I have met Joe Kennedy and Ed Markey more than once. Both times I was impressed by how warm and unassuming Joe Kennedy was and it stood in stark contrast to how aloof and short Ed Markey was with me. Joe Keller has talked about this emerging divide between the two candidates who vote identically on the issues. It has become a theme for the Kennedy campaign-Joe Shows Up.
Markey is definitely beating Kennedy when it comes to endorsements from out of state climate organizations and socialist New Yorkers, but it says something that Joe Kennedy is liked by a lot of credible local leaders who have endorsed him for showing up on their behalf.
Municipal Leaders:
Including Mayors like Ruth Ann Miller and Kim Driscoll and city councilors like Judy Garcia in Chelsea and Matt O’Malley in Boston/JP.
As the Mayors said in their Commonwealth piece:
we need leaders who know how to fight more than just one man; we need leaders willing to change the system and heal the divides that gave us President Trump in the first place. Joe Kennedy will take on the system that is leaving too many communities across Massachusetts without enough affordable housing, public education dollars, and mental health beds. It’s the system failing to keep dangerous guns off our street, to create jobs that pay enough to take care of a family, and to protect the cities and towns whose infrastructure is already under siege from climate change.
Criminal Justice Leaders like Suffolk County Sheriff Joe Tompkins:
Our bad policies and bad politics are keeping massive segments of our population marginalized and profound injustices persist today,” Kennedy said. “Sheriff Tompkins is on the front-lines of this fight and I’m proud to stand with him.”
Teamsters, IBEW, and the Machinists Unions. Mainly by citing Kennedy’s seven year push to fight for living wage jobs that fight climate change.
“Yes we need that clean energy, but if we’re going to do this right, it has to come with jobs that actually allow people to care for their families and power this region.
It is not enough to vote the right way and say the right things. It is not enough to be committed to a single issue for 46 years. We need a Senator who will fight for the entire state. We need a Senator who will show up for all our cities and towns. We need a Senator who knows how to fight for immigrant rights and for the trades. For union jobs and for fighting climate. For vocational education and for college accessibility.
We play right into Donald Trump’s hands when we make progressive priorities an either/or discussion. Let Hillary Clinton and Ed Markey brag about putting coal miners out of work. Joe Kennedy will put them back to work building wind turbines on the South Coast and across the Eastern Seaboard. That is how we fight for both. By showing up.
Are you seriously going to use a rightwing talking point to knock Clinton’s comment on coal miners out of context?
I can personally attest to Markey showing up plenty, BTW.
Good grief.
You’re a state party committeeman, I will say the folks I know in Chelsea had never met a Senate candidate before Joe showed up to St. Lukes two weeks ago.
It’s not a right wing talking point, Clinton is the one who made the tone deaf remarks which totally overshadowed her excellent plan to transition those workers to the green economy. Kennedy and Markey both back the Green New Deal, but frame it differently. Markey frames it in the accurate but downbeat context of preventing the climate emergency,
Kennedy frames it in the upbeat context of a great economic opportunity for the poorer parts of his district and our state. I think that’s the way to win. 2018 shows us that’s how climate became a wedge issue with swing voters for our side. It’s how Kasten beat Roskam back in my old red district in Illinois. Talking about eliminating dirty industries is how we lose, talking about employing people in green jobs is how we win.
I’m not just talking about state committee meetings with Markey. It’s not Clinton’s fault her remarks were taken out of context. You even refer to the “excellent plan” so for crying out loud fight back rather than concede on those points!
My broader point is that we win on climate when we are talking about creating jobs and building new industries, not arguing with Republicans about whether or not we are destroying old ones. Change the narrative instead of fighting on theirs.
This is … impressively catty. I suppose I should have expected it after by “the poll told him his last name was Kennedy” riff. (Can’t say I’m not proud of that one, heh.)
I’ll point out that Ed has the endorsements of AFSCME and Flight Attendants union (what have you got against flight attendants, huh?), and some 116 state lawmakers — from Bob DeLeo (ahem) to the quite awesome Tami Gouveia and Mike Connolly.
I’d also like to point out that living wage jobs is in fact at the very heart of the Green New Deal:
Welp.
As for “single issue for 46 years”, that’s laughable and jconway knows it. If you want a taste of Markey’s highly varied legislative career, try votesmart.org. For example, do you know about Ed’s work on cell phone accessibility for the deaf? Just a little taste, another little constituency that isn’t flashy or controversial but needs an advocate. That’s him.
Also, Jon Keller, for a very fair, not at all tendentious or pot-stirring take. OK.
I’ve met both Joe and Ed, and they’re both very nice. I remember especially that Ed talked with me quite at length at the 2008 convention about the possibilities for clean energy.
(Again, the only Massachusetts pol who has ever big-timed me was Barney Frank. Big surprise.)
It’s a catty primary, at least on BMG. Maybe we can both do a better job of keeping it substantive? The debate is happening and the clock is dishonest, take it down and let’s talk about the issues.
Jay Gonzalez also got endorsed by everyone from Connolly to DeLeo, the state legislature usually coalesces around establishment candidates or inevitable nominees. Many of those endorsements happened before people knew there was going to be a primary. Legislative powerhouses like Ayanna Pressley and Katherine Clark are staying neutral.
I also like Ed and Joe. What I resent is advocates here treating Joe Kennedy like the second coming of Joe Manchin on climate and Ed Markey like the second coming of Elizabeth Warren or Ted Kennedy. We all know both to be totally untrue.
I support term limits, a lot of people here do not. I support younger more telegenic and social media fluent challengers over established incumbents. Capuano also had a good legislative record and my support in the past. I voted for him for re-election many times and voted for both Capuano and Markey in their respective Senate primaries. Not just because they were better than Coakley or Lynch (they were) but because I genuinely liked them.
But Pressley and Kennedy bring star power and youthful energy that is desperately needed for the issues we all care about. Markey is simply not as visible as those two have been. His record is not as well known. I think that is a liability in this day and age, you do not. That is a fine difference of opinion. In my view in a Republican Senate where nothing gets done, it is the people in the arena using bully pulpits who are most effective. Not aloof personalities who work behind the scenes. Thats a big reason Markey latched onto AOC’s starpower.
Ed and I had a good talk at the 2004 convention, but he brushed me off when we bumped into each other in Downtown Crossing more recently. He seemed tired, haggard, and like he didn’t want to interact with people. Joe is full of energy, excitement, and he channels his grandfathers passion for going to places white Irish Catholics usually do not go. Places like Chelsea. Ed’s been a champion for Lawrence, it isn’t a dig. I just do not think Joe Kennedy is the empty suit, spoiled rich kid, and closet conservative everyone is making him out to be here. If this were an open seat he would be getting support from a lot of the people attacking him now. I think those attacks are unfair, and I think we will all be satisfied with his leadership in the Senate.
I worked very closely with Judy Garcia on an affordable housing campaign in Chelsea, and incidentally worked with youth activists of color who also cared about climate mitigation. All of them are with Joe Kennedy. That matters to me. It matters that places like Salem and JP and the Southcoast that are facing the threats of housing affordability, transit inequity, and the need for green energy matched to green jobs have an advocate who shows up in their communities. Class matters, and the working class communities of color and the people that represent them are sticking their necks out for Joe. That matters too.
Yours truly supports the Green New Deal because it is a living wage jobs program. So does Joe Kennedy.
Frank, who is backing Markey and opposes the primary, described the district he and Kennedy shared as the following:
I think Kennedy can better bridge the divide in the party and the state between blue collar and white collar, immigrant and native born, white and non-white, and unenrolled and registered Democrat better than Ed Markey. That’s another big reason I support him. I think we need more national leaders capable of bridging that divide.
You are a bit too star-struck for my tastes. That’s not what the Senate is for. I see nobody comparing Joe Kennedy to Manchin, but Markey IS right up there with Ted Kennedy and Warren. I’ve seen a few lists indicating our two current Senators are the first and second most progressive Senators in the country, though which is which depends on the list. Also Markey is as working class as they get.
In the very same comment where you write “Maybe we can both do a better job of keeping it substantive?” I find the following gems (emphasis mine):
Aside from again being ageist, are you really suggesting that these are “substantive” points? “Substantive” does not mean “arguments I agree with”.
I REALLY want to again chide you for continued ageism. Energy is energy — Elizabeth Warren is as energetic as any candidate, and she is among the oldest. “Youthful energy” is explicitly ageist, it implies that only the young are energetic. Younger is not more telegenic (except perhaps to unenlightened youngsters 🙂 ).
And again with the Kennedy mystique (“channels his grandfathers passion…”). Our society’s attachment to dead celebrity politicians detracts from our ability to make good choices. I need to also note, parenthetically, that I remember RFK. For all his strengths, RFK was famously introverted:
If you truly like RFK’s political persona, than Ed Markey is your man, as was (as far as being ruthless) Mike Capuano. RFK was not the handsome knight always charging forward into battle with raised lance and with inspiring clouds billowing around him that permeates so much media coverage. Heraldic sound-track music did not swell up each time he appeared on camera. He was a real politician who had to work to break out of his older brother’s shadow. He was a very reluctant presidential candidate. More than anything else, he was very human.
