Earlier this week, ABC, CBS and NBC all noted the tenth anniversary of the death of John F. Kennedy, Jr. That Kennedy was an “icon” according to CBS’s Harry Smith, and “the Prince of Camelot” to ABC’s Chris Cuomo, a former cousin-in-law. Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, killed July 18, 1969 after leaving a party with Senator Edward Kennedy. That night, Kennedy drove his car off a bridge, and left the scene with Kopechne still in the submerged vehicle; he did not call the police until the following morning.
Over the course of the past four decades, the media elite have touted Kennedy as a “liberal lion,” spending far more time celebrating his ideological agenda than reminding people of his behavior that night in 1969. As my colleague Brent Baker noted in an op-ed back in 1999, the media have come to refer to Chappaquiddick as a “Kennedy tragedy,” not a “Kopechne tragedy.”
Perhaps the most egregious example of the liberal media planting a pro-Kennedy spin on Chappaquiddick came in a January 5, 2003 Boston Globe Magazine profile of Kennedy:
“If she had lived, Mary Jo Kopechne would be 62 years old. Through his tireless work as a legislator, Edward Kennedy would have brought comfort to her in her old age,” wrote the Globe’s Charles Pierce. The quote was recognized as the worst of the year at the MRC’s DisHonors Awards in 2004.
If you’re interested in how a writer could build up to such a quote, here’s a lengthy excerpt of “Kennedy Unbound,” Pierce’s largely sympathetic profile of the senior senator from Massachusetts. Pierce salutes Kennedy’s liberal accomplishments — blocking Robert Bork, for example, and expanding government regulation and the welfare state — and paints the Senator as as much a victim of his name as someone who has personally benefitted from it. (The entire piece appears to still be available online here.)
What if his name had been Edward Moore?It was a great line, a defining line. Against any other candidate, and especially in this age of endless political reiteration, it would've been the knockout line. It became a cheap trope for easy newspaper columns. On August 27, 1962, at the close of their first debate prior to the Democratic senatorial primary, Edward McCormack looked at Edward Kennedy and said, "If his name was Edward Moore, with his qualifications -- with your qualifications, Teddy, your candidacy would be a joke."
It bit so deeply because of the essential truth of it -- the truth that, among other things, would doom Eddie McCormack. Back then, with Jack in the White House and Bobby as attorney general, Teddy Kennedy's candidacy for the Senate was an act of raw dynastic power. An obscure family retainer named Benjamin Smith held the seat until Kennedy was old enough to be elected to it. Once he was, he was sworn in, not at the beginning of the term in January 1963 but almost immediately after his election in November 1962, which is how he got the jump on seniority over Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, who was elected the same year. None of this would have happened if his name were Edward Moore.
If his name were Edward Moore . . .
He would not have served so long, if he'd served at all. He might not have served with more than 350 other senators. He would not have served with all three men -- Everett Dirksen, Richard Russell, and Philip Hart -- after whom the Senate office buildings are named. He would not have had his first real fight over the poll tax and his most recent one over going to war in Iraq. None of this would have happened if his name were Edward Moore.
If his name were Edward Moore . . .
If his name were Edward Moore, Robert Bork might be on the Supreme Court today. Robert Dole might have been elected president of the United States. There might still be a draft. There would not have been the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which overturned seven Supreme Court decisions that Kennedy saw as rolling back the gains of the civil rights movement; the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act, the most wide-ranging civil rights bill since the original ones in the 1960s; the Kennedy-Kassebaum Bill of 1996, which allows "portability" in health care coverage; or any one of the 35 other initiatives -- large and small, on everything from Medicare to the minimum wage to immigration reform -- that Kennedy, in opposition and in the minority, managed to cajole and finesse through the Senate between 1996 and 1998, masterfully defusing the Gingrich Revolution and maneuvering Dole into such complete political incoherence that Bill Clinton won reelection in a walk. None of this would have happened, if his name were Edward Moore.
If his name were Edward Moore . . .
His brothers might be alive. His life might have been easier, not having mattered much to anyone beyond its own boundaries. His first marriage might have survived, and, if it had not, Joan Kennedy's problems would have been her own, and not grist for the public gossips. It might not have mattered to anyone, the fistfight outside the Manhattan saloon, the foozling with waitresses in Washington restaurants, the image of him in his nightshirt, during Holy Week (Jesus God!), going out for a couple of pops with the younger set in Palm Beach and winding up testifying in the middle of a rape trial. His second marriage simply would have been a second marriage, and Vicki Kennedy would not have found herself dragooned into the role of The Good Fairy in yet another Kennedy epiphany narrative.
All of this would not have mattered, if his name were Edward Moore.
And what of the dead woman? On July 18, 1969, on the weekend that man first walked on the moon, a 28-year-old named Mary Jo Kopechne drowned in his automobile. Plutocrats' justice and an implausible (but effective) coverup ensued. And, ever since, she's always been there: during Watergate, when Barry Goldwater told Kennedy that even Richard Nixon didn't need lectures from him; in 1980, when his presidential campaign was shot down virtually at its launch; during the hearings into the confirmation of Clarence Thomas, when Kennedy's transgressions gagged him and made him the butt of all the jokes.
She's always there. Even if she doesn't fit in the narrative line, she is so much of the dark energy behind it. She denies to him forever the moral credibility that lay behind not merely all those rhetorical thunderclaps that came so easily in the New Frontier but also Robert Kennedy's anguished appeals to the country's better angels. He was forced from the rhetoric of moral outrage and into the incremental nitty-gritty of social justice. He learned to plod, because soaring made him look ridiculous. "It's really 3 yards and a cloud of dust with him," says his son Patrick.
