Ted Kennedy Dies

[Howlin Mad Missy]

Weren't you the guy who started a petition to get Kirkland banned when he made similar comments after someone died (I think it was Tim Russert)?

Yes but as far as we know Tim Russert never killed anyone, never helped anyone get aquitted of rape, invented HMO's, supported the IRA or wrote anything having to do with the No Child Left Behind education bill.

But fine, I'll make my own thread and if you guys want to bitch at me in that thread fine, I'll leave you guys to actually feel sorry for that bastard.

What's the deal with the rape thing?

[Howlin Mad Missy]

Weren't you the guy who started a petition to get Kirkland banned when he made similar comments after someone died (I think it was Tim Russert)?

Yes but as far as we know Tim Russert never killed anyone, never helped anyone get aquitted of rape, invented HMO's, supported the IRA or wrote anything having to do with the No Child Left Behind education bill.

But fine, I'll make my own thread and if you guys want to bitch at me in that thread fine, I'll leave you guys to actually feel sorry for that bastard.

What's the deal with the rape thing?

hang on, found it

[RozzySean]

I posted on Lyles thread before I saw this thread. I want to voice my oppinion in a more balanced format. I'm adding few comments and pasting some the text from Lyle's classless thread.

As a disclaimer, I grew up in Connecticut, but I've lived in Boston for 10 years. He was my senator, and since my family was from here originally, my father's and grandfather'ss Senator. They both knew him, and he used to visit my Grandfathers restaurant from time to time when my grandfather had one in Boston. When he moved to Connecticut, Teddy sometimes stopped by the restaurant with his buddy Chris Dodd. I never met him, but I know many people, including family members, who knew him at one time or another.

He was a flawed man to be sure, but he had his positive qualities. Teddy was a sinner and he was also a saint. Nothing is black and white in this world. In spite of having some small connection to Teddy, I'm not a Kennedy groupie like many many people where I live. IMHO, JFK is one of the most overrated presidents ever. He couldn't get crap passed in the legislature and he almost got us into a nuclear war. He escalated Vietnam. He f***ed everything with a skirt. Then he died, and LBJ used the combination if his influence in congress and JFK's death to get his agenda passed, plus a few more good things. But LBJ and Nixon get blamed for Vietnam Jack Kennedy gets a free pass. Dems sure love the cult of personality.

Ted did a lot of bad things in his personal life, and he probably should have gone to jail for Mary Jo. Lord only knows how many DUIs he would have gotten if he weren't Teddy Kennedy. I can tell you stories about the antics he used to pull when he would go visit Chris Dodd. My family owned a restaurant/bar just down the road from Dodd's house. I know. It bugs me every time I'm near the Rose Kennedy Greenway that Teddy got to honor his mother with that when so many others from this Commonwealth deserve the recognition more than her.

In spite of all this, Teddy honestly thought he was doing the best he could do for this country. He worked his butt off, not just on big issues, but on local problems. He or his staff answered every letter they received and Teddy would take the time help individuals in this state, totally under the radar. For the last 15 or so years of his life, he cleaned his act up and did his best to make up for the sins of past. He was a better man and a better Senator once he gave the the idea of being President. You might disagree with his politics, but the man devoted his life to helping others, and he treated people decently. I don't agree with a lot of thing he supported, but overall he did more good than harm.

Kennedy cared about the common man/woman. A guy like John Kerry doesn't give a shit about regular people. He's in it for the status and power. It's a country club to him. Same with Hillary. Same with John Edwards. Obama probably cares, but he's naive and less concerned about reality than his is with perception. Teddy honestly cared about the underdog. For real, no BS. He actually gave a damn and tried to do his best to help them.

Maybe you think that's something government shouldn't do. Maybe you think the things he wanted to do would not have the desired outcome and be a waste of money. Maybe you think the sins of his youth were unforgivable and/or resent him benefiting from rich man's justice. Fair and fine. I can't defend him on those points. A lot of me agrees with those statements. Also, I certainly think that he didn't have a clue about anything related to budget or economy or taxation. He was always rich enough to afford whatever new taxes he supported and he was happy to tax the rich. When you don't earn the money yourself and you dad made his money in, well, less than legal ways, it's easy to forget how hard most people work to get ahead. And considering the Senate and his circle of friends and family back in Boston and Hyannus is full of trust fund babies dem and rep alike, that was his life experience.

No matter what your politics, what you think some things from his personal life, you should give him credit spending all those yearing trying to do what he thought was right when he could have been fishing kicking his feet up. Hell, as much as I think Strom Thurman was hypocrite, a reactionary, and held many views that I consider terrible, I will at least give him credit for caring about this country enough to devote his life to public service, even if I think he did more harm than good. So even if you think Teddy did more harm than good, give him credit and respect for his service and commitment. If you can't at least do that, well....I don't think it speaks well of you.