Sweet Caroline - for Senate?
Published December 17th, 2008With the very likely appointment of Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama’s cabinet, NY state will have a new senator appointed to fill her vacated seat. One of the names that has drawn the most attention - and a fair amount of criticism - is Caroline Kennedy. That’s right, Sweet Caroline herself. Some of the arguments for her are linked to “legacy” and the family name. Now, I have great respect for the Kennedy political tradition. Bobby Kennedy is one of my favorite politicians. But I do not believe someone should be handed a US Senate seat - one of the most prestigious political offices in our government - on legacy alone. I think qualifications are important. Now, what is qualified? What does that mean? Open to interpretation.
Today I read Roland S. Martin’s commentary on the Caroline Kennedy possibility. His main point is that Hillary Clinton was no more experienced when she won the US Senate seat than Caroline is now. And there is merit to this statement - but I believe that the two situations are not comparable. Hillary ran a campaign and was elected by the vote of the people. Her qualifications were up for review. She had no voting record, so had to lay out what her personal political beliefs were. The state judged these things and elected her. She passed. Caroline does not have to do this - she would be handed the seat. Her qualifications are not up to the review of the voters of New York State. So whomever is appointed to the seat should be reviewed by the governor very carefully. I’m not saying Caroline Kennedy is unqualified - I’m just saying that there is very likely candidates that are more qualified for this appointment. Whomever is appointed will either have to run for and win the seat in 2010, or step aside for an elected candidate. I understand the political considerations involved - that campaign will be expensive and the seat is yet again up for election in 2012. Caroline Kennedy would have the star power to raise the necessary money.
But I think that consideration is rather minor. I think that not only should an appointed candidate to an elected position be unambiguously qualified - I think their political outlook should be up for review as well. The people of New York elected a particular person and a particular political viewpoint - that of Hillary Clinton. I think the appointed replacement’s views should be as close as possible to Hillary Clinton’s. I do not believe Mrs. Clinton should have final say over the appointment - but I believe she should be consulted.
R.S. Martin is correct when he says:
There are just three requirements as outlined by law for the seat:
“No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of 30 years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen.”
That’s it; end of conversation when it comes to the issue of qualifications. Anything beyond what the Constitution says is entirely subjective.
So it is important that our subjective criteria be well thought out and wise. The minimum requirements laid out in the Constitution are very basic - because we should be free to elect our representatives on broad political criteria that could very well change. My subjective criteria is this - unambiguously as qualified for the post as possible (political experience, public service, etc) and as close to the political views of the person vacating the seat. Preserve the will of the people as much as possible in this matter, because they have no say in this appointment. And this is an elected position.
If Caroline wants to run in 2010 or 2012 for the seat, I have no problem with that. But don’t hand the seat to her just because she’s a woman. Some feel that is an important consideration - I do not, choose the best person for the job regardless of gender. Don’t hand it to her just because she’s a Kennedy. Everyone in an elected position should earn that position - when an appointment is made, the will of the people should be first and foremost in considering the replacement.
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