And if his name were Edward Moore, he would have done time.
He has spent so much of his professional life draining that line of its meaning -- the defining line, what would have been the knockout line if his name hadn't been Edward Moore Kennedy. He went to the Senate. He respected its traditions. He learned from its elders; his office today is in the building named after Richard Russell, with whom, according to Adam Clymer, Kennedy first attempted to break the ice by mentioning that Russell himself had entered the Senate when he was 36. Yes, Russell replied, but I'd been governor of Georgia by then, and Kennedy had had the good grace (and the good sense) to laugh.
"At that time, I think, there was less partisanship," Kennedy says. "There was less pettiness, and there were stronger personal relationships that stretched across party lines. Now we're so evenly divided that little things become big things. That demeans the institution and demeans our relationships, and, anyway, I think the public sees through that."
He developed a thick skin and learned to leave the heat of the argument on the Senate floor. That's how Kennedy learned to move past that day in 1991 when, during the debate over the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, his good friend Orrin Hatch appeared to summon up the Great Unmentionable. "Anybody who believes that," said Hatch, "I know a bridge up in Massachusetts that I'll be happy to sell to them."
To this day, Hatch maintains that any connection between his wisecrack and Chappaquiddick was unintentional. "I was really mortified," says Hatch. "A lot of my supporters loved it, and when I said I hadn't meant it, it drained some of the charm, some of the glory, out of it."
Of Kennedy, he says: "He's able to take criticism and let it wash off him like water off a duck. He's been praised so much and criticized so much that he just ignores it."
For his part, Kennedy plays his cards so close to the vest that, to paraphrase Groucho Marx, if they were any closer, they'd be behind him. "It's basically a result of understanding how the institution is working and how things get done and to know that intuitively," Kennedy says. "The other stuff is just part of the deal. If you don't learn it, you might as well not bother serving in the Senate. I can go down and fight with Orrin on fetal transplantation and then testify with him on religious restoration when both were white-hot, and then we can go out later.
"Unless you work on that, there's very little left you can do. You can just be an advocate, and there's nothing wrong with that, or you can just be an accommodator, and you're not going to be a leader if you do that."
And that's the key. That's how you survive what he's survived. That's how you move forward, one step after another, even though your name is Edward Moore Kennedy. You work, always, as though your name were Edward Moore. If she had lived, Mary Jo Kopechne would be 62 years old. Through his tireless work as a legislator, Edward Kennedy would have brought comfort to her in her old age....
END of excerpt.
—Rich Noyes is Research Director at the Media Research Center.




















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You know, I never realized
July 18, 2009 - 10:00 ET by dumbanguishYou know, I never realized until reading this blog entry that Kennedy left her submerged in the car and didn't call police until the next day.
That tells you all you need to know about the media. That I've lived my whole life without hearing the whole story until now.
Whats depressing is that when Kennedy does pass away, the media will treat it like the death of his brothers in the 60s and probably will not mention this poor woman
dumbanguish--
July 18, 2009 - 10:17 ET by Kat Outta the Bag"You know, I never realized until reading this blog entry that Kennedy left her submerged in the car and didn't call police until the next day."
Downright sickening, isn't it?
KOTB, I highly recommend this for reading...
July 18, 2009 - 15:15 ET by goldenthroatHere is a book that is probably out of print but if you can find "Senatorial Privilege" by Leo Damore, get it! It was published in the late 80s but Damore exposes Teddy boy for who he is and what really happened at Chappaquiddick.
This miscarriage of justice was a cover-up from the get-go by Teddy and his cronies. The man should have served at least 15 years for manslaughter but fanagled his way out of it with a little help from his liberal friends.
If you thought you detested Ted before, wait until you read this book!
"Who am us, anyway?" - Firesign Theatre
gt.... That was an
July 18, 2009 - 15:30 ET by bigtimergt....
That was an excellent book, well worth reading...been years ago that I did also, but one of the best regarding the POS.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
BT, Let me throw this one in the mix, too...
July 18, 2009 - 15:42 ET by goldenthroat"The Sins of the Father" by Ron Kessler is an expose' that blows the entire Kennedy clan out of the water - unlike what Ted did for Mary Jo.
After I read this one, my conclusion was "like father, like sons!"
The Kennedys were all a bunch of pond-scum, low-lifes - and the idiots in Massachusetts continue to re-elect Ted time and time again!
What am I missing here?
'Nuff said...
"Who am us, anyway?" - Firesign Theatre
As a resident of MA who has NEVER voted for Edward Moore
July 20, 2009 - 14:02 ET by Cape ConservativeKennedy, please understand there are many of us who do see the whole picture.
It is simply a matter of one of the last quotes from that excerpt "...It's basically a result of understanding how the institution is working and how things get done and to know that intuitively," Kennedy says. "The other stuff is just part of the deal. If you don't learn it, you might as well not bother serving in the Senate..."
I guess he learned well that you have to be a slippery sleazy snake oil salesman and also to bring home the $$ and contracts to his big money contributors. It is truly sad that $$ is the deciding factor in whether a good candidate will even attempt to run.
