Just curious, What's the difference between Al Franken, Tammy Duckworth, and Carolyn Kennedy?

[auburngrad82]

It seems that there are a lot of people here who are offended because Carolyn is "inexperienced." Just how much experience does Al Franken have? And I seem to remember that everyone here was pulling for Tammy Duckworth when she ran for Congress.

So what's the difference? Carolyn Kennedy has done tremendous things with charities over the years and never sought public attention or approval. So now that she's expressed interest in moving into politics she's persona non grata?

I don't get it.

[LostinVA]

1. It's CAROLINE Kennedy, and I believe it's because she is being appointed

Not elected.

Carolina, Carolyn. Oy.

[Trajan]

4. That is what Governor's do when a Senator steps down ...

They APPOINT a replacement ....

Criminy .... she is JUST a replacement ....

The OP is correct: The argument that Caroline isn't 'experienced' is a moot point when we praise other, equally inexperienced offerings ...

Caroline is a wonder ... In my view, she will be a great Senator ...

[DJ13]

7. I believe it's because she is being appointed ......not elected.

That would hold true for anyone appointed to fill Hillary's seat.

I think this is more of a feeling by past staunch Hillary supporters that the Kennedys betrayed Hillary by supporting Obama than anything else.

[LostinVA]

10. No, I think some in the MSM and on here are trying to make it that

:eyes:

I do wish peopl would let the Primaries go. This is NOT a "Hillary Clinton" thing.

[gmudem]

33. I loathe Hillary.

I still think Caroline doesn't deserve the seat.

[gmudem]

34. Double post nt

[LisaM]

20. I am a past staunch Hillary supporter

and I strongly support Caroline Kennedy for the seat.

[polmaven]

60. Oh BS!

We are 16 days and 21 hours away from inagurating Barack Obama as President of the United States. It is WELL past time to put the primaries BEHIND you! Get over it!

[tabbycat31]

25. try having the name caroline

and reading all this butchering of your name.

[damntexdem]

2. Franken and Duckworth ran for their offices.

The situation is different with appointees -- there really is a difference.

But I think Kennedy will be an acceptable senator.

[peace13]

3. Inquiring minds want to konw....

Education doesn't count for much with some folks. Franken and Duckworth each ran a campaign proving that they had a desire for the position. Even a failed campaign has more merit than education, volunteerism and commitment to community. Carolyn just woke up one day with a note under the door from Teddy inviting her into the club, don't you know?

[dsc]

5. Franken won, at least it appears he won, an election

Duckworth attempted to win an election. Kennedy is currently seeking an appointment which is a very different animal. That said, while I think there are other better choices, the choice belongs to Mr. Patterson and whomever he chooses should be seated.

[LostinVA]

12. Exactly -- although I was just informed it's because of Hillary Clinton

Oh brother.

[cali]

6. wow. how can you not get it?

here's the difference: Duckworth and Franken RAN for office. Caroline lobbied on her name, to be appointed.

[CakeGrrl]

8. My guess is that

it's got something to do with the fact that it's Hillary's seat she's filling, because otherwise as you point out in your OP, there are other relative newcomers to the senate, and the fact that it's an appointment is not CK's fault. Anyone who gets appointed will have gotten the seat without an election. I don't see the argument against her for something that is beyond her control.

Again, that's just a guess, and I'm not broad-brushing those who are opposed to her appointment, but I do notice a bit of a pattern.
I'll leave it at that!

She can run for election when there IS an election.

ps - it's CAROLINE - "Carolyn" was JFK Jr.'s wife.

[polmaven]

61. Please point out

what that "pattern" is that makes you think "it's got something to do with the fact that it's Hillary's seat she's filling," :shrug:

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

9. He was ELECTED.

[AtomicKitten]

11. The difference is some are jealously guarding the NY Senate seat for some strange reason.

They simply cannot process and, in fact, resent the fact that an appointment is the constitutionally mandated remedy for filling the seat.

[cali]

15. And others just can't handle the fact that Caroline Kennedy would NEVER

have been considered for so much as a nano second were it not for her name.

[AtomicKitten]

16. It is your opinion that she has nothing to offer except her name. n/t

[cali]

17. No. that's not my opinion. That's YOU putting words in my mouth that

I never said. I actually think Caroline Kennedy has quite a bit to offer and will likely make a good Senator. That does not contradict the FACT that she is getting the opportunity to serve because of her name.

Try being honest.

