Rate the MA-Sen Dem Primary

[Thunder98]

Kennedy has officially announce his Senate bid against Markey and what's your ratings for the primary race?

[MillennialModerate]

Likely Kennedy.

I’m not willing to go “Safe” - because the far left whack jobs that don’t realize how fortunate we are in this state to have the Kennedy’s, especially a young, good looking, squeaky clean one at that. Sadly their are quite a few who subscribe to the ridiculous “wait your turn” perspective so that’s keeping me on edge and calling this a Likely.

[😥]

Lean Kennedy. I hope Markey will win in upset

[Gracile]

This early I'd peg the race as "Lean Kennedy".

[Coldstream]

Lean Kennedy. He could implode but I doubt it.

[SnowLabrador]

Safe Kennedy. I live in Massachusetts, and if you think Markey has a chance in this primary, you don't know the first thing about my state's politics. Markey might as well retire now.

[The Arizonan]

Safe Kennedy. I live in Massachusetts, and if you think Markey has a chance in this primary, you don't know the first thing about my state's politics. Markey might as well retire now.

What is going on? Is Ed Markey too old and/or not progressive enough for Massachusetts?

[Figueira]

Safe Kennedy. I live in Massachusetts, and if you think Markey has a chance in this primary, you don't know the first thing about my state's politics. Markey might as well retire now.

What is going on? Is Ed Markey too old and/or not progressive enough for Massachusetts?

He's not too old (he's barely older than Warren) and it's hard to get more progressive than him within our current political setup.

I think Kennedy is an empty suit and hopefully people will see this, but I'm not confident. Tossup.

[DaWN]

Lean Kennedy but people writing Markey's obituary should think back to when Gov Hanabusa was inevitable

[Free Bird]

Lean Kennedy but people writing Markey's obituary should think back to when Gov Hanabusa was inevitable

This. Yeah, he's a Kennedy, and thus has infinite money, but Markey has all the establishment behind him (and Warren).

[Badger]

Safe Kennedy. I live in Massachusetts, and if you think Markey has a chance in this primary, you don't know the first thing about my state's politics. Markey might as well retire now.

Care to actually elaborate?

[RussFeingoldWasRobbed]

So they will vote out a perfectly normal, progressive incumbent just because they want another Kennedy in office? Help us all.

[SnowLabrador]

Safe Kennedy. I live in Massachusetts, and if you think Markey has a chance in this primary, you don't know the first thing about my state's politics. Markey might as well retire now.

What is going on? Is Ed Markey too old and/or not progressive enough for Massachusetts?

It's the Kennedy name. They are worshipped here.

[brucejoel99]

Likely Kennedy.

I’m not willing to go “Safe” - because the far left whack jobs that don’t realize how fortunate we are in this state to have the Kennedy’s, especially a young, good looking, squeaky clean one at that. Sadly their are quite a few who subscribe to the ridiculous “wait your turn” perspective so that’s keeping me on edge and calling this a Likely.

Hmm, that's funny, I'm a Biden supporter (so, hardly a "far-left whack job") but I realize that Joe Kennedy is nothing more than a legacy whose entire political career has consisted of coasting off of his last name & who's running for nothing more than his ego & because he thinks he's entitled to this seat. Not to mention, Markey has been a fantastic Senator whose tenure just doesn't warrant such a ridiculous primary challenge.

As for my rating, tossup.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Lean Kennedy

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Strong Lean Kennedy because people with MillennialMAModerate's attitude towards the Kennedys are a powerful constituency within the Massachusetts Democratic Party,

but people writing Markey's obituary should think back to when Gov Hanabusa was inevitable

[The Arizonan]

If Ed Markey is legitimately a horrible senator, then Joe Kennedy has every right to challenge him for the nomination. However, in this case, Joe Kennedy feels entitled to the Senate seat because of his lineage and can't wait for his freaking turn.

