Joe K III gives his clout away
U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III dimmed his national prospects with a predictable endorsement of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, linking himself with a sinking presidential hopeful with plenty of baggage.
By backing his former Harvard Law professor so early in the campaign, Kennedy lost some of the national clout that he could have gained by waiting and seeing how the Democratic field shapes up.
His Warren endorsement amounts to a bracing rejection of former Vice President Joe Biden, who has been close to the Kennedy family and is now weighing whether to announce his own White House plans.
Kennedy also bypassed a close friend of his, Beto O’Rourke, who is making moves before an expected presidential announcement.
Kennedy also seemingly abandoned his positive message of unity by supporting a candidate known for her confrontational style and in-your-face politics. Warren in fact proudly embraced “class warfare” as an apt description of her politics.
Young JoeK3 has been going around the country building up his national profile and has called for a new “moral capitalism” — a phrase that certainly had no place in Warren’s announcement speech.
Capitalism, Warren? Ha. That word is anathema to the Massachusetts senator’s tax-the-wealthy platform and her proposal for an “ultra-millionaire” seizure of assets. Warren would rather spend her time scapegoating the “rich and powerful” than embrace any form of capitalism.
Except, of course, when it applies to herself. Warren is herself a millionaire and last year took a $350,000 advance for her new book, according to recently filed financial disclosure forms.
No mention of their own wealth in Warren and Kennedy’s speeches yesterday in Lawrence, where both braved biting cold winds to kick off her campaign.
Kennedy’s endorsement was supposed to come as a critical boost to Warren’s campaign, which is on life support after the disclosure of an old Texas bar registration form where she lists her race as “American Indian.”
“I am here with you today because this country needs a leader who will restore the solidarity that Donald Trump stole,” Kennedy said. “Who won’t cower from the big, tough battles, from the ugly injustice and oppression that still finds its way to American soil.”
While Kennedy’s endorsement is no surprise — it’s traditional for politicians to endorse their home state colleagues — the timing is interesting.
Warren’s campaign could have waited for another opportunity to showcase Kennedy’s backing as a way to show her campaign has momentum.
Instead, the endorsement served as a way to prop up Warren after all the damaging headlines of the last few months.
But not even a Kennedy can rescue Warren right now. It’s going to take more than a home-state kiss to turn her flagging campaign around.