I don't know if people outside MA are aware, but the third name on the ballot is Joseph L. Kennedy

[Bombtrack]

and I think that he pretty much ensures our loss today. I remember reading about him months ago but forgot until I saw his name on my ballot. He's a Libertarian originally named Joseph Rodriguez who changed it to the misleading surname and is supported by the Tea Party movement (to get on the ballot anyway).

I think it's a pretty clear ploy to confuse voters and split a chunk off of pro-Kennedy voters who Coakley needs to win.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_L._Kennedy

[tridim]

1. How come the MSM never mentions that?

Rhetorical question.

[Freddie Stubbs]

34. The MSM hardly mentions Kennedy period

[melm00se]

2. when did his name change?

if it was at 4 years old it's not much of a conspiracy.

[Bombtrack]

6. It's a scam more than a conspiracy.

I don't know when he changed his name but it doesn't change the fact that this is subterfuge

[melm00se]

15. how so?

can someone with the surname of Kennedy run for political office in MA only if they are a democrat?

[no_hypocrisy]

3. The surname may be misleading but it's the surname of the parents who adopted him.

I can understand why he'd use "Kennedy" and it's not to bait-and-switch voters.

[elocs]

4. Yes, I've heard of that, but I don't think the voters of MA are ignorant about it.

I am sure that whatever votes he gets will be largely from those who knew who and was and intended to vote for him.

[Gormy Cuss]

9. I'd wager good money that he'll get votes mostly from people who think he's related to Ted.

RFK's son Joseph Kennedy was a Congressman (MA-8) for several terms. The name distraction will cost Coakley some votes.

[pipi_k]

13. Could go either way...

The "real" Joe Kennedy's oil program has helped hundreds of people get heating oil, so maybe some of them, out of gratitude (and ignorance), might mistakenly vote for the other one.

Then again, there are lots of people who are pissed off that the oil in this program comes from Venezuela, so if they think it's the same Joe Kennedy, they might vote against him for that reason.


I'm sure I don't have to tell anyone how strange and illogical people can be...

[Gormy Cuss]

25. True...

but if they think they're voting against Joe, I'd bet they're going to vote for Brown rather than a Democratic.

Either way, I don't think the confused vote for Kennedy will be enough to cost Coakley the election -- at least I hope not.

[virgogal]

16. I live in MA and don't know anyone who thinks he's related to the

political Kennedy's.

It's not an uncommon name around here.

[Gormy Cuss]

23. That's a nice anecdote, but hardly indicative of what will happen statewide.

I lived in MA for decades in the 8th district. I know how common Irish surnames are. I also know that the name Joseph Kennedy (or Robert or Ted for that matter) will confuse some voters because there's only one Kennedy family known to run for national office in the state and let's face it, not all voters pay that much attention.

[lukasahero]

28. They probably pay attention to the ballot they're marking however

And since Joe is listed at the bottom of the ballot with a big L next to his name, I don't think his impact will be particularly significant.

Additionally, for anyone who listens to any news, reads any news or has been subject to the countless robo-calls, every reference made to Joe in the last 3 months has been followed by "no relation to..."

[Freddie Stubbs]

30. Are genetics a good reason to vote for a candidate?

[nomorewhopper]

5. full disclosure: joe was adopted at age 4 by paul and carol kennedy. orphan from boston nt

[hughee99]

7. What was Joseph Kennedy's name-changing ploy?

Foster care, get adopted at age 4 by Paul and Carol Kennedy, and take their name so years later he could trick stupid voters who didn't know who they were supposed to vote for?

As much as I want Coakley to win, I have exactly ZERO sympathy for any voter who later claims to have voted for Kennedy by ACCIDENT, and anyone who makes such a claim should be banned from voting for at least the next 10 years.

[Bombtrack]

8. The ploy is in why he decided to run in this election and why was helped by the Tea Party movement

to get on the ballot. Not his damn happenstance of how he got the name.

[hughee99]

11. Any voter who is confused shouldn't be voting anyway.

As far as I'm concerned, the only votes Kennedy will steal from other candidates will be the stupid votes. It will be a cold day in hell before I complain about our candidate losing because someone else stole the "ignorant" vote from us.