[AtomicKitten]

18. I can understand why you'd want to back off your original post. Meow!

And others just can't handle the fact that Caroline Kennedy would NEVER have been considered for so much as a nano second were it not for her name.

[cali]

48. That's not backing off, kitty

That's a fucking fact that is not in opposition to what I subsequently said.

Of course, wittle kittykats aren't known for their reasoning skills.

[demwing]

52. Calling an opinion a fact

does not make it so.

[Sebastian Doyle]

27. Which is also true of the previous occupant of that seat.

Let anyone else from Arkansas carpetbag their ass up to NY and see how well they do.

[saltpoint]

35. The fame of a name is a lame framejob on a worthy citizen.

If you have a specific ideological objection to her potential appointment, let's hear it.

[sunnystarr]

53. wow

Kinda like Hillary Clinton wouldn't be considered in that same nano second for that seat were it not for her name.

[totodeinhere]

13. That's easy. Frankin is a man and the other two are female. n/t

[Smarmie Doofus]

14. Franken is a long time political commentator and writer ....

... who READS about, and can discuss a great many complicated public issues in detail. Caroline is a long time member of the Kennedy family who dodges questions and interviews, performs poorly when she cannot dodge them, and had a made-up job in the Bloomberg administration. ( For which she is forever in his debt.)

The comparison with Franken is as ridiculous as the Kennedy campaign.

[Eric J in MN]

19. Al Franken talked about politics for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week...

...and anyone in the public could listen over the internet (and some could listen on their radios.)

[BluegrassDem]

21. Caroline didn't support Hillary in the primaries, that's what's wrong with her

If Caroline came out for Hillary, you wouldn't have heard a peep about her being appointed. There's a lot of NY Clinton people who are still fighting the primary war and can't stand it that an Obama supporter is taking Hillary's seat.

[GarbagemanLB]

22. Yep. That's it. Nothing to do with a shallow resume and lack of preparation in comparison to

the other people running for the seat.

[polmaven]

62. And that's why

as many, if not more here who were not Hillary supporters are opposing her. I, as I'm sure you can tell, was a STRONG supporter of Hillary, and I think Caroline is a superb choice....Grow up and join the adults who have moved past the primaries.

[terisan]

23. Super rich not necessarily best choice in a country aspiring to democracy.

What are the tremendous things she has done with charities? Did she just lend her prestige or was she a worker-bee?

I think the Senate is in the process of becoming like the old House of Lords in England --a body of an anti-democratic, class-conscious. privileged elite (some benevolent, some not). I think citizens in the US are ceding their immense power to a narrow group of people, rich and super rich, who want to immediately make decisions for citizens rather than doing the grunt work and the listen and learn time. I suspect that they have a class consciousness that leads them to favor those they consider to be of their class.

Kennedy won't even reveal her net worth or her charitable donation.

We tell our children to work hard and they will succeed. NY has a lot of potential Senate appointees who have worked hard for NY and taken risks---now they are told to step aside for the moneyed newcomer to public service.

If people ever intend to have a real democracy we need to get over the legacy and celebrity appointments.

NY has 19 million people but only 2 Senate positions. There is little enough room at the top in NY politics and perhaps not enough representation for the people. I wonder if Senate seats and Mayor position are going to be out=of-reach for citizens who are not super rich and not celebrities but who may have a better experience of democracy and are more in tune with principles of democracy.

[dmallind]

24. She was appointed - the others stood for election.

Pretty simple. I'm sure Caroline Kennedy could run for office and win in NY. I'm sure she'd do quite well in Congress too. It's one thing for an inexperienced person to stand for office and win, and another for them to be handed a US Senate seat.

[Cha]

29. Caroline Kennedy hasn't been appointed,

yet..but I'm hoping.

[saltpoint]

37. Actually the rules call for Governor Paterson to make an appointment to

fill that seat.

There are no Constitutional impediments to his choosing Caroline Kennedy.

None.

Whether governors appointing rather than voters electing is the inferior mechanism is a separate debate and has nothing to do with the qualifications for public service.

[camera obscura]

26. Well, Franken is very very liberal, so that was kind of automatic. As for Duckworth

her military experience is IMO very valuable, especially since in 2006 it seemed we could get the Repubs to begin withdrawl... ahhhhh good times.

Disclaimer: I am not anti-Caroline or pro-Caroline, although I lean towards the latter.

[HughMoran]

36. Franken was ripped for his moderate views here on DU when he had his radio show

Just thought I'd add a note of disagreement with your presumption.

