The Lion in Winter

Scott Hardie | August 27, 2009
Rest in peace, Ted Kennedy. You made a lot of enemies with your politics (not to mention that scandal), but you changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people out of genuine goodness in your heart. You were a born public servant. May many others follow in your footsteps.

Jackie Mason | August 28, 2009
[hidden by request]

Amy Austin | August 28, 2009
A local craigslister posted this -- I was wondering what others would think. Personally, I've held no especial love or hate for the man... but he was a (scandalous) politician from a wealthy family of influence... and human. And a (scandalous) politician from a wealthy family of influence.

The Last of The Kennedy Dynasty

As soon as his cancer was detected, I noticed the immediate attempt at the "canonization" of ole Teddy Kennedy by the mainstream media. They are saying what a "great American" he is. I say, let's get a couple things clear & not twist the facts to change the real history.

1. He was caught cheating at Harvard when he attended it. He was expelled TWICE, once for cheating on a test, and once for paying a classmate to cheat for him.

2. While expelled, Kennedy enlisted in the Army, but mistakenly signed up for four years instead of two. Oops! The man can't count to four! His father, Joseph P. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to England (a step up from bootlegging liquor into the US from Canada during prohibition) , pulled the necessary strings to have his enlistment shortened to two years, and to ensure that he served in Europe, not Korea , where a war was raging. No preferential treatment for him! (like he charged that President Bush received - fucking hypocrite).

3. Kennedy was assigned to Paris, never advanced beyond the rank of Private,and returned to Harvard upon being discharged. Imagine a person of his "education" NEVER advancing past the rank of Private!

4. While attending law school at the University of Virginia, he was cited for reckless driving four times, including once when he was clocked driving 90 miles per hour in a residential neighborhood with his headlights off After dark.. Yet his Virginia driver's license was never revoked. Coincidentally, he passed the bar exam in 1959. Amazing!

5. In 1964, he was seriously injured in a plane crash and hospitalized for several months. Test results done by the hospital at the time he was admitted had shown he was legally intoxicated. The results of those tests remained a "state secret" until in the 1980's when the report was unsealed. Didn't hear about that from the unbiased media, did we?

6. On July 19, 1969, Kennedy attended a party on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts . At about 11:00 PM, he borrowed his chauffeur's keys to his Oldsmobile limousine and offered to give a ride home to Mary Jo Kopechne, a Campaign worker. Leaving the island via an unlit bridge with no guard rail, Kennedy steered the car off the bridge, flipped, and into Poucha Pond.

7. He swam to shore and walked back to the party passing several houses AND a fire station. Two friends then returned with him to the scene of the accident. According to their later testimony, they told him what he already knew (he WAS an attorney, don't forget) - that he was required by law to immediately report the accident to the authorities. Instead Kennedy made his way to his hotel, called his lawyer, and went to sleep. Kennedy called the police the next morning, but by then the wreck had already been discovered. Before dying, Kopechne had scratched at the upholstered floor above her head in the upside-down car. The Kennedy family began "calling in favors", ensuring that any inquiry would be contained. Her corpse was whisked out-of-state to her family before an autopsy could be conducted. Further details are uncertain, but after the accident Kennedy says he repeatedly dove under the water trying to rescue Kopechne and he didn't call Police because he was in a state of shock. It is widely assumed Kennedy was drunk, and he held off calling police in hopes that his family could fix the problem overnight. Since the accident, Kennedy's "political enemies" have referred to him as the distinguished Senator from Chappaquiddick. He Pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, and was given a SUSPENDED SENTENCE OF TWO MONTHS. Kopechne's family received a small payout from the Kennedy's insurance policy and never sued. There was later an effort to have her body exhumed And autopsied, but her own family successfully fought against this in court, and Kennedy's family paid their attorney's bills.... A "token of friendship"? I smell a payoff.

8. Kennedy has held his Senate seat for more than forty years, but considering his longevity, his accomplishments seem scant. He authored or argued for legislation that ensured a variety of civil rights, increased the minimum wage in 1981, made access to health care easier for the indigent, Funded Meals on Wheels for fixed-income seniors, and is widely held as the "standard-bearer for liberalism". In his very first Senate roll he was the floor manager for the bill that turned U.S. immigration policy upside down and opened the floodgate for immigrants from third world countries. Yeah, thanks for that one, Teddy.

9. Since that time, he has been the prime instigator and author of every expansion of an increase in immigration up to and including the latest attempt to grant amnesty to illegal aliens. Not to mention the pious grilling he gave the last two Supreme Court nominees, as if he was the standard bearer for the nation in matters of "what's right". What a pompous ass!

10. He is known around Washington as a public drunk, loud, boisterous, and very disrespectful to ladies. JERK is a better description than "great American". "A blonde in every pond" was his motto.

Let's not allow the spin doctors to make this jerk a hero -- how quickly the American public forgets what his real legacy is. Now the Democrats will try to get their health care passed by naming it after this despot and hoping to get "sympathy support." Please tell me that the American people are not that stupid and gullible!

Thoughts?

Tony Peters | August 28, 2009
he was all those things and more but at the end of the day he was really no different than any other long serving member of congress.....

Ryan Dunn | August 29, 2009
Well...except for the whole getting drunk and killing a woman thing...

Amy Austin | August 29, 2009
Lol

Kris Weberg | August 31, 2009
I was very disappointed that this wasn't a post about the old Peter O'Toole/Kate Hepburn movie.

Amy Austin | August 31, 2009
LOL