Senator Ted Kennedy Dead at 77

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From his Senate web page:

Statement from The Kennedy Family
August 26, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Edward M. Kennedy – the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port. We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.”

A review of Kennedy’s legacy below the fold.

As soon as cancer was found in Ted Kennedy, it was noticed the immediate attempt at canonization of old Teddy by the main stream media. They are saying what a “great American” he is. I say, let’s get a things clear and not twist the facts to change the REAL history.

1. He was caught cheating at Harvard when he attended first attended the school. 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, womanizer 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 former President Bush of receiving.

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 (another notorious womanizer like his dad and brothers) 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.

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7. He swam to shore and walked back to the party, after passing several houses and a fire station. Then two friends returned with him to the scene of the accident. According to their later testimony, they told him what he already knew, 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 and 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 pled 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 Kennedy’s insurance policy, and never sued. There was later an effort to have her body exhumed and autopsied, but her family successfully fought against this in court, and Kennedy’s family paid their attorney’s bills a “token of friendship”?

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, and funded Meals on Wheels for fixed-income seniors and is widely held as the “standard-bearer for “liberalism.” In his very first Senate role, 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.

9. Since that time, he has been the prime instigator and author of every expansion of and 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 were the standard bearer for the nation in matters of right. What a pompous idiot!

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”.

Let’s not allow the spin doctors make this jerk a hero by short-memory Americans lest we forget what his real legacy is.

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Lost in filter. Please post when you’ve found a solution to this problem.

i have always found it interesting that when a liberal r celeb dies they always talk about allogf “the good” they have done, never the bad. the way i see it,they were formed by both, good choices and bad. in my personal life i never pretend someone was great when they really weren’t and i won’t now. so all the freakin out libs out there can just shut up. if it had been palin who died they would be dancing in the streets and she never killed anyone.

Name for Obamacare now Chappaquiddick-care. You need healthcare and the Obamaites turn and run away. In honor? of Ted Kennedy????

Ted Kennedy: Chappaquiddick Incident
Senator Edward Kennedy’s name will be forever blighted by the incident at Chappaquiddick Island where an aide to his brother died in his car.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6094161/Ted-Kennedy-Chappaquiddick-Incident.html.

How appropriate for the misguided Obama and his minions.

You have to admire Chris Matthews. He can always find a way to top his stupidity. Today he said the torch of civil rights has been passed on from Teddy to Barack “THE LAST BROTHER”.

I predict an 8% drop in the global consumption of scotch for the coming year.

@Aye Chihuahua:

I fully support your right to speak truth as well as opinion. There’s a difference between the two, ya know, even if the latter is supported by a some of the former. Calling me a hypocrite won’t change that.

FYI – I’m better at tap than ballet, but a Pirouette is not just a random spin – the dancer must spot where they are going with each turn and move up rather than around. So, good analogy.

Good riddance to bad rubbish. No sympathy for anyone in the media designated “royal family”
Tango Sierra

@Aye Chihuahua:

Thanks, but I’m in there again. I’m sure you’re as frustrated as I am.

May the late Ted Kennedy rest peacefully in HELL.

Mary Jo Kopechne did not deserve to die. Ted Kennedy had no honor — ever.

Ted Kennedy’s death; good riddance.

Barrack Hussein Obama — much of the same.

Wow this filter doesn’t stop, does it? I’m sure you’re just as frustrated, but it’s like nearly every single comment.

okay, this is my fourth consecutive try. Trying to bear with you.

Cary, I’m not having any trouble. Are they trying to tell you something????

I’ve reverted back to our old filter. I keep trying out new filters to see if I can reduce the number of legitimate comments from getting spammed to no avail. Maybe one of these days I’ll find it.

@Buffalobob:

Perhaps. Though I’m told not.

@Aye Chihuahua:

Thanks Aye. I’ve no reason not to believe you, but it is incredibly frustrating. I’m sure you understand.

@Aye Chihuahua: Supposedly Joe Kennedy made quite a bit of money running booze from Canada to the U.S.during prohibition. Then after prohibition was repealed he amassed a fortune with his company(Somerset Importers)as the exclusive American agent for Dewar’s Scotch and Gordon’s Dry Gin.

@Aye Chihuahua:

Yeah Aye, I get ’em on my blog, too. It’s why I approve comments. Of course, I’ve never gotten anywhere near the traffic you do, so I understand that’s not an option.

I’m a scotch fan – but I hate Dewars more than I hate the Red Sox! Won’t hold either against the Kennedys though, nobody’s perfect! 😉

The words that came to mind when I first heard the breaking news of this last night were, “The end of an era”. (The Kennedy era).

