Will the Democrats Look to a Kennedy for a Boost?

In the wake of last Tuesday's horrific results, Democrats are casting about for some fresh leadership to energize the party base - and campaign donors.  Two names are being bandied about: Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro and Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy (Kennedy is pictured above).  Politico looks at the maneuvering and souls searching.  Here are excerpts:

After a nationwide thumping that leaves them with their smallest House minority in over 80 years, Democratic leaders are considering two rising stars in the party — Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro and Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy — to lead a 2016 recovery effort.

Senior Democratic aides say the two have emerged as strong possibilities to take on the role of chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a critical position tasked with overseeing the party’s political apparatus in the next election. The selection of either man by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, 74, would be designed to give House Democrats, who lack an obvious path back to power, a badly needed infusion of energy and excitement, not to mention fundraising prowess.

Castro, 40, and his twin brother Julian Castro, the Housing and Urban Development secretary and former San Antonio mayor, are widely seen as the party’s future leaders in Texas. They took their star turn at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, when the Stanford-and-Harvard-educated Joaquin Castro, a former state legislator, introduced his brother, who gave the keynote speech. Julian Castro is one of the highest profile Hispanic figures in the Democratic Party and has been mentioned as a possible 2016 vice presidential pick.

If Kennedy, the 34-year-old grandson of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, were chosen, it would be the second time in just over a decade that a Kennedy has chaired the committee . . . In the weeks leading up to the midterms, Joe Kennedy, a Harvard Law-educated former prosecutor, doled out thousands of dollars to candidates.

The high-wattage Castro and Kennedy surnames would also presumably help with fundraising — perhaps the most important component of the job — at a challenging time to persuade donors to open their wallets, given the long odds of Democrats winning back the House in two years.

While Castro and Kennedy have obvious assets, they also have drawbacks. Castro, Democratic aides say, may be more interested in positioning himself for an eventual statewide campaign than immersing himself in the minutiae of congressional politics. And while many are talking up Kennedy, one of the youngest House Democrats, as a future leader, that time may not be now.

Tapping either could also ruffle the feathers of more senior lawmakers who’ve been eyeing the slot. Castro and Kennedy, who were reelected last week, are only finishing their first terms.

Call me shallow, but I might shell out some money to attend an event with Joe Kennedy. :)