Qualifications to be a US Senator as defined by the Constitution

[LynneSin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate#Qualifications

Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution sets three qualifications for senators: 1) each senator must be at least 30 years old, 2) must have been a citizen of the United States for at least the past nine years, and 3) must be (at the time of the election) an inhabitant of the state they seek to represent. The age and citizenship qualifications for senators are more stringent than those for representatives. In Federalist No. 62, James Madison justified this arrangement by arguing that the "senatorial trust" called for a "greater extent of information and stability of character."

The Senate (not the judiciary) is the sole judge of a Senator's qualifications. During its early years, however, the Senate did not closely scrutinize the qualifications of members. As a result, three Senators that were constitutionally disqualified due to age were admitted to the Senate: Henry Clay (aged 29 in 1806), and Armistead Thomson Mason (aged 28 in 1816) and John Eaton (aged 28 in 1818). Such an occurrence, however, has not been repeated since.<15> In 1934, Rush D. Holt, Sr. was elected to the Senate at the age of 29; he waited until he turned 30 to take the oath of office. Likewise, Joe Biden was elected to the Senate shortly before his 30th birthday in 1972; he had passed his 30th birthday by the time the Senate conducted its swearing-in ceremony for that year's electees in January 1973.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution disqualifies from the Senate any federal or state officer who had taken the requisite oath to support the Constitution, but later engaged in rebellion or aids the enemies of the United States. This provision, which came into force soon after the end of the Civil War, was intended to prevent those who sided with the Confederacy from serving. That Amendment, however, also provides a method to remove that disqualification: a two-thirds vote of both chambers of Congress.


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So tell me - what part of these qualifications does Caroline Kennedy NOT meet?

[DevonRex]

1. There must have been an amendment saying No Kennedy shall be

appointed to any office forthwith.

[LynneSin]

2. was that the amendment combine with the "Must have prior elected experience"

:eyes:

[SwampG8r]

3. i dont see what the fuss is all about

for me it seems easy
we get a well known high profile woman to fill an empty NY senate seat
we get someone whose thoughts on policy are well known
we get someone who is historically known as working well for our new president
we get the name value of a kennedy

and if the voters of NY dont like her in 2 years they can replace her

i see all the things said about her here and who says them and i wonder if they realize how silly and double stardardish they sound

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[mmonk]

5. I think they are saying the fact she is a Kennedy

and comes from a political family and is of means disqualifies her but I don't see it in the Constitution either.

[AtomicKitten]

6. To some Caroline committed the unpardonable sin of endorsing Barack.

[mwei924]

7. Fortunately the Gov. will be much more inclined to get in Obama's favor than anyone else's..

[mwei924]

8. My own personal standards: liberal, Democrat, can keep seat for long time.

Caroline Kennedy has it. And hell, no one's gonna beat her in an election.