Massachusetts Rep. Kennedy announces Democratic primary challenge to Sen. Markey

[Zorro]

Source: Washington Post

Rep. Joe Kennedy, the latest generation of a famous political family, announced Saturday that he would challenge Sen. Edward J. Markey in Massachusetts’s Democratic primary, a bid certain to divide the party in the state and in Washington.

Ahead of a rally here, Kennedy emailed supporters a video officially declaring his candidacy.

“Since Donald Trump’s election, I have had countless conversations with my constituents. I’ve told them not to give up. I have implored them to do more. I have begged them to reach deeper, fight harder, put more on the line — because everything we believe in is at stake,” Kennedy writes in the email. “I’m running for Senate to do the same.”

Kennedy mentions the need for a new generation to take on “outdated structures and old rules,” an implicit nod to the decades that separate him and his opponent.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/massachusetts-rep-kennedy-announces-democratic-primary-challenge-to-sen-markey/2019/09/21/7f40384c-dbef-11e9-bfb1-849887369476_story.html

[Bayard]

1. Another Senator Kennedy

Seems fitting. I hope he does his family proud.

[VarryOn]

59. And not the goodfball Senator Kennedy from Louisiana...

It should be against the law for him to use the Kennedy name!

[DownriverDem]

64. What's wrong with

Sen. Markey? I hate to see us eating our own.

[kwolf68]

70. Not a damn thing

Senator Markey is a solid work horse.

[OnDoutside]

2. Wow. Will the DNC blacklist his strategists now ?

[George II]

16. Boom - just moments after the announcement was made and the DNC is being slammed.

[OnDoutside]

22. By whom ?

[slumcamper]

25. The DNC is not above reproach...just sayin'...my jackboots are off. n/t

[Grins]

3. No.

A man who wants government to rethink child vaccination laws and ordinances is challenging a good and qualified Democratic for his own gain.

He may be a Kennedy but he’s a long way from Jack or Ted.

[nsd]

4. Are you sure you're thinking of the right Kennedy?

RFK Jr is the vaccination one.

[MBS]

20. Right you are. n/t

[comradebillyboy]

5. Is Joe one of the family's anti-vaxxers? I know RFK Jr holds some

pretty wild ideas and has been denounced by his own family members for his anti-vaxx views but I hadn't heard anything like that about young Joe.

[lostnfound]

7. That's the wrong Kennedy. Nt

[CountAllVotes]

26. +1,000+++++

Go Joe!!!!!!!

[a kennedy]

11. I think you're thinking of a different Kennedy......

Robert Kennedy Jr. is the vaccination kennedy, NOT Joe.

[Rebl2]

13. Got that right

[RhodeIslandOne]

52. No they don't.

Not the same Kennedy.

[Rebl2]

57. Okay

Thanks for the info

[Tactical Peek]

29. I think this is the Joe who was absurdly opposed to rational marijuana regulation.

That's if I'm thinking of the right one, there are so many it gets confusing.


Iirc, he voted against a bill to get the DEA off the backs of young children suffering seizure disorders who got relief (only!) from non-psychoactive extracts of cannabis. If that was any indication, he does not think things out very well, in my opinion.

Maybe he should be the one getting primaried by a D who can do the right thing.

[ancianita]

36. Markey gets a C+ by NORML and Kennedy gets a D.

[B Stieg]

37. Uugh

That's too bad. But Markey's always been bad (IMHO) on the issue.
Thanx for the sourcing!

[ancianita]

38. Markey also looks stricter on gun control, but they both come from the #2 handgun manufacturing

state, and Markey's got the longer vote record.

NH is #1 on gun manufacturing (since the Revolution); both top gun manufacturing states have the strictest gun control laws and the low rates of death by shooting. Just a factoid.

[Skittles]

47. not correct

please delete

[CentralMass]

6. That is unfortunate.

[not fooled]

14. +++

[MBS]

21. Agreed.

I think he's making a mistake.

[Moostache]

8. JK3 will be president one day...if we still have elections

He is an incredibly impressive man and this is a good thing for the party long term.

[TeamPooka]

28. He won't be president if he makes his career climbing over good Democrats to get into office

he should go beat a sitting republican if he wants my respect or future support.
Doing it this way and I'll put him in my Kristen Gillibrand category of people I won't support as they try to move up.

