MA-SEN Megathread: Senator Markey wins

[brucejoel99]

Everybody in Massachusetts (or, at least, my corner of Massachusetts) knows that Kennedy is only running because he thinks being named Kennedy entitles him to it. The problem is that a significant sector of the Massachusetts electorate agrees with him that being named Kennedy entitles him to it.

Come on, you have to admit that the Kennedy name would be a genuine asset for Massachusetts in the Senate. Being a Kennedy means that he'll command the national spotlight in a way Markey never could. Is it fair?  Not really.  But if I were a Massachusetts voter I'd want to be represented by a Senator with maximum influence. I'd want to be represented by a Kennedy.

Bingo

The Senate doesn't operate according to the national spotlight, though. It operates on seniority. That's the reason why, prior to his resignation, Thad Cochran was one of the most influential Senators in the Senate, yet nobody outside Mississippi knew who he was unless they were a political junkie: seniority, seniority, seniority. If Markey gets re-elected, he stars off his next term with 8 years of seniority under his belt; if Kennedy wins, he starts off with nothing (or, near nothing, depending on how many non-Representatives become freshmen Senator next year). So if I'm a Massachusetts voter & I want my Senator to carry maximum influence in the Senate, where their influence matters most, then I go for the guy who's already accumulated nearly a decade of seniority over the guy without it.

[brucejoel99]

Everybody in Massachusetts (or, at least, my corner of Massachusetts) knows that Kennedy is only running because he thinks being named Kennedy entitles him to it. The problem is that a significant sector of the Massachusetts electorate agrees with him that being named Kennedy entitles him to it.

Come on, you have to admit that the Kennedy name would be a genuine asset for Massachusetts in the Senate. Being a Kennedy means that he'll command the national spotlight in a way Markey never could. Is it fair?  Not really.  But if I were a Massachusetts voter I'd want to be represented by a Senator with maximum influence. I'd want to be represented by a Kennedy.

Bingo

The Senate doesn't operate according to the national spotlight, though. It operates on seniority. That's the reason why, prior to his resignation, Thad Cochran was one of the most influential Senators in the Senate, yet nobody outside Mississippi knew who he was unless they were a political junkie: seniority, seniority, seniority. If Markey gets re-elected, he stars off his next term with 8 years of seniority under his belt; if Kennedy wins, he starts off with nothing (or, near nothing, depending on how many non-Representatives become freshmen Senator next year). So if I'm a Massachusetts voter & I want my Senator to carry maximum influence in the Senate, where their influence matters most, then I go for the guy who's already accumulated nearly a decade of seniority over the guy without it.

Let's be serious. Markey, despite his "decade of seniority," isn't the ranking member on a single Senate committee. He came to the Senate too late, and whether he's out next year or in 2026 he won't have the time to accrue real influence. Kennedy, however, in becoming a Senator at such a young age, will in time be one of the most powerful men in Washington. If you're focused solely on the very short term, I guess you could make a case for Markey (though, honestly, Kennedy is likely to have more sway even in the short term).  But if you're at all conscious of the future, Kennedy is obviously the man you want to back. 

I was being perfectly serious, & you're not correct. Markey is the ranking member on both East Asian & Pacific Affairs as well as Environment & Public Works Oversight, & it's that latter committee that's particularly key in regards to his influence, considering Markey has been Capitol Hill's premier environmental activist since 1982.

As for Kennedy accruing real influence, I can't square him being able to do that with his obvious ambitions. We now see that his House seat was nothing more than a springboard to him, & his haste here now suggests that he feels like he needs a Senate seat sooner rather than later, so who's to say the intent here isn't to just attempt to use the Senate seat as another springboard, too, meaning he won't even wanna be in the Senate long enough to gain any real influence in the first place.

And again, no, Kennedy is not "likely to have more sway even in the short term" because, again, that's not how the Senate operates.

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/CATargetBot/status/1176244945771827200

R.I.P. My respect for Kyrsten Sinema (2017 - September 23, 2019)

[brucejoel99]

I could see this being an attack line if Markey does get on the ballot. 'you barely got 10,000 signatures to become eligible to even compete - what does that say about your ability to rally people to your side' or something like that.