[DeSantis2024]

Likely Kennedy but even as a conservative I hope Markey pulls it out. Markey is definitely more progressive than Kennedy but I can’t stand the Kennedy’s of today they’re a bunch of spoiled entitled brats tbh.

[Dr Oz Lost Party!]

Lean Kennedy. He’s a much more exciting candidate and I don’t think Markey will be able to keep up.

[MillennialModerate]

If Ed Markey is legitimately a horrible senator, then Joe Kennedy has every right to challenge him for the nomination. However, in this case, Joe Kennedy feels entitled to the Senate seat because of his lineage and can't wait for his freaking turn.

Can someone explain this to me. The whole wait your turn thing is ridiculous. This is a DEMOCRACY. Anyone can run and try to make a difference. Anyone. Just because you’re the incumbent doesn’t mean everyone in your party should just “wait” until you don’t feel like being in that spot anymore.

(Note: I do understand the concept at the PRESIDENTIAL level because if the challenger loses the primary, it damages the incumbent for the general. But for every other office it’s stupid and
unbecoming of our democratic system)

He’s the ironic thing in THIS race. Let’s say Kennedy was the incumbent and Markey decided to run. If the Kennedy supporters were saying things like “ wait your turn” or “why primary a good progressive” - ALL we’d be hearing from the other side is “Kennedy doesn’t think anyone should be allowed to challenge him for because it’s HIS seat and he’s entitled to it because he’s a Kennedy”.

[MillennialModerate]

Likely Kennedy.

I’m not willing to go “Safe” - because the far left whack jobs that don’t realize how fortunate we are in this state to have the Kennedy’s, especially a young, good looking, squeaky clean one at that. Sadly their are quite a few who subscribe to the ridiculous “wait your turn” perspective so that’s keeping me on edge and calling this a Likely.

Hmm, that's funny, I'm a Biden supporter (so, hardly a "far-left whack job") but I realize that Joe Kennedy is nothing more than a legacy whose entire political career has consisted of coasting off of his last name & who's running for nothing more than his ego & because he thinks he's entitled to this seat. Not to mention, Markey has been a fantastic Senator whose tenure just doesn't warrant such a ridiculous primary challenge.

As for my rating, tossup.

I’m a Biden supporter and a moderate obviously.

Can you explain to me how Markey has been a fantastic Senator? .... other than trying to score points with the far left by jumping on AOC’s baby (GND)

[Politician]

Very telling how all the worst Democrats are supporting Kennedy.

[Sestak]

Lean Dipsh*t

[Heebie Jeebie]

Likely Kennedy.

I’m not willing to go “Safe” - because the far left whack jobs that don’t realize how fortunate we are in this state to have the Kennedy’s, especially a young, good looking, squeaky clean one at that. Sadly their are quite a few who subscribe to the ridiculous “wait your turn” perspective so that’s keeping me on edge and calling this a Likely.

Hmm, that's funny, I'm a Biden supporter (so, hardly a "far-left whack job") but I realize that Joe Kennedy is nothing more than a legacy whose entire political career has consisted of coasting off of his last name & who's running for nothing more than his ego & because he thinks he's entitled to this seat. Not to mention, Markey has been a fantastic Senator whose tenure just doesn't warrant such a ridiculous primary challenge.

As for my rating, tossup.

I’m a Biden supporter and a moderate obviously.

Can you explain to me how Markey has been a fantastic Senator? .... other than trying to score points with the far left by jumping on AOC’s baby (GND)

Seriously, this. Has Markey accomplished anything of note in his four decades in Congress?  Massachusetts deserves better.

[brucejoel99]

Likely Kennedy.

I’m not willing to go “Safe” - because the far left whack jobs that don’t realize how fortunate we are in this state to have the Kennedy’s, especially a young, good looking, squeaky clean one at that. Sadly their are quite a few who subscribe to the ridiculous “wait your turn” perspective so that’s keeping me on edge and calling this a Likely.