I probably will be avoiding watching the t.v. MSM in the next few days.

Having said that, my condolences to the family all the same.

Should clarify…I will be avoiding watching the t.v. MSM more than I usually avoid watching it.

I have this vision of a thousand people in line at the funeral, each with a mallet and a stake.

At least the country is now safe from him.

The President, the Dems, libbers and RINOs can ALL sing his praises, that is the hypocrisy we ALL expected, but I am not going to honor a murdering son of an Irish bootlegger. I am hoping that Mary Jo Kopechne was waiting for him with a Louisville Slugger!

I have NEVER been a supporter OF Teddy Kennedy, and I won’t prostitute me, or my blog and become one now. I don’t intend to denigrate, nor will I celebrate his passing.

I can’t, in good conscience, and won’t, pile any honors on a man that was far less than honorable in my opinion!

Diffenently a liberal lion of the senate. Hamlet indeed. Good, bad and downright ugly at times.

Thanks for sharing his dark sides.

The only great silver lining is hopefully his Universal Health Care (or Fascist Care) will be buried with him.

Cary #14

You are incorrect as many timelines have been put together that I have read in the past. Much has been compiled that cannot be disputed. You may even read the ever benevolent left leaning “wiki” history, which has a tough time whitewashing the incident.

You say we “do not know”. But there are undisputable facts that we do know… the least of which is that Kennedy ignored multiple homes where he could have called for immediate help, and instead hiked back to his cottage to get the help of his handlers.

The attempts to rescue they announce, citing too strong of currents, belies the facts that the surface currents…. the only ones that would affect his ability to dive to the car… were “slack” per maritime documentation that night. Nor did those currents prevent him from swimming the channel (bolting a car after hearing repeated attempts to get him to call the police) in order to swim to Edgartown and the hotel where he stayed the night… STILL never notifying the police.

Another fact remains, Kennedy never did notify the police. The car and body were discovered by fishermen the next morning.

Yet another fact remains… had the police been called, Ms. Kopechne would be alive today, as she survived for a time in the car with the aid of an air bubble.

But Kennedy was, indeed, busy with phone calls that night – just none to the police. Instead repeatedly to his powerful various handlers, thinking only of his public image and career.

When he pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident that caused bodily injury, they sentenced him to *two months* of incarceration… which the Kennedy lawyers got suspended.

You can read the FOIA FBI files on testimony and documents here.

I did hear that Kennedy is to be buried at Arlington. His two years of service in the Army which his family got knocked down from the four years that he enlisted for originally, qualifies him for that burial spot (not his Senate service, and only two Presidents are buried there). Those two years found him with a cushy “honor guard” duty in Paris, France instead of front line service in Korea… again thanks to family connections.

But frankly his presence in Arlington makes me want to apologize to the others lying in rest there who will now find a man with a mixed record of honor among genuine national servants. Here’s Arlington’s qualifications for burial.

Then there is the absurdity of Kennedy’s last moments attempt to undermine MA’s successor laws… which he, himself changed when Romney was Governor. When the shoe was on the other foot, that which he had wrought didn’t look so good. Were the man not so self-consumed, and genuinely concerned for MA Senate representation, he should have stepped down and chosen his successor before this moment arose. But no… he had to hang on to power to the bitter end. It was another case of self-interest over representation for MA (*his* opinion), or concern for the plight of others (Mary Jo Kopechne).

And about those “education” legislative accomplishments…. would that include the NCLB that the Dems cite as absolute Bush failure, while ignoring it was Kennedy’s legislative baby? If you’re planning on citing glowing accolades, consistency would be appreciated. If it is a Kennedy legacy, you must give it to Bush as well.

Other than despising the man, and detesting his perceived “service” for this country – which, IMHO, have been the antithesis of Constitutional values – I do indeed offer condolences to his family who loved him. There is the man as a national servant, and the man as a family member. I honor the latter, and give him no respect for the former.

@Aye: “The SPAM filter is an ongoing pain in the rear. Unfortunately, it is an indispensable tool.”
Having helped on another forum somewhere else – I feel your pain! 🙂 And yes … it really is an indispensable tool.

I was trying to see what I was doing to get it flagged. But I didn’t see a common cause. No worries though.

: Whether I liked what he did or not, the one thing I can say is this:
He was in that position for a while. Like you said, he asked his constituents if he should step down and they wanted him to stay. And they kept electing him.

