Won't Run
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MA-Sen: Joe Kennedy Won't Run | 36 comments
Not really that surprised about this
           Read alot about the Kennedy's over the years. He really didn't seem to enjoy being congressman all that much. He left a pretty safe congressional seat in 1998 and he's passed up numerous other opportunities to run over the years. I'm taking this means that It will probably be a much more crowded primary field.
So long as Lynch loses. . .

Not sure who to root for here
Lynch is too conservative; Meehan's an ass; I'm skeptical about Coakley based on some of the posts here; and Capuano, Markey, and Tierney seem fine (if not particularly exciting), but they're all kind of old to be starting a Senate career. In a blue state like Mass, it seems more worthwhile to have someone in there a long time to build seniority like Teddy.
Coakley seems fine with me

[ Parent ]
The Aquateen Scandal Ruined her for Me
I do not know of anything else notable that happened under her watch as A.G. All I know is she over reacted and thought a few lite brites in Boston as part of a viral marketing campaign were bombs. I'd like someone who was a bit more in touch with reality to know what a lite brite is.

26, Male, Democrat, TX-26
[ Parent ]
Well, I speak from hundreds of miles away
From my perspective, ideology is the most important qualification in a legislative election.  
[ Parent ]
You know
I agree with you, and I hate that fear always wins in our politics, but I'm not sure you can be an elected official in America any longer and support the side of calm. The moment "something happens," then you will be hounded from office for your lack of vigilance. Politicians are afraid of not acting fearfully enough! What an irony.

But anyhow, I don't think there's anything we can do about this. And frankly, Meehan would be a much worse choice.

[ Parent ]
MA
If there's anywhere that calm should win, it's Massachusetts.
[ Parent ]
We need to make sure Lynch looses the primary
He will be like a Ben Nelson or a Joe Leiberman. We dont need that from Massachusetts. He is a true DINO. In addition, the only reason he won the special election in 2001 against Cheryl Jacques (who I campaigned for like crazy) was because his base in Southie bullied people into voting for him on election day. PLEASE DONT LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN PLEASSSSSE. I hate having him as a congressman and I vote Democrat down the ballot and ALWAYS leave his slot blank. DON'T LET HIM GO TO THE SENATE. We can do much better than incompetent, conservative, pro-life Stephen Lynch.
[ Parent ]
Wasn't Jacques' sexuality an issue here too?
I remember that election and I remember all the talk of how socially conservative the part of Boston in the district is.  
[ Parent ]
If they do change the MA law per the late Senator's wishes,
I wonder if Joseph Kennedy would accept the appointment as the interim Senator?

January 19th; that's such a long time to have an empty Dem seat, especially with so many important votes coming up this fall.

What will the Boston Globe do without a Kennedy to jerk off to now?
I doubt they will even endorse in the primary since Joe and Vicki are not running.

That being said, none of the other candidates are particuarly exciting. Coakley will be running a Hillary-type campaign, i.e. experience and old boys' network pity (gag). Lynch is a good fit for his district but he won't go over well in the rest of the state. His Iraq War vote is a nonstarter and turns me off even more than his social conservatism. McGovern is impressive if a bit bland.  

MA
Who is the most progressive House member that is likely to run?

29/D/Male/NY-01
Per PPP's
definition of progressive, Michael Capuano and Ed Markey are about equally progressive. Either would probably make a fine Senator. John Olver, Jim McGovern, and Niki Tsongas, could probably be considered more progressive, but none of them seem terribly likely to run (McGovern might be a sleeper pick, though).

22, Democrat, AZ-01
Peace. Love. Gabby.
[ Parent ]
what one is most likely
to lose their seat (or get pitted against someone else in an unfavorable district) during the upcoming redistricting. I would think Tsongas is the prime candidate for elimination. Wouldn't she have no reason not to run for Senate now then?  
[ Parent ]
holy triple negative batman!
sorry about that.
Which one ... not what one
and wouldn't she want to run.  
[ Parent ]
Good point
I hadn't thought about that factor...I don't know if Tsongas has either.
[ Parent ]
I doubt it
I think the safe bet is that they combine the 1st and 2nd and pit Neal against Olver (forcing Olver to likely retire). Western Massachusetts always gets the short end of the stick on Beacon Hill, and redistrict will be no exception.
[ Parent ]
Western Mass
Western Massachusetts no longer has the population to support 2 US House districts unless you define "Western Massachusetts" to include Worcester. Even as it stands now, both MA-01 and MA-02 have tentacles that run east of Worcester; MA-01 to the north (almost to Ft. Devens) and MA-02 to the south (including much of the Blackstone Valley.) And the area hasn't been keeping up with the rest of the state in terms of growth, either.