I would like to see as a result of our nationwide tea parties that there will be some well-qualified candidates who will stand up for election on the VERY BASIS OF NOT BEING DEPENDENT ON BIG MONEY! Believe me, they would receive my vote!
Having Ted Kennedy serve for so long in our United States Senate is a sign of ALL THAT IS WRONG WITH AMERICA! He does not give one hoot what his constituents think - after all, 'don't we KNOW WHO HE IS???'
For those of you not living in the Bay State, when Kerry was running and Romney was governor, the legislature was scared to death that when Kerry won (the Democrat legislature did not doubt that fact) Romney would appoint himself or a Republican to fill the seat. Therefore, the legislators passed a bill mandating a special election for vacated Senate/House offices. We all live in fear that the legislature (still 90% Democrat) will do the same in reverse once the Kennedy seat needs to be filled. After all, it 'should be a Kennedy - wife, niece, son' is what we hear now. If a special election were held, believe me, it would NOT result in one of the above!
This comment comes from a proud Tea Party attendee, otherwise designated by Homeland Security as a Domestic Right Wing Terrorist! It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue ~ Sam Adams
Of course he didn't
July 18, 2009 - 12:25 ET by Rhymes With RightHe had to sleep off the booze.
And call the family lawyers hours before he called the cops.
And try to get one of his cousins to take the rap, offering to compensate his family for the time the cousin would spend in prison in Teddy's place.
And THEN he called the police.
Blogging at rhymeswithright.mu.nu
Thanks for confirming the 'cousin' bit, RWR - I had read long
July 20, 2009 - 14:14 ET by Cape Conservativeago that was the case...what a scumbag! Rules are only for others to follow, NEVER himself - a TRUE DEMOCRAT!
IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE, when was he ever held accountable for his own actions? That Personal Responsibility thingy is just another Conservative standard to be ignored by those who believe that the ends justify the means, no matter if you ask one of your own COUSINS to spend years in jail!
This comment comes from a proud Tea Party attendee, otherwise designated by Homeland Security as a Domestic Right Wing Terrorist! It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue ~ Sam Adams
dumbanguish
July 19, 2009 - 02:39 ET by Rush FanHere is the audio of lying Ted Kennedy explaining (lying) shortly after the accident what happened to Mary Jo Kopechne.
The Examiner.com has an excellent article on the Kopechne tragedy, and describes lying Kennedy's abhorrent behavior that was responsible for her death.
-------------------------------------------------------------
“The media is a disgrace. You have forfeited any notion that you once had of respect” ~ Rush Limbaugh
Edward Kennedy would have
July 18, 2009 - 10:02 ET by Richard RomanoEdward Kennedy would have brought comfort to her in her old age.
Tell that to her family, who have suffered over the years while this career politician lived high on the hog in Washington.
There's going to be a reckoning day, Sen. Kennedy -- you won't be able to weasel your way out of that or hope for media elites to cover for you.
When that justice comes, then truly Kopechne will be "comforted."
And then there is the blood money...
July 18, 2009 - 13:18 ET by needleNo doubt MaryJo’s parents suffered. If I were one of them, my suffering would be compounded by having accepted money from Kennedy’s lawyers to block any autopsy of my daughter’s dead body.
The audacious gaucheness of Kennedy is just ghastly. Kennedy caring? Give me a @#$%^ break!!!
And as for the “Media Elites:” they will each have to answer for his/her part in this crime also. Not only did they “cover” for Kennedy, but they also continued to promote him as a “leader” – excuse me while I gag – of our deliberately badly misled nation.
- Relying upon the MSM for your information is like relying upon an embezzler to manage your portfolio.
Old Bumper Sticker!
July 18, 2009 - 10:03 ET by pbthinkerI can remember, in Massachusetts in the late 70's during some debates about the Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, seeing a bumper sticker on the back of a car:
"MORE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED, IN THE BACK OF TED KENNEDY'S CAR, THAN HAVE BEEN KILLED BY NUCLEAR POWER."
If it weren't for Chernoble, that might still be true today.
Election 2008-God's way of showing us that elections count.
You CAN say that "More
July 18, 2009 - 10:09 ET by motherbeltYou CAN say that "More people died in Ted Kennedy's car than dies as a result of the Three Mile Island nucear accident."
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
my,my
July 18, 2009 - 10:43 ET by larry on LIhow well i remember that bumper sticker.
I remember the phrase " The
July 18, 2009 - 12:43 ET by ricklailI remember the phrase " The Democrats couldn't get a woman across the river but the Republicans put a man on the moon."
This anniversary will not make the MSM. Too much going on with the death of Cronkite and Neil Armstong saying those words.
Semper suprene nitens
North Carolina now has the worst government money can buy.
Not to mention the JFK, Jr.
July 18, 2009 - 12:44 ET by fitzfongNot to mention the JFK, Jr. anniversary to cloak this gasbag's shame in sympathy.
"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." -George Best
And it's always been the
July 18, 2009 - 12:45 ET by Kat Outta the BagAnd it's always been the Republican presidents who have been the most supportive of the U.S. Space Program ever since.
Excellent!
July 18, 2009 - 13:25 ET by Rukus" The Democrats couldn't get a woman across the river but the Republicans put a man on the moon."
I like it! : )
Gary
Hey, Jimmah Che Obama! I want my country back!
Hey Gary
July 18, 2009 - 13:40 ET by ricklailWhen I finished basic training and went home for a few days one of my buddies told that to me and it has stuck for 40 years.
You were right about the gook in the hair.
