Congressman Joe Kennedy is off to a fast start on Capitol Hill, impressing insiders there with his low-key demeanor and his ability to get along.
In an MSNBC profile, Kennedy stated that while aware of his family’s amazing political record, he has to achieve success on his own.
"This is gotta be on my own," says Kennedy, a former state prosecutor and Peace Corps volunteer. "People have got to get to know me, they gotta get to know who I am, what I stand for, what my values are. And I recognize that takes time."
Respect, he says, is something that must be earned. "That just isn't something that's going to be given to you," he says. "It's something you gotta go earn."
Low key and self deprecating, he talked openly about getting lost in the vast Capitol building which happens to most freshmen.
"It's kind of that freshman hazing ritual where nobody really will tell you where you are,It was actually yesterday where I made it over from my office through the underground tunnels and actually popped up where I thought I was going to pop up in the Capitol. First time. I was very proud of myself."
He still gives others goose bumps because of the family history. "It was extra special for me to sit with a Kennedy at a presidential swearing-in," said Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., another freshman.
"But he's one of the most modest, humble individuals you'll ever meet," Swalwell continued. "He stands on his own two feet. That's what's important. He would be in Congress regardless of what his name is ... He's demonstrated nothing but a willingness to do the grunt work like the rest of us."
He knows he has to keep his head down and work hard. He's still going to have to prove it," says constituent Deb Batog "That just isn't something that's going to be given to you,it's something you gotta go earn can he create his own legacy? Nobody knows."
Kennedy is focused on the future, not what his family name meant in the past. “This next year will be a new chapter for our team,” he says. “ There will be new causes to fight for, requiring new resources, organization, and dedication. I have no doubt we'll be ready for whatever comes our way.
12 Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.nosoupforU | Feb 18, 2013, 11:14 PM EST
Will no one rid me of that turbulent kennedy.
Smyrnian | Feb 18, 2013, 10:13 AM EST
He looks like he is about 12 years old!
seanomelb | Feb 17, 2013, 05:42 PM EST
Meanspirited bippy move on and weep.
alisaann | Feb 17, 2013, 03:25 PM EST
good for him....PROVE YOURSELF....the name might have gotten him the job....but, there is MORE to him then just the name. alisa
Nicomax | Feb 17, 2013, 01:27 PM EST
The mere mention of a Kennedy brings out the long knives from those still jealous of the families' long history of being elected to high office. Should we then feel the same way when another Bush emerges from the debris that family has left us to seek public office?
Portia_O'Neill | Feb 17, 2013, 01:13 PM EST
When are we going to see a photo of his twin?
wjb1tex | Feb 17, 2013, 12:16 PM EST
bunkerisland---If a Kennedy gets the great things members of his family accomplished are applied to him should not the negatives also apply ?
bunkerisland | Feb 17, 2013, 11:47 AM EST
As expected critical comments and negativism toward any Kennedy will rise not allowing an analysis of what the individual might contribute. Every unsavory act of others within his extended family will be applied to him. Considering the national climate with such arrogance and verbal abuse within Congress this fellows career path may change in a short while. Why tolerate such negativity?
wjb1tex | Feb 17, 2013, 10:55 AM EST
The Affordable Care Act is anything but. Not only Republicans but some Democrats then and a lot more now are distancing themselves from it. How about all the groups getting exemptions? Because they love it so much? "He would be in Congress regardless what his name is" Sure, from Mass. where only a D behind your name is required.
patrickesq | Feb 17, 2013, 10:48 AM EST
Too much of Congress people cater to special interests because their money helps them get reelected. Give the Kennedys credit for fostering the needs of the less fortunate and the common publicans. Just look at the universal opposition to The Affordable Care Act by the Republicans as a prime example of not caring about the common good.
falconflash | Feb 17, 2013, 10:29 AM EST
Another pro-abortion Kennedy? Talk about leaving your own kind behind.......
BippyBellito | Feb 17, 2013, 10:19 AM EST
So....He's managed to stay unarrested for 5 weeks! Another in a long line of limousine liberals who want to tell the rest of us how to live our lives. Odds are that he will eventually debase himself with drugs, alcohol and women in the very near future. It is his destiny to be just another in a long line of slobbering Kennedy frauds.