Ted Kennedy being buried in Arlington

Discussion in 'Free Speech Alley' started by BamaBengalTiger, Aug 26, 2009.

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  1. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    He's baiting me into defending Kennedy when he knows I dislike Kennedy politics.

    Must . . . not . . . bite . . . the lure.
     
    red55, Aug 28, 2009
    #21
  2. LaSalleAve

    LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

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    bite red bite. i don't think any of us can imagine the amount of pressure, and stress, and pain this guy has seen in his lifetime. he was probably constantly looking over his shoulder, because of the assassination of both of his brothers. he screwed up, he wrecked a car, couldn't save the girl, and panicked. but some would like to think that he premeditated this and intentionally killed this woman, and the laughed about it because he got away with it. did he benefit from being a kennedy, yes he did. should the penalty have been more severe, probably. does not change the fact that he has been one of the few to work across party lines, and also has done a lot for this country for 40 years, even neo cons recognize this.
     
    LaSalleAve, Aug 28, 2009
    #22
  3. SabanFan

    SabanFan The voice of reason

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    Charles Manson is going "Damn! I should have run for Congress".
     
    SabanFan, Aug 28, 2009
    #23
  4. mctiger

    mctiger RIP, and thanks for the music Staff Member

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    Let's talk about that perception line (premeditated...intentional...etc) for a sec. I don't know if there's any such conspiracy theory out there and certainly wouldn't subscribe to it if there was. Chappaquiddick was a tragic accident. But even in accidents, someone is held accountable and must face the consequences. A person died due to Ted Kennedy's negligence (a Massachusetts Supreme Court inquiry said so after the fact; see Wikipedia). Kennedy was allowed to plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, paid no fine, did no community service, spent not one day in jail (got a two months suspended sentence). A year later he was re-elected to the U.S. Senate. Talk about getting off scot-free. It wasn't that long ago that a Republican got drummed out of Congress for tapping his foot in a public restroom.

    I know when someone dies its human nature to look back on the positive aspects of that person's life (George Carlin routine about funerals: "He was an a--hole....but a well-meaning a--hole, :lol:) But I don't see that its wrong to remember the bad along with the good.
     
    mctiger, Aug 28, 2009
    #24
  5. red55

    red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

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    Uhhh, for soliciting sex in a men's room. Drummed out? Larry Craig pled guilty and resigned from Congress.

    Republican Mark Foley used email which was more modern. Foley resigned, too.
     
    red55, Aug 28, 2009
    #25
  6. SabanFan

    SabanFan The voice of reason

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    Boy. Talk about avoiding the point. For a moderate you're pretty good at liberal diversionary tactics.
     
    SabanFan, Aug 28, 2009
    #26
  7. LaSalleAve

    LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

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    i totally agree with you, but its all in the state you live in. Hell if he were in miami what would have happened? 20 days in jail and a fine? Massachusetts re elected him, and kept re electing him, its not like his campaign group worked tirelessly to have a whole districts votes removed, or had a family member make confusing ballots, or create laws so minorities couldn't vote, cough cough.

    He screwed up, he screwed up alot, but did he lie about it? Do we know that. Senator Craig got roasted yes, but Kennedy got roasted by his opposition, and even today people still talk about the accident. Larry Craig, i don't give a damn who he has sex with in public bathrooms, or what glory holes he uses, thats his personal business, and it should have no bearing on his political career. But going back years, opposition will use any and everything they can to swing votes. Hell remember the Bill Clinton i did not inhale thing? The only reason that was brought up was because marijuana was taboo back then, and the government had the public tricked into believing that marijuana is bad, but it back fired. Barack Obama smoked it, inhaled it, probably blew shotguns, but i don't recall that being brought up during the campaign by the opposition.

    I guess the point i am trying to make is, Kennedy was a powerful man, from a powerful family, that got rich bootlegging, he did receive an extremely light sentence, which was basically nothing, a tap on wrist, but the people in his state loved him. He didn't just win elections, he dominated. And other than the accident, and being a heavy drinker, for the most part he was a good man, that had to go through things that i could never even start to comprehend.

    As far as the Charles Manson comment, maybe Charlie should have run for the Senate, but maybe he would have been a better Republican President, or VP though.
     
    LaSalleAve, Aug 28, 2009
    #27
  8. mctiger

    mctiger RIP, and thanks for the music Staff Member

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    Do you think in today's political climate, anything less would have been acceptable? Had Larry Craig chosen to brazen it out, could he have gotten re-elected? Can you imagine the campaign against him? And if he had won, what kind of clout would he have carried? Can you imagine him going on for another 35 years, and becoming "the lion of the Senate," ala Ted Kennedy?

    Now this is not necessarily a Dem vs GOP thing. Democrat William Jefferson got stripped of most of his authority by his own party as a result of his transgressions. Even if he had been re-elected, he would have at the very least faced a major uphill battle to regain any kind of standing in Congress.

    My point is this....in all of the memorializing and lionizing of Ted Kennedy, it should not be forgotten, or conveniently left out, that a family still mourns the loss of a loved one due to his negligence, for which Kennedy paid no consequence beyond what was in his own conscience.
     
    mctiger, Aug 28, 2009
    #28
  9. SabanFan

    SabanFan The voice of reason

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    All rationalizing. An innocent young girl died. I don't care if Kennedy discovered the cure for cancer. A crime went unpunished. Her death has not been avenged. If only he had drowned a pit bull instead.
     
    SabanFan, Aug 28, 2009
    #29
  10. LaSalleAve

    LaSalleAve when in doubt, mumble

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    Well, Kennedy, Massachusetts, and the Kopechne family sure seemed to get over it. I can't find one thing anywhere stating that the family wanted Kennedy prosecuted. But, then again i forgot that you only stand for truth, justice, and the american way....

    duh duh duh, duh duh duh duh duh!!!!! faster than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...... its a bird, its a plane, NO ITS....
    sabanfan?
     
    LaSalleAve, Aug 28, 2009
    #30
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