Semper suprene nitens
North Carolina now has the worst government money can buy.
Gook in the hair
July 18, 2009 - 14:05 ET by RukusLOL rick! Yeah, it was quite an experience wasn't it! They attach what, about twenty leads to ya. I actually slept half deciently (sp?) through the whole thing. Hope the process helps you with any sleeping issues friend. : )
Gary
Hey, Jimmah Che Obama! I want my country back!
"Liberal" = Sick
July 18, 2009 - 10:15 ET by iveseenitallOh, yeh. Kennedy would have been a "comfort" to Mary Jo. He MURDERED her, you jerks! This is the twisted logic of the the modern "liberal". These are the sickest people on earth.
BTW, Is Teddy getting the public or the private option in HIS health care?
BTW, I lived in Mass. during the final years of The Big Dig, one of the most corrupt projects in the history of America. Teddy was knee deep in it.
"The Liberal Lion"??? Try "The Cowardly Lion"
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
Too bad he had to go and
July 18, 2009 - 10:06 ET by Kat Outta the BagToo bad he had to go and kill her while she was still young and never gave her the chance to grow older.
True that Kat
July 18, 2009 - 14:07 ET by RukusI said a prayer for her and her family today. Politicians suck!
Gary
Hey, Jimmah Che Obama! I want my country back!
Yes, Rukus--
July 18, 2009 - 15:36 ET by Kat Outta the BagMay the Kopechne family rest in peace. Ted Kennedy, on the other hand...when his time comes, may he never rest in peace for what he did, or should I say didn't do.
Yep Kat
July 18, 2009 - 16:09 ET by RukusHe will have to answer to Him. Will he ask forgiveness before then? I don't know. I hope he does but won't hold my breath. God bless the Kopechne family, may they have peace.
Gary
Hey, Jimmah Che Obama! I want my country back!
If she had lived, Mary Jo
July 18, 2009 - 10:11 ET by motherbeltIf she had lived, Mary Jo Kopechne would be 62 years old.
And if his name were Edward Moore, he wouldn't have been partying with Robert Kennedy's "boiler room girls" that night, and she WOULD have lived.
I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson
No Wonder
July 18, 2009 - 10:39 ET by jacktheripperthis POS is a raging alcholic...to drown out (sorry for that, no pun was intended) the voice of MJK screaming his name from the grave !!!!!!!!!!!!!1
"I LOVE DEAD KENNEDY'S"
A Prayer For Teddy the Hutt (D-What Car? What Dead Girl?)
July 18, 2009 - 11:00 ET by Rhymes With RightPSALM 109:8-15
May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.
May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes.
May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.
May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.
May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation.
May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
May their sins always remain before the LORD, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
Blogging at rhymeswithright.mu.nu
Liberal Lion?
July 18, 2009 - 11:22 ET by slickwillie2001I hate that label 'Liberal Lion'. He's more of a hyena.
Slick--
July 18, 2009 - 11:26 ET by Kat Outta the BagAs a self-professed animal lover, I'm going to have to take a stand for the misunderstood hyenas!
July 18, 2009 - 11:48 ET by jessieHTed Kennedy is a murderer. And this "story" is bogus.
Even leaving out the
July 18, 2009 - 11:54 ET by fitzfongEven leaving out the preposterous claim that Ted Kennedy would have been able or willing to bring comfort to Mary Jo Kopechne in her old age (and, given the shameful way he and his mutant offspring have treated his first wife over the years, I can only imagine what this guy has in mind when he says "comfort"), it's a bit irrelevant now, isn't it? In other words, he'd have brought her comfort in her old age if only he hadn't killed her first?
"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." -George Best
Ted Kennedy would have brought...
July 18, 2009 - 12:05 ET by PrairieSkycomfort to Mary Jo Kopechne in her old age??? That is just obscene...Ted Kennedy killed Mary Jo Kopechne, when he left her trapped under water in that car to drown. He didn't "comfort" her!
I was 8 years old in July of 1969, but I do clearly remember all the hubbub about this incident...Interestingly, 2 days later on July 20th, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, and I'm sure took a great deal of coverage and interest away from the Mary Jo Kopechne tragedy...Lucky for Ted Kennedy, but unfortunate for justice and for the Kopechne's.
Mary Jo Kopechne was an only child, making the Kopechne's loss even more tragic. The fact that a pathetic, lying, drunken Ted Kennedy managed to get away with what he did in this awful situation is just horrendous...That Kennedy name can open a lot of doors, and can also help conveniently close a few, too, if it helps get the offending Kennedy off the hook for something that they've done. Ted Kennedy should have been arrested and should have gone to jail for his actions the night that Mary Jo Kopechne died, alone, trapped under water in that car. But, the magical name of Kennedy again came to his rescue, and bailed him out.
Mary Jo's parents are both dead now, but on this 40th anniversary of this senseless tragedy, let's not forget what really happened. And hopefully someday, Ted Kennedy will finally have to answer for what he did and didn't do that night so long ago.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
One of the more revealing
July 18, 2009 - 12:30 ET by fitzfongOne of the more revealing aspects of this article is how Orrin Hatch developed a personal friendship with this criminal. To me, that simply underlines the problem with Republicans when they go to Washington. Instead of ostracizing Kennedy for the overly-indulged thug that he is...and neutralizing his effectiveness...they have accepted him as their equal and even subjugated themselves to curry favor with him. He should have been an outcast, an irrelevance, a liability to the Democrats for all these years. Instead, Senate Republicans like Hatch have made him relevant, even influential because they treat him with such unearned respect. They buy into all that television media "kingmaker" crap...and actually revel in it. Go along to get along. What blatant cowardice?
