Mark Kelly to run for Senate!

You’re giving way too much credit to these clowns in Congress.  You hire smart dedicated people to your staff.  You study issues and listen to your constituents.  You vote according to a mix of what is best for the country and your state.  The hardest part of being a congressperson is getting elected.  

Sure there are more qualified people in the country.  Are you saying Martha McSally is one of them?    Mark Kelly has probably repeatedly made decisions and taken action where his and others lives were on the line.  In a time of a tremendously lowered bar, my opinion is that MK is much better than good enough.  (not that I have a say)

steel said:
Apparently this topic has devolved into a history trivia test. So many examples here of, "Yeah but whatabout?" 
Yet precious little (almost nothing) about Mark Kelly's qualifications, positions, favorite color, -anything. That's because nobody knows yet. 
I hope we are not seriously comparing this man to Dwight Eisenhower simply because neither has held public office before. Eisenhower saved Europe. Kelly has been floating in space for over a year and can be seen on YouTube adding color to floating droplets of water in zero gravity.
Don't get me wrong, If I lived in Arizona I confess that I would vote for a pack of gum over any Republican at this point but is there yet on the horizon a better Democratic candidate?

 AGAIN.... He's a retired Naval Captain, a combat veteran, the husband of a prominent Congresswoman, with years of experience working at a major government agency.

That doesn't make him the most qualified candidate in history but it certainly doesn't put him amongst the least.  Add to that the significant political work he has done on the issue of gun control in the years since his wife was shot and you have a pretty well rounded guy.

You might add to that a very strong background in science, a qualification that is in desperately short supply in the upper ranks of our government.

steel said:
Apparently this topic has devolved into a history trivia test. So many examples here of, "Yeah but whatabout?" 
Yet precious little (almost nothing) about Mark Kelly's qualifications, positions, favorite color, -anything. That's because nobody knows yet. 
I hope we are not seriously comparing this man to Dwight Eisenhower simply because neither has held public office before. Eisenhower saved Europe. Kelly has been floating in space for over a year and can be seen on YouTube adding color to floating droplets of water in zero gravity.
Don't get me wrong, If I lived in Arizona I confess that I would vote for a pack of gum over any Republican at this point but is there yet on the horizon a better Democratic candidate?

 He’s been in space, but you have him confused with his twin brother, who spent a full year. 

So his brother even has more experience in space. 

It’s impossible to get a job driving a forklift without experience yet so many folks feel content that to create, direct, and help lead a nation in public policy of every kind, -all one needs to do is hire the right people to do most of your job for you and make sure you beg for enough money to be a mouthpiece for the people that donate.

This is the low bar that has been set in this country.

Also Klinker, AGAIN (and you needn’t shout) Perhaps you thought I hadn’t read your list of Naval Captain etc which apparently you felt was enough information to firmly settle the case. Apparently you were not satisfied of the veracity that my true story of my distinctly unqualified uncle with almost identical qualifications gives me conviction that such resume items do not alone suffice.

One difference however between the two Captains is that my uncle was well over 6 ft tall and married Miss Maryland which in this age would sadly probably hold him in better stead with the voters. 

This is the low bar that has been set in this country that I am angering even my fellow democrats because I would like a Senatorial candidate to better demonstrate his capacity for the job before I start waving his banner.

PS: Happy Valentine's Day to all the sweethearts out there.

steel said:


Also Klinker, AGAIN (and you needn’t shout) Perhaps you thought I hadn’t read your list of Naval Captain etc which apparently you felt was enough information to firmly settle the case.  

I was being charitable.  

I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one.  Dude seems qualified to me and I suspect Arizona voters will agree. 

Actually, it is easy to get a job to drive a forklift without experience.  

And to run for Senate all it takes is money or the ability to raise a large sum of money in a short time span.    

The whole point of the primary process, debates, etc for the voters to learn.  Unfortunately most people do not take the time and they listen for the sound bites.  

