Despite the fact that there was also a significant third candidate in that field, too, the January 19 special election in Massachusetts bears little resemblance to the three-cornered 1962 special election that sent the late Edward M. Kennedy to the U.S. Senate.

In addition to Ted Kennedy and Republican George C. Lodge, Harvard professor H. Stuart Hughes, a longtime peace activist and historian who spoke out for nuclear disarmament and against the Vietnam War and later co-chaired the National Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy with Dr. Benjamin Spock, also entered the 1962 special election for the U.S. Senate as an independent candidate after collecting a staggering 117,636 petition signatures — 45,136 more than the 72,500 necessary.

An agnostic, Hughes was an unorthodox candidate by almost any measure. Running hard to Kennedy’s left, the tall and pedantic professor admitted sympathy for “democratic socialism” and advocated a higher minimum-wage, universal health care and a 35-hour workweek.

Unfortunately, the scholarly Hughes failed miserably in trying to present himself as a genuine “Citizen Candidate,” an ordinary guy without gobs of money — something that Joseph L. Kennedy appears to be doing successfully, at least based on newspaper reports.

Despite having a famous name himself — he was the grandson of Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes — the Harvard professor also had the misfortune of running against two major-party candidates with equally famous names: Edward M. Kennedy, the President’s younger brother, and Republican George C. Lodge, son of former U.S. Senator and UN Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.

Unlike the 1962 contest, the January 19 special election features only one famous name — Joseph L. Kennedy….and with that comes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Stranger things have happened.

In any case, Kennedy borrowed heavily to get his name on the ballot and George Phillies and the folks in Massachusetts have done almost everything they can financially. They need our help. I know the economy is terrible and the holidays are upon us, but every Libertarian and libertarian-leaning activist should consider contributing to his campaign. So, too, should everyone in the IPR community.

What’s in a name? We may find out on January 19th!

As for the negativity – I just don’t see it, in the excerpt or elsewhere. It sticks to the facts, other than the one factual error I found.