The Wrong Way to Remember Ted Kennedy
Judge Robert Bork, one of Senator Ted Kennedy's victims
We do not honor Ted Kennedy’s memory by perpetuating his mistakes.  Despite all of the live prime time cable TV coverage last night of speeches extolling his legislative accomplishments and willingness to reach across the aisle on occasion, Kennedy’s extreme views on foreign policy, judicial appointments and health care are not worthy of emulation.
Unlike his brother John F. Kennedy who understood the Soviet menace and America’s special mission to carry the torch of liberty throughout the world, Ted Kennedy was a moral relativist when it came to dealing with our enemies.  An anti-war and nuclear freeze advocate to the core, he was one of the charter members of the ‘blame America’ crowd who tried to appease the Soviet Union. He was a strong opponent of effective intelligence gathering programs.    He did not understand the gravity of the Islamic terrorist threat, and in 2007 voted against designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as terrorists ( Senator Obama was also against this designation but did not vote at the time). Kennedy was also against virtually whatever it took to prevent another 9/11 catastrophe.
With respect to judicial appointments, it was Ted Kennedy more than any other Senator who turned Senate confirmation hearings into the poisonous, partisan battles that they have become.
Within 45 minutes of Judge Robert Bork’s nomination to the Supreme Court, Ted Kennedy took to the Senate floor with a slanderous attack against Bork in a nationally televised speech, declaring:
“Robert Bork’s America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters, rogue police could break down citizens’ doors in midnight raids, schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution, writers and artists could be censored at the whim of the Government, and the doors of the Federal courts would be shut on the fingers of millions of citizens for whom the judiciary is — and is often the only — protector of the individual rights that are the heart of our democracy… President Reagan is still our president. But he should not be able to reach out from the muck of Irangate, reach into the muck of Watergate and impose his reactionary vision of the Constitution on the Supreme Court and the next generation of Americans. No justice would be better than this injustice.”
Kennedy’s style of vicious personal attack against a Supreme Court nominee became known as “borking“.
With regard to health care, Ted Kennedy’s vision to the end was a government take-over of one-sixth of the U.S. economy and crippling taxes to pay for it. He called it “the cause of my life”. Advocates of universal socialized medicine like Nancy Pelosi are urging quick passage of legislation to bring Ted Kennedy’s vision to life. This would be a disastrous mistake.
Let not Kennedy’s  misguided causes live on to become our albatrosses.
One correction: Congress is not considering nor is Nancy Pelosi advocating “universal socialized medicine”.
They are advocating and proposing universal socialized (and mandated) health INSURANCE. There is a big difference between the two.
It is a shame the term is called borking. it should incorporate Teddy’s name as he was the one taking the action described by the verb borking.
Actually the ’cause of his life’ was advancing his own and the Kennedy family political interests ‘by any means necessary’….people and actual issues and causes were merely props on his own little personal stage and means to those ends…..he didn’t know a political principle from a Popsicle….his motto should have been, “Ask not what the Kennedys can do for you….ask what you can do for the Kennedys.
Ted Kennedy was a disgrace to his faith, a disgrace as a husband, a father, a legislator and as a human being. To see him lionized by the media, by those who are supposedly conservative and his church, was disgraceful. He was thoroughly corrupt and had to be mad. As for those who laud him; must be as mad and corrupt as he was.
The legacy of the Kennedy’s is unparalleled in American politics. How Edward dared to compare himself to his brothers John and Robert, in spite of decades of his pompous and rhetorical scolding to those who challenged his views, certainly demeans the historical significance.
I always had the impression politicians were afraid of him, thus allowing him to spew his biased, Utopian illusion of a socialist nation. With him of course, on the throne.
I wish I had something nice to say about the Senator, but I can not eulogize anyone who has damaged the principles of America as our fore fathers envisioned.
Mr. Klein nailed it in two words Kennedy was till his final breath a moral relativist he had to rationalize his own disgusting conduct. Every thug I ever locked up in my life no matter what from drug dealers to killers they had the ability to rationalize there acts to them self. They rationalize selling crack to kids or killing someone to take there money. In the realm of Ted Kennedy he rationalized every decadent form of human conduct there is, unfettered abortion and he rationalized homosexual conduct and the push to legalize deviant conduct by forcing same sex marriage on a nation of people that overwhelmingly oppose it. He played the part of champion of women in the senate while he personally abused them. Then talk about bearing false witness his lies about Bob Bork was insufferable. I believe it was Andy Jackson that caned a scoundrel in the congress once for vile conduct I think Judge Bork would have been well justified to have throttled Teddy sometime I wish dueling was legal. I take no solace in the passing of Ted Kennedy anyone that does is only hurting them self but the fact is this man was no political hero that decent people would want there children to emulate. The conduct of the media has been disgusting as well they have refrained from telling the truth about this man and you would think by there coverage it was George Washington, Abe Lincoln or Ronald Reagan that had just passed away. It is also distressing that they would bury this man who if justice had been served would have been a convicted felon in Arlington.
Anyone see Orin Hatch at the memorial service Friday night? Hmmmm, just what do “our” Senators do for us?
Orin and Ted were good friends that acted as foils for each others parties. Orin was actually one of the people that got Teddy back on the path to being sober in the last decade.
Senator Hatch, who I am not a fan of, gave a heartfelt and reasonable statement of Teddy, even to all of his faults. He was actually the perfect person to talk of Senator Kennedy’s change from a Washington wildman to the more sober person he became after marrying Victoria.
That being said, I thought it was strange also that he was “lionized” by a church that he so clearly violated the teachings of. Even from the reading of the contents of the letter delivered by Obama to the Pope, which was read at the graveside, clearly indicates his rejection of the church’s stand on abortion.
The best comment I have read so far about the death of Ted Kennedy is R.I.P. standing for Roast in Peace.
I like the Roast in Peace as its more realistic to Ted Kennedy because of how he really lived his life- a moral disaster. His very dark jokes which was about Jo Ann- the lady he left to drown. What a monster!!! The joke is probably on him now – forever; its truly sad that he deceived himself.
How about Rot in Peace?
Rot in Peace is wonderful as well. I think that can the message from non-Christians who may not agree that Hell exists! Thanks for the reply.
Could you elaborate on the big difference?
Thank you for stating what, hopefully, millions consider a true evaluation of that jerk; at least those of us who have been observant of the antics of this fellow for the past 50 years. Of course those of us in our 70s have obviously quite a different prespective from the 64 million that support the likes of him and his coherts.
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