Hmm, that's funny, I'm a Biden supporter (so, hardly a "far-left whack job") but I realize that Joe Kennedy is nothing more than a legacy whose entire political career has consisted of coasting off of his last name & who's running for nothing more than his ego & because he thinks he's entitled to this seat. Not to mention, Markey has been a fantastic Senator whose tenure just doesn't warrant such a ridiculous primary challenge.

As for my rating, tossup.

I’m a Biden supporter and a moderate obviously.

Can you explain to me how Markey has been a fantastic Senator? .... other than trying to score points with the far left by jumping on AOC’s baby (GND)

Jumping on AOC's baby? Not only did he co-write this year's resolution with her (so, if anything, it's equally his baby), but it was a full 7 years before AOC was even born, let alone a baby herself, when Markey began to lead the charge for environmental protections in the House, so his long record of fighting for the environment is clear as day, especially considering he has a perfect score from the League of Conservation Voters & authored both the 2009 cap-&-trade bill as well as the 1982 Nuclear Freeze Resolution. So to imply that his environmental activism is nothing more than an attempt to get leftists to support him in the here & now is disingenuous & nothing short of an outright lie.

As for other issues, people will obviously have their own interpretations as to whether Markey has been a good Senator. There's no real need to provide evidence for something that's a personal decision. But if you're really more interested in hearing opinions, mine is that Massachusetts needs a strong advocate against climate change, & Markey obviously provides a strong voice in that regard. Warren does her anti-corporate-malfeasance shtick, & together, they're a good duo.

If you want to know about where he stands on the non-environmental issues, though, since you apparently don't seem to take his environmental activism seriously, his commitment to supporting net neutrality was such that he was solely responsible for spearheading the CRA petition which resulted in the Republican-controlled Senate voting to restore net neutrality. And even before the net neutrality debacle, he was already Capitol Hill's premier fighter of the telecom industry, making them earn their massive government subsidies & holding them accountable for not fulfilling their promises.

So, issues wise, he's about as great as you could as for: he's fantastic on the environment, he supports both net neutrality & the internet being treated like a utility, he's helped lead the fight against Trump's attempt to create a culture of terror against our immigrants, & he sponsored a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.

(And personally speaking, I've had two great experiences with Markey, & I'm not even from Massachusetts. The first was that Markey did everything he could to try to help a friend of mine from Massachusetts get into a service academy (which wound up being for the best, as he would've had the dishonor of having to say he once served under our current Commander-in-Chief lol). The second was my running into him outside a Walgreens in Boston, where an SEIU protest was taking place, & he actually took the time to stop & shake my hand even though he was taking on a very busy role in the protest.)

Meanwhile, it was Joe Kennedy who was anti-marijuana until he changed his stance when it was obvious he'd otherwise be left behind, who apparently mistakenly voted in favor of nuclear weapons, who voted "against legislation curtailing the government's data snooping power", who voted to curtail Dodd-Frank by making it harder to designate financial firms systemically important, who co-sponsored the bill that would've banned boycotts of Israel (which, regardless of where you stand on Israel, is just wholly undemocratic in & of itself), & who's heavily invested in fossil fuel companies.

And even disregarding all of that, contrary to you, I just think it's beyond the pale that we as a society are continuing to lift up people just because of their last names. Massachusetts is a state of ~7 million people that contains world class universities & educational systems, & you should be able to field a much deeper bench than just continuing to elect the same family. Now, don't get me wrong. I loved Ted Kennedy. He was a really interesting & inspiring person. But to do what you're doing, giving the family another leg up simply because they're legacies, is rather unfortunate.

So yeah, in my opinion, Massachusetts already has an incredibly underrated & exceptional senator whose taken (& will continue to take) a strong seat at the table on the good side of an otherwise spineless Congress in Markey, & you'd be wrong to get rid of that by replacing him with Kennedy.