The Kennedy Thread

[Hobodeluxe]

"On the morning of the day before the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin, Senator Ted Kennedy called the White House to inquire if it was appropriate to bring to the burial some earth from Arlington National Cemetery. The answer was essentially a shrug: Who knows? Unadvised, the senator carried a shopping bag onto the plane, filled with earth he had himself dug the afternoon before from the graves of his two murdered brothers. And at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, after waiting for the crowd and the cameras to disperse, he dropped to his hands and knees, and gently placed that earth on the grave of the murdered prime minister.

No spin, no photo op; a man unreasonably familiar with bidding farewell to slain heroes, a man in mourning, quietly making tangible a miserable connection."
link

 

[Hobodeluxe]

"On the morning of the day before the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin, Senator Ted Kennedy called the White House to inquire if it was appropriate to bring to the burial some earth from Arlington National Cemetery. The answer was essentially a shrug: Who knows? Unadvised, the senator carried a shopping bag onto the plane, filled with earth he had himself dug the afternoon before from the graves of his two murdered brothers. And at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, after waiting for the crowd and the cameras to disperse, he dropped to his hands and knees, and gently placed that earth on the grave of the murdered prime minister.

No spin, no photo op; a man unreasonably familiar with bidding farewell to slain heroes, a man in mourning, quietly making tangible a miserable connection."
link

 

[Kelly]

I could definitely see him doing that....

 

[Marx]

Would Ted want it named after him if it helped it pass, if it got it done?

I think we know the answer to that.

I just think it's cheap politics to try and capitalize on his death. If there is a good, bipartisan agreement reached on healthcare, I do believe it should be renamed for him. I don't think it should be renamed for him if the only reason is to get a bill that isn't so great to pass.

 

[Superman]

Robert Byrd needs to die.

I don't know about dying but as someone who lives in Byrd's state I do think it's time for him to retire.

 

[Sebastos]

R.I.P to the liberal lion. Condolences to the family, Ted Kennedy will be truley missed.

 

[Oddzball]

and in my book that makes him a murderer.

And that makes you a person who just admitted he pays no attention to the laws of the state where the incident occured in. But does choose to talk about Crimes in that state. And I'm certain this will net you all the consideration your opinion as stated here merits.

 

[conjob_89]

...and let's not pretend that the Republicans wouldn't do the exact same thing if one of their beloved party members died.

Even if it's Bush I or II, Cheney, Palin, etc.

Also, Don't act like one party's innocent and the other isn't. :facepalm

 

[Marx]

Even if it's Bush I or II, Cheney, Palin, etc.

Also, Don't act like one party's innocent and the other isn't. :facepalm

I strongly believe both party's are capable, and have said that.

 

[conjob_89]

I strongly believe both party's are capable, and have said that.

Except with the GOP it's more childish: "Teacher! Some of the other kids won't agree with me about Health Care."

 

[Sebastos]

Except with the GOP it's more childish: "Teacher! Some of the other kids won't agree with me about Health Care."

 

[Shemtov]

I'm a conservitive republican, and I disagreed a lot with kennedy (after all, he bordered on being a liberal extremist), But I respect him for the fact he was willing to compromise with Republicans. Nobody these days (execpt John Mcain) seems to relieze that to do things in US politics, you must compromise with the other side. Keneddy did.

 

[hippie_hunter]

So he is to be condemned for surviving an accident?

Some of you people need to quit listening to your lesser angels.

It's a lot more complicated than that. She was a passenger in Ted Kennedy's car and he got into an accident. Instead of trying to save her life or anything, he simply fled the scene and did not report it until the car and the body were already found.

The incident severely impaired Kennedy's political career and is pretty much the sole reason why he never became President and probably a reason why he lost his position as Majority Whip. However the truth is that if he weren't a Kennedy, the man would most likely have spent most of his remaining life in prison.

However, I view Kennedy as a man just like the rest of us. I think like all of us he would have felt the guilt and shame of the poor judgments he made that night and his actions of not only serving the people of Massachusetts and the United States, whether you agree with his political ideology or not, served as a way to atone for what he did. To quote Michael White, "Ted Kennedy was born to privilege and screwed it up. But he went a long way towards repaying his debts."

 

[hippie_hunter]

you're not an independent in the middle

I am.

 

[Marx]

I'm a conservitive republican, and I disagreed a lot with kennedy (after all, he bordered on being a liberal extremist), But I respect him for the fact he was willing to compromise with Republicans. Nobody these days (execpt John Mcain) seems to relieze that to do things in US politics, you must compromise with the other side. Keneddy did.

His ability and desire to work across the aisle is something that alot of people could learn from.

 

[Kurosawa]

Laura Bush.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Laura Bush.

What's the point of bringing her up? Because she killed a person in a car accident, one in which she feels very guilty for (which I assume Ted Kennedy felt guilty over his poor actions as well)?

That's just low

 

[Marx]

I can't imagine what must have been going through his head that night to leave the scene. He had to have been feeling some serious remorse and guilt throughout his life as a result of his decisions that night.

 

[Marx]

UPDATE #3: President Obama will eulogize Senator Kennedy at Boston church

 

[donk70]

I can't imagine what must have been going through his head that night to leave the scene. He had to have been feeling some serious remorse and guilt throughout his life as a result of his decisions that night.

Probably trying to make last call at The Drunken Clam

 

[donk70]

UPDATE #3: President Obama will eulogize Senator Kennedy at Boston church

Why is everything else posted by you that involves a Dem is in blue, but when you refer to Obama you gotta use a black font?? That's pretty racist!

 

[Marx]

Why is everything else posted by you that involves a Dem is in blue, but when you refer to Obama you gotta use a black font?? That's pretty racist!

I'm not sure...I just used black for all of the actual 'updates'.

 

[Kurosawa]

What's the point of bringing her up? Because she killed a person in a car accident, one in which she feels very guilty for (which I assume Ted Kennedy felt guilty over his poor actions as well)?

That's just low

Terrible things happen sometimes and it's not always an evil conspiracy...sometimes it's just an accident.

 

[Superman]

What's the point of bringing her up? Because she killed a person in a car accident, one in which she feels very guilty for (which I assume Ted Kennedy felt guilty over his poor actions as well)?

That's just low

And bringing up Teddy's accident on the day he died just to put him down isn't low?

 

[hippie_hunter]

And bringing up Teddy's accident on the day he died just to put him down isn't low?

Yes it is, because I don't see him as some liberal demon. I see him as a man first and foremost, who held liberal ideologies. And like most men, I think that he held a lot of guilt inside for what he did. And a lot of shame as well for what his actions did to not only himself but the entire Kennedy clan and his office. He was also never able to put it behind him because well a lot of people bring it up to this day and the incident severely limited his political career. That was enough punishment for him if you ask me, something that no rich boy prison could have properly done for him.

And his service to not only to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but to everyone in the United States of America, was his atonement.

But I can understand that some don't see it that way, there are some who don't look into the goodness of people's hearts and think that Teddy did not feel guilt over what happened and he didn't do enough to atone for his sin. But bringing up Laura Bush because someone cannot stand a liberal icon be berated, so they have to bring up someone from the opposing political ideology to feel validated is just low. Especially since while I am speculating on Teddy's feelings towards the incident, Laura has been known to still carry the guilt for the person she accidentally killed and rarely talks about it because of her feelings towards it.