Over the weekend, Caroline Kennedy — or, perhaps more accurately, a campaign spokesman — answered questionnaires from Politico, the New York Times, and the Buffalo News, divulging her positions on a number of issues for the first time. All in all, they seem like the answers you might expect from the scion of America’s most prominent liberal dynasty. Kennedy supports Roe v. Wade, the auto-industry bailout, gun control, and alternative energy, and opposes the death penalty, the Bush tax cuts (but thinks now is not the time to repeal them), and the war in Iraq. Like a seasoned pol, she’s also already learned to dodge questions that are too risky, such as whether she’d commit to supporting the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor in 2009.
In fact, the only somewhat bold stance is her apparent support for gay marriage, which Governor Paterson has also vocally endorsed. In fact, it so happens that there was a lot in Kennedy’s answers that Paterson may find appealing. Paterson’s budget plan, which taxes everything from soda to music downloads, “appropriately includes both revenue increases and budget cuts while still protecting the most vulnerable,” Kennedy says. Additionally, Kennedy fawns that Paterson “was one of the first elected officials in the nation to sound the alarm about our fiscal crisis, and he has led the charge to get Washington to give aid to New York because we have been hit so hard by the financial meltdown.” And he’s good-looking. And smells nice.
Left-leaning Kennedy shares views on issues [Buffalo News]
Kennedy Offers Hints of a Platform, and a Few Surprises [NYT]
Kennedy comes out for gay marriage [Politico]
