Robert Kennedy Jr. (D) is ready to run for U.S. Senate in NY

[kpete]

Bobby Kennedy Jr. may test New York’s political waters


Bobby Kennedy Jr. is ready to run.


The Riverkeeper champion tells Oprah Winfrey in the February issue of her mag, O, that if Hillary Clinton runs for President, he’d be up for entering the race for her New York Senate seat.


Kennedy was 14 in 1968 when his father, Bobby Sr. (himself a senator from New York), was assassinated after winning California’s Democratic presidential primary. The younger Kennedy, one of 10 kids, overcame personal difficulty to become one of America’s great environmentalists.


The 52-year-old father of six tells Winfrey that he won’t run for the Senate or for governor now because “my friends are in those offices, and I’m not going to run against them.”


He has liked working on the foundation that cleaned up the Hudson River and championed other environmental causes, and enjoys spending time with his kids, ages 5 to 22. But now, with an administration that he says has made America “the most hated nation on Earth,” Kennedy might step up to the plate. “If Hillary left the Senate, I might run for that seat.”


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/489903p-412624c.html

[Sapphire Blue]

1. K&R!!!!

[Greeby]

2. Woot!

:woohoo:

[Sir Jeffrey]

3. I second this w00t!

[CountAllVotes]

19. yes!

Go Bobby! We'll take you anyway we can get you SIR! :woohoo: :D

:dem: Kick & recommend! :kick:

[shadowknows69]

4. Run anyway next time around Bobby

We'd be happy to kick Hil or Chuck to the curb for ya

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

30. I agree !

[Oleladylib]

35. Not Chuck...never Chuck ...He is/has been in our corner all along.

[Recursion]

5. 10 kids? seriously?

RFK had 10 kids before he was 43?

[Pirate Smile]

12. It is true. They had a gaggle of kids. Some of the JFK photos that

show a million kids running around are JFK's two kids and RFK's ten kids all running for their Dads as they got off the presidential helicopter.

[CountAllVotes]

21. yeah RFK sure did have 10 kids

I remember the big "joke" of the time - Who pumped Ethyl? (bad taste I know but I still remember hearing that).

[Missy M]

22. I think RFK had 11 children.

[Hoosier Dem]

25. Actually, Bobby and Ethel had 11 kids, not 10...

At the time of Bobby's death, Ethel was pregnant with their 11th child.

[CottonBear]

37. The last child is their youngest daughter Rory Kennedy.

Tragically, the day before her wedding, her cousin JFK Jr., his wife and sister ain law died in a plane crash. The three were on the way to her wedding which was cancelled. Tragic. I assume she eventually got married.

[AbbyR]

6. Great

Does anyone know whatever happened to the voting law suit he had going? I never did hear.

[Mr Rabble]

13. Wheels of justice griding slowly...

[mopinko]

15. i'd like to know, too.

i have not heard anything.

[The Count]

7. I'd love him to replace any of my war voting senators we have at present.

It would be a step forward (and I say that having a problem with "clans" - but I know his personal work)

[NovaNardis]

50. RFK Jr. for RFK Sr.'s old seat?

Poetic justice is always sweet.

[H2O Man]

8. Robert is a good man.

I'd work very hard for any RFK Jr. campaign.

[JanusAscending]

48. Is that you in the photo?

How old were you there, or is that your son?

[Cooley Hurd]

53. So would I...

He's brilliant, passionate and articulate. Probably the one RFK offspring most worthy of his father's legacy.:thumbsup:

An odd aside, his father died two weeks before my own (both tragically) - because of that, I feel a kinship to him...

[cool user name]

9. I wish he'd run for president. n/t

[dogday]

11. You never know

I would vote for him....

[CountAllVotes]

26. so would I - RFK, Jr. for President!

RFK, Jr. is the best thing the Democrats have. If he ran for President he would win is what I think.

I'd work my butt off for an RFK, Jr. campaign too! :D

Run Bobby run!

:kick:

[WI_DEM]

10. So he'll run if 1) Hillary is nominated and 2) actually wins the election

which is (I think) a tall order. Given that Hillary is in the Senate until 2012 and Schumer is probably not going to retire and we got a new Dem governor of NY, there aren't many choice positions left in the state for him.

[Sir Jeffrey]

14. Maybe not...

usually a presidential candidate will not run for re-election to a lesser office. Joe Liebermann was the exception to this unwritten rule. If Clinton declares her run for the presidency, that should be enough for RFKJR to give it a go.

[WI_DEM]

18. She was re-elected last year, so even if she loses she will be in

the senate until 2012, as for the "unwritten rule", I don't know. Sen. George McGovern ran and won re-election to the Senate from SD following his landslide defeat to Nixon in '72. Ex-VP Hubert Humphrey narrowly lost to Nixon in 1968 and ran for the Senate from Minnesota in 1970 and won. Barry Goldwater lost in '64 for the presidency and then ran and won his Senate seat again from Arizona. We will see what Kerry decides to do.

However if she is nominated and wins then by all means Kennedy should give it a go or even challenge her in '12 in a primary.

[theboss]

28. They all run for more offices

1. After 1960, Nixon ran for Governor of CA.
2. After '64, Goldwater stayed in the Senate for another 100 years.
3. After '68, Humphrey stayed in the Senate.
4. After '72, McGovern stayed in the Senate.
5. Mondale did run for Wellstone's seat though that was strange circumstances.
6. After '80, Teddy stayed in the Senate.
7. Kerry doesn't look to be leaving the Senate soon.
The only ones who haven't run for something else are Carter, Reagan (who was 1000 years old and had Alzheimers), Bush (who already had held every position in the country and had two sons in politics, and Gore who seems to be on a totally different path at the moment.