So, even if *I* disagree with their views, I have to say that he must have been doing his job well enough for the majority of them to keep re-electing him.

For the record, I am a proud independent. I refuse to vote party line for ANY party. I *WAS* a mostly democrat leaning YEARS ago (20 or so). Morally, I am more conservative. Fiscally I am about as center as it gets.

Here is the actual interview with one of the Russians that broke the Ted Kennedy traitorous scheme story with the KGB.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=30980

Cary: They should absolutely pass it [O’healthcare] now and name it after him. No question.

Really? You mean the same healthcare that, if Kennedy were on it as a normal retired citizen sans Kennedy and Senate contacts, would have been denied treatment and given pain pills instead?

Get a grip on reality please, guy. Nothing could be more oxymoronic than to name this after Kennedy… altho it does seem appropriate when you consider it’s the “one law/treatment for you, and another one for me” reality.

Inspect, sadly it’s not going to stop him from being buried in Arlington.

MataHarley #79 – Thank you for posting a comment about the “real’ Ted Kennedy. He was only looking out for himself. To hell with Mary Jo. She was an inconvenience to him because she could not get out of the car by herself. I have no proof, but is it possible the family of Mary Jo let it drop because they were frightened by something a Kennedy aide or friend said or did? Could there have been threats? I guess we will never know being as her parents are deceased. I can tell you this: I think it is a possibility.
Just my opinion
Madalyn
I will not say I am sorry he is gone. He has shown his true colors time and again, and I don’t think we need any more of his kind breathing. (Sorry to sound so heartless, but at least I didn’t kill anyone. I just state how I feel – BIG DIFFERENCE).

I’m not sure why the Kopechne family seems to enter the discussion here, or the idea they “let it drop”. The Kennedy family, quite powerful, was not going to be prosecuted via an investigation since the police chief didn’t even seem interested in interviewing him thoroughly after the incident, and Kennedy’s handing him a prepared statement nine hours after the accident. None of the same officials questioned the party goers, tho they had given statements to reporters in the following days. The Edgartown police said they didn’t think they could prove Kennedy was “legally responsible” for Kopechne’s death, and assistant DA Jimmy Smith was avoiding any prosecution.

So again the facts would be that the police and investigations were half-hearted, Kennedy decided to plead guilty to a lesser charge than manslaughter, and the Kopechne’s eventually received settlement of $151K approx, ($91K from Kennedy and another $50K from Kennedy’s insurance).

Closed case with the pleaded charges and settlement. Without an aggressive investigation by a dedicated police force and DA’s office, what would anyone expect the Kopechne’s to do? They did not even have the law enforcement or local judicial authorities willing to help them out.

MataHarley – How right you are. I was so focused on what I wanted to say, I neglected to look at other options. My goof. Of course law enforcement weren’t willing to prosecute a Kennedy. They ran the town, county, state, and half of the country. I guess if someone killed my daughter and the police was not interested in a real investigation, I really don’t know what I would do. Thank God I have never been faced with that situation. MataHarley – keep up the fantastic articles that so many of us need to get facts, and also the research you do is amazing.
Madalyn

What was this monster’s last offical act? He tried to undo the senate replacement policy he had changed in 2004 to keep Rommney from appointing a R senator to Kerry’s vacant seat. This is a man with a lot of integrity! scsm

I hope this ends the shitstain of the kennedy’s on American politics. None of the clan left has any real power so hopefully its the end of their foul legacy. The lionization of this murdering traitor is beyond hypocritical. He did NOTHING for America, only for himself. His being buried in Arlington spits on the graves of all those Honorable Men and Women who lie there. God Damn him to hell.

@Real American Patriot.

I am sure you know but everytime the Dems push for minimum wage increase, it DOES benefit those who have assigned themselves to minimum wage positions…I pray they can move up from those positions.

However, the dirty little secret is that every time the minimum wage is raised — it also raises union wages – most union wages are on a job position scale with the lowest starting at a contractual % above minimum wage. When this happens, I have seen a combination of the following occur…some businesses lay-off, some close, some go overseas with a one-way ticket.

Most recent hike caused loss of jobs for some American agri workers in lieu of illegals…

I did not know Sen. Kennedy, never met him. I saw him on TV and know that he was a politician. He was a man, a human being. He is dead now. His family and friends will mourn his passing, the world will continue to turn.

Those who had the need to speak evil of him today, on the day of his passing, are pretty pathetic.

