The Democratic primary in Massachusetts is showing that times have changed in that state.
In a recent campaign ad, Sen. Ed Markey adopts a quote made famous by the all-time prince of Massachusetts politics, John F. Kennedy. But Markey inverts the key clauses. “We asked what we could do for our country,” Markey says. “We went out. We did it. With all due respect, it’s time to start asking what your country can do for you.”
Markey’s refusal to settle for Kennedy’s standard is particularly notable because his challenger is Rep. Joe Kennedy, JFK’s grandnephew. The elder Kennedy is obviously both a Democrat and Massachusetts royalty, and Markey’s new version of “ask not” clearly swipes at his challenger and the Kennedy family. It’s a bit revolutionary, really. The selfless modus operandi that JFK prescribed at his inauguration is now apparently passe.
Beyond the quote, Joe Kennedy has not taken kindly to Markey’s approach during the primary, which has been to suggest that Kennedy is running with a sense of entitlement. “Sen. Markey seems intent on making [my family] an issue in this race in our debates, on his social media platforms, in his fundraising emails, and his campaign ads, questioning their integrity, weaponizing their history, appropriating their words,” Kennedy said on Monday. “I am proud of their contribution and their history, but I recognize that that work is theirs,” he continued.
In any case, the original version of President John F. Kennedy’s words are still in fashion outside of Democratic primaries in deep-blue states. A day before Markey’s ad went live on Twitter, Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, encouraged selflessness as a way to beat the coronavirus. “I’ve said before, when John Kennedy said, ‘Don’t ask what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,’ [I’m] going to try and paraphrase that for your country right now and for the war that we’re in against COVID, I’m asking you to do for simple things: wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands, and be smart about crowds.”
A timely message.