Even Dole and Clinton did not exactly leave politics. They became members of the Senator's Spouse Club.

[Sir Jeffrey]

32. Sir Jeffrey you are WRONG!!!!11

What you should have said was "the unwritten rule is that when an incumbent up for re-election runs for the presidency, he or she will not seek to win reelection to the seat he or she may be vacating".

Next time say what you mean.

(Thanks to the other posters who corrected me)

[Tellurian]

27. If Hillary's seat is vacated..

The governor can appoint anyone he wants in that seat.

Maybe...then?

[WI_DEM]

31. well, sure as I said in my post "if she runs and is nominated and wins"

then her seat would be open and the Governor could appoint a successor until the special election.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

16. Before I had a viable Congressional candidate, I wrote to RFK Jr. to run as he's in my district.

He didn't but John Hall did and won!

I would love him to be my Senator. He is an Amazing man!

[mod mom]

17. My hope is Hillary doesn't run and Bobby is made head of the EPA!

[blm]

20. I wanted him as head of EPA or Sec of Interior where he could actually EFFECT the policy

that needs honest direction from a REAL protector of the world's environment and precious resources.

[mod mom]

23. How about GORE re-elected as Prez and Boby (an environmental attorney)

as either head of EPA or Interior?

[SaveElmer]

24. I like it...another Kennedy in the Senate...and another Clinton in the White House....

Sounds great to me!!!

[InvisibleTouch]

29. Excellent! K&R!

I especially like that he said "My friends are in those seats, and I won't run against them." That's loyalty and honor. But if things go well, I'd love to see him in the Senate or in some other influential position.

[kestrel91316]

33. I love this guy, and I wish he WOULD run. We need more of the likes of him.

But wasn't there some drug problem/conviction in the past that bars him permanently from political office????? At least federal level office?

He probably wouldn't be talking about running if it were a nonstarter, but I would hate to see a campaign brought to a halt by an "oops".

[in_cog_ni_to]

34. OMG! That is the best news I've heard since November 7, 2006!!!

:woohoo::woohoo: Go Bobby!

[hfojvt]

36. I just wanna know

Does he currently live in New York? His dad was a carpetbagger, just like Hillary. Apparently a Senate seat from NY is open to any celebrity. Government of the people, by the people, and for the people, dontcha know.

[Cleita]

38. I wish he'd run for President and let Hillary keep her senate seat. n/t

[sandnsea]

43. I'm with you there!

Still, maybe this is a first step. OMG, this would be fantastic!!

:bounce:

[Bombtrack]

39. well Hillary is going to be in the senate till atleast 2012 becuase she isn't getting the pres nom

sorry

[flvegan]

40. Oh, hell yes!

Just him thinking about running for some office is very exciting.

[Ignacio Upton]

41. Won't happen unless:

1. Hillary WINS in 2008

...or:

2. Hillary retires in 2012

...or:

3. Schumer retires in 2010

[mzmolly]

42. Wow, that would be great!

:toast:

[loupe-garou]

44. He's a really wonderful speaker despite having a problem

with his voice- some kind of dysphonia. I heard him speak when Kerry was running for pres. (He was a supporter) and he spoke so passionately about the environment, his experiences with falconry, his kids and the asthma that he blames on bad air quality, so many subjects. He really has that Kennedy gift, and cares deeply about voting rights( he wasn't afraid to say they stole 2004, environmental issues, healthcare, human rights, you name it. I really admire him...

[DearAbby]

45. Awesome!

:bounce:

[midnight]

46. It is time to finish his dads work. This country could use

his insights into the environmental issues that are hitting us hard.

[mikehiggins]

47. I'd rather he ran for President or VP on a Clark/Kennedy ticket

The man is a tribute to the positive side of his family.

[ellisonz]

49. The House of Representatives?

We need talent there too!

[bananarepublican]

51. 'The Gonzalas Commission' will find the lone nut guilty of RFK Jnr's assassination.

For his sake I don't think RFK Jnr. should run until there has been a full national accounting of/for November 22nd, 1963. All those involved, posthumously or not, should be exposed and sentenced to eternal ridicule.

If this happens, you'll no doubt round up many of the traitors behind RFK's, MLK's, and Malcolm X's assassinations as well. Personally, I even find JFK Jnr's accidental private plane accident highly suspicious.

RFK Jnr. should not run unless the forces of light are behind him. Another 'accidental death' for no good reason would be pointless.

P.S. Those historically (and falsely) blamed for JFK's, RFK's murders should be exhonerated. Will pigs eventually learn to fly?

[pnwmom]

52. Being Governor would be a better springboard to the Presidency

in ten years.

[Cooley Hurd]

54. True, but we already have a great governor...

Eliot Spitzer

[Leopolds Ghost]

55. His father was willing to run against his pro-war "friends" who were already in office.

That's why RFK, Sr. was assassinated, I bet.

I have little respect for someone who elevates "friendship" above keeping elections for public office competitive. Better men than RFK have run against their "friends" due to policy disagreements. If all 7 people on my city council are "friends" then there is no democracy.

Hillary's policies on many, many issues -- her pro-business stance, her pro-insurance industry plans for health care and disaster relief, her pro-war stance, her anti-Palestinian position on the mideast crisis, are atrocious to me.

If RFK was "friends" with Sam Brownback, which is quite likely because most of these guys are decent enough in person, would you urge him not to run against him if he lived in Kansas?