"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." -George Best
fitz...Exactly...
July 18, 2009 - 12:43 ET by PrairieSkyThe coziness and chumminess that too many Repubs like Hatch, (and Dems too for that matter) have had with Kennedy over the years has always infuriated me...I know these yutzes have to work with each other, but if it were me, I wouldn't have any more to do with Kennedy than I absolutely had to. He should be a pariah for what he's done, but instead he's lauded as the "Lion of the Senate" (gag), and roses are thrown at his feet. Makes me ill...All of them.
Well, I do believe that someday, he'll finally be held accountable for what he's done.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
The Republicans should have
July 18, 2009 - 12:51 ET by fitzfongThe Republicans should have framed every bill he sponsored, every bill he supported as diseased by his mere attachment to it. Ted Kennedy-supported bills should have been treated as DOA just for having his endorsement. But the Beltway Republicans always deferred to the family "mystique", and Bush rubbed salt in the wound by letting him write the "education" bill. Republicans didn't create the monster, they just gave him all his strength. I'll keep that in mind the next time some creep like David Frum makes reference to "reaching across the aisle".
"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." -George Best
fitzfong--
July 18, 2009 - 13:03 ET by Kat Outta the BagSome months ago I saw an interview of John McCain in which he said of Kennedy, "I love that man." Sure made my opinion of McCain go down a few notches.
Kat....I saw that too...so
July 18, 2009 - 14:42 ET by bigtimerKat....I saw that too...so danged typical of McC too.
Fitz on down here, I could not agree more...that is the problem in DC with the congress-critters, especially the Senate.
He should have been ostracized..instead of the opposite...of course they had the msm egging them on, instead of them fighting against the msm pressure and attempting to curry favor, they bend and kiss a$$, all the time.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
fitz, Kat and bt...Right you all are...
July 18, 2009 - 18:14 ET by PrairieSkyYou guys are preaching to the choir here...I'm 100% with all of you...If Kennnedy hadn't been accepted back into the Senate the way that he was at the time that Mary Jo died, and if things had been made so uncomfortable and difficult for him by the rest of Kennedy's Senate brethren, he may have been driven out years ago...Unfortunately, he has managed to hang on all these years as "one the boys", and has taken advantage of the incredibly short memory that the American people unfortunately have when it comes to scandals...So much time has passed that a couple of generations have come along since then who don't know the truth, and now he is misguidedly thought of as this great old wise sage...one of the warhorses of the Senate...It's all just sickmaking, really.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Sky... If I hear the Lion
July 18, 2009 - 18:19 ET by bigtimerSky...
If I hear the Lion of the Senate one more time I'm going to throw up when it comes to the msm...since day one of hearing that I have always posted the Lyin' of the Senate...and that he is.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
bt...Oh heaven help us all...
July 18, 2009 - 18:26 ET by PrairieSkywhen this man kicks the bucket...Can you imagine what the MSM will do with that??? It will be "Lion of the Senate" ad nauseum...
Lyin of the Senate is right...(I love that!)
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Sky.... Yep, you know
July 18, 2009 - 18:33 ET by bigtimerSky....
Yep, you know they will...when this happens if I'm still on this planet, the TV will be on mute....for days and days....and days.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
bt...You betcha!!!
July 18, 2009 - 18:41 ET by PrairieSkyThe MSM will no doubt treat his passing about like they would the passing of a president...That Kennedy name and mystique crap is just too much for them all to resist, and we'll be inundated for days and days in a sea of Kennedy family history and remembrances...
Can't wait...
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
bt - if we think the Michael Jackson 'coverage' was a bit of
July 20, 2009 - 15:15 ET by Cape Conservativeoverkill, can't you just imagine the 'greek columns' 'rider-less horse' totally bonkers drama the powers that be have cooked up for this sham of a man's funeral!
Let's all keep your "Lyin of the Senate" front and center when that day comes!
This comment comes from a proud Tea Party attendee, otherwise designated by Homeland Security as a Domestic Right Wing Terrorist! It is no dishonor to be in a minority in the cause of liberty and virtue ~ Sam Adams
The day the bloated old
July 18, 2009 - 20:28 ET by Kat Outta the BagThe day the bloated old fart buys it will be the day I unplug my TV for two weeks.
KOtB,
July 18, 2009 - 20:32 ET by R D HelmLOL-Hell, I'll probably shoot mine just to put it out of its misery.
-Dave
"...stimulus plan is 'working exactly as we had anticipated.'" - PrezBO
Kat... That's why I'll
July 18, 2009 - 20:33 ET by bigtimerKat...
That's why I'll keep it on mute for the most part, listen to radio, be on the internet...if we don't the TV's life won't last long.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Yes, and if the Jews had
July 18, 2009 - 12:30 ET by JerryYes, and if the Jews had survived the Nazi death camps, they could have been the beneficiaries of Hitler's "on time" public transportation system. That Hitler, what a guy.
When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).
