MA-SEN Megathread: Senator Markey wins

[Rookie Yinzer]

I will preface this by saying that I didn’t care about who won the primary. Don’t bring up my username.

Now that this is over, the Markey stans did the absolute most demonizing Kennedy for running. You can support someone else in a primary without having to turn the other person into Satan. Now hopefully Markey will turn the Green New Deal into an actual cohesive policy/bill instead of a slogan low info Bernie stans regurgitate on Twitter.

*ducks from tomatoes*

[Calthrina950]

Kennedy's loss, as noted above, means he is the first member of that family to ever lose an election in Massachusetts. And another thing-once his House term ends on January 3, 2021, it will be the first time in 74 years that no direct descendant of Joseph Kennedy Sr. will hold elected office anywhere in the United States. This doesn't count Amy Kennedy, Van Drew's opponent in New Jersey, who married into the family. Hopefully, the Kennedy dynasty will now find its way into the history books, like the Roosevelts and Tafts have.

We have George P Bush carrying on the terrible legacy of the Bushes. John Donley Adams tried running for office in 2017, but lost.

True, and I wouldn't be surprised if Bush ran for either Governor or Senator in Texas once Cornyn or Abbott retires. But we'll see what happens.

[Tiger08]

Kennedy's loss, as noted above, means he is the first member of that family to ever lose an election in Massachusetts. And another thing-once his House term ends on January 3, 2021, it will be the first time in 74 years that no direct descendant of Joseph Kennedy Sr. will hold elected office anywhere in the United States. This doesn't count Amy Kennedy, Van Drew's opponent in New Jersey, who married into the family. Hopefully, the Kennedy dynasty will now find its way into the history books, like the Roosevelts and Tafts have.

We have George P Bush carrying on the terrible legacy of the Bushes. John Donley Adams tried running for office in 2017, but lost.

True, and I wouldn't be surprised if Bush ran for either Governor or Senator in Texas once Cornyn or Abbott retires. But we'll see what happens.

I can see that too, but I am near-certain Crenshaw will run for something

[GoTfan]

I will preface this by saying that I didn’t care about who won the primary. Don’t bring up my username.

Now that this is over, the Markey stans did the absolute most demonizing Kennedy for running. You can support someone else in a primary without having to turn the other person into Satan. Now hopefully Markey will turn the Green New Deal into an actual cohesive policy/bill instead of a slogan low info Bernie stans regurgitate on Twitter.

*ducks from tomatoes*

Talks about online people demonising Kennedy.

Is a Kamala fan.

I spot some cognitive dissonance.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

The system is already rigged, Trump beating Hillary should tell you all you need to know about politics and money

[Indy Texas]

Tory men, Whig measures. Biden men, Bernie measures.

https://twitter.com/EdMarkey/status/1300996513393520640?s=20

[Morning in Atlas]

Let this and Ro Khanna's ascendancy show that you will be welcomed with open arms if you reach out to us.

[Xing]

Of course we get arguments that invoke “Bernie Bros” in a race where Sanders didn’t even make an endorsement. I’m not going to rehash the 2016/2020 primary, but I don’t take kindly to the implication that progressives are “out of touch” or “don’t care about working class people.” Speaking as someone who was down on his luck a few years ago despite doing everything right and whose ideology is mostly based on making this country more equitable and giving more opportunities for those living in poverty, I may not have all of the solutions, but I do have some idea what it’s like to struggle, and I’m not some ivory tower elitist. I could go into a long post about my work, but that’s another topic for another time. The fact that sometimes the progressive candidate doesn’t win the working class vote (sometimes they do, of course) does not mean that they “don’t care” about working class people.

Anyway, glad that Markey won, and that it was lopsided enough that it became clear pretty quickly that this was over. On to the GE.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

The system is already rigged, Trump beating Hillary should tell you all you need to know about politics and money

The first election a Kennedy won, 74 years ago had two Joe Russos running because the Kennedy family incorrectly guessed that Joe Russo was their main competitor and found someone with the same name to split the vote. I guess Joe Kennedy couldn't find an Ed Markey.

[LtNOWIS]

Reminder of how giving the State of the Union response seems to so often doom you when you want to advance your career any further.

2010 - Gov. Bob McDonnell (went to prison for corruption)
2011 - Rep. Paul Ryan (lost VP campaign; brief speakership was a disaster)
2012 - Gov. Mitch Daniels (never ran for POTUS or Senate)
2013 - Sen. Marco Rubio (2016 presidential campaign imploded)
2014 - Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (term limited out of her chairmanship and has no hope of election to higher office in her state)
2015 - Sen. Joni Ernst (let's see how this goes)
2016 - Gov. Nikki Haley (is going to run for president in 2024 and do about as well as Jeb did)
2018 - Rep. Joe Kennedy (tried and failed to primary an incumbent senator)

Very good observation, but I need to make one correction.