That'd be a sh*tty line of attack considering interacting with people isn't really an option right now.

[brucejoel99]

I could see this being an attack line if Markey does get on the ballot. 'you barely got 10,000 signatures to become eligible to even compete - what does that say about your ability to rally people to your side' or something like that.

That'd be a sh*tty line of attack considering interacting with people isn't really an option right now.

He had time to collect signatures beforehand, though? Before the lockdown stuff went down.

Eh, not as much as you'd think. The state party canceled more than 100 local caucuses, which is usually the source of a vast majority of candidates' signature collections.

[brucejoel99]

God I hate the Kennedy family so much.

Why? Is it all that they’ve accomplished? All the members of the family who have given there lives to this country? All the contributions to this country that they’ve made? Jealousy? What is it....

The Kennedy name is strong drink for Massachusetts Boomers, and has been for an absurdly long time. It really is that simple. You might as well ask--and people did!--what the point was of Ted running in 1962 (although it obviously wasn't Boomers voting for him yet then).

I’m the furthest thing from a boomer. I’m a (as my username says) millennial moderate and there is no one in this state who I would be more enthusiastic to vote for than Joe Kennedy.

Biden needs to endorse Markey

Puke. Would change my vote from enthusiastic Biden to extremely reluctantly Biden.

You are so odd. Do the Kennedys pay you or something? Markey is a fantastic senator, Kennedy has done nothing but been spoon-fed his entire life. Everything he has ever done has been because of his meaningless last name. He has never had to work for anything and is now making a vanity run against one of the best senators in the country just because he's too impatient to wait for an open seat. He's a whiny child.

Not sure what is so odd. I’m from Massachusetts and I admire the Kennedy’s, what’s so odd about that? I grant you just because his last name is Kennedy doesn’t mean he will have 1/100th of the charm, charisma, talent, political skill that JFK or RFK or even Teddy had. But I do know that Joe has a similar commitment to serving the public and making his country better.

Markey is not a fantastic Senator. Just because you agree with him on policy doesn’t make him a fantastic Senator. He is constantly non-existent in this state except during election campaigns. Most politicans have two homes but Markeys official home is in Virginia and he is almost never in Massachusetts except during campaigns. He is the definition of political hack. Is he a good guy? Yes he is. But I don’t think the public service part comes through to him.

Back to Joe - this is a man who could have very easily lived off of his family’s riches but instead has dedicated himself to public service which is what I admire most about the Kennedys. The spoon fed
& entitled narrative is lazy bullsh**t. And I think his last name helps in that he will have ALOT more influence on Day 1 as Senator then Markey has ever had in his 30+ years in Washington.

Sigh...

"We need to primary people in deep blue seats!!"

...

"Wait, not like that!"

Yeah, I see what you’re saying. Honestly, I don’t think any incumbents are “entitled” to another term, and that primary challenges are always fair game. If incumbents are doing their job well, they shouldn’t have to worry about losing primary challenges.

That's the thing, Markey is doing his job well. He's a good, if not great Senator who's more than well in line with Massachusetts' electorate. I sincerely hope Markey smokes Kennedy's ass in this primary, but the Kennedy name is a hell of a drug for the state of the Massachusetts.

He’s actually not doing his job well. He literally never visits Massachusetts unless there is a campaign to run. Meanwhile Joe was the only member of the House to have monthly office hours IN his district.

Not to mention who will have more pull in Washington? Joe Kennedy or Ed Markey.

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=336494.msg6977361;topicseen#msg6977361

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=330877.msg6977364;topicseen#msg6977364

We've literally had this exact same conversation before. I'm sorry you didn't listen before, but I'm not having it again, except to say that if you believe that Kennedy is more likely than Markey to look after your interests (let alone the national interests), when the record & all of the evidence indicates otherwise, then you're nothing more than an enabler of the dynastic politics that allows somebody like JK3 to run for high office on the back of nothing more than his name.

....

No brainer. Kennedy Markey For Senate

FTFY

[brucejoel99]

Markey is gonna get the bulk of senior voters, and Kennedy will get the younger voters, just like Scarane v Coons and Hickenlooper v Romanoff. Scarane, Kennedy and Romanoff appeal to younger voters.

We dont know what to expect now that it has moved to a VBM election.  Both sides have equal chance to win

Markey isnt the prohibited favorite over Kennedy and the election is in September anyways

Markey is a slight underdog, he is losing by 2 to 6 pts

You have it all backwards.

Markey is getting the vote of the Bernie Bro young left
Kennedy is getting the older vote because they remember the greatness of the Kennedy name.

Its pathetic this is as close as it is to be honest. Not really sure why it is

Why are you trying to argue with OC?

And if it's the only reason JKIII's getting elected, then the greatness of the Kennedy name is a problem.

[brucejoel99]

Markey is gonna get the bulk of senior voters, and Kennedy will get the younger voters, just like Scarane v Coons and Hickenlooper v Romanoff. Scarane, Kennedy and Romanoff appeal to younger voters.

We dont know what to expect now that it has moved to a VBM election.  Both sides have equal chance to win

Markey isnt the prohibited favorite over Kennedy and the election is in September anyways

Markey is a slight underdog, he is losing by 2 to 6 pts

You have it all backwards.

Markey is getting the vote of the Bernie Bro young left
Kennedy is getting the older vote because they remember the greatness of the Kennedy name.

Its pathetic this is as close as it is to be honest. Not really sure why it is

Why are you trying to argue with OC?

And if it's the only reason JKIII's getting elected, then the greatness of the Kennedy name is a problem.

For me, it’s not. That’s why this is such a no brainer election for me.

JKIII gets the benefit of the doubt from me because yes he is a Kennedy and they’ve consistently represented this state and the nation so well and fought on the right side of practically every issue.

And then there’s the simple fact that Markey is a bit of a typical hack. “the swamp” if you will. He’s a good guy but he’s never in Massachusetts unless there is an election and for instance in a debate a few months ago instead of arguing the issues he just repeated AOC’s name a dozen times... weak.

I’ll be appauled at my state if Markey wins this. Unfortunately it seems as if that may happen.

I've told you time & time again on here how that's not true re: JKIII? Do you just not listen or something?

This is why we'll all be appalled at your state if JKIII wins.

[brucejoel99]

It’s quite sad that the only thing anyone seems to have in Markey’s defence after his decades of service is “dynasty bad”. Personally I really don’t understand why anyone is getting het up about this race. The differences between them are narrow and both would make/continue to be great Senators.

I've talked plenty on here about why Markey's record is good & JKIII's isn't. Not my fault y'all don't read:

"We need to primary people in deep blue seats!!"

...

"Wait, not like that!"

Yeah, I see what you’re saying. Honestly, I don’t think any incumbents are “entitled” to another term, and that primary challenges are always fair game. If incumbents are doing their job well, they shouldn’t have to worry about losing primary challenges.

That's the thing, Markey is doing his job well. He's a good, if not great Senator who's more than well in line with Massachusetts' electorate. I sincerely hope Markey smokes Kennedy's ass in this primary, but the Kennedy name is a hell of a drug for the state of the Massachusetts.

He’s actually not doing his job well. He literally never visits Massachusetts unless there is a campaign to run. Meanwhile Joe was the only member of the House to have monthly office hours IN his district.

Not to mention who will have more pull in Washington? Joe Kennedy or Ed Markey.

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=336494.msg6977361;topicseen#msg6977361

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=330877.msg6977364;topicseen#msg6977364

We've literally had this exact same conversation before. I'm sorry you didn't listen before, but I'm not having it again, except to say that if you believe that Kennedy is more likely than Markey to look after your interests (let alone the national interests), when the record & all of the evidence indicates otherwise, then you're nothing more than an enabler of the dynastic politics that allows somebody like JK3 to run for high office on the back of nothing more than his name.

....

No brainer. Kennedy Markey For Senate

FTFY

[brucejoel99]

It’s quite sad that the only thing anyone seems to have in Markey’s defence after his decades of service is “dynasty bad”. Personally I really don’t understand why anyone is getting het up about this race. The differences between them are narrow and both would make/continue to be great Senators.

