ToughintheStreets,

I think a more important question is "what do you want our US Senators to do for WNY?" and "how do you expect them to do that?" Do you want them to "bring home the bacon"? Is this about the distribution of Pork? Or is this about influencing the agenda of our federal government and shaping public policy on a federal level?

I think the US senator is our representation in federal level debates. They are dealing with a range of issues concerning foreign and domestic policies. I never expect them to do the job of the governer, County Exec or Mayor. So please give specific examples of how you believe a US Senator should act locally. My take is that If we want green jobs--Caroline Kennedy is in agreement with Obama. Press Caroline to make WNY the place where federal dollars are invested or incentives are targeted.

I think Plenish has the right idea. WNY needs to lobby. Yes, choose someone who can be immediatley influential while they are working in the Senate and then apply an insane amount of pressure to them when they come to our table. If they are ignoring our issues--make a fuss--apply more pressure--embarrass them--build coalitions.

Senator Higgins. Congressman Gaughn.

I don't believe that we have a say or choice in this matter. We learned a valuable lesson from Hillary Clinton, that the Senate seat for the State of New York is up for sale to anyone with the right name, political connections, and fund raising potential. The Senator doesn't need to do anythinig while in office, as long as s/he is gaining notariaty and recognition for the state and for future office. Look at the parallels between Caroline Kennedy and Hillary Clinton:

1) Both are being considered based on family name alone. 2) Neither has any real political experience, just experience by association 3) Both are/ were looking to further their own political agenda, not to represent the people of NY. 4) Both are politically advantageous because of their name and gender. 5) Neither one gives a rats ass about NY beyond the Metro NYC and Albany areas. 6) The people of NY could care less about all of this, as long as the seat goes to a Democrat.

This state is screwed... with an increasing tax burden, decrease in tax revenue, and continuous cuts in service we are ensuring that businesses and people remain as far away as possible. Imagine how bad it would be if NYC wasn't viable.

why would anyone care if a kennedy comes to Buffalo?

Here is news....downstate put Hillary in and Hillary did S*H*I*T for Buffalo and WNY and upstate. All Clintons issues were national self serving interests not local interests!

Whats a Kennedy going to do...she is going to pull the same crapola as Clinton working all national issues and shoving national issues down our throats when everyone in Buffalo, WNY and upstate wants local issues addressed.

Anyone remember hillarys promises about understanding upstate...yup that lasted as long as she found her office, microphone and tv camera.

we need local isssues!

Unless i'm missing something, I haven't read a convincing argument that makes me think that Caroline Kennedy is a bad choice for Senator.

There is a lot of emphasis on her name. From what I can tell, the Clinton stature helped to turn our junior senator into an instant force in the senate. The Hillary Clinton experiment worked. We want another junior senator that can be immediately influential. Democrats also don't want a defeat when election time comes. She has a tight relationship with our next President that can only help her to become a major voice. Appoint Brian Higgins, and he will probably be defeated and that will leave us with even less represenation for WNY.

The "what has she/he done?" critique of politicians is dumb. First, because what these people have done is a matter of public record. For federal legislators, check thomas.loc.gov -- it's all there. No need for rhetorical questions.

But beyond that, people seem to think that politicians have some sort of magical powers. They don't -- they legislate. That's their job.

She'll do just as much for wny as a senator as she has already done in the past.. NOTHING.. i don't care what you're name is.. what a joke

Sorry, but because your name is Kennedy does not entitle you to a public office. Especially one as high profile and important as this one. If an actual election were held for this office, would she win against more qualified candidates? I doubt it. Certainly not on merit (she could buy her way in because of deep pockets). She has little experience. I agree that it would be great to see someone from WNY get the office. All that Obama pork spending for infrastructure that is being discussed will not come to Buffalo unless there is someone to help grab it. A Kennedy appointment here will not help.

Give the seat to a WNYer... We're under-represented as it is... My vote would be for Higgins.

Sorry, but because your name is Kennedy does not entitle you to a public office. Especially one as high profile and important as this one. If an actual election were held for this office, would she win against more qualified candidates? I doubt it. Certainly not on merit (she could buy her way in because of deep pockets). She has little experience. I agree that it would be great to see someone from WNY get the office. All that Obama pork spending for infrastructure that is being discussed will not come to Buffalo unless there is someone to help grab it. A Kennedy appointment here will not help.

I thought the Obama election signaled an end to cronyism and was a celebration of achievement no matter the circumstances of your birth

This is one of the funniest things that I have ever read... Thanks for the laugh.

whynot and TitS put it very well about how bad a choice Ms. Kennedy would be, and about the state of the state.

ddweitzel is right that Brown and his people are the only ones spreading the idea to gullible media that he was ever a serious contender.

Artvoice reports this week that Gov. Paterson is mad about Brown's public relations campaign for the seat: '...our source says that Governor David Paterson, who will choose Clinton’s successor, is annoyed at Brown and his political team for continuing to insert his name in the mix. In addition to Kennedy - who visited Brown at City Hall on Wednesday - US Representatives Steve Israel of Long Island and Kirsten Gillibrand of Albany remain strong candidates. ...'

If those are really the 3 finalists, I'd prefer Gillibrand.

estreet - While I agree with you about why a WNY senator wouldn't matter anyway, and about the lousy fact check on Ms. Kennedy's name, your comment has a mistake too about Bloomberg being Republican.

