NEW: Sen. Ed Markey is going where few Massachusetts Democrats have dared to go before. He’s not only attacking his challenger, Rep. Joe Kennedy III, he’s throwing shade at the Kennedy family, the state’s equivalent of political royalty. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/markeykennedy-family-senate-primary-396746

In an ever more contentious battle between a septuagenarian senator & the scion of one of the nation’s best-known dynasties, Markey is calling out specific family members by name, needling their wealth and privilege, and even drawing from the Kennedy myth.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/markeykennedy-family-senate-primary-396746

How unusual is it for a Massachusetts pol to throw shade at the Kennedy family?

"It's unconventional. That's the only way to put it," says @wilnelia_rivera. "The Democratic Party in Massachusetts is the house the Kennedys built." https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/markeykennedy-family-senate-primary-396746

When a Boston Globe columnist drove by Markey's modest house in June to see if he was there or out of state, the Malden Democrat happened to be standing in the driveway.

"Welcome to the compound!" he quipped, a reference to the famous Kennedy compound.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/markeykennedy-family-senate-primary-396746

And here's what Markey wrote on IG a few days ago: "I'm the son of a milkman and a hardworking mother. I was a commuter student who paid my way through college selling ice cream. Where I come from, no one expects to become a U.S. senator."

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/markeykennedy-family-senate-primary-396746

Markey's most pointed hit came at the end of a video last week.

"With all due respect, it's time to start asking what your country can do for you," he says, arms crossed w/ rock music playing in the background. It's a reference to the famous JFK speech.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/markeykennedy-family-senate-primary-396746

. @skoczela's view: "He's taking the elephant in the room & just going right at it. He's using the most identifiable characteristic of Joe Kennedy, which is his name, and trying to use it against him."

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/markeykennedy-family-senate-primary-396746

Another flashpoint was when Markey sought to shame Kennedy for his family's wealth and turned the debate spat into a viral video to the Hall & Oates song "Rich Girl."

"Free advice for Joe Kennedy. Don't rely on the old man's money," Markey captioned it.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/markeykennedy-family-senate-primary-396746

What happened in the debate stuck w/ Kennedy, who is planning a press conference in Boston today to discuss the race & address "Markey's attack on the Kennedy family in the last debate."

The congressman does not usually talk about his family.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/markeykennedy-family-senate-primary-396746

Many of Markey's allusions to the Kennedy family have been in jest, or been relatively measured. But a darker side has surfaced online. One Markey fan suggested they may pull a "Lee Harvey Oswald" if Kennedy wins the Sept. 1 primary.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/markeykennedy-family-senate-primary-396746

Some users insist they are making a crude joke, but given the family’s tragic history, the campaign takes threats on the congressman's life seriously. The online vitriol came up at their last debate.

Markey and Kennedy debate for the last time tomorrow.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/markeykennedy-family-senate-primary-396746