I've talked plenty on here about why Markey's record is good & JKIII's isn't. Not my fault y'all don't read:

"We need to primary people in deep blue seats!!"

...

"Wait, not like that!"

Yeah, I see what you’re saying. Honestly, I don’t think any incumbents are “entitled” to another term, and that primary challenges are always fair game. If incumbents are doing their job well, they shouldn’t have to worry about losing primary challenges.

That's the thing, Markey is doing his job well. He's a good, if not great Senator who's more than well in line with Massachusetts' electorate. I sincerely hope Markey smokes Kennedy's ass in this primary, but the Kennedy name is a hell of a drug for the state of the Massachusetts.

He’s actually not doing his job well. He literally never visits Massachusetts unless there is a campaign to run. Meanwhile Joe was the only member of the House to have monthly office hours IN his district.

Not to mention who will have more pull in Washington? Joe Kennedy or Ed Markey.

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=336494.msg6977361;topicseen#msg6977361

https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=330877.msg6977364;topicseen#msg6977364

We've literally had this exact same conversation before. I'm sorry you didn't listen before, but I'm not having it again, except to say that if you believe that Kennedy is more likely than Markey to look after your interests (let alone the national interests), when the record & all of the evidence indicates otherwise, then you're nothing more than an enabler of the dynastic politics that allows somebody like JK3 to run for high office on the back of nothing more than his name.

....

No brainer. Kennedy Markey For Senate

FTFY

I don’t know if that was supposed to be a list of Markey’s achievements, but it’s not. Fact is, after 44 years in Congress it shouldn’t be that hard to find a reason to vote *for* him, rather than against Kennedy. Which is probably part of why Kennedy is leading, since evidently the people Markey has represented don’t feel he’s done that good a job - or else they wouldn’t be considering replacing him with a relative rookie.

I don’t really care who wins, but if the fact two of his great uncles represented the seat is enough for Kennedy to replace Markey, it does suggest Markey isn’t that good or respected. Ie that this is a problem with Markey’s weakness rather than simply Kennedy’s name.

I mean, does anyone actually think Kennedy could have beaten Warren?

https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=336494.msg6977361;topicseen#msg6977361

https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=330877.msg6977364;topicseen#msg6977364

If leading the charge for environmental protections & actually holding influence on that subject matter on account of the seniority that he's already accrued isn't an accomplishment, then I guess accomplishments don't matter anymore.

[brucejoel99]

Debates for this one ar fun to just have on in the background. Just casually making some Kennedy fillet. Kennedy probably wins because of his surname but Markey is running a very effective campaign against him.

It’s actually embarrassing to both this state and the Kennedy campaign but if I were to bet I would say Markey pulls the upset. Which is frankly ridiculous

More like ridiculously amazing! 😎😎

[brucejoel99]

Debates for this one ar fun to just have on in the background. Just casually making some Kennedy fillet. Kennedy probably wins because of his surname but Markey is running a very effective campaign against him.

It’s actually embarrassing to both this state and the Kennedy campaign but if I were to bet I would say Markey pulls the upset. Which is frankly ridiculous

More like ridiculously amazing! 😎😎

Glad you see it that way

The Kennedy’s have done a lot for this country and for our state. And Joe is young, smart, empathetic and seems to give a damn beyond his campaign. And as you’ve heard before - Markey is hardly ever here. Voting Markey over Kennedy will say a lot about my state and not in a good way

We get it, you wanna marry JK3 & have an unreasonable hate boner for Ed Markey. That's been established. Just stop repeating falsehoods that you've proven wrong on time & time again.

[brucejoel99]

Debates for this one ar fun to just have on in the background. Just casually making some Kennedy fillet. Kennedy probably wins because of his surname but Markey is running a very effective campaign against him.

It’s actually embarrassing to both this state and the Kennedy campaign but if I were to bet I would say Markey pulls the upset. Which is frankly ridiculous

More like ridiculously amazing! 😎😎

Glad you see it that way

The Kennedy’s have done a lot for this country and for our state. And Joe is young, smart, empathetic and seems to give a damn beyond his campaign. And as you’ve heard before - Markey is hardly ever here. Voting Markey over Kennedy will say a lot about my state and not in a good way

We get it, you wanna marry JK3 & have an unreasonable hate boner for Ed Markey. That's been established. Just stop repeating falsehoods that you've proven wrong on time & time again.

