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Massachusetts has a new congressional representative, and she is an openly feminist lady person*. Katherine Clark. I voted for her. I also voted for her in the primary. I was impressed with her tenacity when it came to sending me mail every single day for months, saying "vote for me!" I fully expect her to ambush her congressional opponents by showing up at their office before they do every morning, waiting with a smile and a cup of coffee to reiterate her position and why it's really the best one, Leslie Knope style.
However.
Elections.
Let's do the rundown.
2009 - Ted Kennedy dies, leaving an open senatorial seat.
2010 - We all have to vote for a new senator to replace Kennedy. Scott Brown wins. But! Not a full term, just the rest of Kennedy's term.
2011 - We need to vote again! Kennedy's term is expiring and therefore Scott Brown's! Scott Brown loses to Elizabeth Warren. Woooo, Elizabeth Warren.
2012 - Elizabeth Warren takes over hooray. We can all settle down for a bit.
2013 - Obama appoints John Kerry secretary of state. Obama what are you doing. Yes, he's great, but have you realized he is a Massachusetts senator? Holy crap. We all have to vote again.
still 2013 - Ed Markey gets to be senator! Wooo! But wait, wasn't he already - yes, he was already a Representative. My representative.
still 2013 - so we all have to vote to replace Ed Markey as Representative.
still 2013 - Katherine Clark wins! Wooooo!
still 2013 - but wait, Katherine Clark was my state senator. So we have to vote to replace her now.
still 2013 - and look who's running! It's my state representative, Jason Lynch. Who I like and am even semi friendly with. Is he going to win? I'm saying yes he is because why? Because -
2014 - I am going to have to vote again and it might as well be twice. If anybody runs on the platform that Massachusetts does not need a bicameral legislature, that person has my vote regardless of their other positions.
[Edited to Add: 2014 - I mean three times, because Ed Markey is serving out Kerry's term, which means he has to run for senate again in November since Kerry only had a year left. I am not sure how to type the noises I am exhaling at this time.]
Arguably, I am part of the problem, because with the exception of Scott Brown (I wasn't in MA yet) I voted for all the winners, including in the primaries (which, with the exception of Scott Brown, pretty much decide things in Blue State Massachusetts.)
However.
Barney Frank, I am calling you out. I love you, Barney Frank. I miss your recaps of budget committee meetings. They were perfect. But Barney Frank, you can't go around saying things like Elizabeth Warren needs to run for President. Not just because it's absurd and not just because she's not interested, and I know you don't so much mean that she should run for president as that you want to make other people think about her running for president, because she, like you, is a progressive who understands banking, and you want progressive ideals and banking regulation front and center in the debates.
But Barney Frank I would appreciate it if one of my congresspeople could serve a full term or even be an incumbent, god forbid. I like visiting the middle school gymnasium and filling in a scantron as much as anybody, but sometimes I want to do something like contact my senator or representative, and it's nice when one has actually been seated and has a working e-mail address and can vote on things.
* She is a relatively wealthy white lady talking about relatively wealthy white lady problems, and this is what was represented in her campaign literature, but her voting record at the state level suggests that she is at least somewhat intersectional even if she doesn't know that word.
However.
Elections.
Let's do the rundown.
2009 - Ted Kennedy dies, leaving an open senatorial seat.
2010 - We all have to vote for a new senator to replace Kennedy. Scott Brown wins. But! Not a full term, just the rest of Kennedy's term.
2011 - We need to vote again! Kennedy's term is expiring and therefore Scott Brown's! Scott Brown loses to Elizabeth Warren. Woooo, Elizabeth Warren.
2012 - Elizabeth Warren takes over hooray. We can all settle down for a bit.
2013 - Obama appoints John Kerry secretary of state. Obama what are you doing. Yes, he's great, but have you realized he is a Massachusetts senator? Holy crap. We all have to vote again.
still 2013 - Ed Markey gets to be senator! Wooo! But wait, wasn't he already - yes, he was already a Representative. My representative.
still 2013 - so we all have to vote to replace Ed Markey as Representative.
still 2013 - Katherine Clark wins! Wooooo!
still 2013 - but wait, Katherine Clark was my state senator. So we have to vote to replace her now.
still 2013 - and look who's running! It's my state representative, Jason Lynch. Who I like and am even semi friendly with. Is he going to win? I'm saying yes he is because why? Because -
2014 - I am going to have to vote again and it might as well be twice. If anybody runs on the platform that Massachusetts does not need a bicameral legislature, that person has my vote regardless of their other positions.
[Edited to Add: 2014 - I mean three times, because Ed Markey is serving out Kerry's term, which means he has to run for senate again in November since Kerry only had a year left. I am not sure how to type the noises I am exhaling at this time.]
Arguably, I am part of the problem, because with the exception of Scott Brown (I wasn't in MA yet) I voted for all the winners, including in the primaries (which, with the exception of Scott Brown, pretty much decide things in Blue State Massachusetts.)
However.
Barney Frank, I am calling you out. I love you, Barney Frank. I miss your recaps of budget committee meetings. They were perfect. But Barney Frank, you can't go around saying things like Elizabeth Warren needs to run for President. Not just because it's absurd and not just because she's not interested, and I know you don't so much mean that she should run for president as that you want to make other people think about her running for president, because she, like you, is a progressive who understands banking, and you want progressive ideals and banking regulation front and center in the debates.
But Barney Frank I would appreciate it if one of my congresspeople could serve a full term or even be an incumbent, god forbid. I like visiting the middle school gymnasium and filling in a scantron as much as anybody, but sometimes I want to do something like contact my senator or representative, and it's nice when one has actually been seated and has a working e-mail address and can vote on things.
* She is a relatively wealthy white lady talking about relatively wealthy white lady problems, and this is what was represented in her campaign literature, but her voting record at the state level suggests that she is at least somewhat intersectional even if she doesn't know that word.
