Caroline Kennedy has begun a full court press to be appointed Senator from New York, replacing Hillary Clinton who’s vacating the seat to become Secretary of State.  The law dictates that the replacement New York Senator will be appointed by the Governor of New York, David Paterson.

The news has generated some controversy in that the 51 year old Kennedy has never held elected office before, having spent most of her career working with various non-profit organizations.   She prominently ascended to the national political stage this year however with her highly publicized support of Barack Obama during the Democratic primary season and in a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this summer.

But legitimate questions remain regarding her qualification for the job.  Ms. Kennedy, with her undergraduate degree from Harvard and law degree from Columbia,  certainly seems well prepared to run for a seat in the House of Representatives or some other elected office more suited to someone at the very beginning of their career in public life.  But the US Senate, often touted as the most exclusive club in America, is generally the realm of more seasoned politicians with much more experience under their belts.  Ms. Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, will no doubt benefit from the vast experience and connections her family has in the political establishment of this country.  However if I were still a resident of the State of New York I would be more than a little reticent to accept a Senator being appointed, without any mandate from the electorate, based almost entirely on their surname and ensuing family connections.  Ms. Kennedy’s quest for the New York Senate seat demonstrates once again in the wake of the Blagojevich scandal the desperate need to change the selection process for replacement Senators from Gubernatorial appointment, a system with obvious flaws built into it, to strictly special elections.  This is a democracy after all and if people are going to have someone representing them in the Senate they deserve the chance to vote for them.You can takepart by checking out the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund on whose board of directors Caroline Kennedy has served.

LINKS:

LA Times: Caroline Kennedy launches Senate campaign

NY Times: Kennedy has no shortage of advisers

WaPo: Reid urged Paterson to pick Kennedy