We Don't Need Another Kennedy in the Senate
In the 2018 midterms, a young socialist bartender by the name of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated ten-term Representative Joe Crowley during New York’s Democratic primary. Her upset victory and rise in political prominence legitimized primary challenges from the left and shifted how America thought about entitlement and incumbency. No politician is safe.
Here in Massachusetts, no Democratic Senator has lost a renomination fight in a primary since the 19th century. However, Representative Joe Kennedy III is looking to change that by challenging Senator Ed Markey in 2020. Kennedy, 38, purports that his primary challenge is a matter of generational change against Markey, 73, and thus will be a test of the Democratic Party’s old guard. Markey has served in Congress since 1976, first in the House and then in the Senate after John Kerry was appointed Secretary of State in 2013. Kennedy was elected to the House in 2013 and has been viewed as a sort of “rising star” in the party, giving the Democratic response to the State of the Union in 2018.
Kennedy is deliberately framing the race with the same language as AOC and other groundbreaking, grassroots, and diverse primary challengers. But no matter what he wants voters to think, he is not one of them.
As a member of the most famous political dynasty from Massachusetts, Kennedy will not be the deliverer of generational change that he promises to be. At least one Kennedy served in federal office every year from 1947-2011. His father, Joseph Kennedy II, served five terms in the House. His grandfather, Robert F. Kennedy, was a Senator and Attorney General. His great uncle Ted Kennedy served in the Senate for 47 years. And, of course, his great uncle, John F. Kennedy, was the President. The Kennedy family has always had power and privilege in politics, so nothing about Joe Kennedy III should scream “generational change” over “status quo.”
The type of primary challenge against long-time incumbents popularized by AOC is typically a progressive running against an incumbent moderate Democrat who doesn’t reflect the beliefs of the people. However, both Markey and Kennedy are committed progressives in a progressive state. Their voting records are practically identical.
Markey is not the enemy of progressive policy just because he’s old—in fact, he’s the sponsor of it. Earlier this year, Markey introduced the Green New Deal resolution in the Senate, collaborating directly with AOC on her trademark bold plan to fight climate change. He doesn’t use his lengthy career in politics to sit around doing nothing, but rather utilizes the connections and wisdom he has to legitimize and pass progressive policies for the benefit of all people.
The dynamics in the AOC-Crowley primary are actually overtly flipped. AOC proudly endorsed Markey in this race, whereas Crowley is hosting high-dollar fundraisers for Kennedy. That doesn’t sound quite grassroots-kosher.
Perhaps a more accurate comparison could be the 2018 primary here in Massachusetts, when Ayanna Pressley defeated ten-term Representative Mike Capuano. Capuano was a longtime progressive stalwart in the House, and on a couple of issues such as campaign finance and his signature anti-war foreign policy, was even more progressive than Pressley. However, their district in Boston was majority-minority, and Pressley became the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts. Kennedy can make no such claim about the importance of diversity as a wealthy white man.
Kennedy will have his own primary challengers should he run for reelection in the House. Deb Goldberg, the state treasurer, filed with the FEC to run but hasn’t yet made an official declaration. Ihssane Leckey, an immigrant and Wall Street regulator, is running to the left of the other candidates with a focus on Universal Family Care and Medicare For All, and is the true progressive grassroots primary challenger that Kennedy pretends to be.
In a September poll, Kennedy beat Markey head-to-head 42% to 28%. Kennedy had an approval rating of 73%, whereas Markey had one of 59%. The people of Massachusetts should not let themselves be blinded by a shiny last name and a handsome face.
This primary could become one of the nation’s most high profile races. But the facts can’t be ignored that no matter who wins, Massachusetts will have some sort of progressive in the Senate. When money flows into these campaigns, attention is diverted from key races in battleground states that have the potential to flip the Senate. This election serves as a distraction from races that will have a real impact in Washington and on people’s lives, such as Amy McGrath’s campaign in Kentucky against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConell. If Democrats can flip the Senate in 2020, that is the only way they will be able to enact any semblance of a progressive policy.
Markey has one more essential qualification that Kennedy lacks: driving an ice cream truck here in Lexington during summers after college. On September 15, 2020, instead of helping Joe Kennedy III take down a powerful progressive in order to advance his own political career, vote for Eddie the Ice Cream Man.
by MIRIAM ABRAMS