I’m not on that team. But my engagement would be at risk if a female Kennedy has intrest in the Millennial Moderate. (kidding)

(Sort of)

It’s not a falsehood though. The reality is - he’s not in Massachusetts hardly ever. He refused to release his travel records and there is a reason for that. Meanwhile JK3 has the most in district office hours in the whole house. It’s not a falsehood. Markey is the definition wanting the job more than wanting to make the difference

He has made a difference. I've made this clear to you time & time again. Maybe not in ways you agree with, but comparing the two's voter records & what they've fought for over the years (as has already been done on this forum numerous time), he most certainly has.

Once again, it's not our fault you don't listen.

[brucejoel99]

Joe Kennedy isn't running to represent Massachusetts
He's running for a springboard for a 2024 presidential run and its painfully obvious.

Markey for Senate

Did anyone say Bill Clinton is only running for Governor to run in the 92 election? Did anyone say Barack Obama is only running for Senate in 2004 so he can run in the 2008 POTUS election?

No and No. Politicans often run for higher officer. So what? If he does a better job at being a Senator then Ed Markey then who cares what he does in 2024? And if he did run in 2024 then let the voters decide if he should receive a promotion, makes sense right?

And Kennedy only runs in 2024 if Trump wins this year. Bidens VP will run virtually unopposed similar to 2000 Gore and 2016 Clinton,

Ed Markey might be a nice person. But he’s not a great senator, and frankly I trust Kennedy to actually accomplish serious progress

[brucejoel99]

Boomers refuse to step aside and go quietly into their golden years because they are addicted to power. It has made the Senate and Presidency more geriatric than any point in history.

You're going to see young leaders primarying Dinosaurs more and more because it's the only way to attain higher office anymore.

JK3, AOC, and Eric Swallwell have all had to run against senior citizens to get their seats and they won't be the only ones. The electorate is ready for some fresh faces. I don't feel bad for the Boomers. Go play some golf or hang out with your grandkids. You had your time.

Then why does the electorate keep electing Boomers (& even members of the Silent Generation!) to the Senate & Presidency to such an extent that they have, as you said, "made the Senate and Presidency more geriatric than any point in history"? Maybe because a majority of the electorate (barring the occasional House district here & there) doesn't actually give a crap?

[brucejoel99]

Boomers refuse to step aside and go quietly into their golden years because they are addicted to power. It has made the Senate and Presidency more geriatric than any point in history.

You're going to see young leaders primarying Dinosaurs more and more because it's the only way to attain higher office anymore.

JK3, AOC, and Eric Swallwell have all had to run against senior citizens to get their seats and they won't be the only ones. The electorate is ready for some fresh faces. I don't feel bad for the Boomers. Go play some golf or hang out with your grandkids. You had your time.

Then why does the electorate keep electing Boomers (& even members of the Silent Generation!) to the Senate & Presidency to such an extent that they have, as you said, "made the Senate and Presidency more geriatric than any point in history"? Maybe because a majority of the electorate (barring the occasional House district here & there) doesn't actually give a crap?

Because a majority of the the electorate is and has been Boomers and Silent Gen.

So, you're wrong in saying "the electorate is ready for some fresh faces," then.

[brucejoel99]

The Kennedy’s have done a lot for this country and for our state.

Who cares what people related to JK3 have done? He hasn't done any of those things.

Ikr? Getting misty-eyed over JFK, RFK, & Teddy isn't reason enough to pull the lever for JK3.

[brucejoel99]

Go Markey! As said before, there is no need to replace him. Kennedy is only running because he thinks his last name basically entitles to the seat.

He’s running because Markey is a non-existent seat warmer. Good man but not great Senator.

If my state is as great as we think it is - it’ll vote Kennedy. It’s way closer than it should be though

Kennedy literally said there'smore to being a Senator than the bills you file or the votes you record.

That is literally a Senator's job description.

