Former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, the eldest son of Robert F. Kennedy, announced Monday he would not run for the U.S. Senate seat held for nearly 50 years by his late uncle, Edward M. Kennedy. The decision was certain to widen the race for the Democratic nomination.
In a statement, the former six-term congressman said he cares about those seeking decent housing, fair wages and health care. But he added, "The best way for me to contribute to those causes is by continuing my work at Citizens Energy Corp."
The nonprofit organization provides free heating oil to the poor, but Kennedy likely would have faced campaign questions about fuel it received from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez – a persistent U.S. critic. He also has settled into a comfortable lifestyle since leaving Congress in 1999, taking home a $545,000 salary as Citizens Energy's president as of 2007, and being spared the barbs he has faced from some local columnists recently for his past temper tantrums and high pay.
Yet Kennedy also may have garnered support from the legions of Massachusetts Democrats who long supported his uncle, to whom he paid tribute in a widely applauded memorial service speech last month. He also had name recognition among national followers of his father, who was a U.S. senator from New York when he was assassinated in June 1968 while seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
"My father called politics an honorable profession, and I have profound respect for those who choose to advance the causes of social and economic justice in elective office," the 56-year-old Kennedy said. Friends said that among those who had been urging him to consider a candidacy were his own sons, 28-year-old twins Matthew and Joseph III.
The decision surrenders a seat the Kennedy family has held for all but two years since 1953, when John F. Kennedy moved from the U.S. House to the Senate, before being elected president in 1960. It became vacant Aug. 25, when Edward Kennedy died of brain cancer at age 77. He was first elected to the Senate in 1962.
It also removes an excuse for three veteran Massachusetts congressmen – Reps. Michael Capuano, Edward J. Markey and John Tierney – who have said they are considering campaigns but would not run against a member of the Kennedy family. The senator's widow, Vicki, had previously ruled out a campaign.
The Senate debate on climate change will be delayed until later this fall, given that two key players have said they will not even introduce their bill until late September.
Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) said they would not introduce their legislation next week as they had planned. They attributed the delay to last week’s death of Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and the timing of the health care debate, which continues to rage on.
“The Kerry-Boxer bill is moving along well and we are looking forward to introducing legislation that will create millions of clean energy jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and ensure American leadership in the clean energy economy,” the two wrote in a statement. “Because of Senator Kennedy’s recent passing, Senator Kerry’s August hip surgery, and the intensive work on health care legislation particularly on the Finance Committee where Sen. Kerry serves, Majority Leader Reid has agreed to provide some additional time to work on the final details of our bill, and to reach out to colleagues and important stakeholders. We have told the Majority Leader that our goal is to introduce our bill later in September.”
Jim Manley, spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said Monday that his boss “fully expects the Senate to have ample time to consider this comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation before the end of the year.”
It was not immediately clear whether Reid has given Boxer and Kerry a firm deadline for a climate change bill. Reid originally told the leaders of six Senate panels with jurisdiction over the issue that they had until Sept. 18 to report their bills out of committee. In July, Reid moved that deadline to Sept. 28.
Manley said Reid hopes Boxer and Kerry can complete their work “as soon as possible.”
Still, the Senate is likely to be consumed with the health care debate when Members return from the August recess on Tuesday, a distraction to which Boxer and Kerry alluded. Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has said he will move forward with his long-stalled health care bill by Sept. 15 if the bipartisan negotiations he has been conducting do not produce a deal. President Barack Obama has asked the House and Senate to deliver him a bill by Oct. 15