He's a life-long Democrat who changed from D to R when running for mayor then dropped it six years later. As the NY Times put it: 'June 19, 2007 ... Michael R. Bloomberg, a longtime Democrat who switched to the Republican Party to run for mayor of New York City in 2001, announced this evening that he is changing his party status and registering as an independent. ...'

This is a joke! She won't do a damn thing for Western New York.

Is the media going to attack Caroline Schlossberg-Kennedy like they attacked Sarah Palin about lack of experience and how much she spends on clothes?

If she wasn't a Kennedy she wouldn't even get a sniff at this position.

The beat goes on.

Tme to start a local group that is an advocate for Buffalo. Anyone interested. Its time to change things!!!!!!!!

Just hoping the next Senator makes us feel that (s)he is representing the interests of residents in central and western New York. I never felt like I knew for certain if Senator Clinton did any significant work on our behalf. Maybe she did, I just don't know. I hope the next Senator is able to demonstrate loud and clear that (s)he is working to improve the quality of life in our region.

Just a pet peave I have about the lack of simple fact checking in the MSM as well as the blogosphere;

Caroline Kennedy's name is Caroline kennedy. Not Caroline Schlossberg, not Caroline Schlossberg Kenendy, she did not assume her husband's name in any sense.

On to the argument...no one is going to help WNY...period. If it were to be Brown or Higgins appointed they would not have the necessary time in office to get anything done before they were beaten in the next statewide election.

Give me the republican that can beat Kennedy given the fact she would not only have the backing of Democrats but of moderate republicans like Bloomberg.

Unitl we start righting our own political situations locally, let's not pretend we deserve a homer pick for a statewide national rep.

"estreet - While I agree with you about why a WNY senator wouldn't matter anyway, and about the lousy fact check on Ms. Kennedy's name, your comment has a mistake too about Bloomberg being Republican."

In my comment I referred to him as a moderate republican, if you wanted to make the argument that this was in error you would have been better off stating that he left the Republicans and became Independent when eyeing the Presidency. The fact is, he has only won election as a Republican and he is aggressively backing the Caroline Kennedy campaign.

whynot --

Their job is to legislate. They do it. You may dislike how they do it, in which case you can vote for someone else.

I think the problem here really has to do with expectations and promises. We expect politicians to fix things in ways that go beyond their ability to deliver. And a huge part of that is that they promise to do just that. I mean, when Hillary promised to deliver 100k jobs -- or whatever the number was -- I never took it that seriously. Is there really a package of legislation that could deliver those jobs? If it existed, was there any chance of it actually coming to fruition? Probably not on both counts, and I suspect she knew that as well as anyone. But those kind of promises are part of the game.

Wow, Bootleeger Jack's grandaughter visit's buffalo. I'm so not inpressed!!! Honestly, was this story really worth reporting on???

Colin - They need to do their job, that is the problem. The fact that their lack of performance is a matter of public record is of little consequence, as we continue to elect anyone with name recognition who happens to subscribe to our same party affiliation. The fact that Hoyt, Clinton, Brown, or whomever are ineffective means little to them because they have the backing and the war chest to run for another term, then another, then another. They all say that they are not career politicians until they become career politicians then they say that they have the experience to get the job done. Unfortunately, they won't take the political risks necessary to actually get the job done, so we wind up with mediocrity. Mediocrity is built out of the necessity to continually compromise to meet the whims and needs of every lobbyist and special interest group that funds the war chest and provides the backing to extend the politicians career for a few more years. The system is broken but we continue to support it.

i like ms kennedy. and she would be a pretty high profile senator to have, although so was hillary.

but can we get a senator that actually gives a shit about buffalo? and knows about specific problems and challenges that we face?

we need help here.

Ask not what she can do for Buffalo, but what Buffalo can do for her.

carpet bagger, complete joke if she is our senator but she will have to win 2 elections in the next 4 years either way.

Yes, I agree their job is to enact laws, not to take two years off to run for another office, not to accept gifts in exchange for votes from special interest groups and lobbyists, not to make promises to the people that they will make a difference when they know that they cannot.

Why would Hillary Clinton, or any other politician, make a claim that s/he knows that s/he cannot deliver? Why do we accept that they will spend almost 1/4 of their time in office away from the desk to campaign for another 4 years in office. We accept that our politicians will not do what we expect and our only consolation is that we can bitch about it and hope it changes in the next four years, but we know that it won't.

Bring Caroline Kennedy into office, she won't do anything while there. As you say, they make speeches and promises that our outside their power to deliver, so why does it matter. It shouldn't matter if it is Caroline Kennedy or Rick Warren. WTF, elect anyone, as long as they "legislate" they are doing fine, right?

I'm sorry, but the only one mentioning Bryon Brown for the Senate seat is Bryon Brown! He is going to continue to position himself for a congressional seat after the 2010 redistricting. He doesn't stand a chance in getting nominated because he can't win a statewide election in two years. Personally, it will depend obviously on the Gov and what his priority is. If he wants help with federal dollars he'll play ball with the Kennedy's. If he wants to limit Cuomo as a threat in the next election then he appoints him. Cuomo can beat him in a primary since he is a downstate dem that has already won a state wide election.

My vote is that the Gov throws us a bone and appoints Higgins as Senator, he may not have the resources but he is respected throughout the state. Watch for Quinn trying to step in to his dad's old seat vacated by Higgins.

Wow, Bootlegger Jack's grandaughter visit's buffalo. I'm so not inpressed!!! Honestly, was this story really worth reporting on???