Having said all that, I don't think Kennedy will get more than 2%, and I don't think too many of those will be people who accidentally voted for him.

[wisteria]

10. Yes, I know and I have read that he will take votes away from Brown.

Brown's handlers tried to get Kennedy out of the race and throw his support to Brown, but he wouldn't do it. Kennedy's vote could be as mouch as 5%.

[Mass]

12. Anybody in the state who followed this election even remotely knows he is not a Kennedy.

Every print, TV, and radio reporter who talked about that repeated religiously "no relationship with the late Senator".

If anything, the GOP has been more or less threatening and harassing him so that he dropped out of the race. It was the news about everywhere this morning in the early TV newscast.

[lukasahero]

17. Thank you

I've gotten tired of repeating that.

[pipi_k]

18. That's true...when I learned that the "real" Joe Kennedy wouldn't run,

I was very disappointed.

Then, next thing we know, there's a "Joe Kennedy" in the race.

I'm like....WTF???

So I checked it out, and sure enough, it's some other guy.


Anyway, anyone who knows anything about him also knows that he has a particularly shitty attitude on health care. I heard him state the other night that he does NOT believe that people have a god given right to health care, but he does believe that it "should be affordable".

Some people just can't afford paying for health care themselves no matter how cheap it is, so where's the logic in saying there's no "right" to health care unless people who can't afford it pay for it?

I didn't like him at all.

He sounded like a typical smug little numbers-pusher.

[HughMoran]

14. People up here pride themselves on being 'not easily fooled'

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

[politmuse]

19. Give people more credit - but with the real JK we wouldn't be in this mess

If a voter in Massachusetts actually believes they vote for a member of the Kennedy family by casting such a vote, they do not live on the same planet with the rest of us. I give the voters of Massachusetts far more credit than that. They know who the candidates are.

Unfortunately, we're in this mess because Coakley has zero appeal to most voters beyond being a Democrat. Had the "real" Joe Kennedy been on the ballot instead of her, we wouldn't be sweating it out today.

[Sebastian Doyle]

20. Anybody with more than two brain cells to rub together would ask the following question

Why on earth would a member of the most famous Democratic family in the nation - and certainly in Massachusetts - run as a Libertarian?

Obviously, that would never happen. Anybody dumb enough to believe it would is not a likely Democratic voter anyway. :dunce:

[BennyD]

22. Uhh...don't be so sure.

"Anybody dumb enough to believe it would is not a likely Democratic voter anyway."

I've seen video prior to the last presidential election where people who said they were democrats thought that Sarah Palin was Obama's running mate!! Some of these people couldn't name the then sitting vice president! Complete idiots exist on both sides!

[piedmont]

31. Unfortunately, there is no two-brain-cell requirement for suffrage. nt

[Sebastian Doyle]

33. Maybe there should be?

Even aside from the Florida fraud, Chimpy got slightly less than half the votes in 2000. How many of those people actually liked him because he was as stupid as they were? Look at Palin's popularity with the same crowd. These morans actually believe DUMBASSES should be in charge. :scared:

[KamaAina]

21. John F. Kennedy (no relation) was once elected treasurer of Mass.

simply by putting his name on the ballot. He basically spent his term enjoying the state limos and other perks, and giving all his friends patronage jobs.

[branders seine]

24. how weird.

I wonder if that will have an effect like the messed up ballots in Florida in 2000?

[peace frog]

26. As long as MA does not use that much-maligned

butterfly ballot, it should not pose a problem.

[branders seine]

27. You don't think elderly lifelong Democrats might see "Kennedy"

and get confused?

No knock on elderly people; I'm no spring chicken myself.

[lukasahero]

29. No because they will also see Libertarian right next to his name

Good grief. Yes, there will be a couple of people who are to stupid to be allowed to breed who will make that mistake but listen to us here in the state: for the last 3 months, every reference to Joe Kennedy has been followed by the words "No relation to..."

People here know who "the" Joe Kennedy is. We knew the second he said he wasn't going to run. We're not as stupid as the rest of the country thinks we are. (And yeah, nice dig on the elderly - they're not stupid either.)

[Vinca]

32. I wondered how many voters would be confused and vote for the guy.

The corporate media isn't reporting it because they want the wingnut to win.