Battenfeld: Joe Kennedy III trying to reinvent Camelot and his image

Joe Kennedy III whose political career was unceremoniously derailed when he lost a U S Senate bid is trying to reinvent himself and the losing Democratic Party and won t rule out a future run for office Kennedy the grandson of slain Robert F Kennedy was the focus of an embarrassing puff piece in the New York Times that focused on him following the footsteps of his grandfather with his thinly-veiled political nonprofit doing work in the deep red South Losing sucks Kennedy admitted to the Times But I made the decision to try to build something that keeps you engaged and energized And if something comes up perhaps you take it but you re not sitting around waiting for that to happen The gaga New York Times reporter was apparently deluded into thinking that Camelot is still alive and well because he sought what it would take for Kennedy to run again perhaps even for president The question is is what I would get out of going back into elective office worth the sacrifice that I questioned my family to go through again he disclosed I m And at various point down the road I wouldn t necessarily rule anything out Kennedy suffered a humiliating loss in the bluest state in the country how can he possibly be the standard bearer for the Democratic party He s from a state they call Kennedy Country and couldn t win there The Kennedy name has lost its clout His uncle Robert F Kennedy Jr now in President Trump s cabinet stands a better chance of being elected president than young Joe does And that s because RFK Jr is an anti-Kennedy And let s not forget a lot of people don t remember RFK any more or any Kennedys for that matter Doddering Ed Markey of all people put the kibosh on the Kennedy name in Massachusetts once and for all and it s not coming back Kennedy III did get a hack appointment from Joe Biden as a special envoy to Northern Ireland and his non-profit is a good idea but not one that carries the Kennedy magic any more He s speaking to the poor in red states in the South to try and organize voters and in the process revive his political image In the Times piece he criticized the Democratic party which is in vogue now In actuality he s a rich kid from Massachusetts searching for an identity A nice polite guy for sure with a bright future but still suffering from an identity dilemma The loss to Markey should have ended his political career but there are consistently Kennedy coat holders in the media who will look to help him back up Perhaps Kennedy is looking to be mentioned as a VP pick in the next Democratic voting cycle But what would he bring to the ticket U S Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has the progressive wing locked up and she d be a better choice than Kennedy If Kennedy really wants to do good he ll go back to Middlesex County as a low-paid assistant district attorney Now that s an honest living