Bob McDonnell never went to prison. He never saw the inside of a cell. SCOTUS unanimously threw out his conviction.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Reminder of how giving the State of the Union response seems to so often doom you when you want to advance your career any further.

2010 - Gov. Bob McDonnell (went to prison for corruption)
2011 - Rep. Paul Ryan (lost VP campaign; brief speakership was a disaster)
2012 - Gov. Mitch Daniels (never ran for POTUS or Senate)
2013 - Sen. Marco Rubio (2016 presidential campaign imploded)
2014 - Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (term limited out of her chairmanship and has no hope of election to higher office in her state)
2015 - Sen. Joni Ernst (let's see how this goes)
2016 - Gov. Nikki Haley (is going to run for president in 2024 and do about as well as Jeb did)
2018 - Rep. Joe Kennedy (tried and failed to primary an incumbent senator)

Ironically one of the worst responses was Bill Clinton's in 1985.

[SevenEleven]

Why do so many pretend that many Markey supporters werent/aren't also Biden supporters?

[Pulaski]

I will preface this by saying that I didn’t care about who won the primary. Don’t bring up my username.

Now that this is over, the Markey stans did the absolute most demonizing Kennedy for running. You can support someone else in a primary without having to turn the other person into Satan. Now hopefully Markey will turn the Green New Deal into an actual cohesive policy/bill instead of a slogan low info Bernie stans regurgitate on Twitter.

*ducks from tomatoes*

You say this like Kennedy had concrete policies outside of "my family's famous."

[Morning in Atlas]

Kennedy's six-month Icarus impression managed to not only fail, but allow a Republican to succeed his seat.

I hope he's happy with himself.

[new_patomic]

Kennedy ultimately never found his argument.

He seemed to want to try and make it about Markey being out of touch and ineffective, but never really found a rhythm.

Sometimes the argument seemed to be Kennedy would be more effective because he's a better surrogate for Democrats nationally, which implies spending more time out of the state. And other times it was that Markey was in Washington too much. Or that there's more to being in office than just voting on bills, which is true, but then the question becomes what is it that Kennedy is bringing to the table in terms of advocacy that Markey doesn't? What's his cause?

And simple mistakes like misspellings or trying to ding Markey on towns which haven't existed for decades, don't exactly help strengthen the case.

The irony is that at the very end he seemed to finally do what he had mostly avoided for most of the campaign; using his family and family legacy. But after mounts of people alleging this bid was hubris on his part, it was probably the wrong thing to do even if Markey gave him the opening.

Maybe the lesson is that, fair or not, it would just always be a bridge too far for someone with his last name to try and run on being the generational change candidate, or a 'new' voice.

[Intell]

Markey's base resembled Warren's base of professional college educated liberal areas, in addition to that he gained the Boston suburbia both upper and middle class that went to Biden and won small-town western Massachusetts which is largely working class- which was more sanders territory, as well as young people, another sanders base. Kennedy crushed in other WWC areas of white ethnic areas in Bristol county. I don't know how minorities voted but it was largely probably for Kennedy. The class element in this race (outside of Western MA) is one in where the wealthy went for Markey and the poors went for Kennedy.

[TheTide]

Having almost half a century of campaigning experience counted for more than having a famous name, it turned out.

[Mike88]

Well, 2020 continues to... well, you get my point:

January: Almost WW3
February: Australia wildfires
March: Covid
April: Krakatoa
May: George Floyd
June: Race riots
July: Person, woman, man, camera, TV
August: Jacob Blake
September: A Kennedy loses an election in Massachusetts

Kennedy also won by just 52% to 48% the town where the famous Kennedy Compound is located.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Why do so many pretend that many Markey supporters werent/aren't also Biden supporters?

Yes, every Biden supporter on this forum were Markey supporters. One pollster pollsted they rather see Connor Lamb in office than Joe Kennedy and they said that Markey was the more progressive candidate, should Toomey retire in 2022.

I think it was Andy

The Biden supporters, didn't want Joe Kennedy due to the fact, he is a threat to Kamala Harris 2024 run for Prez should Biden run for only 1 term or if Biden serves 2 terms, Kamala Harris would be the nominee in 2028. That's obvious, this extinguishes his Prez aspirations.

Both Beto and Sinema were the campaign managers of Kennedy, this put a negative mark on their brand of politics

[Roblox]

It’s funny watching people who complain about the left never compromising getting upset over the left compromising and supporting someone with a mixed record because he supported their key policies.