Had O.J.s wife, Nicole
July 18, 2009 - 13:01 ET by eaglewingz08Had O.J.s wife, Nicole Brown not been murdered I am sure that OJ too would have brought 'comfort to her' in her old age. And if the Menendez parents had not mysteriously died, I'm sure that their sons would have comforted them in their old age. I'ms sure that if Daniel Pearl had lived that Khalid Sheikh Mohammad would have comforted him when he was a senior citizen. (Also agree with the prior poster) that if six million Jews had not been murdered (or mysteriously disappeared) during WWII, that Adolph Hitler too would have comforted them in his old age and that they'd be singing Deutschland Uber Alles.
This is a great game. Name the killer and then state how compassionate the killer would have been to the victim in his/her golden years.
Comfort
July 18, 2009 - 13:53 ET by Anneke9“If she had lived, Mary Jo Kopechne would be 62 years old. Through his
tireless work as a legislator, Edward Kennedy would have brought
comfort to her in her old age... "
If she had lived, Mary Jo would've had a life to live. She would have married and had children, children who would have brought her comfort in her old age. But, a pampered self-centered pig named Ted Kennedy murdered her, ending all of her dreams and aspirations.
Every time I see or hear about Ted Kennedy, I flash back to the Lord of the Rings movies and Gollum's whispered condemnation of himself, "Murderer." Ted Kennedy = Gollum.
Camouflage conservative in Baghdad-by-the-Bay
I've been to where it happened
July 18, 2009 - 15:28 ET by WGEarglewhen I was in college in Boston. You would have to of been in an alcoholic fog to run into the water. The bridge is very short and doesn't really span that far. They say when they found her she lodged at the highest point in the car, possibly where air existed for awhile. Take a look at the bridge today.
http://community.webshots.com/inlinePhoto?photoId=1050324312029961151&src=c&referPage=http%3a%2f%2ftravel.webshots.com%2fphoto%2f1050324312029961151qXDjAb
As a Catholic I'm appalled
July 18, 2009 - 16:18 ET by Radical1979As a Catholic I'm appalled at the way the Kennedy's are treated by the church. I'm sure when Ted passes there will be a huge mass officiated by a bishop with no holds barred. Despite what he did to this poor girl, the lifestyle lived (remember the rape trial of his nephew in Florida, they were like a bunch of college frat boys), and the Kennedy's consistent pro abortion stance and votes. This family has no shame.
Rad... You are el
July 18, 2009 - 16:24 ET by bigtimerRad...
You are el correcto, that is exactly what will happen.
Every word you said regarding him and the rest of his clan is spot on.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Sad isn't it.
July 18, 2009 - 16:37 ET by RukusIt's a shame. : (
Gary
Hey, Jimmah Che Obama! I want my country back!
Rad...I'm with ya!
July 18, 2009 - 19:21 ET by PrairieSkyI also am a Catholic, and the fact that Kennedy will, I'm sure, be given a huge funeral Mass with all the bells and whistles, just makes me sick. It's such a mockery of everything that is decent. Ted Kennedy is divorced serial adulterer, abortion supporter and a murderer. You alluded to the rape trial of his nephew in Florida, and who knows what the real truth to that is...We'll never know. But one day, and he better be preparing himself for it, he'll have to answer for all of his sins and transgressions, and they are many. May heaven help him, because it is likely sooner rather than later, he'll finally have to pay the piper.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
I'm watching a special on
July 18, 2009 - 20:45 ET by Kat Outta the BagI'm watching a special on the History Channel right now about the Kennedy family and it said that moments before Ted married Joan Bennett, Jack Kennedy told Ted that being married didn't mean he had to be faithful. I'm not Catholic myself, but I know that isn't a part of the Catholic church's teachings.
It also showed a clip of Ted's news briefing after the Chappaquiddick incident where he was trying to excuse his behavior after the accident and he actually said that he spent time after the accident contemplating that "maybe there really is a Kennedy curse." Pardon me?! A woman dying because of his actions is hardly a curse against his family!
Kat...What a piece of work Kennedy is...
July 18, 2009 - 21:07 ET by PrairieSkyIt was a "curse" that caused him to get drunk off his a$$, get in the car and drive off a bridge into the water, get out of the car, but leave Mary Jo in the car because he panicked and was so loaded he didn't know what to do, then walk into town, and then decide not to report the accident until the next day, by which time Mary Jo was dead.
By saying it was a "curse," Kennedy thinks he absolves himself of the responsibility of what, deep down, he knows he did. What a piece of human garbage this man is. As I said before, the time is coming when he will have to answer for what he has done.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Kat, I'm Catholic and not
July 18, 2009 - 21:17 ET by Radical1979Kat, I'm Catholic and not much the Kennedy's do is part of the Catholic religion (not that you'd know by the way the clergy seems to fawn over them).
Praire I remember that
July 18, 2009 - 21:23 ET by Radical1979Praire I remember that during that trial "Uncle Ted" was out boozing at bars and then with his nephews down there. I wouldn't be judgemental except that the media portrays this guy and some kind of hero. I also think that as sick as he is he should have resigned. He's so egotistical that he won't resign, he'll die in office. What a sham!
I think the Catholic church should come out against politicians like him who profess to be Catholic but don't live the life. I loved it when the Pope refused Caroline Kennedy as Ambassador to Rome.
Rad...Exactly...
July 18, 2009 - 21:35 ET by PrairieSkyI wish the Church was tougher on all these hypocritical politicians who claim to be such "good Catholics" and then behave and vote in a manner that is diametrically opposed to what the Church teaches. They tout their "Catholicness" when it is convenient to do so, such as when they are courting votes, but then once they're safely elected, they stash all that in a closet until the next election.
