ANOTHER WAY WITH JOE K
‘WE LOST (VOTERS’) TRUST. WE HAVE TO GET IT BACK.’
When Donald Trump takes the oath of office, he’ll see a Kennedy in the crowd, and he might be shocked to find the young Massachusetts congressman a voice of reason in the Democratic party. U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III says he never considered skipping Trump’s inauguration like other Democrats and has a message that some voters in his own party won’t want to hear. “It (the inaugural) is an opportunity to recognize that an awful lot of people around the world are still fighting for a political system where there is a peaceful transfer of power,” he said at a party gathering in Newton last night. “That’s something to celebrate.” Celebrate? Yikes. Don’t tell that to Democrats who view Trump’s ascension to the White House as a sign of the apocalypse. Kennedy also told liberal Democrats last night they need to empathize with Trump supporters and that chastising them for their decision isn’t the right strategy moving forward. “Folks, we lost their trust and being mortified and mystified about their vote doesn’t bring it back,” Kennedy said. If that doesn’t sound like a Kennedy, you’re right. The 36-year-old, three-term lawmaker from Brookline isn’t a traditional flamethrower or into publicity stunts like inaugural boycotts. Kennedy brings yellow legal pads to meetings and takes copious notes. One of his best buddies is the Republican House Majority Leader, Kevin McCarthy — a fact that might make some Democrats recoil. But Joe K III is no moderate, either. He’s still a Kennedy, and he’s quietly elevating his profile and assuming a bigger leadership role in the party.
Kennedy rallied about 160 Democrats at the Newton South High School cafeteria, saying that an important step for the party going forward is to find out why people voted for Trump, not to critique everything he puts on social media.
“The danger with going down that road is that it risks distracting us from what the core message was on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8,” Kennedy said.
“For some reason this time, they decided to trust Donald Trump with their vote.”
While Joe K III is the highestprofile Democrat in the state party, he doesn’t seem headed for a statewide run for governor next year — though he’d be a shoo-in in the Democratic primary. But he’d likely take a run at the next U.S. Senate opening.
“I think he can go as far as he wants,” said longtime Kennedy friend and former Democratic Party chairman Phil Johnston. “He’s got the talent, he’s got the brains and the character.”
Johnston said he wouldn’t be surprised if young Joe becomes the first Kennedy since JFK to end up on the national ticket.
“I think he’s the leader of the younger generation,” he said. “Any Kennedy has advantages but they also have added burdens, and I think he’s handled that very well. He’s viewed by people in Washington as a serious person.”
Of course, whether Democrats want to hear Kennedy’s message right now is another question. Many voters are still in the denial or anger stage, and don’t want to move on.
Democrats like Kennedy’s colleague, U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, are considered heroes for refusing to attend Trump’s inauguration.
At the party meeting in Newton last night, party chairman Gus Bickford got a less-than-friendly reception from some Democrats who aren’t happy with their party right now.
One yelled that the meeting was “a colossal waste of time.”
Tough to argue with that.