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Home Front: Politix
Caroline Kennedy interested in NY Senate seat
2008-12-06
I always thought that she'd move up here and run for Uncle Teddy's seat when he goes to the Big Oldsmobile in the Sky as I believe that was her father's seat.
WASHINGTON -- Caroline Kennedy is interested in the Senate seat that would open once Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes secretary of state, according to a close relative who says the powerful Kennedy clan is fully behind her rising to the office previously held by her uncle.

"I know she's interested," Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Friday. "She spent a lot of her life balancing public service with obligations to her family. Now her children are grown, and she is ready to move onto a bigger stage."

Once Clinton is confirmed to President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet, New York Gov. David Paterson will appoint someone to fill the seat for two years. The Kennedy family's connections and history cannot force Paterson to choose Caroline, who is the daughter of President John F. Kennedy. But the family's strong support could increase pressure on Paterson to choose her above lesser-known contenders.

Seeking the Senate seat would also be a significant departure from the life that she has lived until now, zealously guarding her family's privacy -- and her own.

Robert Kennedy said the family would come out en masse for her if she does get the appointment and has to run for election in 2010. "If she runs, you will see more Kennedys than you have ever seen in your life," he said.
Oh...goody.
Is that a threat or a promise ...
An environmental quack and ex junkie lawyer who took himself out of consideration for the Senate seat earlier this week, Robert Kennedy said he has spoken to his cousin about the position and is one of "many, many people" urging her to seek it. He also offered a policy rationale for her in the role: education. "She's probably one of the leading advocates in the nation on public education. She feels a lot of the issues she's worked on are in danger of being shunted aside because of the economic crisis," he said.

Democrats said Caroline Kennedy and Paterson have already spoken about the Senate seat, and she is interested. As a prominent member of the Kennedy clan, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg is the kind of high-profile, historic figure who could overshadow many other New York politicians hoping to be Paterson's choice. The governor has said he is in no rush to make a decision, and Clinton is not giving up the seat before she is confirmed as President-elect Barack Obama's secretary of state. Whoever Paterson appoints would serve for two years and then have to run in a special election in 2010, along with Paterson and New York's senior senator, Charles Schumer. The candidate would then have to run again in 2012.

She is easily the most famous contender for Clinton's Senate seat, but there are plenty of others. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is widely known in the state. Paterson could also pick Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown or Tom Suozzi, a Long Island elected official. There are also a number of House members in the running, including Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Kirsten Gillibrand, Steve Israel, Brian Higgins, Nydia Velazquez and Jerrold Nadler.
Compared to that crew, she's probably not a bad pick.
Posted by:tu3031

#10  How about Yolanda Vega? She's Hispancic and easily as qualified as Mrs. Schlossberg.
Posted by: JDB   2008-12-06 22:38  

#9  I hear Eliott Spitzer's not doing anything right now....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2008-12-06 21:51  

#8  whoa...  Comment format change.

Sorry about the double post.  On firefox, after you hit comment it takes you to the previous page.
Posted by: DarthVader   2008-12-06 11:09  

#7  Exactly OS.  No more Kennedys, Bushes, Clintons, etc.  We have had enough.  The only the families bring to a democracy is elite entitlement.
Posted by: DarthVader   2008-12-06 11:07  

#6  Exactly OS.  No more Kennedys, Bushes, Clintons, etc.  We have had enough.  The only the families bring to a democracy is elite entitlement.
Posted by: DarthVader   2008-12-06 11:07  

#5  
Her only "qualification" is her last name.  She has never run a company, never been elected to anything of note, and never accomplished anything.  The only thing that she has "done" is be a darling of the liberal left, and the press.


Remind you of anyone?


Put Guiliani against her and rip her to shreds.


 


Say NO to dynasties - look at Ted Kennedy and GW Bush as examples.
Posted by: OldSpook   2008-12-06 11:02  

#4  Anybody ever ask what she thinks her qualifications are in runnin gfor public office?

I say we Palinize her.
Posted by: Angetch Stalin2197   2008-12-06 09:32  

#3  House of Lords (old style)? So we'll take up the King thing soon (L'Etat, c'est moi, says The Big 0)?
Posted by: Glenmore   2008-12-06 08:50  

#2  
yuck.
Posted by: lotp   2008-12-06 08:03  

#1  "If she runs, you will see more Kennedys than you have ever seen in your life," he said.

I think that is a tad more revealing statement about the Kennedys than Bob realizes.
Posted by: badanov   2008-12-06 01:58  

00:00