I think the purpose of an election is identify and then elevate the person most able to do what needs to be done in office (and to not do what should not be done).
In my view, qualities like appearance, age, aloofness vs accessibility, passion, and so on, are important to the extent that they amplify the effectiveness of a candidate or official.
Comments like this leave me with the impression that you have inverted these two items.
I am a Warren supporter and donor and agree she has youthful energy and passion. My encounters with Markey have left me with the impression he has been in Washington too long, is reusing stale talking points from the 1980’s, and has not adjusted his communication style to suit the changing state of politics.
Like Biden, he has a tendency to bring up past accomplishments instead of focusing on the future. Like Biden, he has a mixed record on issues like the Iraq War, NAFTA, and school integration. I mean when his own supporters cite his aborted 1984 run for the Senate or his 1970’s ad with the chair in the hall, we are talking about a guy who has not been particularly visible in the last decade or two in this state. He has been even less visible as a Senator.
Even people that do not like Kennedy on this site are not particularly enthusiastic about supporting Markey. Even some of his own supporters wish Pressley ran. Even the Green New Deal is not his idea, it’s AOC’s. It’s a youthful idea he latched onto. I think Kennedy connects with people in a way Markey does not. Obviously I am not convincing anybody here, I just hope when he wins the hyperbole about his record on climate change finally stops and we can recognize a new progressive leader is ready to lead this state and the country.
So people can whine about name recognition or the Kennedy name, but the fact of the matter is, even the no names who decided to run against Markey would have given him a race. Over 40% of the electorate has no opinion about him. That’s pretty abyssmal after nearly 5 decades in public life in this state. I am particularly saddened Pemberton dropped out,
I am open to giving Riordion a hearing when the contest begins. I just dislike the assumption that people in power should stay in power forever. If one will argue the voters are term limits, than primaries like these where the candidates agree is the only way we can make them happen. I see a future President in Kennedy, I see another lackluster term in the Senate from Markey. Others can disagree.
I happen to think we all saw these qualities back when we praised JK3’s speech. I think the same people who always want primaries against entrenched incumbents suddenly flip flop when it’s incumbents they have personal relationships with or who care about the issues they are most passionate about. Let’s have a primary and see who wins. Let’s stop the dishonesty about Kennedy being bad on climate change and let the best candidate win. I happen to think Joe has those qualities you cited and Markey does not. You disagree. Let’s see who wins and end the hyperbole.
I’m fine with statements like “passionate about climate change”, “stronger on immigration reform”, and so on.
It’s words and phrases and like “younger”, “more telegenic”, “star power”, “youthful energy”, and “aloof personalities” that grate against my ears.
I don’t think I’ve ever said that JKIII was bad on any issue, including climate change. I’ve said instead that I think Ed Markey is already leading on the issues we’ve brought up.
If we’re going to end the hyperbole, then let’s please do so — starting with “youthful energy”.
By the by: I am not convinced that Kennedy is “passionate about climate change.” I do not think he even understands global warming except as a kind of litmus test to pass or weakness to be neutralized by going through the motions.
Here’s what someone who was “passionate about climate change” would not do: remove Ed Markey.
It seems pretty clear to me that JKIII’s sense of entitlement and arrogance is a higher priority for him than his passion about climate change.
I strongly suspect that he privately tells himself and friends that:
1. He can do a better job at the climate change battle than Ed Markey
2. He’s entitled to a Senate seat because he’s a Kennedy.
He is a member of the majority as a Representative. That means that he is much more able to:
– Conduct hearings
– Call witnesses
– Propose and pass legislation
This is true for every issue he is passionate about, including climate change.
Even if his bid succeeds, he gives up all this in exchange for being a new Senator with zero seniority. He’ll get a bathroom key and that’s about it.
Ed Markey was passionate about the nuclear freeze 30-odd years ago and chose to give up his Senate bid and remain in the House because of that passion.
If JKIII actually cared about the issues he so publicly speaks about, he would do the same.
Why do you choose “youthful energy” over “energy”?
In a time when many of us strive to identify unconscious racism and sexism within ourselves, is it really appropriate to remain attached to unconscious ageism?
The other thing I wish you would do is more speaking for yourself and less about what you think other people might want. Other people are free to vote their preferences, but I would much rather hear about who YOU think would be best for a given office. Yes, some of us really are enthusiastic about Markey. I may not come across that way because I in general do not have a cheerleader’s personality, but I think it’s safe to say Fred is enthusiastic and sounds like it.
I am a proud Drum Major cheerleader for my champion friend Ed Markey, Christopher ! Make no mistake about that.
And like our hero FDR, the greatest progressive leader of the 20th century, there’s nothing I like better than a good fight!