[patphil]

41. I agree.

He's not going to endear himself to the party faithful across the nation by doing this.
Especially if the resulting primary battle results in a Republican getting the seat.
Joe should be patient and keep his current seat in the House (Mass. 4th district).
He's going to be 39 in October, so he has plenty of time to work his way up into the national scene.

Patrick Phillips

[ritapria]

9. He should wait his turn

There is a good chance Elizabeth Warren will be elected President ...Then he could have challenged the appointed Senator selected by Charlie Baker

[BlueStater]

10. Markey doesn't own the seat.

Last edited Sat Sep 21, 2019, 12:03 PM - Edit history (1)

He's 73 now and will be 80 at the end of another term. Who knows how much longer his "turn" will last. They're not retiring as young as they used to. Dianne Feinstein was just elected to another term at 85.

I have no problem with this.

[not_the_one]

17. me neither

I want it to be obvious that the ONLY political dynasty America will ever have, is the Kennedys, because they have done the work and paid the price

A side benefit will be watching the russiapublican's heads explode, as the have the ultimate meltdown.

They hold up the Bushs and the Trumps (excuse me, I meant Turds) as our dynasty?

I scoff.

[virgogal]

19. Many in MA have had enough of the Kennedys. This young man has

inherited money and a famous name,Markey came up the hard way.Markey will get my vote.

[Midwestern Democrat]

18. Agreed - 20 years ago, I would have felt that Kennedy should allow Markey to serve one more term.

But today, when the entire House leadership is either at or almost 80 years old, when Dianne Feinstein runs for another term at 85 (in a huge safely Democratic state where many Democratic officeholders have been waiting for years for a Senate seat to open up), when many (including myself) think that the only Democrat in the country who can beat Donald Trump is a 76 year old man - then IMO, the party definitely needs more "young men in a hurry" not fewer of them.

[Raven]

33. Markey has earned his seat for however long he

remains productive and there is nothing to show that he is not still producive both for his constituents and the country.

[BlueStater]

34. He'll earn it by getting elected again.

Until then, Kennedy has every right to challenge him for the seat.

[Raven]

58. Right and it won't have anything to do with age as your post implied.

[BlueStater]

60. Ah, yes. The old "ageism" crap.

People can constantly attack Kennedy as an opportunistic young upstart who should wait his "turn", but suggest that maybe Markey shouldn't just be entitled to the seat until whenever he decides to retire and suddenly it's "Boo hoo, stop picking on him. He's old."

[BlueStater]

63. I have no real horse in this race, by the way.

I don't live in Massachusetts and am not planning on sending money to either Kennedy or Markey. I would be fine if either of them won, but the attacks on Kennedy are annoying. If he's arrogant and entitled for challenging Markey, then Markey is just as arrogant and entitled for thinking he owns his seat for as long as he decides not to retire.

[VarryOn]

46. I doubt being in the US Senate is the most physically or mentally taxing job you can have...

Thus, probably a big reason to stick around.

Plus, you're paid decently, have little accountability for bad decisions, and people powder your ass everywhere you go. And, it's hard to get fired!

Now that I think about it, maybe I should run!

[George II]

12. This is not good.

[GeorgeGist]

15. How so?

[bluedigger]

23. This seems ill advised.

His energy would be better spent pursuing leadership positions in Congress to satisfy his ambitions until an opening makes itself available.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

24. Challenging an incumbent Democrat

[bucolic_frolic]

27. We need a smiley emoticon

for "out over his skis"

[Polybius]

54. Since when is that a bad thing?

We've been doing it for 200 years. When you against David Dinkins beating Ed Koch in the 1989 NYC primary?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

55. Are you really comparing Ed Markey to Ed Koch?

[Polybius]

56. Nope

But all you said was "Challenging an incumbent Democrat." You should have said "Challenging a good incumbent Democrat."

Now roll your eyes back into your head, we're not all mind-readers here.

[MurrayDelph]

30. Personally I think

he should work to get Elizabeth Warren elected, and then the governor could appoint him to fill the vacancy.

[patphil]

42. The governor is a republican.

[MurrayDelph]

44. Oops

But he could win in a special election afterwards.

[patphil]

49. Yes, I just checked on that.

The governor can appoint someone to fill the opening, but there must be a special election within 145-160 days to elect someone to fill the remainder of the term.
Elizabeth Warren's seat would be up in 2022.
So, if EW got on the ticket, and resigned after the convention on July 17th, a special election would have to be held before the end of the year.
As early as December 9th, but no later than December 24th.
So, assuming a Democrat won the special election, it wouldn't adversely affect the Senate structure for the new congress coming in in January.
Whew! Dodged that bullet.

Patrick Phillips

[TeamPooka]

31. rich enititled ambition. He's a real Gillibrand. Willing to kill off a good progressive Democrat

to advance his own career.
Fuck that shit.

[CBHagman]

32. The article itself offers a point-counterpoint look at this announcement...

...and what it might mean in terms of the Senate, the presidency, and the Democratic Party.

This primary attempt might not be sending the message Kennedy claims it is. There is an inescapable whiff of entitlement about any variation on the political dynasty, the sense that money, name, and connections vanquish the less flashy business of day-to-day life as a lawmaker.

And then there's the matter of partisanship. The current state of things didn't happen overnight, and for the duration it's a numbers game. Any self-wounding or bad blood is not advisable just now.

And don't get me started on how things work, or what age may or may not have to do with it.

[Fan of Da Bearse]

35. Not a good idea

Joe has time to wait. And this is the worst possible time for internecine fighting!

[VarryOn]

39. I want another Kennedy on the bench...

Markey is 73 and been there long enough. He’s not entitled to that seat.

[pnwpolicy]

40. What value does the last name Kennedy bring?

This just reeks of entitlement and will shift the Senate Dems further right.

[VarryOn]

45. I'll admit there's some nostalgia for me...

but, Ive followed Kennedy's career with interest since he took the great Barney Frank's seat. He comes across as quite likeable and genuine. And look at his resume...Harvard, Stanfors, Peace Corp, Asst DA, Congress, etc. He's got the pedigree and a wife and two kids. And he's liberal.

A term or two in the US Senate and he'd be an ideal presidential candidate. I think the Kennedy name would play well across the country.

And I'm not worried about the party moving right.

[Bradical79]

66. If you're going to use the word "entitled"

maybe not focus on the name of a political dynasty in the same post? What's more important is whether Kennedy would be a better Senator than Markey, not his name.

[VarryOn]

67. A valid criticism of my point...

Certainly, neither is entitled. My post was prompted by a couple by a couple others that said Kennedy should wait his turn, meaning Markey should retain the post until such time as he reliqushed it. He's an ok Senator, albeit with an unremarkable career. Definitely upgradeable.

Kennedy isnt entitled to any seat, either. His name, however, has currency. I'm impressed with him and was just thinking long-term should he have national aspirations. I think his last name would help. However, he's worked hard to prove himself.

[Indykatie]

43. People Don't Like Politicians Who Seem Too Opportunistic and Too Ambitious.

He may win the nomination and the seat but that success may come back to haunt him when he pursues his next job on his career path, POTUS. Have we ever had a successful primary challenge to a sitting Senator in a safe Blue state?

[5starlib]

50. Ted Kennedy ran against Carter

He lost, but you can't say it hurt him. He became a legend.

[crazytown]

62. It hurt Carter

[BlueStater]

65. I sincerely doubt Markey is in any danger in the election just because Kennedy is challenging him.

You can't compare a presidential election to a senate race in a solidly blue state.

[UniteFightBack]

48. Not in favor. nt

[samnsara]

51. i like Markey :(

[RhodeIslandOne]

53. This sucks

Bad move.

[summer_in_TX]

61. Markey is co-sponsor (with AOC) of the Green New Deal

So it appears Kennedy is running to the right of Markey on that issue. Not a good look.

I think many of us have a Camelot affection for the Kennedy family and have dreams invested in them.The family name gives them a cachet that gets them in the door with us. But primarying a progressive fellow Dem is not my idea of action that makes me want to run out and blindly support him.

[INdemo]

68. Big Mistake

[Mc Mike]

69. I like Joe, love his family. I'm backing Markey.