[camera obscura]

41. Really, he seems very liberal to me

Pro-gay marriage, pro-universal health care, pro-immediate withdrawl, anti-drug war, anti-torture, wants to investigate the administration somewhat, at least as far as their war budgeting goes. I suppose relative to DU it's not extremely liberal, but relative to the Congress, that puts him square in the Feingold/Kennedy camp.

[AllentownJake]

44. Anyone to the right of Che is ripped for their moderate views on here somedays.

[sunnystarr]

54. Can you explain how Duckworth's military experience

would be valuable? Was she an officer of high rank? I just don't get the military experience meme.

[depakid]

28. The trouble with Kennedy is that she can't seem to string together a set of coherent thoughts

How a person with her education and profile became such a poor public speaker is beyond me. Her cousin manages better, even with his speech disorder.

[AllentownJake]

45. Press interviews and stump speeches are different

Some on here have a problem with our President Elect during interviews no?

I saw her speak for Obama. Once she gets the hang of it she'll be fine.

[MasonJar]

30. I personally hope she is appointed. She will be stellar.

On edit: Kentucky will take her in a New York minute if she does not suit y'all. Just look at it from my vantage...you could be represented by McConnell and Bunning.

[saltpoint]

31. I'd be goddamned delighted to have all 3 of them in the 111th Congress.

No questions asked.

[gmudem]

32. Do you know what elections are?

I would look it up if I were you.

[AllentownJake]

46. Please tell me when the election is in NY

I believe it is 2010. I swear some people on here are acting like she's being appointed to the Supreme Court.

[Doctor_J]

38. Caroline will be a Senator soon. The other two - not so much

:shrug:

[PBS Poll-435]

47. Al Franken will be a Senator soon too.

nt

[angee_is_mad]

39. hillary clinton

and the name KENNEDY? Just a guess.

[WCGreen]

40. Al and Tammy went before the electorate...

raised money, presented a platform...

That is the difference.

[sunnystarr]

56. And you think Caroline Kennedy would have a hard time

doing the same in two year?? I'll betcha she can outraise both Franken and Duckworth. And she'll be prepare with a platform once she is ACTUALLY running. She is NOT in a campaign right now.

[WCGreen]

58. Well, I'm not going to get into this argument again.

But there is no experience like running for office and until you have tried it, you just wont understand...

[dpbrown]

42. Their names are spelled differently, and they'd all make great Senators.

That's the difference.

[AllentownJake]

43. Well here it goes

Al is a liberal hero based on his work on Air America and his vocal support for liberal causes. Before I get flamed I own an Al Franken for Senate T-shirt

Duckworth is a veteran who was injured in the war.

Caroline Kennedy has the fortune of being born into a political family which gave its all twice for this country. She would be a legacy and some people on here hate the idea of legacies regardless of any other consideration. As an Obama supporter early on her endorsement was huge and I saw her speak on behalf of Obama during the General Election. She was articulate and passionate. If NY doesn't want her she can carpet bag down to PA anytime and I'll volunteer my ass off for her. Some on here fail to acknowledge that no matter what in 2010 she goes before the electorate in a democratic primary. The argument is who you give the advantage to in that primary because someone is going to get it because no matter what it is a fucking appointment.

[Joe the Revelator]

49. Some here have a problem with a carpet bagger from Arkansas taking a seat on name recognition

I mean...

[PBS Poll-435]

51. ROFL

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Yur reely funnie.

[JI7]

50. Franken and Duckworth ran in tough elections themselves

[demwing]

55. Because Caroline Kennedy devised an evil plot

to be born into a powerful political clan, spent her ENTIRE life in pursuit of a Paris Hilton-like media feeding frenzy, stole money from NYC schoolchildren, the democratic party, and her uncle's senate campaign fund, then drank in excess and with the express purpose of vomiting on the US Constitution while wearing a frilly pink dress and a diamond tiara. Then, she connived a way to travel back in time to June of 1911, where she contrived - through dastardly means unspeakable - to pass the 17th Amendment to the US Constitution, allowing Governors of states to appoint Senators to temporarily fill Senate seats.

She is evil, possessed of hideous thoughts, and is quite probably a bad witch, not a good one.

[sunnystarr]

57. LMAO now that was funny !! (nt)

[demwing]

59. That is, I think she's a witch

Well, She has got a wart

[Phx_Dem]

63. Excellent point, and I don't get it either.

:shrug:

[11 Bravo]

64. A penis, two legs, and a trust fund.