Joseph P. Kennedy III, family scion, explores run for Barney Frank’s House seat

[Bozita]

Joseph P. Kennedy III, family scion, explores run for Barney Frank’s House seat
01/05/2012 12:38 PM
By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff

Joseph P. Kennedy III is taking the final steps to launch a run for Congress this year, hoping to succeed US Rep. Barney Frank, who will retire rather than run in his reconfigured district.

Kennedy is forming an exploratory committee for the seat. The 31-year-old today also announced his resignation as a prosecutor in the office of Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr., where he has worked since September. He will leave state employ Jan. 20.

“I am announcing today my intention to explore a candidacy for the United States Congress in the Fourth District of Massachusetts,’’ he said in a statement issued this morning. He said he will decide over the next several weeks whether to formally run for office, after speaking with voters.

Raised in Marshfield, Brighton, and Cambridge, Kennedy is a former Peace Corps volunteer and a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School. Before joining the Middlesex prosecutor’s office, he worked for 2 1/2 years as prosecutor on Cape Cod.

more...
http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2012/01/joseph-kennedy-iii-launch-exploratory-committee/tFAemLmqix0uZ61FajdjfM/index.html

[Octafish]

1. Good luck!

Going from his C.V., JPK III sounds like a good man.

[Frances]

2. I agree

He does seem like a good man who will do well for his consituents and the country.

[freshwest]

3. I really want him to get this.

[karynnj]

23. Watch him here - from election eve 2008

http://www.johnkerry.com/multimedia/entry/barnstable_democratic_town_committee_election_eve_rally_video/

I was lucky enough to attend this rally. He really was good.

[Octafish]

28. ''It's time for this country to be what it can be.''

Thank you, karynnj! Wow!

[calimary]

4. That would be excellent!

It just feels wrong not having a Kennedy in office somewhere. Sorry - child of the '50s & '60s here, in a home of Irish-Catholic Kennedy lovers. It was fed to me with my soft-boiled eggs every morning.

[dflprincess]

18. I know exactly where you're coming from.

I have the same background & and was fed the same attitude.

You may appreciate this: When John, Jr. died one of the local radio hosts (on a semi-progressive station) spent his whole Sunday morning show talking about. A young one called in to complain that the show, like the rest of the media, had gone "all Kennedy, all the time" that weekend. The host, an Irish Catholic, stopped the kid saying "You don't get it. You have to be an Irish Catholic of a certain age to understand how we're feeling today. When we were kids, we wanted to be Kennedys; if we couldn't be Kennedys we wanted to marry one and if we couldn't marry one we at least wanted to be their friends. And, no matter what scandals have happened, no matter how we may have been disappointed, when something like this happens, we want them to know that we're still their friends."

My niece was in the car with me when he said this - she didn't get it, but I sure did. - I'll bet you do too.

[dotymed]

24. I too was raised a Kennedy supporter.

Even though they are a very wealthy family, they have a history of supporting the 99%. That seems to be a BIG problem with R\W'ers, I believe that is why when they go into politics (at lest Presidential races) they seem to have a target on their back. Even though they are a part of the 1%, it seems that TPTB would prefer them dead, than Presidents.
Good luck Mr. Kennedy, you have large shoes to fill and may you live long and prosper. We need Senators who are for the people rather than the corporations, I hope you carry on that Kennedy tradition. Also, I understand that Joeseph III seems to be our best chance to keep the (D) seat held by Barney Franks for so long. We certainly do not need another repug in congress.
It would be great if Mr. Kennedy could help to bring about a return to progressive policies of previous decades and displace the American Taliban that has taken over our political system.
It is unbelievable, how far our political landscape has regressed.

[MADem]

5. This is "Citizen's Energy" Joe's kid. He is a nice young man and has been serving as a prosecutor

on the Cape for a couple of years and more recently in Middlesex County.

[PA Democrat]

9. AHHH! Thanks. I thought it was his dad at first glance.

[Marrah_G]

27. I am forever grateful to his dad

There were some years we would not have made it through the winter without his help. I hope his son takes after him. Sounds like he might since he served in the Peace Corp.

I'm really looking forward to hearing more about him.

[MADem]

30. Way back in the dark ages, when Joe 2 was first starting up that effort,

I used to donate a decent chunk of money to it. Back then, he collected money and used it to buy fuel on the spot market; the thing with VZ is a more recent iteration.

It's a good program, I wish that some of the Big Oil assholes would be shamed into helping. Stupid BP, if they would take the money they spend on their stupid green and yellow ads and give it to Joe instead, it would go a long way towards improving their shitty image. I don't know why these greedy bastards are so short-sighted. It seems like a no-brainer to me.

[Marrah_G]

38. Thank you MaDem

It's a scary thing for a mom to try and figure out how to keep her little ones warm when there isn't any money. Thank goodness my kids are older now and we are in an apartment where heat is included. Thank you for helping us.

[MADem]

41. I don't think there's anything worse than being cold.

Sure, I like a little New England weather as much as the next person (not too much, of course) but I like to be able to put it behind me when I close the door. It is one thing to wear a sweater in the house, but when you have to keep your parka on and sleep in a sleeping bag, that's not a good thing. In my wayward youth I had a tough time staying warm a time or two, choosing food over heat, and like the elephant, it's something I remember.

