is kennedy quailified to be us senator?

[paul718]

She's a successful, prominent attorney who interned for one of the senior-most members of the Senate.  She's more qualified than former Majority Leader Bill Frist was to be a Senator.

Was he appointed?  If he was, he shouldn't have been.

[Lunar]

She's a successful, prominent attorney

There's no evidence I've ever seen that she's ever practiced law and it as just today that she renewed her license.

[Lunar]

I don't believe any of those people who mentioned had just entered public life a few months prior.

I mean, someone HAS to be appointed.   But I think it should be someone who has shown some interest in politics, who has shown some knowledge of the issues that New York faces, and someone who has shown some capability to run a successful reelection campaign (Caroline will have to run two in the next four years).

I'm not against appointment.  But does Caroline even know how many automobile factories are in New York?  Does she know how much agriculture is in the state?  Is she to the left or to the right of Schumer?  no one knows

[Lunar]

She's lived in the state longer than Hillary has and she's grown up in one of the most political families in the country, of course she knows politics.  And she was on some Presidential debate committee and again, she interned for one of the most senior members of the Senate.

So is it unfair to ask her to make her positions on the issues relevant to New York open to the governor?  I'm ok with celebrities winning elections, but if you're going to give a lifetime appointment to a celebrity, should that celebrity not have, like, positions on like, issues?

Also, Hillary ran a successful campaign and visited every single county in the state.  It was clear that Hillary was sensitive to (or could at least appear sensitive to) the issues concerning the state.  I'm honestly curious if Caroline has ever been Upstate before in her entire life.

[© tweed]

Lunar, who cares

not worth our time

[Lunar]

Lunar, who cares

not worth our time

nothing we complain about or talk about is worth our time

[© tweed]

you just seem to have an intense emotional attachment to this issue and I just can't get riled up about it.  I don't find it to be even mildly interesting.

[Lunar]

you just seem to have an intense emotional attachment to this issue and I just can't get riled up about it.  I don't find it to be even mildly interesting.

I'm not actually riled up.  It's the internet.

If I make something with {B}{/B} tags, I'm not actually yelling at my screen. 



....or am I?

[© tweed]

only you can answer that, Lunar.

hopefully, as the days begin to get longer, as opposed to shorter, starting in three days here in the Northern Hemisphere, my outlook on Caroline's qualifications will be altered.  but I am not holding my breath.  the downside of nihilism is that you are left with nothing.  and I suppose, by name, it's what I am supposed to want, but my very consciousness is a barrier to my own nirvana.

the problem is that the nihilist mind does not operate on a straight line; having everything is actually, quite ok, but it remains step away from shedding the nihilist label itself and moving on into meaning.  at one point, that was what I had, but that step was evasive.

now I have nothing, except for, as previously mentioned, my own existence.  and, this is the worst I have ever felt, yet it is a mere step away from perfection; that step would be, to shed my own existence.  but that is, of course, barring extreme measures, impossible.

I must locate my own personal God and murder it in order to be able to constructively comment on this thread.

[TeePee4Prez]

I know it distracts from the topic but I ought to clear the air...

For the record, I'll state that when I was little, I used to want to be Irish. For a brief period of time, I even lied to certain people and said I was Irish. I remember in kindergarten, we were making little leperchauns in class and I was asked if I was Irish. Everyone in the class was at least part Irish. I think I just assumed that I was as well. I went home that night and found out that I wasn't. It was disappointing for a little kid. I wanted to be like everyone else especially since I live in an area dominated by Irish Catholics.

As the years went on, I began to realize that not only was I one of the few people that wasn't Irish, I was one of the few people fully Italian. Instead of disliking it, I became proud of it. For a few years in grade school, I became fed up with everything being Irish and began to dislike it. I became fanatically Italian. You think I'm bad now? You really have no idea.  Then, I grew up. I realized that the Irish and Italians actually have a lot in common. It's a shame because I have this one friend who is partly Irish and partly Italian. He's the way I was in grade school. He considers himself fully Italian (though he's only 25%) and hates anything associated with the Irish. It's really quite sad. I'm the one in our group of friends that has to tell our one friend off from time to time and I'm actually the one who is fully Italian.

Ok, no more ethnicity talk. 

If only you grew up in Tacony or South Philly... If only..  Funny I feel weird NOT being Italian when I'm in parts of South Philly.  Hey, your food is sure as hell better than ours. 

Actually I can't stand being mostly Irish.  YAWN.  Wish I had something else besides the little German and Welsh I have which is statistically insignificant and have little bearing on family celebrations, etc. 

[Brittain33]

She's lived in the state longer than Hillary has and she's grown up in one of the most political families in the country, of course she knows politics.  And she was on some Presidential debate committee and again, she interned for one of the most senior members of the Senate.

So is it unfair to ask her to make her positions on the issues relevant to New York open to the governor?  I'm ok with celebrities winning elections, but if you're going to give a lifetime appointment to a celebrity, should that celebrity not have, like, positions on like, issues?

Also, Hillary ran a successful campaign and visited every single county in the state.  It was clear that Hillary was sensitive to (or could at least appear sensitive to) the issues concerning the state.  I'm honestly curious if Caroline has ever been Upstate before in her entire life.

