My personal spin on
Ted Kennedy. I wish I believed in God, so I could think you were spending time with your brothers now.
To the Conservatives bashing him and using Mary Jo Kopechne (dishonorably) to do so:
Do what I say, not what I do, right? That whole line about redemption and no one but Jesus is perfect, it's just to pretty up the scenery, right?
This is gonna be long and teal dear. Bail now. There's maybe even TMI.
Frankly, I was shocked when I watched the bio about Ted Kennedy on PBS several months back. I was horrified; how could someone do that? How could they rightfully allow him to represent anyone other than his fellow cellmate??
Mistakes. Do they come in black and white? I don't know. But I know that I am terrified of being judged soley by the worst thing I have ever done. Sure, I've never committed manslaughter, but...
He was drunk, he was driving with a fellow enlisted man. The car swerved (I said he was drunk), hit a rail, was going over. My grandfather bailed and never looked back.
My grandfather stole. He cheated. He was a card sharp on a river boat in New Orleans at the age of 14. He cheated on my grandmother. He was a violent alcoholic and he beat her so severly, his mother taught my grandmother how to roll him in a sheet when he was finally unconscious and beat him so no bruises showed the next day. And he couldn't hit her for it. There are things that happened when he was still drinking my mom won't even speak of. I don't know remember any of this. Know why? When I was 3, my grandfather was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and told any more alcohol would kill him. So...he quit.
And...he changed. He taught me, by example, that your word is your honor. Your promise. That to be a thief is to be a liar, and to be either is as low as murder. He was a man of compassion, who often employed shitastic construction workers, who made $10 an hour for picking nails up off the ground, because he knew they had kids to feed and no job. You called him for help, and he gave it. People three states over knew my grandfathers name, through his reputation alone. He loved me unconditionally, even when everyone else let me know I was busy being a fuckup and making stupid decisions. He was old enough and had enough Native American blood in him, to have dealt with both Jim Crow laws and segregation, yet my grandfather tolerated everyone. He believed respect was earned by deed, not color, money or religion; to be a lifelong Southerner and carry none of those prejudices in and of itself is an accomplishment. My grandfather did everything he could to redeem himself of all the bad he had committed for half a life. He was the Prodigal Son, without even the Christian faith to urge him.
My grandfather was not a saint. He was never a perfect man; many would judge him to be horrible. He was a man who made mistakes, admitted them and atoned. He was..human. He died of cancer as well, so it is no surprise that Sen. Kennedy touches that place that still aches for him.
And, if I believe all that of my grandfather, what right do I have to judge Ted Kennedy?
Sen. Kennedy was a flawed man who often stumbled in his personal life. Most of us are not old enough to remember, but there was a time when Ted was just the embarrassment of the Kennedy clan. The cheat, the drunk, the womanizer. Chappaquiddick was just the latest and largest in his string of disasters.
He made a terrible mistake that night. I will not pretend to know how he dealt with it thereafter, or if he thought of it at all. I do know this, though, life would have been much easier for Sen. Kennedy if he had just "retired" from politics after that. Ms. Kopechne has been thrown in his face forever after that. Kennedy didn't have to do anything with his life; he could have joined the ranks of the rest of the rich, entitled, and lazy, and frankly no one would have said anything negative about it. It's almost expected.
Instead, he took the hard road. Always. He forever sided with the majority of his voters, forever stuck to his ideals. After dealing with his son's cancer, and seeing the devestation the bills caused those families going through the same battle at the same time, he championed health care reform. He stood up for things that MOST senators shy away from, especially at voting time. Year after year, he voted to have Minimum Wage raised to a livable amount, even when it wasn't a hot button issue, and got him no press. Did your Senator do that? Mine didn't.
He was a loyal, hardworking Senator who cared deeply for the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. There are numerous reports of Sen. Kennedy personally calling affected Massachusetts families after 9/11, regardless of whether they were Republican, Democrat or even bothered to vote at all. Did your Senator do that? Mine didn't. My "caring", "religious" Conservative Christian Family Value-loving Senators did not. On another forum, there are several personal stories from average people, recounting the ways Sen. Kennedy helped them cut through, or at the very least manouver through red tape, and continued to remember them with letters, phone calls and even sailing trips long after that. I couldn't even get MY Senator on the phone when I called about a recent electoral stance.
Even staunch Republican adversaries respected him, and have always been vocal, grudgingly maybe, about it.
Does any of this make him a saint? Do I think statues should be erected in his honor? No. He did what all of us should be doing, every fucking day; he did what he thought was right. He ran his Senatorial career the way everyone always says they will, come election time. For his people. For everyone without a voice, without a lobbyist.
