By any measure, Ted Kennedy was a member of the “lucky sperm" club, having been born into a family of wealth, power, position, privilege and accomplishment. Not that Ted Kennedy earned a living or was a man of accomplishment as were his brothers. And not that he was a particularly honorable or admirable man in general.
Truth be known, Kennedy played the levers of power by “going along to get along.” If one could define Teddy Kennedy’s life, in my humble opinion, it would be along the lines of “the path of least resistance” and the most fun.
Yes, he served a long time in the Senate where longevity is rewarded on the same basis as that of the unions, by seniority rather than actual merit. Yes he was associated with some historic legislation; but for anyone with many years in the Senate, he was still one man out of many needed to create and nurture legislative initiatives.
To me Ted Kennedy was a limousine liberal, isolated and exempt from the rules he wanted to make for the rest of us – a perfect example of “Do as I say, don’t do as I do.”
Personally, I think Kennedy was devoid of a truly sterling character and was a “good-time Charlie” sleazeball, willing to do or say anything to get his own way. A man who is alleged to have invented, along with Senator Christopher Dodd, “the waitress sandwich” and made a conscious decision to let a helpless girl suffocate to death in a submerged car in order to advance his political career. A drunk, a lecher and possibly worse – all erased from the public consciousness by a cadre of media managers and Kennedy acolytes eager for an association with the storied “Kennedy family.”
So it is with some disgust, I note the media’s attempt to rewrite history and soften the Kennedy image into that of the Senate patriarch – which he never was or into the humanitarian he could only be if he died.
Letter One – On abortion and the rights of the unborn …
Is this another example of a perfectly-timed release of a letter which will serve to muddy the real public record and somehow demonstrate Kennedy’s regard for his Catholic religion? I think not – the evidence of his transgressions may be too public and too obvious.
According to CNSNews.com …
“Letter Reveals Ted Kennedy’s Opposition to Abortion, Belief in Life ‘From the Very Moment of Conception’”
“A letter written by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) in 1971 reveals that he then opposed abortion and supported giving rights to the unborn.”
“’While the deep concern of a woman bearing an unwanted child merits consideration and sympathy, it is my personal feeling that the legalization of abortion on demand is not in accordance with the value which our civilization places on human life,’ Kennedy wrote on Aug. 3, 1971 in response to a letter sent to him by Thomas E. Dennelly, who asked the senator about his stand on abortion.
“’Wanted or unwanted, I believe that human life, even at its earliest stages, has certain rights which much be recognized--the right to be born, the right to love, the right to grow old,’ wrote Kennedy.”“The letter, written two years before the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion, was given to the Catholic League by Dennelly, a New York resident and a member of the league, a Catholic civil rights organization.”
“Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, confirmed to CNSNews.com the authenticity of the letter, which he said offers proof that Kennedy, regularly lauded for his pro-abortion stance by pro-abortion groups liked Planned Parenthood and NARAL, was pro-life in his early days as a Massachusetts senator.”
“’Senator Kennedy’s letter, which I have right here in front of me, is striking in that he doesn’t see this as a difficult issue,’ Donohue told CNSNews.com. ‘He says, clearly, ‘When history looks back to this era it should recognize this generation as one which cared about human beings enough to halt the practice of war, to provide a decent living for every family, and to fulfill its responsibility to its children from the very moment of conception.’”
“That’s an unequivocal condemnation of abortion,” Donohue said.”“Donohue said the rise of the feminist movement within the Democratic Party is, in part, responsible for the shift from its leaders’ pro-life stand, including that of President John F. Kennedy, to the kind of pro-abortion views espoused by Sen. Ted Kennedy, including his opposition to a ban on partial-birth abortion, as reported earlier by CNSNews.com.”
“’I do not believe it is the role of the Senate to interfere with or regulate the kind of medical advice that a doctor can give to a patient,’ Kennedy said in a March 12, 2003 Senate floor speech in opposition to the partial-birth abortion ban that was enacted that year. That year Kennedy also voted for an amendment sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin (D.-Iowa) that said the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade correctly and that abortion is a constitutional right.”
What an effin hypocrite! First, by any measurement, Ted Kennedy was the quintessential “male chauvinist pig” who historical record is replete with examples of the mistreatment of women. The thought that this far-left liberal democrat believed in the sanctity of life, either at birth or approaching the end of life, is somehow at odds with the legislation that is Obamacare – and may come to be called Kennedycare by his fellow hypocrites. The same legislation which purports to incentivize physicians to discuss “end of life” options with sick and/or confused senior citizens who may be in great pain. The same legislation which was ostensibly designed around philosophies laid out by Ezekiel “E-Z Kill” Emanuel regarding the need to curtail the treatment of senior citizens as a cost containment method while ostensibly funding abortion as a means of both cost containment and population control.
Letter Two – The Pope
In what I view as a pure sympathy play, Ted Kennedy’s personal and private letter to the Pope was released to the media.
“Ted Kennedy’s letter to Pope Benedict XVI, and the papal reply”
“Excerpts of a letter sent by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy to Pope Benedict XVI in July:
“Most Holy Father, I hope this letter finds you in good health, I pray that you have all of God’s blessings as you lead our church and inspire our world during these challenging times.
“I am writing with deep humility to ask that you pray for me as my own health declines. I was diagnosed with brain cancer more than a year ago, and, although I continue treatment, the disease is taking its toll on me. I am 77 years old and preparing for the next passage of life. . . .
“I want you to know, Your Holiness, that in my nearly 50 years of elective office, I have done my best to champion the rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity. I’ve worked to welcome the immigrant, fight discrimination and expand access to healthcare and education. I have opposed the death penalty and fought to end war. Those are the issues that have motivated me and have been the focus of my work as a Unites States Senator. . . .
