Some in the nation mourn, some rejoice.
Edward M. Kennedy Photo not in copyright.
Ted Kennedy has passed over. Kennedy was loved by Demo zealots and despised by Repub zealots, even as Ronald Reagan was loved by those same Repub zealots and despised by Demo zealots. The two were constant critics of each other.
Editor’s note: Wherever the two are, they’re probably together.
Kennedy lacked Reagan’s training as an actor, but still managed to survive more than 46 years in politics, spanning five decades.
His political career was nearly extinguished when, in 1969 a 29 year old campaign worker named Mary Jo Kopechne was killed in a car Kennedy was driving, putting Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts on the map. It is a small island separated by enough water to require a ferry, and which is spread over tidal lowlands, channels and ponds.
Dyke's Bridge: unrailed, odd angle to the road; the Delmont went
straight, going off the bridge and turning over.
The photo was not copyrighted on the source
Ted Kennedy and Kopechne had been attending a get together for campaign workers for Robert Kennedy, who had been assassinated the year before.
At about 11:15 at night, Kennedy drove his Oldsmobile 88 Delmont off a small wooden bridge over a tidal channel; Kennedy had been trying to find the road to the ferry off the island and had taken a wrong turn. The car overturned and sank, trapping Kennedy and Kopechne, but while Kennedy escaped, Kopechne drowned.
Mary Jo Kopechne
Source not copyrighted
Kennedy’s actions, and account, are garbled and make little sense, perhaps because Kennedy had received a concussion in the accident, and was in shock. Instead of calling police, Kennedy first attempted to find and rescue Kopechne himself, and then ran back to the party to get help from two men there. No one called the police, and the next morning fishermen found the overturned car, and shortly after the body of the young woman was found.
Doubts arose then about Kennedy’s story, and the fact that Kopechne had left her purse and hotel room key behind, and Kennedy had declined the use of his driver, indicates that Kennedy and Kopechne were not accidentally on the bridge, but were looking for someplace to use the Delmont’s luxurious back seat.
Some of the legislation which made Kennedy a hero to humanists and a devil to capitalists include civil rights legislation, health care reform, immigration reform, sexual and gender equality, minimum wage reform, and so on. He was outspoken on the plight of refugees in Vietnam and elsewhere around the world and used his influence to encourage peace in Ireland and bring down some of the more oppressive governments of the world. He spoke against the war in Vietnam and voted against the invasion of Iraq early and often. His concern for the poor and disadvantaged at home and abroad, and his general disapproval of war, made him an obvious target for those with power. In his personal life, Kennedy was almost stereotypic; he was a gourmand, an alcoholic, a womanizer and yet he was intensely devoted to family and work. He suffered personal loss throughout his life, including the loss of children and siblings. Indeed, Kennedy was recently preceded in death by his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who died August 11.
Then, as now, wealthy and powerful men had assignations with young women, but in those days, politicians were not forgiven for discovery. It was suggested that Kennedy knew Kopechne was still in the car but didn’t seek help because he wanted to avoid detection. It was also suggested that Kennedy knew the road he was taking went to a secluded spot. However, the diagnosis of concussion and shock, support his story. Further, the waters of Martha’s Vineyard are not warm, and only five years earlier Kennedy had nearly been killed in a plane crash (the other two occupants were killed), and his broken back had taken some years to completely heal; indeed, initially it was assumed he’d never walk again. Critics find inconsistencies between Kennedy’s initial testimony and his later testimony, but the differences are primarily in the detail remembered, and it is common for trauma victims to "piece together" or literally "fill in" parts they can’t remember. The un-railed bridge was said to leave the road at an odd angle, encouraging people to drive off just as Kennedy did.
Look at the FBI Documents, HERE and HERE
Massachusetts believed Kennedy’s story and elected him over and over. Perhaps their familiarity with the channels and ponds of the area made Kennedy’s story believable to them, but others in the nation doubted his story, and continue to doubt it. He had the event retold and distorted through the years. Hopefully these last recounts will end the matter.
Though he was a favorite foe of the rabid right, in fact Kennedy was known for compromise, and he worked successfully with many of conservadom’s most celebrated princes.
Ted Kennedy will leave a vacuum in Democratic leadership, and his passing will make right wing radioheads work harder to fill their hour. The poor and powerless are less well off with him gone.
