Ted Kaufman Admits He Will Not Be His Own Man.
There was really a rather remarkable article in yesterday’s News Journal, wherein our next Senator essentially admits that he will be nothing but a puppet.
Many lawmakers have grappled with how to balance their constituents’ needs with their own principles. As Ted Kaufman sees it, he’ll have a third consideration when he becomes Delaware’s new senator next month: What would Vice President-elect Joe Biden do?
Biden’s preference may not always prevail in Kaufman’s decisions but it must be part of the equation, given that he was appointed to a seat Biden was elected to retain, Kaufman said.
“It’s clear to me that the people of Delaware are looking for someone that has his values and his views at least reflected in what they’re doing,” he said.
Now it is one thing to say that you, as Senator will value Senator Biden’s opinion and advice, and you will often seek it out. We would expect that, even if Kaufman wasn’t Biden’s longtime friend and former Chief of Staff. But that is not what Kaufman is saying.
Figuring out his own approach — he describes it as a “three-legged stool,” factoring in constituents’ needs, his own principles and Biden’s views — came easily to him. He said no one factor should be determinative.
Indeed, with Kaufman saying he expects to retain the “vast majority” of Biden’s Senate staff, in hopes hoping to avoid interruptions in constituent services, what is really being said there is that he will be getting the same advice and opinions that Biden received when he was a Senator. Again, that is not that per se bad, for I am sure Biden’s Senate is full of competent and skilled staffers. My problem is with Kaufman essentially admitting that he will not be speaking with his own voice. It is one thing for all of us to speculate that Kaufman will be doing Biden’s bidding for the next year, it is quite another for Kaufman to agree with our speculation.
Having a vice president who cares about the state is “like having another member on our congressional delegation,” he said.
Does this mean he is going to take the train from Wilmington to DC everyday?
Given that Senator Biden pays attention to Delaware, and perhaps some of the bloggers and bloggesses here can actually communicate with him, perhaps one of you can ask Senator Biden why he still is Senator Biden.
His replacement might be just a placeholder for two years, but he could still gain some advantage in seniority were Senator Biden, who appears to have another job lined up, to resign early.
Now, if Senator Biden were actually still doing his job as a senator, it would be understandable that he has chosen to
keep drawing his Senate salaryremain in the Senate until the last moment, but he’s not doing that; the Congress has had some lame duck sessions, in which rather important legislation was considered, but Mr Biden was elsewhere, doing other things.I think Biden may too busy to micromanage his old Senate seat. We’ll see if he’s trying to make sure that Beau gets it. I think too much control by Biden may backfire on him if he’s not careful.
I was personally for the Governor appointing Carney to this seat, but if she had done so he would have been there for 20-30 years — how is that any more democratic (small “d”) than appointing someone who does not plan to run in 2010, thus making way for an open field. People who are interested should jump in now and start campaigning, and quit whining about Beau. We have already proven resistant to the idea of an inherited statewide office.