“I’ve always tried to be a faithful Catholic, Your Holiness, and though I have fallen short through human failings, I have never failed to believe and respect the fundamental teaching of my faith. I continue to pray for God’s blessing, on you, and on our church, and would be most thankful for your prayers for me.”
Wonderful, Kennedy paints a far different picture of his life for the Pope. I haven’t read his letter and haven’t heard his confession -- which is between him and his confessor. But I do know that somehow the teachings of the Church may have been far from his mind when he continued to abuse women, promote abortion and, in what I believe was his most egregious act, let a young girl suffocate to death in a submerged car – waiting and praying for the help that never came – while Kennedy was busy contemplating damage control for his Presidential bid and summoning advisors and consultants rather than the police and assistance.
Why I chose this particular blog topic …
Normally, I would not waste my time and energy on a dead man, especially one whom I considered a corrupt politician and a seriously flawed human being … but there arises a serious problem facing my country. That is, the democrats plan to lionize the life of Ted Kennedy and turn him into the champion of civil rights he never was – all for the political purpose of pushing through a toxic healthcare package which will result in suffering and death for millions of senior citizens.
Don’t believe me, just ask Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid …
As reported in Politico.com …
“Reid: Teddy's death ‘going to help us’
“The Reno Gazette-Journal has a sit-down with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who addresses the Ted Kennedy question in, um, an interesting way.”
Q: How will U.S. Sen. (Edward) Kennedy's death affect things?
A: I think it's going to help us. He hasn't been around for some time. We're going to have a new chairman of that committee, it'll be, I don't know for sure, but I think Sen. (Chris) Dodd, (D-Conn.). He has a right to take it. Either him or (U.S. Sen. Tom) Harkin, (D-Iowa), whichever one wants it can have it. I think he (Kennedy) will be a help. He's an inspiration for us. That was the issue of his life and he didn't get it done.
Nothing in here is particularly new — Kennedy will help the cause, Dodd gets to carry the banner, Kennedy's work remains undone. But the straight-shooting Reid does have a gift for saying non-controversial things in the most controversial way possible.”
Stunning hypocrisy ..
One, Senator Dodd, Kennedy’s alleged lecherous carousing partner and one-third of the waitress sandwich, is probably one of the least trustworthy men in the Senate. After all, he is still denying that he received “special favors” on his mortgage as a “Friend of Angelo” when the evidence tends to tell a much different story.
Two, Teddy Kennedy didn’t even know what was in the bill and neither do the majority of the politicians who currently support it. The final draft hasn’t been written yet. Those 1,000+ page drafts are just that, drafts. Then the House and the Senate versions need to be reconciled – a procedure which takes place in secret, in the closed-door backroom – and where things have a mysterious way of being added or subtracted.
Three, I wonder how Teddy Kennedy would have felt about a bill which will advance “abortion on demand” and deal with the “end of life issues” Kennedy himself faced as his health declined. Even with all of his money and the best health care on the planet, I am sure no one suggested that Kennedy receive “end of life counseling” and the option of popping a pill to end it all. Especially since his Catholic faith maintains a major prohibition on suicide – assisted or otherwise.
To allow a false and misleading image of a sanitized Kennedy to serve as the rallying point for denying seniors healthcare or curtailing their benefits, is to continue in death what Kennedy stood for in life: NOTHING! Especially if it wasn’t fun.
Bottom line …
Neither you nor I have the significant wealth or resources to obtain the best healthcare in the world, wherever it may be found or whatever it might cost. We are somewhat reliant on our employers, our insurers and the quality of our local healthcare facilities and physicians. Anything which degrades those facilities or physicians will dramatically impact our care and chances for survival.
The Kennedys and the limousine liberals will have whatever they have and they are welcome to it. But as for the rest of us, we cannot afford contemplating adding millions of people into the healthcare system without a corresponding increase in the number of healthcare facilities and the number of physicians. We cannot afford to rely on a policy of “best practices” which statistically prove that senior citizens nearing the end of their live are less likely to benefit from expensive interventional medicine and therefore should be denied coverage for last ditch efforts as a means for cost containment. I do not know about you, but I do think my life is worth saving. I do think that suicide, assisted or otherwise, is not an option for me.
I do not believe, as do the democrats pandering to illegal aliens, that we should allow people who are not citizens of the United States to access our healthcare system to the detriment of senior citizens and others – except on an emergency basis.
And I believe that America is great enough to grow our healthcare system, rather than accept the democrat’s socialistic system of restricting access to healthcare as a means for gaining political power over citizens.
If the government wants to prove that they are kind, compassionate and able to govern, let them curb the waste, fraud and abuse inherent in the current system and turn some of the major fines levied on corporations which provide healthcare-related goods and services to the cause of providing better healthcare.
I do not believe that we should allow our elected representatives to pass legislation which creates a tiered healthcare system or provides exceptions for elected officials, government workers and those belonging to a union. Especially legislation which they have neither read nor understand.
My bottom line – I choose life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I reject the far-left socialist democrats who will do or say anything to consolidate and perpetuate their political power. I choose freedom and certainly reject Obama and his minions.
Ted Kennedy is now being judged by his maker. To the extent that the democrat party would use this poor excuse for a human being as a shining example of why we should pass an unsustainable, unholy healthcare package, I believe that they should all be thrown out of office.
Be well, be safe and take care of yourself and your family first.
-- steve
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OneCitizenSpeaking: Saying out loud what you may be thinking …
Reference Links …
Ted Kennedy’s letter to Pope Benedict XVI, and the papal reply - BostonHerald.com
Reid: Teddy's death "going to help us" - Glenn Thrush - POLITICO.com
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