[TiltsAreUnderrated]

Anyone know if Vermin Supreme got enough Libertarian Primary write-in votes to qualify for the November ballot? I can't find a tally of/tracker for that anywhere.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Now, Markey can stay a Senator and stay 1 out a 100 and not do much productive in the Senate like he always do, thanks AOC, whom is a Latina, whom endorsed Markey over a Kennedy, which is unheard of, Latinos and AA are very supportive of Kennedys. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Cuomo whom are married into the Kennedy clan of Shriver and Kerry Kennedy with Cuomo, got the largest Latino support, due to being Kennedys

[LabourJersey]

Kennedy's loss, as noted above, means he is the first member of that family to ever lose an election in Massachusetts. And another thing-once his House term ends on January 3, 2021, it will be the first time in 74 years that no direct descendant of Joseph Kennedy Sr. will hold elected office anywhere in the United States. This doesn't count Amy Kennedy, Van Drew's opponent in New Jersey, who married into the family. Hopefully, the Kennedy dynasty will now find its way into the history books, like the Roosevelts and Tafts have.

We have George P Bush carrying on the terrible legacy of the Bushes. John Donley Adams tried running for office in 2017, but lost.

One of the Adams family tried to get into politics?

Honestly I wouldn't mind that.

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

Kennedy's loss, as noted above, means he is the first member of that family to ever lose an election in Massachusetts. And another thing-once his House term ends on January 3, 2021, it will be the first time in 74 years that no direct descendant of Joseph Kennedy Sr. will hold elected office anywhere in the United States. This doesn't count Amy Kennedy, Van Drew's opponent in New Jersey, who married into the family. Hopefully, the Kennedy dynasty will now find its way into the history books, like the Roosevelts and Tafts have.

We have George P Bush carrying on the terrible legacy of the Bushes. John Donley Adams tried running for office in 2017, but lost.

One of the Adams family tried to get into politics?

Honestly I wouldn't mind that.

The Adamses actually had a ton of staying power back in the day. Charles Francis Adams was US Minister to the UK during the Civil War, his grandson Charles Francis Adams III was Hoover's Secretary of the Navy, and Thomas Boylston Adams ran in the Democratic US Senate primary in Massachusetts in 1966 as an anti-Vietnam War candidate. So John Adams and his direct descendants participated in American politics for almost two hundred years. The Kennedys need to step up their game!

As to the thread topic, I'm obviously relieved that Markey won (and by a fairly convincing margin, too!), but I don't necessarily love that he cleaned up in MetroWest and behind the Tofu Curtain while losing Springfield, New Bedford, Fall River, Lowell, Lawrence, etc.

[Calthrina950]

Kennedy's loss, as noted above, means he is the first member of that family to ever lose an election in Massachusetts. And another thing-once his House term ends on January 3, 2021, it will be the first time in 74 years that no direct descendant of Joseph Kennedy Sr. will hold elected office anywhere in the United States. This doesn't count Amy Kennedy, Van Drew's opponent in New Jersey, who married into the family. Hopefully, the Kennedy dynasty will now find its way into the history books, like the Roosevelts and Tafts have.

We have George P Bush carrying on the terrible legacy of the Bushes. John Donley Adams tried running for office in 2017, but lost.

One of the Adams family tried to get into politics?

Honestly I wouldn't mind that.

The Adamses actually had a ton of staying power back in the day. Charles Francis Adams was US Minister to the UK during the Civil War, his grandson Charles Francis Adams III was Hoover's Secretary of the Navy, and Thomas Boylston Adams ran in the Democratic US Senate primary in Massachusetts in 1966 as an anti-Vietnam War candidate. So John Adams and his direct descendants participated in American politics for almost two hundred years. The Kennedys need to step up their game!

As to the thread topic, I'm obviously relieved that Markey won (and by a fairly convincing margin, too!), but I don't necessarily love that he cleaned up in MetroWest and behind the Tofu Curtain while losing Springfield, New Bedford, Fall River, Lowell, Lawrence, etc.

The general pattern seems to be that Markey won the wealthier, college-educated, upper class and middle class areas, while Kennedy dominated the poorer, minority heavy, working class and lower class areas. Why did this result happen? Does it provide evidence that upper-class Democratic voters are more "woke" and more deeply invested in progressive ideas, while working-class Democratic voters are less "woke" and more moderate? Or something else entirely? Given Markey's working class origins and Kennedy's status as the member of one of this country's most historically important political dynasties, it does seem to be an ironic result.