A Kennedy We Can Support
November 30th, 2007 at 05:15am Mark Noonan
John Kennedy - running against Senator Mary in Louisiana…the State which just had a major shift to the GOP:
In a little less than a year, Louisianians will go to the polls to elect our next United States Senator. In doing so, our people will decide who they want to represent our state and our values in Washington, D.C.
I want you to be the first to know that today I will take the first steps and file the necessary paperwork to run for the United States Senate in 2008. I plan to officially kick off the campaign early next year. Please know that Becky and I made this decision carefully, after much thought, prayer and discussion.
Over the next few months, I will lay the groundwork of support for an aggressive campaign that will focus on a frank discussion of the issues and how I will help move Louisiana forward working in tandem with our new reform leadership in Baton Rouge.
Face it, fellow GOPers, it would be cool on a lot of levels to win this one - first off, it gets a Democrat out of the Senate (always a good thing); secondly, its a pickup opportunity in a year when the GOP will have its work cut out just to hang on in the Senate; thirdly, it’ll just be too sweet to have a Kennedy to contrast with the “other” Kennedy…heck, who knows?, maybe the contrast will finally wake the people of Massachusetts up to the fact that they’ve been re-electing a bloated lefty all these years?
Entry Filed under: Campaign 2008, Republicans
14 Comments
1. Dittohead4Life | November 30th, 2007 at 5:30 am
I never thought I’d pull for a Kennedy–this guy’s not related to the Kennedrunk, is he?
2. Patrick McClure | November 30th, 2007 at 8:12 am
I hate to disillusion you or steal your dreams, but I think the people of Massachusetts know they’re electing a bloated, leftist, drunken fool. They just don’t care because he sings all the proper liberal tunes.
3. Ricorun | November 30th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Mark indicated Louisiana just had a major shift to the GOP. True, but so did John Kennedy — up until three months ago the guy was a Democrat. If he gets elected, what’s to stop him from switching back?
4. Bigfoot | November 30th, 2007 at 9:03 am
A Republican Senator named John Kennedy? Who’d a-thunk it?
Oops, wait a minute. Ricorun has given us a Lee Corso moment. (”Not so fast, my friend!”)
Reading the linked website, I found another irony:
He received his Juris Doctorate in 1977 from the University of Virginia, where he was executive editor of the Virginia Law Review and inducted into the Order of the Coif.
Same last name and law school as that “other” Kennedy.
5. neocon | November 30th, 2007 at 9:08 am
>>If he gets elected, what’s stopping him from switching back - Rico<<
Common Sense
6. Ricorun | November 30th, 2007 at 10:29 am
neocon: Common Sense
Perhaps so. It certainly wouldn’t be conviction. The point I am making is that Mr. Kennedy is no Bobby Jindal, a died-in-the-wool Republican. He is a life-long Democrat who is currently a Republican because it is expedient to do so. There’s nothing particularly wrong in that I suppose. But there’s nothing particularly right in it either.
If Mary Landrieu had the “sense” to switch parties, would you vote for her instead? She is, after all, one of the most conservative Dems in congress. But the larger question is this: does it make any sense to vote for a person simply because they have an (R) or a (D) after their name — even if the reason for it wasn’t so obviously transparent?
I don’t know that much about either Kennedy or Landreiu. But if I were a Louisiana voter I would certainly want to educate myself about both. The trouble is, Louisiana voters are notorious for not caring. One hopes that the state’s current trend toward the GOP represents, finally, a rejection of “business as usual” in (arguably) the most politically corrupt states in the union. But if it’s to really happen, the GOP likewise has the obligation to live up to that mandate. They can’t just say they’re going to drain the swamp (what a fitting metaphore) — they actually have to do it. Of course they won’t have to if no one cares.
7. neocon | November 30th, 2007 at 10:45 am
The GOP didn’t take care of business from 1994-2006, hence the change in Congress. So you are right, the LA GOP needs to perform.
