Gov Patrick reaches out to Vicki Kennedy to replace Kerry

[Tx4obama]

Dec 14, 2012

Patrick reaches out to Vicki Kennedy to replace Kerry

BOSTON —

A Kennedy could soon be representing Mass. in the Senate again, ABC has learned.

With talks of Sen. John Kerry being a top pick to be appointed the next Secretary of State, discussions in Massachusetts have turned to who may succeed him.

Gov. Deval Patrick has reached out to Vicki Kennedy to fill the vacancy in the interim, ABC News has learned.

Sources told the network that Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Ted Kennedy, did not rule out the possibility of temporarily filling the seat until a special election is held.

But sources close to Kennedy told ABC it was unlikely she would accept the appointment.

-snip-

http://www.wcvb.com/news/politics/Patrick-reaches-out-to-Vicki-Kennedy-to-replace-Kerry/-/9848766/17776598/-/ymmrkhz/-/index.html

I had only one ear listening to Rachel Maddow this evening, but she said something like when they contacted Kennedy's folks they said something like: "We have no comment on this at this time."

[C_U_L8R]

1. The Governor would make a fine Senator

just saying.

[aquart]

2. "At this time" is not a negative.

Get me a Kennedy for this seat and I don't care if you have to clone one.

What's Maria Shriver doing with her time?

[Tutonic]

12. Jamie Kennedy is on line 2 Mr. Aquart.

[Cha]

13. lol

[NPolitics1979]

3. It would be fun if Vicky Kennedy gets the appointment.

Nikki Tsongas runs in the Special Election wins the Democratic Nomination and then the general Election.

[arendt]

6. Nikki represents me. She is a corporate Dem ZERO.

I have no idea why you think anyone would vote for her.

All she ever sends me is BS about "bipartisanship". All she does is "support the troops".

I would NEVER vote for her for Senator. She is too far to the right, but at the same time comes across as a soft "liberal".

[arendt]

4. This will NOT work

She is nobody. She has no record. She will be attacked for running on the family name.

She will wind up being Coakley II.

This is a recipe to lose the seat to Scott Brown.

Run a POLITICIAN. Run Markey. Run Capuano. Run someone with a track record who knows how to play the game.

Patrick must be trying to throw this election.

[BlueDemKev]

8. Not necessarily.

Vicki Kennedy is well-liked and as long as she doesn't take anything for granted, she'll probably be fine. Remember, she has a lot of sympathy vote after losing her husband to cancer.

[Tx4obama]

10. Huh? She would NOT be running. She'd only temporarily fill the seat until a special election is held

There are 'other' folks that would be running in the special election.

[BlueDemKev]

5. This would be AWESOME.

[arendt]

7. This would be a disaster.

Who is this woman? Nobody, as far as I can tell.

Do you always vote for family names?

[BlueDemKev]

9. If the name's Kennedy...

...I'm alright with it. Rethugs have no problem backing any schmuck whose last name is Bush.

[MBS]

14. Actually, she's very good.

Smart (she's a highly competent lawyer), knowledgeable, has a grace and dignity about her. A class act all the way.
I would love to see her as a senator, but I don't think she'd do it (MAYbe as a temporary replacement, as Paul Kirk filled in for Teddy. But definitely not as a candidate for a full term).I don't think that she has any interest in getting into the nasty, incestuous side of MA politics.
Besides, she's busy with the Edward Kennedy Center in Boston.

[lunatica]

17. Google is your friend

She's been quite well known for years.

[TroyD]

11. How did it get to the point where Kerry is the only option for Secretary of State?

Why risk losing a Democratic seat just after making gains in the Senate this year?

At any point in time there should be a couple dozen Democrats who are qualified enough in foreign affairs and public speaking who can step into the role as Secretary of State. The President should not be boxed into a situation where he can only pick John Kerry. He should consider other options that do not involve a change in the Senate.

Consider Al Gore or Bill Clinton or Chuck Hagel or maybe Richard Lugar. Why put the Democrats in Massachusetts through yet another Senate race?

[erpowers]

15. Get Someone Else

Governor Patrick should get someone he would like to see run in 2014 and who is, themself, interested in running in 2014. I think Pattrick has options other than Vicki Kennedy.

[lunatica]

16. Saying 'no comment at this time' is a positive statement in politics

They need to think about it and talk about it. You don't just jump in without thinking about it unless you're pretty much of an idiot.

[Texin]

18. I agree with that statement. At this point, it's only speculative heresay.

It does sound as if the replacement is meant to be viewed as temporary. She isn't a politician, but she's certainly articulate and poised. Most voters don't know (that) much about anybody they cast a ballot for anyway (Scott Brown being an example of that). This isn't to say that she'd even think about running in the special election at all, but she might could pull it off. That said, I'd prefer someone with a proven track record as a successful candidate, such as Markey or others, to be the candidate in the upcoming special election.