"I am fortunate. Indeed, so very fortunate to have had my dad's brains literally splattered in my mom's face for all the world to see, over, and over, and over again. I am sure without that great stroke of luck, I would have never made it through law school and the decades of community service that I feel have prepared me to enter politics at a moment of great hopefulness that until now were only stories from my childhood. And losing my father and uncle in such violent ways, and in the name of their will to public service, as a little girl has brought me such great privilege that I suppose it is unfair of me to dare offer to serve in the U.S. Senate, despite being as educated and prepared as many whom served there before me. So, I'll resign my consideration for the job, just soon as my detractors either: A) Convince the American people to cancel the results of the 2008 presidential election, wherein the winning candidate was likewise supposedly insufficiently "experienced" in political circles to be fit for the office for which he was seeking; or B) Bring my dad and uncle back and at least give me the option of having chosen to grow up as the spoiled and 'privileged' person your insults imply that I must be."
No, of course that's not a real quote by Ms. Kennedy, but it could/should be, despite it's absurd and macabre tone. Yet, to be sure, it is in fact no less absurd and/or macabre than the accusations that she is somehow insinuating that she "deserves" the NY senate seat because of who her family is. My snark-point is, if one insists on using her family against her, then let's at least be more accurate. Yes, she was born into a wealthy family alright. But I hardly think the actual details of her personal story should be used to make a case of great fortune in life in the greater sense of the term.
Furthermore, Ms. Kennedy is certainly not owed the seat as some sort of privilege. Thing is, I don't hear any reasonable person whose judgment I respect, least of all her, implying that that is the case - except those whom have thrusted that view upon her, such as Republicans quaking in their shoes at the thought of having to run against her in 2 years. Hmm, yeah, that's where I want to be right about now, aligned with the GOP nay-saying whine machine.
And I think a lot of people need to take a long hard look in the mirror, if they can muster up the goods, and admit the blatant discrimination staring back at them, and stop the disgusting hypocritical attacks on an honorable human being based on their own prejudices... while railing about Prop 8 out of the other end of their mouth in the same damned breath. (I mean, you know, Prop 8 did rather well in polls too, especially the one that counted.)
What I hear/see in Ms. Kennedy is someone who has devoted major portions of her life, voluntarily and involuntarily, to the American people. Someone whom now has been inspired by the same president as most of the rest of us on this site - and on the heels of that impression, wants to enter into public service in a bigger way. So she tossed her name into consideration, and should be judged on her abilities and experiences and judgment - instead of some made up bullshit litmus test as was used against the current president-elect about his "lack of appropriate experience". A pathetic ploy, I might add, which was also greeted to much railing and gnashing of teeth by many on this site - who are now having their hypocrisy revealed. Let's hope that it is revealed to themselves as much as to many of the rest of us, and we can dismiss with this ugliness in short order and get back to real issues.
Anti-elitist elitism may not be as powerful as good-ol' fashioned upper-crust snobbery and self-privilege, but it's just as wrong, and far more covered in the slime of hypocrisy.
Bleh.