Joe Kennedy is floating the idea of running to unseat incumbent Democratic Senator Ed Markey in the Massachusetts primary. This is an idea which is very controversial among state and national Democrats and which should he lose could end his political career. It may alienate state Democrats and if Elizabeth Warren ends up as president or vice president and her senate seat is vacant he could lose the special election. If GOP Gov. Charlie Baker appoints a moderate Republican as temporary senator he could even lose in that election. After all, Massachusetts has a history of electing moderate Republicans.
I think it is too early for Kennedy.
Had Beau Biden not died at the age of 46 in 2015 Joe Biden would have run in the primary, very possibly winning and then beating Trump handily. Tragedy compounding tragedy, it may now be too late for Biden to become president.
On the national stage Democrats desperate to find the sho-in candidate to beat Donald Trump look at the polls and see Joe Biden’s lead slipping. If he was five years younger and wasn’t prone to gaffes he’d be a formidable candidate in the primary and general election.
Unfortunately the combination of his age and proclivity to say things in ways that suggest his mouth is working faster than his mind makes him likely to becoming a mockery machine churning out attack tweets for Trump should he be the eventual candidate.
In “Joe Biden isn’t just a gaffe machine. He’s the Lamborghini of gaffes” Dana Milbank presents a list of Biden’s greatest (mis)hits. Then in typical Milbank style he offers his version of Biden’s acceptance speech for the Democratic convention which will be held in Milwaukee:
Hello, Memphis! Ladies, gentlemen and other genders — there are at least three! — I say: This is a big f---ing deal! I see poor kids in the arena and I see white kids. I see Grandpa Finnegan, God rest his soul!
I would not be here in Manchester accepting your nomination without the support of articulate, clean black people. And you disabled veterans — stand up! I have known you intimately. And so I say: I would rather be making love to my wife! You are a dull audience.
Fellow Democrats, there is a 30 percent chance everything I do will be wrong. Bernie, Elizabeth, Kamala and the others would have been better picks than me. But I am here because of a three-letter word: TRUTH. We choose truth over facts! If elected, I promise: We will have an international crisis. Let me be clear: I am not going nuts! So go to my website number and help me. Vote for Joe America! Good night, Montgomery!
Whether Joe Kennedy can eventually overcome the charge that he is running solely on the Kennedy legacy and become a senator like his grandfather Robert or fill a seat occupied by his uncle Ted remains to be seen. Whether he runs now against Markey or later against a Democrat in a primary or a Republican in the general election he will have to convince the voters he isn’t running as a dynasty candidate.
Ironically Joe Kennedy whose politics aren’t all that different from Ed Markey’s is running on generational change, in other words because he is 38 and Marky is 73, however Joe Biden is 76.
Donald Trump is 73 and even though he speaks not only in a word salad much of the time but the ingredients of the salad are mostly lies he gets away with it. He’s managed to convince his hardcore base that lies don’t matter, or even that they don’t exist. He’s joked about being president for 14 years and I have little doubt that he has his base so brainwashed he could convince them he’s immortal.
Trump already has the perfect name for his so far likely opponent, Sleepy Joe. Each and every gaffe Biden makes will end up being mocked in a tweet and mimicked at a rally. Despite the fact that Democrats could make the case that Trump is ready for the funny farm Trump will say Biden is ready for the old folks rest home.
Latest Democratic primary polls
Aug. 28, 2019 Quinnipiac University Poll
If the 2020 presidential election were held today, 54 percent of registered voters say that they would vote for former Vice President Joe Biden, while only 38 percent would vote for President Trump. Matchups against other top Democrats show:
- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders topping Trump 53 - 39 percent;
- Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren ahead of Trump 52 - 40 percent;
- California Sen. Kamala Harris beating Trump 51 - 40 percent;
- South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg leading with 49 percent to Trump's 40 percent.