Joe Kennedy III should run for Elizabeth Warren's Senate seat if she's VP

[ashtonelijah]

The more I think about it, the more VP Warren makes sense. She could be the powerful sort of VP (more Cheney than Biden, except on the good side, not the dark side), and she could drive policy with a stronger platform than as Senate. And she could truly lead the charge for the 2018 midterms in a way she couldn't as a senator.

But what happens if she resigns her seat? Well, depending on how she does it, the Republican governor's appointee could only have a couple months before the special election is held. We would need a fool proof choice for that spot. My pick? Joe Kennedy III, because duh!

Bobby Kennedy's grandson is young (35), charismatic, and has the good looks of Bobby Kennedy. He won his congressional seat in 2012 after Barney Frank vacated it by a vote of 61-36, and ran unopposed in 2014, winning 98-2. If anyone would be a shoe-in in Massachusett's, it would be Joe Kennedy III. He has a solid liberal track record. I can't imagine a better candidate for the seat that his great uncle Ted held so long.

Besides, it wouldn't be a bad idea to start bringing in some fresh young talent. We need a younger bench of rising stars in the Senate and in governorships. And let's face it, concerns about nepotism aside, the world is waiting for the day when a Kennedy finally serves out a full term as president (I'm getting ahead of myself, clearly).

Anyway, here's Joe Kennedy's speech at the 2012 convention if you aren't familiar with him (he would've been 31 at the time, I believe).

[highprincipleswork]

1. Great idea.

[pnwmom]

2. Somebody mentioned that on TV tonight. (I think it was MSNBC) I was just reading about him

before I saw your post.

Yes -- he might be a great possibility.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_P._Kennedy_III


In April 2006, Kennedy returned to Massachusetts, where he and his brother co-chaired Ted Kennedy's re-election campaign. That fall, Kennedy enrolled in Harvard Law School.[3] While in school, Kennedy worked for the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, providing legal aid to low-income tenants with foreclosure cases in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Kennedy worked as a technical editor for the Harvard Human Rights Journal, on a staff with his classmate and future wife, Lauren Anne Birchfield.[3] In 2007 he and Birchfield co-founded Picture This: Justice and Power, an after-school program for youths in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood.[9][10] He began an internship at the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office in 2008.[8]

After graduating from Harvard in 2009, Kennedy was hired at the Cape and Islands Office as an assistant district attorney (DA). He considered running for the Cape-based U.S. House seat held by retiring Rep. Bill Delahunt in early 2010, but decided against it.[11] In September 2011, he joined the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office, also as an assistant DA.[12] He resigned several months later, in preparation for the announcement that he would seek political office.[13]

U.S. House of Representatives[edit]
Election 2012[edit]
See also: Massachusetts's 4th congressional district election, 2012

In January 2012, Kennedy announced he would form an exploratory committee to run in the newly redrawn 4th congressional district. Congressman Barney Frank, who had previously represented the district, had announced his retirement, leaving an open field for the seat.

SNIP

While several Democratic candidates had prepared to enter the race, the field nearly cleared once Kennedy announced his candidacy. His family roots made him the overwhelming favorite among Massachusetts Democrats.[19][20] In the September 6 primary, he faced Rachel Brown, a Lyndon LaRouche acolyte; and Herb Robinson, an engineer and musician, winning the primary with 90 percent of the vote[21][22]

In the general election campaign he faced Republican nominee Sean Bielat. . . . Kennedy won the November 6 election with 61 percent of the vote to Bielat's 36 percent.[26]

[ashtonelijah]

3. Yes! I searched Twitter and it appears Joy Reid mentioned it! Hope it catches on!

[OnDoutside]

4. The really interesting point Joy made was that Warren need not vacate her Senate seat until

Inauguration Day, meaning that it would minimise a Republican replacement to 78 days.

[Scientific]

5. For the Kennedy clan, he is Generation Next

"...the unpretentious manner, academic pedigree, and drive are all his own."

http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/03/18/for_the_kennedy_clan_he_is_generation_next/

[OnDoutside]

6. It's amazing it has taken so long for the next Kennedy to come forward.

[mrr303am]

7. Why would Elizabeth Warren want to be Hillary's VP

Nothing against Joe Kennedy III, I like him and believe he would make a great Senator, but why would/should Elizabeth Warren leave the Senate, where she has the power to fight for the working-class and poor, to be Hillary's VP, where she will have no say or power unless there is a 50/50 vote in the Senate. She would be stiffled and gagged by Hillary, and Bill, and her only roll as a VP would be to polish the silverware for Clinton/Goldman Sachs dinner affairs. Elizabeth Warren is much more powerful in the Senate than she could ever be as Hillary's VP.

[roamer65]

8. After hearing her last night, I agree 100 percent.

I see her more as a Senate Majority Leader than I do as a VP.

[mrr303am]

9. I think VP candidates should not:

Come from those currently in office, unless they will be leaving office anyway. It makes no sense to risk losing a Senate seat to a Republican, remember no one thought Scott Brown would take Teddy's seat after he passed away. They need to find a credible, popular, former politician.