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Report: Ted Kennedy's Sons Ask For Ex-DNC Chair Paul Kirk To Be Appointed To Senate Seat
The Late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA)
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The Associated Press reports that two of Ted Kennedy's sons, Ted Kennedy Jr. and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), have asked Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint former DNC chairman Paul Kirk as interim Senator, once a bill providing for an appointment is signed into law.
Kirk is a long-time Kennedy family friend, who served on Ted Kennedy's staff from 1969-1977 and regularly visited the late Senator before he died. He is currently the chairman of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
A lot of press speculation has centered around former Gov. Mike Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic nominee for president. But this development is a sign that a Dukakis appointment isn't necessarily a foregone conclusion.
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JohnMcCSF
September 23, 2009 12:33 PM
I remember working across the hall from EMK's office. All of us young staffers for a freshman senator were in awe of Paul Kirk
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Zell
September 23, 2009 12:43 PM
How about we take this opportunity to stop nepotism, instead of expanding it?
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Schmed
September 23, 2009 1:14 PM in reply to Zell
Anyone Patrick appoints is going to be a friend of Teddy's. It was impossible to be a Democrat in MA without being a friend of Ted (eventually).
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Zell
September 23, 2009 2:50 PM in reply to Schmed
That's not my point. My point is that Ted Kennedy's sons are apparently being given special treatment, above any other citizen of Massachusetts, in the choice of the next Senator.
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Schmed
September 23, 2009 2:58 PM in reply to Zell
Media attention doesn't equate to gubernatorial obsequiousness.
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DrToast
September 23, 2009 1:21 PM in reply to Zell
Kirk seems qualified. What's your beef with him?
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Zell
September 23, 2009 2:51 PM in reply to DrToast
I have no beef with him. I have a beef with the idea that the opinions of Ted Kennedy's sons, with respect to the decision of who should be appointed Senator, should be treated with any more deference than the opinions of any other citizen of Massachusetts.
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terje
September 23, 2009 1:21 PM in reply to Zell
Appointing Kirk wouldn't be any kind of expansion of nepotism... he isn't a Kennedy family member, but was a trusted advisor to Senator Kennedy for decades.
It seems that Gov. Patrick should seek an interim replacement who will fulfill the will of Massachusetts voters, who re-elected Kennedy with 69% of the vote in 2006. To that end, it makes sense to appoint someone to serve until the January election who will be consistent with Kennedy's views and priorities. Paul Kirk would certainly meet that description (as would Vicki Kennedy, and a number of other folks who have advised and worked closely with Kennedy during his service).
If the appointed Senator were going to serve longer than a few months or were going to run in the special election, I would feel differently about this -- but it seems to me that the proper course in this case is for Patrick to appoint someone close to Kennedy for this short period until Massachusetts voters have the opportunity to make their selection.
(And, for the record, I have mixed feelings about Paul Kirk, having clashed with him on a variety of issues when he was DNC chair - he wouldn't be my choice, but I'm not the one making the appointment.)
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Zell
September 23, 2009 2:52 PM in reply to terje
I'm not saying it's nepotism to imply that he's a Kennedy family member. I'm saying it's nepotism that Kennedy family members are choosing the next Senator.
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terje
September 23, 2009 3:42 PM in reply to Zell
The Kennedy family is not choosing the next Senator, Gov. Patrick is. He is free to consult whoever he wants to in that regard - and I'm sure that consultation includes many more advisors than just members of the Kennedy family.
And it is not surprising or unwarranted that the late Senator's family have opinions about how to best continue his legacy.
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SpiderPig
September 23, 2009 1:16 PM
Any chance of Dukakis actually running if he isn't appointed?
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Schmed
September 23, 2009 1:23 PM in reply to SpiderPig
It's too late to get into the game practically speaking with all of the $$$ going to Cloakley and Capuano.
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Walter Mitty
September 23, 2009 1:44 PM in reply to Schmed
Unless your last name is Kennedy.
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Schmed
September 23, 2009 1:52 PM in reply to Walter Mitty
or Pagliuca (whose fortune is estimated at $400 million).
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shooter242
September 23, 2009 1:52 PM
Well let's see The Democrats enact a law that the Governor can't appoint a senate successor to stave off Romney, change the law to accommodate the same Democrats, and now the Kennedy's are instructing the Dems who to name for the new regime.
You're right this isn't nepotism, it's cronyism and even more corrupt.
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Schmed
September 23, 2009 1:58 PM in reply to shooter242
Remember that saying about broken clocks?
Trolls too.
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exregis
September 23, 2009 2:16 PM in reply to shooter242
"Instructing?" That's a claim based on what, exactly? Tea bag readings?
The wisest thing a governor (who has no experience with the Senate) can do for this appointment is to seek counsel from as many people as possible. And the most responsible thing those experienced with the US Congress can do is to offer counsel. That's best strategy.
Kirk is a better choice than Dukakis for two reasons: He knows how the Senate works and he knows what Kennedy would have done in most cases. Dukakis is an honorable and distinguished former governor who will spend the next few months leaning heavily on Kennedy's staff to cope with the job. Then he'll leave the Senate.
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opt
September 23, 2009 5:23 PM in reply to shooter242
Representative democracy they call it. It seems to be a tough concept for some people these days.
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