Yes... it’s literal job description. But we both know Senators are supposed to be moral leaders. Lead public discourse. Take stands beyond the senate chamber

And Markey hasn't done that? Couldn't it be considered moral leadership to stand for a Green New Deal?

I've referred MillennialModerate time & time again to numerous examples of Markey's service as a Senator (& JK3's lack thereof in the House) - beyond the bills filed & votes recorded - that more than equate to moral leadership, leading public discourse, taking stands beyond the Senate chamber, etc. See:

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.

In doing so, I've unfortunately learned that you just can't make somebody listen to something they don't wanna hear, even (or, rather, especially) if it's the truth.

[brucejoel99]

It’s amazing how many people not from Massachusetts overrate Ed Markey

k

https://twitter.com/MAJuanJaramillo/status/1285008248496705541

[brucejoel99]

Per the Boston Globe, he spent the fewest nights in state of any delegation member.

Employee spends time at office, news at 11.

[brucejoel99]

Not to brag or anything but being the obvious Kennedy supporter on this forum - I’m the only one that was convinced Markey is in the lead and many (Markey supporters ironically) doubted that claim.

Well here it is...

Really disheartening to see. Can’t see this changing much.

I'm getting the feeling that you think Kennedy is out after one poll.  There's a long way until the primary is over.

The trajectory of this thing is clear.

JK3 has to really asses his future here. If you can’t win as a Kennedy in Massachusetts against ED MARKEY who this state has begging to replace with a competent Democrat since the day he stepped into the role - What future do you really have?

Jesus christ, we get it: you (irrationally) hate Ed Markey. That doesn't mean the state of Massachusetts hates Ed Markey. If they did, he wouldn't even have the opportunity to lead in this poll against a relatively popular member of Massachusetts' royalty. If they did, they wouldn't have re-elected him in 2014, elected him in 2013, & sent him to the House 20 times before that. The state isn't begging for Ed Markey to be replaced with a competent Democrat because he already IS a competent Democrat.

The only people begging for it are JKIII & his fan-club (i.e. you), & because the rest of the state doesn't tend to agree with that sense of entitlement (i.e. not only thinking that JKIII is the only Democrat who deserves to replace Markey, but that MA should somehow be grateful that he's offering himself to replace Markey, even though MA doesn't think Markey's done anything wrong, Markey doesn't wanna leave, & they don't seemingly want him to leave yet either), you're not being rewarded for the unnecessary begging.

And please, for all your bowing-down before this practical dynasty, you really seem super-ready to write them off the instant they lose an election that they weren't anywhere near guaranteed to win (let alone practically entitled to win, as you seem to think they were) in the first place.

Losing one primary as a challenger is hardly a death sentence, especially for a Kennedy in Massachusetts. Not only is the guy young & evidently driven by pure ambition, but again, he's still a Kennedy in Massachusetts, so even if he f**ks up this time, you'll end up giving him a 2nd chance a few years from now, be it for Warren's Senate seat (even though it'd be an even harder primary against Pressley) when it's open, or Governor when Baker leaves.

[brucejoel99]

To shamelessly plug myself on the first page of this thread I said it was difficult to beat an incumbent who isn't ethically comprised or out of step ideologically with regions voters; this is even more so a case on the democratic side.

I mean off the top of my head the last democratic senator to get primaried was Joe Lieberman right?

Arlen Specter

[brucejoel99]

Pro-Kennedy PAC to launch ad barrage:

https://twitter.com/vgmac/status/1290114126388375552

Not sure I like this. JK3 has a good point the wah Markey was against outside money in other races and now all of a sudden was taking it - It made Markey look like an opportunist and a fraud. So now having PAC’s run ads for you kind of takes away that point.

You can't spell "joke" without "Joe K."

[brucejoel99]

Just watched the most recent debate. I supported Kennedy before but I’m voting for Markey now.

What happened during the debate that changed your mind on who to vote for (if you don't mind my asking)?

[brucejoel99]

New Markey Ad is possibly the best this cycle.

https://twitter.com/EdMarkey/status/1293986122318610435?s=19

I don't care that it's nearly 3 minutes long, this might unironically be the greatest political ad of all time.