I have mixed views on Ted Kennedy. Whilst I can appreciate his efforts on universal healthcare and his views on Iraq (which most of you won’t share) – obviously Chappaquiddick is a massive stain on his character. And @Old trooper – whilst I think his father was despicable – his ‘sins’ have little to do with his sons. However I do take umbrage at Ted Kennedy’s views on Northern Ireland. Ulster never came close to becoming Britain’s Vietnam. Sympathising with terrorists mainly because his ancestors were irish is pathetic.

Blast Comment #91 – Why would we sit here and patronize a killer? Just because he died does not mean we should all at once idolize him. I’m sure his family is not sitting at their computers reading all these comments. If they are, it shows just how much they thought of him too.
Do I make my point?
Just asking
Madalyn

I did not know Sen. Kennedy, never met him. I saw him on TV and know that he was a politician. He was a man, a human being. He is dead now. His family and friends will mourn his passing, the world will continue to turn.

Those who had the need to speak evil of him today, on the day of his passing, are pretty pathetic.

Of course you expressed the same sentiment at those who spoke evil of Tony Snow and Bob Novak when they passed right?

To Inspectorudy

great article, pattersons book did not have that much detail – he hit on many issues but this is great , thanks for that. I have been at the frontpage site many times and missed this one. If this had been a conservative senator he’d be in jail and conservatives would be finished for generations.

Now we have all these lugnuts running the whole show. Czars and all. No body is stopping this.
what about defending the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. If ACORN does not gain the power that they plan to gain, we can vote these people out before the damage becomes permanent. Let them try to stop the voting. then all hell will break loose.

@Greg: agreed, he wan’t a saint. thank god there are some of us that actually have several brain cells not killed by booze and we see this.

No one who goes behind our backs and offers to work for our enemies is a patriot. He is a traitor. That he tries to plant himself now among the real heroes in Arlington shows that even to the last he was an arrogant jerk who was only concerned about his own image. That anyone attempts to lionize this rogue, dissolute, debauched predator is naive at best and abhorrent at worst. My sympathies are with his family and his victims.

Madalyn #87, thank you for the kind words. So sorry not to acknowledge sooner, but between work, doin’ healthcare battle with trizzlor on another thread, plus dodging this thread (for the most part…), I was derelict to your kindness.

Now, if I can get this real world schedule under control, I may even be able to get out a post or two. I’m long overdue after being out of the state for a few weeks. Just about forgot I’m an author… LOL

@MataHarley:

I’m in no way claiming that the man was perfect, nor am I defending the way he handled the incident in question. People can take the facts we know and come to whatever speculative conclusion they want, but the fact is there is much we still don’t know. If he was in shock, panic, fear, whatever… I personally don’t believe he is guilty of “killing” anyone – perhaps a sexual indiscretion, or even alcohol abuse (which would explain her taking over the driver’s seat), but I don’t believe murder. And in the 41 years since then, his accomplishments have earned him the admiration of many Americans, and I completely understand that you’re not one of them.

There could be a number of reasons her family did not pursue the matter, including the one you speculate. Or it could be that they didn’t want to air the girl’s private affairs in public, or they recognized her hard work in his campaign and chose to believe him rather than thwart her efforts towards his success.

As I said, we don’t definitively know anything. As you later state, there was no investigation by local authorities, or the FBI, so all you have is an opinion based on how you perceive what you know. Again, there could be numerous reasons they did not pursue a case, from the sinister one you speculate, to them actually believing him. And no matter how much you believe what you do, that doesn’t make it fact. I’m sure I don’t actually have to tell you that.

It is not your opinion I take issue with – it’s the hateful rhetoric expressed on this thread by those who do God’s job of condemning him to Hell and rejoicing in his death., and on the very same day of his death no less. Not the Christian values I learned in MY church. I’m on the same page with Blast for this one.

And for those who state that those of us who admired him are naive, stupid or immoral, I refer you to my comment number 14 – where the likes of Nancy Reagan and President Bush express admiration for him as well.

As for naming the Health Care bill after him – well, here’s my reality check… He considered Health care to be a universal right for all Americans, regardless of income or status, and championed the cause way before Hillary took it up. Whether or not you agree with the cause or not, if such a law is passed which aims to accomplish those goals he set, I believe that it is indeed appropriate to name it in his honor.

“He considered Health care to be a universal right for all Americans, regardless of income or status”
Not true.

@Aye Chihuahua:

Nice description of Kennedy in the same post you mention Nixon. And nice spin. He opposed it because Nixon was making a deal with insurance companies, and later regretted it because it would’ve been better than nothing.

Here’s his healthcare timeline:

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/August/26/Kennedy-health-care-timeline.aspx