Posted on 09/08/2002 1:01:54 AM PDT by MadIvan
FOR an ambitious politician with a proud pedigree, the insults could not have been more painful. His wife was a nobody, while he was a whiner who was running home for dad.
The barrage had such an impact that the upstart Andrew Cuomo, would-be governor of New York, was left with little choice but to withdraw from the race. His humiliating retreat last week marked a further decline in the fortunes of the once-great Kennedy clan, to which he is related by marriage.
With the Bush dynasty in the ascendant and a Clinton dynasty in the making, the magic is fading from the name that captivated America. The Kennedys have been sidelined as a political force, while Jeb Bush, George Ws brother, is tipped to run for president in 2008 against a newly formidable Hillary Clinton.
Cuomo, 44, could be forgiven for believing he had a glittering career ahead of him. His wife Kerry is the daughter of Robert F Kennedy, the former attorney- general who was assassinated in 1968 while running for president. Cuomos father, Mario, had a personal lock on the New York governorship from 1982 to 1994.
Yet Cuomo found himself in a bitter campaign, in which his family connections were ridiculed. One of his political opponents sneered that nobody had ever heard of his wife and a television commercial starring Senator Edward Kennedy and Martin Luther King III bombed.
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, another daughter of Robert Kennedy, who is campaigning to become governor of Maryland, has also been basking in the family name on television.
I grew up in a family that always taught the importance of public service, she claimed proudly in an advertisement.
More like public excess, public indulgence, public parasitism - Ivan
Voters were stubbornly unimpressed and her lead slipped from 15 points at the beginning of the campaign to a low of three points a few weeks ago. She remains favourite to win in November but is no longer a shoo-in in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by two to one.
Instead KKT, as she is known, has stumbled through the campaign, coining the word Hispanish among Latino voters, getting the name of a celebrated racehorse wrong and introducing her running mate as an ambassador rather than an admiral.
What memories voters have of the Kennedys Camelot are now seriously tainted. Even JFK, assassinated in 1963, has been knocked from his pedestal by revelations about his sex life and ties to the mob, while Senator Edward Kennedy, his brother, has never lived down the drowning of Mary Jo Kopechne in his car at Chappaquiddick in 1969.
The familys hopes now rest on Mark Shriver, JFKs nephew, who is standing for Congress in Maryland and whose low-profile campaign may ease him to victory.
However, since we can't change history, it's going to take another generation, possibly two, to erase the Kennedy myth from the body politic. Heck, it even may take longer. I can imagine a campaign in the year 2070, with somebody saying "My great-great-great-granduncle Robert Kennedy said blah blah blah..."
Since this loyalty to the clinton's results in NOTHING, one does wonder when the exploited will awaken and realize they are being used.
Possibly. It likely began at around the time that women decided "yumminess" was more important than moral deficiencies - like with JFK. ;)
Regards, Ivan
If they had any brains to speak of, they wouldn't be hanging out with the man about whom the term "Arkancide" was coined in the first place. ;)
Regards, Ivan
The clinton's quest for power is so ruthless that people will believe anything of them.
For now, the only Kennedy that seems to attact the slightest interest is Caroline. She resides in New York and might be a candidate against Chelsea at some point.
At least no one ever accused the Kennedy's of murdering their POLITICAL opponents.
Ivan: I hope that does'nt happen.... For BroomHillerry will win for sure.... Hillery is too Klinton as Groucho is too Harpo.... Serious comedy not slap stick... The democrats would have a field day. Even Bushoholics would feel the hangover, puke, but probably still vote for him.
On second thought maybe Alan Keyes would have a chance then...
Regards, Ivan
Are you serious? Is this just from us (the right), or from actual Kennedy fans?
BTW, I don't think the Clinton's murdered JFK Jr...I just think he had a tragic accident. And agree with what people on the thread have said, he was more conservative than a lot of Dems, and also, he would have won big time. However, the Kennedy's are leaderless now...there's no male heir, that applies to the Clintons too. Although Hillary got a lot of mileage from being first lady, on her own, without Bill would be nothing. Chelsea is showing herself to be an alcoholic (like her father), and gets into embarrassing situations (um, yes I *saw* the embarrassing Sun photos...the Sun photos alone might stop her from ever seeking and winning higher office).
As for Chelsea, her dear father has said she is going to have a career in politics.......so we can expect her to be running in NY......for congress, for sure......Just my opinion! Her bad behaviour will not stop libs from voting for her.
Ah! a woman.... very Interesting... and a black woman at that... I can hear the democrats fumfering for words now.. Steal their thunder eh!... Alan Keyes for Pres with Condi as second... Washington D.C. would never be the same... All the elected black pseudo commies would have a stroke. And the white commies would have a heart attack... the latinos would say to themselves,only in America. The leftist political pundits would take 4 years to stop falling down after Keyes bitch slaps them at every turn.
I think you're on to something here... Nah! it's too logical the RNC would never go for it. Fun thinking about it though.
Cheerio!, old bean.
LOL! How come this hasn't been blasted all over MSNBC et al as George Bush's gaffes have been ? Perhaps the voters aren't as enamored with the Kennedys' as they once were, but they are clearly still protected by the media.
What is this Clinton dynasty stuff? Gee, they have Hillary a definite candidate in 08. Do they know something we don't (officially) know? That aspect of the story is frightening, indicating we will also face Chelsea in some future run. Yikes!
Ah, but you hang out at FreeRepublic, don't you?
Seriously, though, the fascination is still there; if anything, it's even stronger among the "right" (us) than it is among the "left". Just look at this thread, and all the traffic and commentary threads about Michael Skakel, who technically is not a Kennedy. He does not have one drop of Kennedy blood. On the left, the Kennedys are fading fast. They have been replaced by the more sinister Clintons, Cuomos, and Gores. They will use the Kennedys and quasi-Kennedys as fronts.
Most of the Kennedy brood will content themselves with using the name to set themselves up in semi-government sinecures, like young Joes' ersatz "oil company", which buys oil for distribution to the poor.
As I said in my earlier post, the Kennedys owe their clout to the "martyrdom" of Jack and Bobby. They prey on the gullibility and guilt complex of the American voters and politicians: "Oh! what a horrible nation we are! We killed the Kennedy brothers!". For a contrast, consider Franklin Roosevelt's family. He had a large brood, yet none of them, to my knowledge, has had any influence in Democratic politics, because FDR wasn't a martyr.
You could add the deflated Andrew Cuomo to that group, as well, since he was yet another incompetent member of Clinton's cabinet.
The fact is, the so-called "Clinton dynasty" isn't showing much staying power. Reich and Reno probably won't survive their primaries, Cuomo has already conceded and Emmanuel -- purportedly running for a safe seat -- is the only one of this sorry bunch likely to attain office on his own.
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