It makes me wonder if, had the death of Mary Jo Kopechne and his horrible decisions not occurred....would he have been half the man he was? I firmly believe that the drive to do good in a way that requires self-sacrifice always comes from a defining moment; it is what seperates great men and women from the ordinary. And although everyone champions JFK and Bobby, Teddy, the "lesser Kennedy", accomplished so much more.
So, in summation, whether you vote left, right or not at all(raises hand), shut the fuck up and respect the man for tirelessly trying to help those he felt needed it. Up to his last days, when No One would have criticized him for saying "screw it" and just going home to die in peace.
Part of Senator Kennedy's Washington legacy,sited here,
Gender Equity: Kennedy saw the Senate of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, which aimed to make men and women equal in the constitution. He reintroduced the legislation again this congressional session, but it has yet to make it into the constitution.
Kennnedy championed Title IX of the Civil Rights Act in 1972, which prevented educational institutions from discriminating against women (afterward, colleges and universities integrated, paving the way for women like Sonia Sotomayor and Hillary Clinton to attend Ivy League institutions), as well as requiring equitable athletic opportunities.
Civil Rights: Kennedy saw the passage of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988 as committee chairman, which strengthened the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Afterward, then-executive director of the Leadership Council on Civil Rights Ralph Neas said, “Now you see what happens when you have a civil rights champion in charge of the committee.”
He was also chief sponsor on the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which addressed intentional discrimination and harassment in the workplace. He was also a key sponsor of legislation by the same name in 2008, which sought to restore civil rights protections stripped by Supreme Court rulings in recent years (like the Lilly Ledbetter case).
Pay Equity: Kennedy worked on the Fair Pay Restoration Act, which sought to restore the rights of women to sue with each discriminatory paycheck, overturning the Supreme Court ruling in Ledbetter v. Goodyear.
Voting Rights: Kennedy worked on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which allowed equal access to voting as part of the Civil Rights movement. He also worked to add amendments in 1982 that expanded voting access to Native Americans, Latinos, and others who required language assistance.
Affirmative Action: Kennedy helped defeat legislation that would have ended federal affirmative action in 1998 and joined his colleagues in the Senate in filing a brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold affirmative action in 2003.
LGBT Rights: Kennedy has been the chief sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act since 1994, which would make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in the workplace. The bill has yet to pass.
Hate Crimes: Kennedy worked on the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2007, which would implement more severe penalties for crimes against women, gays, lesbians, and transgender persons. The bill was vetoed by President Bush in 2007, but the legislation has been reintroduced in the 110th Congress.
HIV/AIDS: Kennedy introduced what became the Ryan White CARE Act, which addressed thirteen cities hit hardest by the HIV/AIDS crisis in 1990. When it was up for reauthorization in 2000, it provided nearly $9 billion in HIV/AIDS services over the following five years.
Domestic Violence: Kennedy worked with Vice President Joe Biden on the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. He also worked on its reauthorization in 2000, which allowed immigrant women to apply for permanent status in the United States without their abusive partners.
Disability Equity: Kennedy worked to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, which provided much-needed accommodations for those with disabilities.
Minimum Wage: Kennedy worked with Congress in 2007 to pass the first hike in the minimum wage in more than a decade. Women disproportionately make up the population low-wage hourly workers.
Women in Combat: Kennedy championed the repeal a ban of women in combat in 1991. Women are still technically barred from fighting on the “front lines,” such stipulations are meaningless in modern combat. By working for legislation that repealed archaic legislation, Kennedy helped women achieve more equality in the military.
Military Child Care: In 1989, Kennedy saw the passage of the National Military Child Care Act, which established the Department of Defense’s child care program. This allowed working spouses of military members and women who were enlisted themselves to have access to high-quality, federally funded child care.
Health Insurance for Children and Pregnant Women: In 1997, Kennedy co-sponsored the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), allowing families to have access to health care that previously didn’t. Kennedy also introduced legislation that has yet to pass, Affordable Health Care Act, which would expand Medicaid and SCHIP coverage for children, pregnant women, and the disabled.
He saw the passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, which made it illegal for employers to fire women for leave taken due to pregnancy. We still don’t require employers to provide paid maternity leave.
Minority Health Care: Kennedy championed the The Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act in 2000, which provided funding for research for how to reduce disparities in cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and other severe health problems that are found to be significantly higher in minority populations. In 2006, he introduced the Minority Health Improvement and Health Disparity Elimination Act, which would address inequalities in health care access and treatment if passed.
The Inclusion of Women in Scientific and Medical Research: Kennedy co-sponsored the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, legislation that called for the inclusion of women and minorities in federally funded clinical research.