I also think that this “performance” issue will hurt the Dems in ‘08. Bush has beaten them at every turn, they have not delivered anything to their constituency, and they continue to fight the wrong battles.
Incidentally, I heard the Breck girl say yesterday that Republicans should not shy away from the tough forums and questions. Is that why the Dems wont go on Fox.
What a joke.
8. Retired Spook | November 30th, 2007 at 10:56 am
If he gets elected, what’s to stop him from switching back?
I haven’t done any formal research on party-switching, but it seems to me, in the 40+ years I’ve been voting, that more politicians have gone from the Dark Side to the GOP than vice-versa. At the national level I can’t recall anyone ever switching parties and then switching back again. That said, I pretty much agree with Rico’s take on this. I love the “drain the swamp” metaphore. And the fact that Jindal just got elected Governor says to me that more Mississippians care than used to.
9. neocon | November 30th, 2007 at 11:05 am
OT.
The following cracked me up.
PRINCETON, NJ — Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats or independents to rate their mental health as excellent, according to data from the last four November Gallup Health and Healthcare polls. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans report having excellent mental health, compared to 43% of independents and 38% of Democrats.
10. Retired Spook | November 30th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Neocon,
kinda confirms that Liberalism is a mental disorder, doesn’t it?
Seriously, what it does reveal is just what an important component emotion is in the Liberal mindset.
11. neocon | November 30th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Spook,
Exactly. It also clearly reveals the “glass half empty” mentality.
Would you ever want anyone that has a “glass half empty” attitude, leading you?
12. neocon | November 30th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
OT again,
But fascinating reading. The Dems and the MSM are shameless.
It seems more “plants” are being uprooted with each passing day. Almost a third of the questioners seem to have some ties to Democratic causes or candidates. Another questioner worked with Democratic Senator Dick Durbin’s staff. A former intern with Democratic Rep. Jane Harman asked a question about farm subsidies. A questioner who purported to be a Ron Paul supporter turns out to be a Bill Richardson volunteer. David McMillan, a TV writer from Los Angeles, turns out to have several paens to John Edwards on his YouTube page and has attended Barack Obama fundraisers.
Given CNN’s professed goal to have “ordinary Americans” ask questions at their GOP debate, how likely is that it was purely by accident that so many of the videos CNN selected for use were not just from partisans, but people actively hostile to the GOP’s messages and candidates?
13. Ricorun | November 30th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Spook: I haven’t done any formal research on party-switching, but it seems to me, in the 40+ years I’ve been voting, that more politicians have gone from the Dark Side to the GOP than vice-versa.
I haven’t done any formal research either, but I’ll guess you’re probably right. After all, one does tend to get more conservative as one gets older. But there are a few exceptions. Most notable among them are: Ray Nagin (a life-long Republican who switched parties just before he ran for mayor of NOLA), Jim Webb (ditto, until just before running for VA Senator), Hillary Clinton, Leon Panetta, David Obey, Howard Dean, Theresa Heinz Kerry, Joe Wilson, even Markos Moulitsas (Mr. DKos himself).
Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats or independents to rate their mental health as excellent, according to data from the last four November Gallup Health and Healthcare polls.
Okay, I’m pointing this out just for its entertainment value, but you know what they say: “it’s the really crazy people who are the last to know.” Or: “ignorance is bliss”. LOL! Seriously though, does thinking you’re mentally healthy make you mentally healthy? Wouldn’t it be better to demonstrate that Republicans actually ARE more mentally healthy than just THINK they are? I presume that could be done.
14. Mark Noonan | December 1st, 2007 at 4:00 am
Ricorun,
As Winston Churchill put it, “anyone can rat, but it takes a certain amount of ingenuity to re-rat”. He was referring to himself, of course - the man who went from Tory to Liberal to Tory over his political career.
That was a very odd circumstance, and mostly had to do with the collapse of the Liberal party in Britain in the 20’s and Churchill’s inability to switch to Labour (as most Liberals wound up doing). That is the only instance I know of a double party switch.