Joe Kennedy III's Senate Race-- A Picture Of Dynastic Entitlement

Joe Kennedy, who's nearly 40, was elected to Congress in 2012 when Barney Frank retired. His dad, Joe Kennedy II was RFK's son and a congressman from the Boston district currently represented by Ayanna Pressley. Joe III's biggest accomplishments are being RFK's grandson and JFK's gran nephew. His great-grandmother, Rose Kennedy, was the daughter of John Fitzgerald, who was both a mayor of Boston and another U.S. congressman. Since arriving in Congress in 2013, he's earned a "B" from ProgressivePunch, making him the 5th best of the Massachusetts members-- behind Ayanna Pressley, Katherine Clark, Jim McGovern and Lori Trahan, all of whom have earned "A"s. It's worth noting that Ed Markey, who he has decided to run against has an A, not just an A, but the highest A in the Senate, stronger than Elizabeth Warren and Bernie.

Yesterday, Kennedy made the announcement that everyone knew was coming. He's running against Markey. There's no case he can make against Markey. He's running because he's a entitled rich political celebrity with a glittery name. He's accomplished virtually nothing in Congress. Last cycle, as a regional vice chair for the DCCC is did an OK job, not a terrible as invisible do-nothings Betty McCollum and Don McEachin but nothing like what super-star Ted Lieu was able-- by dint of hard work-- was able to do. Joe III never did any substantial work. Hereditary rich people rarely do. His announcement speech yesterday was fine.

“Donald Trump has forced a long overdue reckoning in America, and how we respond will say everything about who we are,” Kennedy said. “We have to take on the broken system that gave rise to him in the first place-- the outdated structures and old rules, the everyday oppressions and injustices that hold our people back.”

...Asked how he differs from Markey, Kennedy ticked off a series of issues he supports including getting political action committee money out of politics, creating term limits for Supreme Court justices and abolishing the Electoral College. But he declined to criticize Markey directly.

“Senator Markey is a good man,” he said. “This is going to be a tough race.”

Markey also supports abolishing the Electoral College and creating term limits for Supreme Court justices.

On Saturday, the senator challenged those running against him, including Kennedy, to a climate change debate in November. Markey sees the fight against climate change and his push for the Green New Deal as signature issues in his re-election campaign.

“I was very disappointed at the Democratic National Committee’s refusal to hold a debate on climate change for our presidential candidates,” Markey said in a video released Saturday morning. “So today I’m challenging Congressman Joe Kennedy, Shannon Liss-Riordan and Steve Pemberton to a climate change debate, and to do it very soon.”

Liss-Riordan, a workers’ rights lawyer, and Pemberton, a former senior executive at Walgreens, are also challenging Markey.

Some Democratic activists have said they’re worried that a Senate primary between two high-profile Democrats could drain money and resources away from the party’s top priority: defeating President Donald Trump.

Kennedy brushed aside those concerns.

“Engaging more people in that process, bringing more voices to the table, fighting back against that-- how is that a bad thing?” Kennedy said. “People that are trying to say that this is going to divert resources-- I just don’t think that’s the case.”

First elected to Congress in 2012, Kennedy has tried to position himself as more of a pragmatist than those on the left of his party.

Nevertheless, Kennedy has adopted many of the causes driving the party’s liberal wing. He has called for Congress to initiate impeachment efforts against Trump and has backed a “Medicare for All” bill in the House. He has also said he supports the Green New Deal initiative to combat climate change, something Markey is championing along with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York-- who has endorsed Markey.

Given his political pedigree , Kennedy has been seen as a rising star in the party. In 2018, he was tapped to deliver the Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union address.

A Kennedy-Markey contest will put more than a few high-profile Democrats in an awkward position, most notably Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the White House hopeful from Massachusetts.

Warren has worked with Markey in the Senate and taught Kennedy at Harvard Law School. She formally endorsed Markey before Kennedy floated the idea of a challenge to Markey.

Markey, who joined thousands of young climate change activists who rallied in Boston on Friday as part of a global, youth-led day of environmental action, has the backing of many environmental activists.

One of those groups-- Environment Massachusetts-- has vowed to raise $5 million to help Markey win re-election.

“We are lucky to have one of the nation’s strongest climate champions, Ed Markey, representing Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate,” Ben Hellerstein, state director for Environment Massachusetts, said in a prepared statement, explaining that voters need to understand Markey’s record on renewable energy, clean water, clean air and the protection of public lands.