I think he's trolling you, and rather well.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

No, but I still don't see the difference.  None of our Senators were elected until 1913, were none of them qualified?  Zell Miller was appointed, Lincoln Chafee was appointed, Daniel Akaka was appointed, Walter Mondale was appointed, Murkowski, Menendez, Barrasso, and Wicker were all appointed.  All of them were also later elected.  Were they not qualified until they were elected?

Zell Miller: As a former Governor of Georgia, he was unquestionably qualified.
Linc Chafee: Nominated based on his name, though as mayor of Warwick, he was probably one of the most qualified Republicans available.
Daniel Akaka: Served in the U.S. House from 1976 to 1990.  Qualified.
Walter Mondale: Served as Minnesota Attorney General for two terms before appointed.  Qualified.
Murkowski: Nepotism appointee.  Qualified though, as she was serving as the AK House Majority Leader when appointed.
Menendez: Exceptionally qualified with a career in elected legislative politics going back to 1987.  Served 13 years in the U.S. House with a track towards House leadership.
Barasso: Perhaps not the most qualified candidate, but he still spent 5 years in the WY State Senate, where he served as chair of the Transportation and Highways Committee.  Ran for U.S. Senate (unsuccessfully) in 1996.

Common thread amongst all those listed: Past elected office and lengthy public careers.

There is no reason to nominate Caroline Kennedy when there are literally hundreds of people in New York more qualified than she, all with actual public records.

[WalterMitty]

it just smells bad that a possibly unqualified kennedy is going to *appointed*

the democrats best best would to be to appoint a non controversial seat warmer, like the assistant dean of cornell law school, and then have kennedy run in her own right in 2010

[Keystone Phil]

If only you grew up in Tacony or South Philly... If only..  Funny I feel weird NOT being Italian when I'm in parts of South Philly.  Hey, your food is sure as hell better than ours.   

Well, my Mom is from South Philly and my Dad is from Mayfair (only blocks away from Tacony) so... 

[Torie]

Sure why not?  It is not as if the Senate is packed with folks worthy of the office in any event. There are a considerable number of dullards and hacks already there.

[Lunar]

Sure why not?  It is not as if the Senate is packed with folks worthy of the office in any event. There are a considerable number of dullards and hacks already there.

I think there's a reasonable counterargument that says a campaign is at least representative of some form of competence.

Also, there's another reasonable counterargument that says her positions on the issues should be known as well.  Is she to the left or the right of Schumer?

[Torie]

Sure why not?  It is not as if the Senate is packed with folks worthy of the office in any event. There are a considerable number of dullards and hacks already there.

I think there's a reasonable counterargument that says a campaign is at least representative of some form of competence.

Also, there's another reasonable counterargument that says her positions on the issues should be known as well.  Is she to the left or the right of Schumer?

Well competence at campaigning I guess, or being in the right place at the right time.

[TomC]

Of course she is. New York has done much worse. And probably will again. But whatever. So long as it's not "shuck and jive."

[TeePee4Prez]

If only you grew up in Tacony or South Philly... If only..  Funny I feel weird NOT being Italian when I'm in parts of South Philly.  Hey, your food is sure as hell better than ours.   

Well, my Mom is from South Philly and my Dad is from Mayfair (only blocks away from Tacony) so... 

Apparently your parents wanted to be near us Micks!

[Eraserhead]

Oh, guess what I heard on TV today!  She's on a "listening tour" of upstate and has been expressing her views and concerns for New York and the country.  So that's that, she's qualified then.

Ha, well that would be something of a step in the right direction, since I have no clue what her political views really are (beyond the fact that she really likes Obama omg).

[Keystone Phil]

If only you grew up in Tacony or South Philly... If only..  Funny I feel weird NOT being Italian when I'm in parts of South Philly.  Hey, your food is sure as hell better than ours.   

Well, my Mom is from South Philly and my Dad is from Mayfair (only blocks away from Tacony) so... 

Apparently your parents wanted to be near us Micks!

Hey, we have a good deal of Italians up here. 

[Ogre Mage]

Unknown, which is the most worrisome thing about it.  She brings huge built-in advantages into the seat, but at this point one cannot say how well-equipped she is to take on the duties.  Ideally, it would be better if New Yorkers could see a campaign from her first.  But Paterson understandably may want to get a permanent replacement in there now. 

[rbt48]

I think it is a riot that she is "campaigning" for an appointment.  This is unheard of in my recollection anywhere else.  It certainly didn't happen in Delaware, did it?  How about just letting Patterson appoint someone without all the hoopla! 

This whole effort could backfire on her.  Already I heard reports of checks to see how often she had even voted in the past.  I guess it turned out to be not very frequently.

Is she qualified?  Of course.  She is over 30 and a resident of New York.  I suppose the question in general is being raised by Democrats in NY who wanted the appointment for themselves.  I mean, how well qualified was the pick in Delaware, or Barrasso in Wyoming?

[rbt48]

When no one responds to your own little post, I guess you have to assume that you effectively captured the subject at hand and there is nothing else to add.

;-)

[Lincoln Republican]

If Caroline Kennedy was not a Kennedy, and had the exact same background and experience that Croline Kennedy has, and let it be known that she wanted to be appointed U.S. Senator from New York, there is no way that she would be considered.  She would be laughed off the stage. 

A much better appointee and a qualified appointee would be New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.  He has a well known New York name, yes, but, along with the name, he brings the qualifications as well.