The hypocrisy of politicians like that and the hypocrisy of the Church's handling of the "Kennedy clan" infuriates me. What is it about that family that causes so many to turn a blind eye to what they do and how they live their lives??? Makes me nuts.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Ted will pay for his crime
July 18, 2009 - 16:59 ET by American.PatriotThe infamous Ted Kennedy has a stage 4 glioblastoma, which is a primary brian tumor. With no cure, surgery and radiation treatment can slow the progress, but doctors usually send people home to die. Some can survive up to 2 1/2 years, most are dead in six months.
My son died at age 13 from one. It is a horrendous death. And it will haunt anyone who has to witness such a death for years to come.
What a fitting tribute to such a digusting family....
AP... I am so sorry for
July 18, 2009 - 17:05 ET by bigtimerAP...
I am so sorry for the loss of your son....I mean that with all my heart.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Hello AP
July 18, 2009 - 17:11 ET by RukusYou and your family are added to my prayers tonight. God bless you and yours.
Gary
Hey, Jimmah Che Obama! I want my country back!
Mary Jo Kopechne
July 18, 2009 - 17:18 ET by KellyRSorry for your loss, AP. However, I will never say the same for Kennedy. He abandoned that poor girl to drown. Yet the liberals extol him at every possible opportunity. It is a travesty. The rottenest part is that he receives top-of-the-line quality medical care as a member of Congress while the health care reform plans he supports for the rest of us will give us substandard care. Yeah, he's a liberal lyin'. I spit on this toad.
American Patriot--
July 18, 2009 - 17:18 ET by Kat Outta the BagI'm so sorry to hear that you had to go through that with your son. No parent should outlive their children.
American Patriot...I am so very sorry...
July 18, 2009 - 20:24 ET by PrairieSkyfor the loss of your son...There are no words that are sufficient to express the sorrow that comes from losing a child. My parents lost my sister to a car accident when she was 5 and a half years old (I was 14 months old at the time), and I know what a loss like that can do to a family.
God bless you, your son, and your family. You are all in my prayers.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
There's a hole in your
July 18, 2009 - 20:25 ET by bigtimerThere's a hole in your heart that never gets filled, but it will when we meet again.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
bt...I know...That is one of my dearest hopes and...
July 18, 2009 - 20:53 ET by PrairieSkybeliefs...Since I was only 14 months old when we lost my sister, I have no conscious memory of her. I have seen many pictures and slides of her over the years, and have been told much about her from my family, but to this day it is very difficult for my father to speak much of my sister. I don't think that he, especially, has ever completely dealt with all that...He just keeps it to himself. Losing a child is as bad as it gets. I was left an only child after that, so I sympathize so much with Mary Jo Kopechne's parents and family, for what that bastard Kennedy did to them all. Anyway, he'll have to answer for it some day.
Thanks bt, for the sweet thought. I really do appreciate it. :)
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Sky... You're more than
July 18, 2009 - 20:58 ET by bigtimerSky...
You're more than welcome.
I'm speaking from experience myself...I've also lost a son, I'll leave it at that.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
bt...I'm so...
July 18, 2009 - 21:13 ET by PrairieSkyterribly, terribly sorry, my friend...You know more than I do, then...God bless you and your son.
You are both in my prayers. And you're right...We will all see each other again...I'm sure of it.
God bless.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
The years of terrible pain,
July 18, 2009 - 21:20 ET by bigtimerThe years of terrible pain, anguish and helplessness AP must have went through is something I didn't have to go through for years, my heart really goes out to those that do.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
bt...I know what you mean...
July 18, 2009 - 21:28 ET by PrairieSkyHaving to stand by and watch while a loved one, especially a child, is going through something like that, is so horrrendous. Losing one suddenly though, is just as horrific, I think, just in a different way. There is no time to prepare for it, or to say goodbye...They're just gone.
Either way, the loss is unspeakably terrible...I wish that no one ever had to endure such a devastating pain, and like you, my heart goes out to all who have or who ever will.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Covered Like Watergate
July 18, 2009 - 17:57 ET by BW222I'm sure that Ted Kennedy's MSM obituaries will feature Chappaquiddick just like Nixon's highlighted Watergate./Sarc.
BW222
Re Watergate
July 18, 2009 - 18:22 ET by slickwillie2001Let's hope the staff files that somewhere in the ideas-for-articles file.
The Kennedys
July 18, 2009 - 19:08 ET by iveseenitallYUK! They make me sick!
NEVER,NEVER trust a "liberal"
Question of Mary Jo
July 18, 2009 - 19:37 ET by wingnut55Was Mary Jo pregnant? Why did he leave her at the bottom of the pond? How much money did her parents get from the Kennedy family? What amount of money is the life of a daughter worth?
w55, We will never know
July 18, 2009 - 19:40 ET by bigtimerw55,
We will never know those answers...ever.
Her parents were paid to stay silent...and seeing how the times were back then, it may have been their best choice.
That's my opinion anyway.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
BT, it
July 18, 2009 - 20:03 ET by UpNorthmay have been their only choice. They did know the Kennedy family, and all that entails, quite well. At least by reputation.
Evening UN.... Yep,
July 18, 2009 - 20:16 ET by bigtimerEvening UN....
Yep, that's what I meant by best choice.
Ony choice is better though.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
bt,
July 18, 2009 - 21:26 ET by Radical1979I would imagine there were quite a few threats made to her family. I'm sure the Kennedy's could have made their lives extremely difficult, and dragged Mary Jo's name through the mud.