I am glad Joe's program was there for you.

[dentynepure]

6. Nice

It's been weird not having a Kennedy in congress for these past few years.

[nyy1998]

7. Ah I've met him at a GOTV event for College Dems in 2008.

Nice hard-working guy, doesn't have any air of arrogance that one would expect coming from a long famous family, in fact he's quite humble. I hope he does it(which sounds like he will) and wins it!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. I hope he runs, and I expect that if he does, he will win.

His credentials are impeccable.

Whose child is he? The article didn't say.

[markpkessinger]

11. This is Joseph P. Kennedy II's son (RFK's grandson) n/t

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Thanks for the info! n/t

[madokie]

20. Just seeing the letters "RFK" makes me sad

I still remember the night that they killed RFK and I do mean they. One man didn't do that alone. If I was a bettin' man I'd bet the farm on that.

I'm sad because of the world we would be living in would be drastically different today than it is if not for the murder of Robert Kennedy. The powers to be knew that too and weren't going to let it happen... as they also did to young John more recently.

[freshwest]

39. Agreed.

[Wait Wut]

10. "Explore"? "Decide"?

Why isn't he asking God if he should run?

I'm glad to hear he's moving forward. It didn't sound like he was seriously thinking about running. Go for it, JPK!

[dotymed]

25. Isn't that a breath of fresh air?

Instead of pandering to the zealots, he admits to using his own deision making capabilities.

[MADem]

31. It wasn't an accident that he switched jobs fairly recently.

He was a prosecutor in Barnstable County, on the Cape, and now he is working in Middlesex. He has been in the new job for half a year or so.

Ya gotta live where you rep, after all. Barney's is the 4th District in that County. This isn't an intemperate decision on his part.

[Wait Wut]

34. I noticed that.

I'm sure he's already made his decision, or is at least very close. I wonder if Barney helped him decide.

[alp227]

12. At least he'll be elected instead of appointed via nobility.

[markpkessinger]

13. I believe all the Kennedy's have run for office -- what's your point?

[cstanleytech]

14. Perhaps it was reference to Bush

inheriting the presidency from his father and being appointed by scotus or atleast thats what I have seen some people claim happened.

[RoccoR5955]

15. If he runs, he'll win

and it will be a great benefit to our country. He's got a great record, and I am convinced he will work for WE THE PEOPLE.

[Marie Marie]

17. Excellent..

A fitting replacement for the loss of a decent liberal congressman.

[craigmatic]

19. Good we need more Kennedys in politics. More of them should've gotten elected.

By the way, who's son is Joe Kennedy III?

[karynnj]

22. He is the son of Joe Kennedy, the one who has the nonprofit to provide energy

to the poor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Patrick_Kennedy_II

[karynnj]

21. Here is a video of him at a Hyannis rally election eve 2008

He is there at the very beginning of this clip. Ted Kennedy always had a Hyannis rally before every election. In 2008, he was too ill and asked Kerry to do it. Kerry did it in honor of Ted Kennedy. The signs people had had Kennedy for Senate on one side and Kerry for Senate the other - the Kennedy ones were printed and paid for by Kerry's campaign.

As you can see, Joe Kennedy is extremely charming and certainly got his share of the Kennedy looks!

http://www.johnkerry.com/multimedia/entry/barnstable_democratic_town_committee_election_eve_rally_video/

[Blasphemer]

32. Thanks for posting this

I've been curious about him since the rumors of his running began to surface. It was just a brief speech but I am very impressed. He seems to be the perfect Kennedy to carry on the family legacy.

[karynnj]

33. His speech was actually longer than that - as were Kerry's and Delahunt's.

I was very lucky to be there with a few other DU JK people. This was a "Kennedy" crowd, but he was very poised, had a wonderful smile, an abundance of Kennedy charm, and he really responded to the crowd. I still have my Kerry/Kennedy sign (stapled back to back) - something that I think was unique to that event - and a very touching gesture on John Kerry's part.

[AngryAmish]

26. Ginger

[Wait Wut]

29. Uh huh.

The husband and I were talking about that last nite. I couldn't think of any President that had red hair. Carter was more of a greying, strawberry blonde.

[dflprincess]

35. Thomas Jefferson

http://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/hats

"As a young man, Jefferson's hair was red and portraits indicate the fair skin that often accompanies hair of this color"

Though, I suppose by the time he was president, it may have turned gray

[Wait Wut]

40. I feel really stupid.

How could I have forgotten Jefferson? Well, at least us redheads have had some decent representation in the past. Time for some new ginger blood. Um...in government. I'm not saying we should start sacrificing them. We're the ones that will be doing the sacrificing, thank you very much.

[boppers]

36. Please, just stop. I'm tired of legacy 1%'ers from dynasties pretending.

Does anybody under the age of 40 even give the Kennedys credibility anymore?

[wordpix]

37. Would love to see him agree to run and then get the seat! Go, Joe

[Gringostan]

42. Is he a progressive candidate?

While I can not, do not, and will not, support any concept of hereditary right; if he is the best progressive candidate, he has my support.