PAUL KIRK Tapped For Kennedy Senate Seat

[a kennedy]

Fox News' Major Garrett reports that Paul Kirk has been chosen to fill the Massachusetts Senate seat held previously by Ted Kennedy.

The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza said on MSNBC Wednesday afternoon that an announcement could come later in the day.

Kirk was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1985 to 1989 and a longtime aide to the late Sen. Kennedy. He currently co-chairs the Commission on Presidential Debates, is the chairman of the board of directors of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, and is a member of the board of directors of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.

A family confidant said Wednesday both Edward Kennedy Jr. and Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., had endorsed Kirk in separate phone calls.

A top aide to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick confirmed the contacts but added, "No decision has been made yet." A spokeswoman in Patrick Kennedy's congressional office declined to comment.


Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/23/paul-kirk-kennedy-senate_n_296411.html

[gateley]

1. To those of you who are familiar with Kirk -- so whaddya think? Thanks. nt

[Statistical]

2. I don't know him but the Kenedy family wanted him so likely he will be a proxy for Ted.

[charlie]

3. It looks like he's never stumped for public office

If he gets the seat, I hope he's got the chops to hold on to it.

[mdmc]

4. I think he is just there until the election

I doubt he would run after being appointed.

[charlie]

8. Oh, okay

I wasn't clear on whether or not he was expected to be truly temporary or allowed to defend the seat if he chooses.

[grantcart]

5. here is his wikipedia page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_G._Kirk_Jr.

[Captain Hilts]

6. Damn. I wanted Dukakis, who is a long-term, strong healthcare reform supporter.

[chelsea0011]

10. I was also looking for Duke final exit also, but I understand because

he knows Kennedy's staff, there will be few changes. At least, one Boston news network said as much.

[Jennicut]

7. Didn't he host Teddy's wake? He seems like a really great guy

and would carry on Teddy's causes.

[janet118]

9. This sounds promising . . .

From DLC Website

At first, Party Chairman Paul Kirk tried to stop the DLC from forming. Three times in the DLC's first 18 months, the liberal columnist Jack Germond predicted the DLC would not last for six months. There were demonstrations by the Reverend Jesse Jackson and other party activists at the DLC's 1991 Cleveland Conference, where Bill Clinton laid out the platform on which he won the presidency. Even after three national tickets in a row composed of DLCers, Howard Dean called the DLC "Republican lite" and called the Clinton years "damage control."