Posted on 04/08/2014 9:14:55 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
BRANFORD -- There's a new keeper of the Kennedy flame.
Ted Kennedy Jr. -- cloaking himself in the legacy of his father and uncles, from their familiar cadence to their crusade for social justice to their wavy hair -- finally acquiesced Tuesday to the overtures of Democrats who have long tried to lure the advocate for the disabled into running for office.
The 52-year-old lawyer from Branford launched his candidacy for state Senate during a rally in his hometown, where retiring incumbent Edward Meyer introduced Kennedy as his heir apparent in what could become the most-watched race ever for the Legislature in Connecticut and light a fuse for rival Republicans.
"I'm proud of my family's legacy of standing up for working families, for political, social and economic justice," said Kennedy, a bone cancer survivor whose leg was amputated when he was 12 years old.
A standing-room-only crowd gave Kennedy a rousing reception during his kickoff event in the 19th century Blackstone Library, one meticulously choreographed down to a sign-language interpreter and perfumed flower arrangements on the stage.
"We launch a member of a historic and fabled family," said Meyer, who represents the 12th Senatorial District of shoreline communities east of New Haven.
Kennedy underscored multiple times that he is his own man, citing his case work in the areas of disability laws and the environment.
"I have been a fighter for children and families that have been impacted by environmental contamination and lead poisoning," said the Wesleyan-, Yale- and University of Connecticut-educated Kennedy.
The married father of two also sought to highlight his private-sector experience, mentioning a health care consulting firm he founded in New York City.
"I know the challenges that business people need to go through," Kennedy said.
Chronicling Kennedy's every word in the wings was Chris Ford, a tea party-aligned blogger from Woodbury whose Internet handle is Palin-Smith.
"I don't think there's much we can do about the Kennedy name in Connecticut," Ford said.
Since 2002, the district has been represented by Meyer, of Guilford, who is retiring at age 79. In 1967, Kennedy's uncle, Robert F. Kennedy, appointed Meyer as a federal prosecutor.
The district includes Branford, Durham, Guilford, Killingworth, Madison and North Branford.
"Sen. Meyer has been increasingly out of touch in a district which has been trending Republican," state GOP Chairman Jerry Labriola Jr. said. "I can't imagine that the voters would now want to move further to the left of Sen. Meyer. This candidacy represents the same liberal orthodoxy employed by (Gov.) Dan Malloy, which is driving people out of our state and wrecking our economy."
By Kennedy standards, running for state Senate is hardly the lofty office that some Democratic stalwarts had envisioned for Kennedy.
"I really feel that state government is the lab for experimentation," Kennedy told reporters following his announcement.
Kennedy is said by multiple sources to have declined several attempts by high-profile Democrats to recruit him to run for the U.S. Senate seat of his father, Edward M. Kennedy, who died in 2009. He also wouldn't bite when John Kerry vacated his U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts to become secretary of state.
"You know what, it didn't feel right," Kennedy told reporters of previous efforts to draft him to run.
State Rep. Lonnie Reed, D-Branford, said Kennedy has carved his own identity.
"You may know that there is some remarkable DNA going on," Reed said. "We all want you to know that Ted Kennedy is very much his own man."
Kennedy said that he will participate in the state's publicly financed election program.
"I know that I don't have all the answers," he said. "I want to bring a common sense and a cooperative tone to government."
Will he have to drown a woman, as his right of passage?
guess what, this means there will be a new treat on the menu,
the Ted Kennedy Jr Waitress Sandwich, Jr.
now served wherever TK Jr’s drunkenly harssing waitresses.
Great. Another Mini Me Kennedy.
Of course, Kennedy’s do nothing other than count their stolen money and run for office.
The family is an apparently endless curse on America.
thank god roosevelt didn’t have a billion kids. thank god eleanor was gay. and a distant cousin.
He’ll have to find a replacement for an Oldsmobile since that line is no longer made.
Remarkable DNA? Yeah I guess, a whole dynasty of lying, thieving, whoring, drunken bastards, now that's something you can build on!
I have a dream...of the day when we will have no more Kennedys in office or running for office.
Enjoy Grandpa (great-grandpa?) Joe’s bootlegging money and leave the rest of us alone, m’kay?
This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.
On the other hand, many of them have a knack for doing really stupid things that, shall we say, remove themselves from the gene pool.
And yet, still we are having to put up with the dynasty of rumrunners and bought elections.
Good grief! Is there a chance that we could have another Kennedy/Bush election? I saw where another Bush (Jeb, I think) is also planning to throw his hat in the ring…….
Indeed. Bad pennies demand an apology.
I didn’t mean the next presidential race—but a few years down the line.
Another communist rat bastard. Unfit to live in a free society.
Well, I hope Connecticutters demand to know his position on enforcing their new guns laws on all of the non-compliant gun owners. Where does he stand? Jackboots ahoy!?!
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