We interrupt this vacation...
It's bad manners to speak ill of the newly deceased, and it's probably rude to intrude on Kennedy hagiography in a time of mourning. But here goes:
Edward Kennedy's last wish was a masterly bit of political gamesmanship. Well aware that his infirmity or death might deprive the Democrats of a crucial vote for health care reform this autumn on the Senate floor, he proposed last week that the Massachusetts legislature shelve the current state law (which requires that a vacancy be filled via a time-consuming special election), and replace it with a new state law (which would allow the current Democratic governor to instantly fill the vacancy by appointing a new Democratic senator).
Yet it was just a few years ago when Massachusetts Democratic lawmakers passed the special-election law. They did this in order to ensure that the Republican governor, Mitt Romney, would not appoint a Republican to replace Democratic senator John Kerry, in the event that Kerry won the 2004 presidential election. The law at the time allowed the sitting governor to quickly fill a vacancy via appointment, and the Democrats knew the law would work against them, so they changed it. Kennedy's last wish was that they basically change the law back, because this time it's the special-election provision that could work against them (by keeping the seat open for five months until special election day, thus thwarting the Senate Democrats' hopes of maximizing their floor votes for health care reform).
Dare we sniff a whiff of hypocrisy in all this? I don't intend to disrespect Kennedy's long and mostly admirable service to the nation by pointing out that these kinds of Bay State maneuvers have long characterized the Kennedy clan's power politicking. Indeed, Ted Kennedy never would have become a senator without the family's trademark gamesmanship. I'll tell you a couple of true stories:
In January 1961, JFK vacated his Senate seat and moved to the White House. The family patriarch, old Joe Kennedy, decided that the seat should go to young Ted. The problem was, Ted was not yet 30 years old, the legally minimum age for a senator. So the Kennedys prevailed upon the sitting Democratic governor to appoint somebody who would compliantly warm the JFK's old seat until Ted turned 30 in 1962 (under the rules at that time, a special election would be held that year.) And the Kennedys found the perfect person: an ex-pol named Benjamin Smith, who just so happened to be JFK's old Harvard classmate. Smith did the gig, and Ted won the special election at age 30.
None of that would have been possible, however, had JFK not won the Senate seat in 1952, by knocking off popular Republican incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge. JFK achieved this in part because he got some strong editorial assistance from The Boston Post, an influential newspaper of that era. The Post was expected to endorse Lodge, and Bostonians were stunned when it announced for Kennedy. Why did this happen? Because Joe Kennedy opened his checkbook and bestowed upon The Boston Post a personal "loan" totaling half a million dollars. News of the "loan" surfaced quickly, and Joe Kennedy denied that it had any influence on The Post's endorsement.
Yeah, sure. JFK himself knew better. Years later, while looking back at his '52 race, he remarked to journalist Fletcher Knebel, "You know, we had to buy that f-----g newspaper, or I'd have been licked."
The word now is that the Massachusetts legislature appears unlikely to change the law again. Perhaps it might be deemed rude to deny a dying man his last wish, and there is tragedy in the realization that Kennedy didn't live to vote on the fruits of his work on health care. But it would be wrong to again change the special election law for one party's short-tem advantage.
Forgot to mention that the change in 2004 was also at the behest of Ted....so the hypocrisy grows even larger.— tom - wilmington, de- diddy..dude, to previous blog...I was not comparing the Black Panthers to the CIA. I was comparing the DOJ making a political decision to not prosecute the Black Panthers (overriding decisions of career prosecutors) to the DOJ making a political decision to go after CIA agents (overriding decisions of career prosecutors who previously reviewed the same reports). I thought political decisions were not supposed to be made in the DOJ? Isn't that what all you libs were yelling about before the age of Obama?— tom - wilmington, de
- And this disgraceful human will get a full Catholic funeral... talk about hypocrisy. This guy will get eulogized by the biggest baby killer ever to be elected president, a likely choice if you ask me. It's a shame Kennedy's mother didn't believe in abortion. People who want annulments have to jump through more hoops than this. Sorry, but the church should deny him a catholic funeral. The only consolation is that he will be judged by the Ultimate Judge even as he gets a heroe's sendoff in this country. Proves that the Kennedys own the Archdiocese of Boston. God help us all.— patp
- stupid...also to last blog...the Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 did not balance the budget, it raised taxes. The first budget that produced a surplus was written in 1998 by the Newt Gingrich led House and came after some taxes (i.e. capital gains) were actually cut. Even more interesting is that Bush ran deficits and had the wars off budget...but off budget receipts actually outpaced off budgtet spending from 2003 to 2006. This lays to rest that the wars actually increased the overall deficit and debt...at least according to the historical tables of the US Budget...here is the link, flip ahead to page 26...http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy08/pdf/hist.pdf— tom - wilmington, de
- We really are an aristocratic society. The wealthy and well connected like the Kennedy family use their status for their own personal game. They arrogantly put themselves up on a pedestal as the servant to the poor and downtroden while lining their pockets and taxing those who work and redistributing to those who do not. We will all pay through the nose for government healthcare. Sure Europe has universal healthcare and they also have $ 8 a gallon gas, 70% tax rates, and a much lower standard of living. It is going to get to the point where a middle class family like mine will not be able to afford the American dream. I'll have healthcare, a few thousand a month in social security and little else. But people like the Kennedy's and the Obama's will always have gold plated toilet paper holders.
- still...you did it again...the complete sentence from my post..""Investigators are looking into allegations that laws protecting classified information were breached when three lawyers showed their clients the photographs, the sources said. The lawyers were apparently attempting to identify CIA officers and contractors involved in the agency's interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects in facilities outside the United States, where the agency employed harsh techniques." The classified information is the identity of the CIA covert operatives, just as it was when Plame was supposedly identified. What about that do you not understand? To your other comment...I never said anything about a roll of the dice. However, given Obama has repeatedly said he wants a single payer system; given the fact that Ezekiel Emmanuel has written extensively about rationing/denying care and providing treatment based not on need but also on costs and overall benefit to the community; given how the NICE works in the UK in denying care based on QALY's and costs, I am very suspicious of anything not written in the bill that is open to interpretation. Sure, it does not specifically say a lot of things...but all the pieces fit together. Besides, I believe much of this bill will eventually be struck as unconstitutional since I do not believe it is in the authority of the government to MANDATE any citizen purchase anything. Even enrollment in Medicare is voluntary.— tom - wilmington, de
- Then Chappaquiddick happened, and the closest he would ever come to the presidency was a 1980 protest challenge against incumbent Jimmy Carter. Questions still swirl around Kennedy's conduct that night, when he drove a car off a bridge and a female passenger drowned. That and his expulsion from Harvard for cheating on a test would have ended most political careers, but Kennedy had the family name to propel him into a 47-year tenure in the Senate. Kennedy subsequently "placed" his son Patrick into a House seat from Rhode Island. Patrick is a very appealing person, but his serial problems with drugs and alcohol -- crises that continue -- should have disqualified him for this kind of responsibility.
- pdiddy- continued from yesterday's blog.... I don't think Holder will get a conviction. But here is what I do know. The accused CIA agents will be outed and rather than appearing on the cover of Vanity Fair Magazine they and their families will spend every night worrying about reprisals Al Qaeda. The moral at the CIA will deteriorate to such a level that virtually no intelligence will be gathered. Leon Pannetta will resign, this topic will divide our country, our country will suscetable to another 9-11 style attack. Please read about the information gathered from the interrogation of Khaleid Sheik Mohammed.
Comment removed.- I have rarely -- even here -- read such hate-filled rants. Perhaps all you so-called Christians should reflect upon Jesus's admonition to love your neighbor as yourself. I hope God grants you the grace that you have so viciously withheld from someone who was recently taken away from the family who loves him. As much as I loathed George Bush, I can't imagine using such a forum to trash him during his memorials.— NigeltheMastiff
- Nigelthemastiff- Can you tell me what Obama means by these words?............"We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." ...... Barack Obama, July 2nd 2009
- Nigelthemastiff- As a Quaker do you ever pray for the the woman who died at chapequidick?...........Mary Jo Kopechne (July 26, 1940 – July 18, 1969) was an American teacher, secretary and political campaign specialist who died in an accident on Chappaquiddick Island while a passenger in a car being driven by United States Senator Ted Kennedy.
- Does anyone really doubt that every Republican politician would do exactly the same as the Democrats did in 2004 and are trying to do now? This is a good example of how the Democrats tie one hand behind their backs in fighting the unprincipled opposition - now, in order to avoid looking like hypocrites, they have to leave the seat open until long after health care reform is voted up or down. What Republican would ever worry for a microsecond about being a flagrant, flaming hypocrite?— yoda
- Yoda- No worries you can join Obama's Civilian National Security Force. I think that means you get to stand behind me at the ballot box with a 2x4 making sure I pull the " D ' lever.
- SMike, I'd have to read the whole document to see what he was talking about. Could be a number of things. As for Mary Jo Kopechne, of course I pray for her. And I can't imagine her family's pain of losing her. We are all God's children -- not just conservatives, not just liberals, not just Christians or Muslims. ALL of us. If we tried to put ourselves in others' shoes more often, perhaps we'd see more of the complexities of life. Who among us hasn't made mistakes or done something we regret. Fortunately, most of us haven't been involved in another's death. But to me, the death of innocent Afghans is just as tragic as the death of Mary Jo K. was. And those involved are just as much complex creatures as you or I. Kennedy did finally straighten out his life. Neither you nor I knows how haunted he was by that night. Therein lies much of my problem with extremism -- everything is so black or white. You're either with me or you are evil. It drives me crazy!!!— NigeltheMastiff
- American Spectator
- David Limbaugh
- Free Republic
- Glenn Reynolds
- Hugh Hewitt
- Human Events
- John Hawkins
- Matt Lewis
- Michelle Malkin
- National Review
- Opinion Journal
- Power Line
- Red State
- The Brody File
- The Daily Caller
- Town Hall
- Weekly Standard
- Center for American Progress
- Crooks and Liars
- Daily Kos
- David Corn
- Huffington Post
- Media Matters
- Mojoblog (Mother Jones)
- Open Left
- Political Animal
- Salon's War Room
- Talking Points Memo
- Tapped
- The Democratic Strategist
- The Grey Matter
- Unclaimed Territory
- Andrew Sullivan
- Attytood
- Chi Tribune's The Swamp
- CJR's Campaign Desk
- CNN's Political Ticker
- CQ Politics
- FactCheck.org
- Gail Collins
- Howard Kurtz
- Mickey Kaus
- NBC's First Read
- Obit
- Political Wire
- Politico
- Politics Daily
- Pollster.com
- Real Clear Politics
- The Atlantic Wire
- The Fix
- The Moderate Voice
- The Plank
- USA Today On Politics
- Wonkette
- December 2011
- August 2010
- August
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- News | Sports | Business | What's Happening | Restaurants & Food | Entertainment | Living | Marketplace | Jobs
