So What's gonna happen to Joe Kennedy?

Hi Kids,

OK, I normally don't worry myself about political events outside of Libertarians running for office in the great state of Georgia, but I've been pondering what is going to happen to Joe Kennedy (I), (L), (Tea Party), after tomorrows election up in Massachusetts. He was the golden haired boy of about five weeks ago that managed to get on the ballot for the special election to find who was goinig to replace Ted Kennedy as Massachusetts's next junior senator. The blogs and message boards and FaceBook were humming and it looked like he just might be able to swing it. And then the bottom fell out.

He now resides in obscurity, ignored by the polls, plagued by postings to his campaign forum asking, demanding, pleading that he drop out of the race in order for republican Brown to pick up his share of the vote, defeat the evil democrat candidate Coakley and ensure the salvation of the republic. The race has heated up so much that it is now conventional wisdom that republican Brown will be the winner, democrat Coakley will go back to being a Massachusetts government luminary and poor old Joe Kennedy will return to where ever it was that he came from.

It irks me that the Libertarian Party gave this guy a lot of support to enable him to get on the ballot as an independent. I understand that that was the only way for him to be there, since the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts only recognizes the republican or democrat brand. Anybody else is simply labeled "Unenrolled", the cool part is that if you are an "Unenrolled" voter who gets on the ballot, you are labeled an "Independent" which is a big move up from Unenrolled but does not do a lot for you in identifying which brand of politics you subscribe to. And I thought Georgia had some screwed up ballot access laws. At least here you can put your political affiliation on the ballot if you can surmount the petitioning obstacles.

So Joe has run his campaign to the best of his abilities, got on the ballot, was included in the various debates and did pretty well. He raised some money and things looked OK until about two weeks ago when republican Brown made his break for the lead. Suddenly the game was changed and it turned into a typical two party race. All the tea party support dried up and went away, all the independents rallied to Brown and now people are pestering Joe Kennedy to bail out and endorse republican Brown to ensure Browns' victory.

I hope he does not. Joe Kennedy is the Libertarian candidate in Massachusetts. He has an obligation to carry the Libertarian Banner to the finish line whether he finishes 1st or 2nd or 3rd. I can understand the pressure, Libertarian Allen Buckley had to endure the same kind of flak here in Georgia way back in 2008 when he was running against republican Saxby Chambliss and democrat Jim Martin. Obama-mania was in full swing and the republican faithful proceeded to chastise Allen just like they're doing with Joe Kennedy. But Allen Buckley stuck to his guns, he didn't give an inch and he finished the race just he started it. Standing tall, telling the truth and calling out the lies from the republicans and the democrats.

So Joe, don't quit. Don't endorse republican Brown or democrat Coakley. Be proud of all you've accomplished in Massachusetts and savor the moment. Look to the future and remember you had the backbone to take the unpopular stand for Smaller Government, Lower Taxes and More Freedom. That's a good thing.