All of that said, if Kelly has a nephew who is as vocally dismissive of his capacities to lead as you are of yours, perhaps the voters will reconsider. 

Additionally, it bears consideration that, at this moment, Kelly is the only announced Dem running.  If the Beau "Stinky Toes" Everson, the 28 year veteran  of Chilchinbito AZ's Irrigation District Board announces his candidacy, that could throw the whole thing up in the air.

I confess that I may have over-reacted to the whole Naval Captain thing as it indeed brought my dearly departed Uncle to mind who would have done quite well in the Trump administration. In that instance having a nephew such as myself, the public would be well served to hear from me and the rest of the family. We would all have been duty-bound.

Anyway, to be fair, I feel confident that Kelly is nothing like that but all I mean to say, all I've been trying to say (perhaps not well) is that even sterling resume credentials cannot paint the whole picture of a person's qualifications when that person is seeking to completely change careers into such an arena.

I am content to wait to see how things shake out particularly as Mike has pointed out, through the primary process.

steel said:
I confess that I may have over-reacted to the whole Naval Captain thing as it indeed brought my dearly departed Uncle to mind who would have done quite well in the Trump administration. In that instance having a nephew such as myself, the public would be well served to hear from me and the rest of the family. We would all have been duty-bound.
Anyway, to be fair, I feel confident that Kelly is nothing like that but all I mean to say, all I've been trying to say (perhaps not well) is that even sterling resume credentials cannot paint the whole picture of a person's qualifications when that person is seeking to completely change careers into such an arena.
I am content to wait to see how things shake out particularly as Mike has pointed out, through the primary process.

 I accept everything you write.  But that's not a reason to think he's not a good candidate.

A person who has seen the Earth from above, and also seen the horror of gun violence on the ground, on a personal level, is one who has a lot of experience.  He's qualified.

Well, he certainly has a good flying start.

Klinker said:
 AGAIN.... He's a retired Naval Captain, a combat veteran, the husband of a prominent Congresswoman, with years of experience working at a major government agency.

To me Naval Captain is nothing to cheer after having read how our navy operates:

https://features.propublica.org/navy-accidents/uss-fitzgerald-destroyer-crash-crystal/

https://features.propublica.org/navy-accidents/us-navy-crashes-japan-cause-mccain/

BG9 said:

Klinker said:
 AGAIN.... He's a retired Naval Captain, a combat veteran, the husband of a prominent Congresswoman, with years of experience working at a major government agency.

To me Naval Captain is nothing to cheer after having read how our navy operates:
https://features.propublica.org/navy-accidents/uss-fitzgerald-destroyer-crash-crystal/
https://features.propublica.org/navy-accidents/us-navy-crashes-japan-cause-mccain/

 The man was an aviator, not a ship driver. His combat service was almost 30 years ago in the First Gulf War.

steel said:
So his brother even has more experience in space. 
It’s impossible to get a job driving a forklift without experience yet so many folks feel content that to create, direct, and help lead a nation in public policy of every kind, -all one needs to do is hire the right people to do most of your job for you and make sure you beg for enough money to be a mouthpiece for the people that donate.
This is the low bar that has been set in this country.

Also Klinker, AGAIN (and you needn’t shout) Perhaps you thought I hadn’t read your list of Naval Captain etc which apparently you felt was enough information to firmly settle the case. Apparently you were not satisfied of the veracity that my true story of my distinctly unqualified uncle with almost identical qualifications gives me conviction that such resume items do not alone suffice.
One difference however between the two Captains is that my uncle was well over 6 ft tall and married Miss Maryland which in this age would sadly probably hold him in better stead with the voters. 
This is the low bar that has been set in this country that I am angering even my fellow democrats because I would like a Senatorial candidate to better demonstrate his capacity for the job before I start waving his banner.


PS: Happy Valentine's Day to all the sweethearts out there.

 You set a very low bar for Valentine's Day Greetings...

-s.