Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Caroline Kennedy U.S. Senator?: No Way!


There has been a great deal of opposition expressed about the possible appointment of Caroline Kennedy as a United States Senator to replace Hillary Clinton. This is rightfully so because she has no legislative experience and has held no political office. Her main qualification appears to be that her last name is Kennedy, and she carries the DNA of the former president. What could she possibly offer the people of the State of New York? Does the fact that she is highly intelligent, ethical, and able to comprehend a wide variety of complex issues have any bearing? Are these sufficient qualifications to be appointed United States Senator? Absolutely not! What about the fact that she has written two books, co-authored with Ellen Alderman, related to constitutional rights? Irrelevant, totally irrelevant. Of greater importance is whether she has a list of all the important interest groups in New York State.

Ms. Kennedy has no background or experience in dissembling on important issues. She also has little if any experience in correcting a previously inaccurate statement she had made to the press or media. It's also highly likely she has no experience with one of the most important political issues of our time, working with corporate lobbyists. She's likely to be an independent-minded person voting on issues based on the merits rather than on the important input from highly paid former members of Congress who are trying to buy her vote. We can't afford to have too many people like this in Congress. If our elected representatives don't take money from lobbyists it would put these poor people out of work. Lastly, it's unlikely she has any experience at all with bribery, either as a recipient or a giver. The importance of this issue can be demonstrated by what is happening in the state of Illinois.

The people of the State of New York are entitled to senators who are not only qualified for the office, but have the same set of ethical and moral values. Former Governor Eliot Spitzer could speak at length to this issue. Favoritism and nepotism must be nipped in the bud so that if one of the Bush daughters is ever elected president we can be sure that she earned it

No comments: