Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Goodbye Teddy

I sit here muddling through a sense of disbelief that Ted Kennedy has passed away. It certainly comes as no shock under the circumstances. It's just that the image of him being wheeled into the senate to cast the deciding vote in the health care battle has been seared into my imagination. It's clearly the only thing he was holding out for.

Bouncing around the web a bit I see the haters on the right are wasting no time in hating on the man. Over at fark the freepers have invaded the RIP thread expressing sentiments that the "baby killer could burn in hell." The Kennedys collectively as a family seem to have a unique place among American liberals in engendering the anger bubbling from their lizard brains.

I've never really understood this anger. I've tried, I really have. The philandering and drunkenness conservatives rattle on about seem almost quaint when considering the tales of republican politicians chasing around congressional pages these last twenty years.

Of course there's Mary Jo. The thing that's always struck me about that is how odd it is to listen to people who wouldn't cross the street to help a poor person, who could care less about the financial circumstances of the middle class, who cold care less about the young bodies ripped apart in pointless wars rail on and on about the life of a secretary killed decades ago as if she was a member of their own families.

They would never admit it but I suspect this anger comes from the fact that John and Bobby and Ted really cared about the weakest members of our society and tried to use the instruments of government to make those people's lives better. In this sense the Kennedys embodied the truest sense of christian charity in a way conservatives could never understand. That's why the Kennedys drove conservatives crazy. Despite all their flaws they were still better men than the Ronald Reagans of the world.

I hope Ted is somewhere right now drinking a whiskey with his brothers. Thanks to all of 'em for trying to make America a better place.

10 comments:

Arkonbey said...

:(

Randal Graves said...

Obama killed Ted.

"I will drink you under the, ah, table."

"I will drink you under the, ah, table."

Lockwood said...

Nicely put, Dean.

Anonymous said...

Amen.

Dr. Zaius said...

Well put. :o)

Swinebread said...

My thoughts too. Just had to Faux News just to see if they would dare bashing him in death...

needless to say, the few moments I watched they were respectful, he was the nicest liberal you'd ever disagree with.

I not surprised he died, I was surprised at how long he lasted. his type of cancer is usually 3-months and that's it.

Ubermilf said...

I can't say anymore than anyone else has said.

It's a loss to our legislative body that cannot be replaced within the next few decades.

Hypatia said...

Bummer all around....I always wondered why a stupid drunken accident still took first page for him...when Laura Bush killed her boyfriend in a STUPID DRUNKEN ACCIDENT.

She gets a pass, but not Ted?

The difference is conservotards pretend like they never did anything bad, and have nothing to feel guilty about, so obviously it isn't even worth media attention....

Effin' hypocrites.

Comrade Kevin said...

I think it's mainly that Kennedy got off based on his last name, wealth, and influence and they find that deeply unfair. But if that's all you focus on and you don't take into account the great good he did, then you're depriving yourself of the big pictures.

One of my v-blogs got broadcast on CNN and the comments I got were full of low blows and baseless personal attacks for the same reason.

tom said...

Laura Bush got a pass cause she is a republican, and she was never a class traitor like Teddy (hey that is a compliment) FDR god bless him was also a class traitor and a saint when it came to helping the common american citizen....
the threat to the upper crusties by their own, that is the Kennedy sin in their eyes, but of course their eyes are always shut
example: the poor food and drug laws would never have been put into effect except that the upper crusties were geting sick smoking the hand spit rolled tb infected cigars by kids in filthy tennaments....enlighteded self interest,,,,and also read or re-read The Jungle......