August 28th, 2009 
joel According to TheBigZoo.com, a “lion is very high on the food chain. As such, it has almost no predators.”
But that doesn’t mean he’ll get to eat every zebra or wildebeest he chooses.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
In the same manner, the “Lion of the Senate,” the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-MA had no equal in his liberal roar and the identification of his territory. The cable news networks are on overdrive in his memory to this fact.
But where does Teddy’s death leave the legacy of Camelot, indeed, the Kennedy “brand” (and I say that with no disrespect intended)?
Some could argue that Kennedy family politics turned 180 degrees, with father Joseph an ardent capitalist, and Pres. John F. Kennedy, who stared down Khrushchev no wilting dove. The struggle for civil rights and embedded poverty and Southern apartheid turned Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the family toward social justice and government safety nets.
The Kennedy tragedies of the 1960′s left Teddy with his calling as the liberal stalwart.
Quick story, and I’m sorry if this sounds too political. My father was a total Democrat in the 1950′s and 60′s, a strong supporter for JFK, Johnson, Humphrey, and Carter in 1976. But he couldn’t bring himself to support Kennedy. His quote: “he’s not like his brothers.” Call it sentimentality, but I think Teddy’s lunge to the far-left was too much to take for someone who had been through the sacrifices of the Depression and WWII. JFK and Bobby, yes…Teddy, no. He ended up voting “Reagan” in 1980.
So what do we think of when we remember this remarkable, storied family? Can historians point to a long trail of legislative achievements that made life better for a whole lot of Americans and citizens of the world? Or will his and the family’s legacy be one of soaring ideas, family loyalty, great sympathy, but little accomplishment?
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Some men were born to lead a nation…Ted Kennedy may not have been one of them. But perhaps his destiny was to stay in the US Senate where he authored and championed everything from the Americans with Disabilities Act to Gender Equity at the NCAA level.
He did have a way of bridging party lines and resolving issues that many lawmakers would easily have given up trying to work out a deal.
Who will be the next deal maker on Capital Hill?
The other evening WQLN rebroadcast the documentary on the Kenndy Family. Fascinating stuff. I had no idea that Joe Kennedy was pretty much run out of England at the start of WW II for being a defeatist.
I saw the same documentary on the Kennedy family. Very fascinating stuff
One very sad observation…The media coverage and commentary about Ted Kennedy will wane until he is in his final resting place, but everyday we are force fed meaningless dribble about the “King of Pop”, how he died, Who will be charged? Did they bury him yet?, What color socks does bubbles wear? Who gets custody of Bubbles? Blah Blah Blah…
Joe Kennedy was removed from being Ambassador to England for being a Nazi sympathizer. The family money was made from Bootlegging and it is glorified, the Bush family made a few million legitimately in Oil and are crucified for it. many of the country’s problems are from the changes in immigrants. We used to take educated Europeans and then we switched to unskilled third world immigrants. This contributed to the explosion of the welfare state. The 1965 bill was Kennedy’s. Don’t take my word on take NPR’s: http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/08/28/kennedy-and-immigration-he-changed-the-face-of-america/ . I hope liberals foolish use Kennedy’s memory for pushing universal health care.
I bet Mary Jo Kopechny wishes she had gotten better care from Kennedy.
Heavy D:
It’s not the Oil interest that has the Bush family on the ropes…Its the last eight years of leadership from a spoiled rich kid with the IQ of a piss ant.
And now, you must wait another eight years to see if the GOP can come up with a viable candidate for the oval office. They failed to do that last election. Deal with it. Peace out.