Caroline Kennedy - Privacy Rights Advocate

The 17th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States allows a governor of a state to appoint an individual to the U.S. Senate when the sitting Senator has resigned, died or is unable to continue to serve.  This appointed person is temporary and will serve out the remainder of an unexpired term.  When the term expires, the seat will become vacant and an election will be held for it.

This has been going on since the amendment was ratified by the states in 1913.  It has become news in 2009, because a large number of senators, in addition to the president and vice president-elect, have been chosen to work in the Obama administration.

One of the states where a new senator will be named is New York.  Governor Paterson will name  a replacement for Senator Clinton who has been nominated by the President-elect to be U.S. Secretary of State.

One of the individuals who might be named and has publicly expressed interest in the job and met with the Governor is Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy.  Some say that Caroline, 51 does not have enough qualifications.  I say, not only does she have enough qualifications, but also has a specialty that I believe must be front and center today and that is our right to privacy.

In addition to seven other books she has written, Caroline along with Ellen Alderman wrote two books on the subject, one in 1991, entitled, "In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action" and in 1995, "Right to Privacy".

I bought "Right to Privacy" when it came out, as I was very concerned about privacy issues in the expanding online industry of the mid-90's.  It was a fantastic book and as far as I am concerned one of the best on the subject.  The content covered privacy in all aspects of our daily lives and it was eye-opening.

So, when I heard that Caroline Kennedy was interested in serving as a U.S. Senator, I thought, well, we now have someone who understands the privacy issue and will have the clout to be the people's advocate on the national stage. Lucky us!

I should also point out that in addition to being the daughter of the late President and an author, she is a graduate of Radcliffe College and Columbia University Law School. She is a member of the bar associations in New York and Washington, DC.  Ms. Kennedy serves on the board of directors of the Commission on Presidential Debates and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.  President-elect Obama named her co-chair of his Vice Presidential Search Committee that recommended then Senator Joseph Biden.

I'm sure my old squash opponent, Al Franken would agree, she's qualified.

Copyright 2009  WBSeebeck