All Charles Pierce has managed to to do for me....
July 18, 2009 - 20:12 ET by R D Helm...is reinforce my now ingrained belief that Ted Kennedy has done more to bring about the destruction of America than any other person who ever lived.
-Perhaps even more than Barack Hussein Obama is doing now, as without Ted having spent decades shoving this nation further and further leftward, Barry Hussein Soetoro would most likely have never been elected POTUS.
-Dave
"...stimulus plan is 'working exactly as we had anticipated.'" - PrezBO
EXactly...
July 18, 2009 - 20:18 ET by Timothy HTed Kennedy has been the most dangerous politician in US history. His name alone lent him the credibility to push this country in directions that may never have been possible were it not for the sentiments for John and Robert Kennedy elevating Ted Kennedy's influence.
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe. - Albert Einstein
I wonder if the lyin'
July 18, 2009 - 21:10 ET by ConservativeRexI wonder if the lyin' drunKennedy of the senate was aware of what day this anniversary was. I doubt it. he couldn't swim out of his Scotch bottle long enough to care. Of all the Kennedy's, they missed the biggest target of all of them, what the hell? And then, when he hadn't done quite enough damage in all kinds of lives, he drove his real wife to being a drunk. What an accomplishment for the lyin' SOB of the senate. Democrats, you should be so proud.
Right you are...my heart
July 18, 2009 - 21:27 ET by bigtimerRight you are...my heart always went out for Joan.
I hope someday she writes a real honest book.
Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea. ~Andrew Breitbart
Well.
July 18, 2009 - 21:20 ET by someloudthunderAt least good ol' Teddy never killed anyone... wait
Reply to the Cheney Haters
July 18, 2009 - 21:34 ET by Free StinkerI'd rather go hunting with Cheney, than Driving with Kennedy!
"Gov. Palin has been subjected to one of the most massive and dishonest pile-on smear attacks in the history of liberal media." -- Lowell Ponte
Contact Ted Kennedy
July 18, 2009 - 22:01 ET by BarkerContact Ted Kennedy and let him -at least those around him- know that you have not forgotten Mary Jo Kopechne.
Check out the *Message Topic* selection. I chose 'First Responder' as the header. Other selections include 'Cultural Bridges', 'Equal Opportunity', 'Health Care', and others.
Be respectful, even though I don't really care if you are or not.
Barker this should help me
July 18, 2009 - 22:06 ET by Radical1979Barker this should help me diet. I went to the "family" section of the web page and was immediately sick to my stomach. Thanks, I may loose weight yet!
I have been waiting...
July 18, 2009 - 23:39 ET by JohnKI have been waiting years for some poor slob, hauled before a Senate Committee to answer questions about something-or-other, to say to Ted Kennedy -
"Senator, with all due respect, you are not qualified to ask me any question concerning ethics or morality. Next question!"
Sadly, it may never happen.
Figures
July 19, 2009 - 08:02 ET by cwnelson79Teddy is a murderer, Billy boy clinton is a rapist, and Obama is a racist who doesn't have a birth certificate. Sure, why not, sounds like fun.
Besides, taking a life is nothing to a liberal, they are ok with murdering babies, why not a grown woman? With women's lib she should have swam out of the car herself. It was her fault.
What can you say tho? The Kennedy's have never been one for morals. And that is ok with liberals. To a liberal , hypocrisy is worse than killing someone.
How mean!
July 19, 2009 - 09:21 ET by txteacherAny mention of Mary Jo brings howls of "how mean spirited" from liberal media. There will be a judgement day for Ted (and all of us) of that we can be assured.
→ Mary Jo
July 19, 2009 - 09:37 ET by Cool ArrowTeddy coulda' been a comfort to her in her old age?
Jeffrey Dahmer coulda' been a counseller at Boys Town if he hadn't died in prison too.
Not reported
July 19, 2009 - 10:39 ET by Teri10As I recall, Kennedy never reported the accident. Fishermen saw the car the next morning and went to a nearby cottage, where the residents called the police. Kennedy and his cronies, of course, couldn't be bothered to go to the cottage. They had his political career to protect - what's a human life compared to that?
poor excuse for a human being
July 19, 2009 - 14:32 ET by BO STINKSJust got done with a lovely chicken salad for lunch when I read this. Literally nauseous now.
Must say this for him, though: he is one of the best examples of someone who has sacrificed all conscience in order to get what he wants. Sort of like Joe, Jack and Bobby Kennedy. Total self-absorbed, self-deluded family. So very, very sad.
"The preservation of the sacred faith of liberty & the destiny of the republican model of gov't. are justly considered deeply...finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the American people."G. Washington's 1st inaugural address
Not only did that murdering
July 19, 2009 - 21:30 ET by pitter43Not only did that murdering scum leave her to die when he could have saved her, he went to a hotel room to sleep it off and his first call wasn't to the police, it was to his lawyer. I hope he dies a lingering, painful death. He doesn't deserve to die easy.
→ Bit rough pitter?
July 19, 2009 - 21:34 ET by Cool ArrowDid you really have to go there?
No I wasn't too rough. Was
July 19, 2009 - 21:43 ET by pitter43No I wasn't too rough. Was it too rough for that murderer to leave a girl to climb to the uppermost part of a car to breath her last breath knowing she was going to die? Nothing is too rough for him. I was 19 the day he killed her and remember it well. Too well.