Worcester itself of course anchors MA-03, as it has since the 1960s, but many of its burbs are in MA-01 or MA-02, meaning that the last two iterations of MA-03 have had a tail down in the Fall River area.  

Olver and Neal both have considerable seniority and plum committee assignments, so the state has tried hard to keep both around. But both are also up there in years. McGovern is less senior but is both younger and on Rules so I doubt he'd be on the chopping block.  

36, M, Democrat, MD-03

[ Parent ]
Out of Those Three
Drawing a line between Markey, Capuano and Tierney regarding who is the most progressive is a hard thing to do. In terms of ideology and perspective I think you'd like all three. I'd say look for difference in strengths, competence and priorities, because their voting records are similar. Lynch of course is a far inferior pick compared to any of them.
[ Parent ]
Capuano or Tierney
Either one would be pretty good, better than anyone who's yet announced.

This is nothing against Ed Markey, since he's a fine progressive, but he's got so much seniority in the House (he's either second or third on Energy & Commerce) that becoming a freshmen Senator at his age is a step down.  

36, M, Democrat, MD-03

[ Parent ]
Agreed
Same reason itd be a step down for Barney Frank. Being the first openly gay Senator (not to mention the first elected openly gay Senator) is enticing. But he knows he can do more for his district, state and country right where hes at. And, from a power perspective, he will never have as much power as he has now. Though that may not be a reason for staying. As not everyone is about the 'power'.  
[ Parent ]
Damn
I was rooting for him.

Well, it's Massachusetts.  We should be able to pull another great Senator out, even if Coakley, Meehan, and Lynch are all unimpressive.

Good luck Bay State.

I have to say
aside from Barney Frank, Massachusetts has a really uninteresting Democratic bench for such a blue state.
[ Parent ]
Lack of competition
Breeds mediocrity.
[ Parent ]
It's the flip side of term limits
where mediocrities jump from office to office.
[ Parent ]
Bingo
Im glad you said that.  I just havent been able to figure out how they can have a solid slate of 10 Dems, all being quite liberal, and me never know a single one of their names for the most part until all of this filling Kennedy's seat talk.
[ Parent ]
At least from what ive read
Though i have not or at least dont recall hearing/seeing him speak...Rep. McGovern seems like a pretty interesting progressive. He doesnt represent the most liberal district in MA but hes a solid, solid progressive and is even activist on certain issues.
[ Parent ]
Endorsements
Who do you think Frank, Patrick, etc. would endorse and how significant would that be?

Follow the elections in Georgia at the 2010 Georgia Race Tracker.
Somehow I doubt
anyone is going to be asking for Patrick's endorsement.  
[ Parent ]
Yes they will be asking him to endorse the other guy!
Yes they will be asking him to endorse the other guy!

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[ Parent ]
John Tierney
John Tierney would make a great progressive Senator. He's an unapologetic liberal, a strong advocate for the state, and effective at getting his message across in person or on tv.  
I'd Add
That he's also done nice work with his Oversight subcommittee. I think he'd be an impressive senator.  
[ Parent ]
Reason why Frank isnt going for Senate probably
Towleroad.com is reporting that in Frank's new memoir, he wants to be Secretary of HUD at some point.  He wants to spend some time in the House, get some shit done with his position there and with a solidly Democratic Senate, and then get to have an end to his career by being the first openly GLBT member of the Cabinet.  Granted, the Cabinet position would need to open up and Obama would have to pick him.  Come 2nd term, I cant help but feel Obama will be going a bit more balls to the wall in his decisions (if he gets a 2nd term.)

http://www.towleroad.com/2009/...  (too lazy to do the html but here's my citation)

Not a bad way to end his career!
I never thought about a Cabinet position before. And I bet it will open up within the next few years. Cabinet secretaries dont last very long, with a few exceptions.  
[ Parent ]
Probably the only things preventing it is
A major scandal involving Frank (and no, not talking about sex if anyone is wondering) or Obama loses re-election. Frank has so much experience that itd be hard for Obama to turn him down if it opens up.  
[ Parent ]
MA-Sen: Joe Kennedy Won't Run | 36 comments

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