Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the Governor of the sadly fading, drowning in debt great state of New York is considering appointing Caroline Kennedy as the U.S. Senator to fill the vacancy left by Senator Hillary Clinton. First, Hillary will need to be confirmed by the Senate as Obama's Secretary of State and resign her office.
The seat will require an election in 2010 to confirm the post and again in 2012 to get it back on its normal six-year rotation. Now, however, it is an election with a constituency of one since Governor Paterson is the only one to make the final decision. He is currently touring the war zones in the Middle East and probably finding it a welcome respite from all the pressure and badgering he's been enduring here.
The Senate appointment has sparked a real debate within the state, Washington D.C., and the nation. Many feel she isn't qualified. Many feel she is being considered based on her maiden name. Many just want the Democrats to fail. I guess we're lucky that he isn't embroiled in a scandal like IL Governor Blagojevich who is in a similar position of appointing a successor to Senator Obama.
I grew up in a Kennedy household, where a painting of John and Bobby hung on our living room wall for a decade spanning the 1960's and 1970's. Yes, the Kennedy name means something to me and to a lot of other people.
If one considers the primary responsibilities of a Senator is to represent the state then she is very qualified.
• From an advocate for the Empire State, she can "bring home the pork bacon," and has a direct line to the President.
• From an educational standpoint, the woman is no slouch with a JD degree.
• From an activist standpoint, she's a proven and impassioned fundraiser for NYC schools.
• From a political standpoint, she's been in the thick of things her entire life and would have access to the best and brightest talent to staff her offices.
• From a temperament standpoint, it's hard to imagine that New York would be better served.
It would seem that the main objections are that she hasn't paid her dues, and that there is speculation about her positions on issues because she doesn't have a voting record or history of interviews to inform us.
Caroline Kennedy is finally sharing some of her political opinions — casting herself in the liberal tradition of uncle Ted Kennedy. Stefan Friedman, a Kennedy spokesman, provided seven written answers to the eight questions submitted by Politico. The one that stood out to me:
QUESTION 2: Same-sex marriage. Do you support the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry? Do you think it's appropriate that Rick Warren, who campaigned to ban gay marriage, is delivering the invocation at Obama's inauguration? If not, have you expressed that to the president-elect?In the midst of the Rick Warren inaugural prayer fiasco, at least there is some good news.
ANSWER: "Caroline supports full equality and marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples."
2 comments:
I think she'd be an excellent Senator... And to all those who pooh-pooh I say pooh-pooh on you. How does a first-timer ever get elected, since there's such a bias in favour of incumbents?
Personally I think y'all could do a whole hell of a lot worse. Frankly I think she'd do well and the nay sayers ought not hold her last name against her, she's a competent and capable individual that's generally speaking done a lot of good with her education and the advantages that came with the last name. And gracefully side stepped some of the unpleasant baggage that came attached as well I might add.
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