John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
The 35th President of the United States of America. The youngest person ever elected to the office. In a post-war America, President Kennedy repressented a new generation of leadership in this country. The confidence. The imagine. The family. His brand of populism was guided by what he meant to so many in this country. His presidency defined this country in a way that most Americans still talk about today. His life and death is the storylearned about as a part of our history from our earliest education.
And it wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for one man.
80 years ago, fresh off of our victory in World War II, John Kennedy was the given the hopes and attention of national prominence from his father, Joseph Kennedy. Initally wanting his eldest son, Joe Kennedy, Jr, to be his hope for high office, that changed when he was killed in action during the war. So the senior Joe Kennedy turned to his next oldest, John to be the family’s standard bearer. Needing an office to lauch into the politics of visibility, Joe targeted the 11th House Distrct for the United States House of Representatives. With the then-representative vacating the seat to run for mayor of Boston, Kennedy would enter a race, of a solidly blue district, to lauch his political career. But with it being such a heavily Democratic seat, Kennedy would not be alone. Multiple candidates entered that race were aiming to replace Representative James Michael Curley. And while Kennedy had the money, the Kennedy name really didn’t exist in 1946. He had the backing of his prominent father and certainly had wealth, but he was just another Irish Catholic. Now, we associate the Kennedy name with natural-born politicians. But back then, he was an unknown.
However, the known name of that particular race was the four-term City Councilman, Joseph Russo. One of the first Italian immigrants to hold office in the city, extremely popular not just with Italian immigrants, but with Eurpoean and Mid-Eastern immigrants in the city as well. Joseph Russo was the name Bostonians knew…
But then there was yet another candidate in this crowded primary… Joseph Russo.
No, not Joseph Kennedy the City Councilor. Joseph Kennedy the city janitor.
Paid by a Kennedy staffer, Joe Kennedy was 27-year old Boston resident that just happened to have the same name of the popular city councilman, entered the race and was on the ballot for voters to choose from. They came to vote for Joe Russo, but when they got in their voting both, there was no discernable way to tell, which Joseph Russo that was the one they wanted. So naturally, the vote was split. John F. Kennedy, the only John F. Kennedy on the ballot, won the primary. He would go on to win the general election, served three terms in the House, elected twice in the Senate and of course the 35th President of the United States of America. The rest is history.
Now, 80 years after John F. Kennedy won off the backs of two Joseph Russo’s on his ballot, Congresswoman Mary Peltola finds her self on the ballot to represent Alaska in the U.S. Senate. Opposing her is current Senator, Daniel S. Sullivan completing his second term in the Senate, hoping to get a third…. and Daniel J. Sullivan, a retired teacher and U.S. Forest Service employee. Two Daniel Sullivans. One Mary Peltola. Will this help Mary Peltola win this election? Who’s to say. As of now, a victor has not been declared. But this particular race has gained a lot of national attention recently. But even before national news has turned its attention to an ever-tightening race for Senate that could very well determine the control of the chamber, the Alaskan Supreme Court has previously weighed in this election. When Alaskans go and vote, and for those who have already voted, they won’t just see a Daniel J. Sullivan and a Daniel S. Sullivan. The ballot has been made clear that it will feature “Daniel S. Sullivan, Incumbent/Republican). There should be no mistaking who is the current Senator and Republican nominee in that race. Definiately far more clearer than the two Joseph Russos.
I’m not defending these tactics. I’m not blaming anyone for it. I’m just Your Friendly Neighborhood History Fan that has seen this story before. Frankly, whether it’s purposeful or not, races always feature candidates with similar names. Just a few years ago, we had a School Board candidate Matt Cummings in one side of the city and City Council candidate Stacey Cummings on the other side of the city. Obvious Matt is not Stacey, and while I’ll admit I did initially wondered why Matt had campaign signs in a district he’s not running in, I knew well enough who to support. But I’m a relatively well informed voter. Unfortunately, not all voters are as informed. And Matt Cummings could have got votes from some who thought they were supporting Stacey Cummings. Or the other way around. And this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. One of the first candidates I remember supporting was the former local NAACP Chair, Georgia Allen. Who was running for a local seat while U.S. Senator George Allen was serving in the Senate. Could some voters have looked too fast thinking George Allen was running and voted for her? Could someone have been turned off by George Allen’s politics, took a quick glance at Georgia Allen and said no? Even that’s a possibility.
What will remain, no matter the candidate, no matter the year or the office, the onus is and always should be upon voters. You have to be a fully informed and aware of what you are voting on and it’s on you to know that. Make no mistake about it, voting is our turn to use our voice and to make sure it is heard. We hear from candidates all the time. Campaigns are going to campaign. They’ve been playing tricks on voters well before Joe Kennedy made the Kennedy name. Hell, another Presidential family, John and John Quincy Adams have done FAR worse in their races. But our job is to cut through that. It’s not just our job. It’s our responsibility. And the more we shirk this responsiblity, the more we take it for granted, the less we can hold those who do the things we don’t like responsible. Why should anyone care about your opinion on the world if you don’t care enough to share it when it matters the most?
We have an election in a few days. Nearly 50 million voters have already done their job. We need you to do yours. We need you to not just know who you are voting for but why you are voting for them. Because if you are armed with that information, you won’t need to be worried about petty campaign tactics. Because when you are worried about things that are real, your life, your family, living free and comfortably, you’ll have all you need to make the right decision.
Names come and go. But the rest… is history.
