Frankly, I'm tired of hearing the (newsless and desperate) media decrying how little background Carolyn Kennedy has for a potential senate seat. Whether or not you agree with her positions, it's incumbent upon anyone paid to comment on the situation in New York to at least know a bit about her resume and what she would bring. It's also necessary for the rest of us to learn to interpret the dog whistles and understand what's going on
While lack of knowledge has never stopped cable television "pundits" before, at least those on this site should devote a bit of time to do more research.
Her areas of expertise:
First, one of the major issues facing this Senate will be a restoration of the Constitutional rights to privacy and due process. (The votes will be extremely close in the Senate.)
Kennedy's 1997 book with Ellen Alderman provides very important information on her views on these issues. Take some time to scan the chapters of this work: "From Griswold to Casey," "The Frozen Embryo," "The Right to Die." From my standpoint, these are extremely high priority issues and I would choose to vote for someone who was both well-versed and progressive on them.
Her other book with Alderman, The Right to Privacy, discusses similar issues. Kennedy's passion on the issue is evident. As a senator, she would be their resident expert on these constitutional issues.
She's also served on appointed positions with respect to the arts and education.
Finally, I've watched the information about her missing some local primary elections morph into never voting in local elections. It's like the 3 Rahm phone calls morphing into 21 then 41!
Next the dog whistles:
When they say that Kennedy is untested, there is a very clear under-meaning here: They can't predict what she'll do! That's because she has never taken big campaign contributions from anyone or had to barter votes. Frankly, she'll be less predictable than Franken--and I've heard from multiple sources that the Democratic Reid-bots in the Senate aren't too overjoyed at the prospect of having him around, either.
Kennedy will cause some upset if she's appointed to senate--don't doubt it! Argue against her if you disagree with her positions, but not simply because she's not been tied, purchased or bartered yet.