Ellen Fitzpatrick, a historian and author, was on the side of going with the brand, that “Few will feel in much doubt, for instance, about where Joe Kennedy or his politically engaged cousins would stand on the need for sweeping healthcare reform.” She opined that “Massachusetts voters may be forgiven for believing the causes he (Senator Kennedy) championed would be safeguarded by a relative who has embraced a long and vivid political tradition that has energized American public life for generations.”
So who’s right?
The voters are going to do what the voters are going to do. Are there enough of them to remember the good old days, and embrace the emergence of another Kennedy running for the the seat? Or will they seize the opportunity to bring in new blood? Either way, the new senator will be starting as a junior senator, without clout and seniority.
I will admit there was a time when I would have welcomed the opportunity to vote the brand. But I also understand why dynasties aren’t the best model for democracy or fairplay. I recall that when Hillary was running for president, there were a number of people who cited the dynasty thing as a reasonto vote against her because they didn’t want another Clinton in after the Bush-Clinton-Bush turns in office. They wanted someone new. They weren’t happy with the sense of “entitlement.” In my determination to see the first female president, I didn’t want to hear that – but I get it now.
Personally, I hope they all run in the hopes that the best and brightest among the candidates will emerge as our new senator, whether it’s Joe Kennedy or someone else. I also hope that whomever it it…he/she will have the same sensitivity and compassion for the common person, and the courage d’coeur to fight for them. We’ve elected too many who have lost that connection, and that’s something that Senator Kennedy, in all his years of service in the Senate, never did lose.
Of course in our system people should be considered on their merits, but it is also reasonable to think a family connection or similar beliefs is part of that merit. In other words, for the current race Joe Kennedy would be perfectly within his rights to run for the seat while invoking the family name, but others should not hesitate to run as well due to either deference or fear of losing to a Kennedy.
who does actually vote(what is it less than 1/3) is held in the artificial world by infotainment media mostly.
http://www.projectcensored.org
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p>The rest of the population hardly even notices filling their lives with the full spectrum of stuff from professional wrestling to useless high tech gadgets.