The Guenntertainment Report
TED KENNEDY HAS DIED:
Wednesday August 26th, 2009
SENATOR TED KENNEDY died last night at the age of 77. He had been battling brain cancer since May of last year and died a little before midnight at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.
As of yesterday, he was the second most senior member of the Senate (--after Robert Byrd of West Virginia, another Democrat) and the third-longest-serving Senator of all time.
Because of that sheer longevity . . . and his fierce devotion to liberal causes like civil rights, voter rights, and health care . . . he was often referred to as the liberal "Lion of the Senate."
The Kennedy family issued a statement that read in part, "We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever.
"We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all.
"He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it's hard to imagine any of them without him."
Kennedy began representing Massachusetts as a Senator in November, 1962 . . . just under 47 years ago (!!!) . . . and he was in his eighth full term as a Senator.
Actually, it was his ninth term when you count the special election he won to first become a Senator. That was the election to fill the seat vacated by his oldest brother, JOHN F. KENNEDY, after JFK had won the presidency.
As the youngest of the three Kennedy brothers, it seemed natural that Teddy Kennedy would lead the family's political fortunes and run for president after JFK was assassinated in 1963, and BOBBY KENNEDY was assassinated in 1968.
But his reputation never totally recovered from the 1969 "Chappaquiddick incident." That's when TK left a party with a female member of his brother's campaign staff, and accidentally drove his car into a tidal channel near Martha's Vineyard.
Teddy escaped, but the girl drowned. Alcohol may or may not have been involved, but it probably was. More importantly, Kennedy didn't report the accident until the NEXT morning, AFTER the girl's body had been found.
While it's safe to say that his accomplishments as a Senator EVENTUALLY overshadowed the scandal, it probably kept him from becoming President . . . although he ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination against CARTER in 1980.
So instead, Kennedy focused on being an effective left-wing liberal legislator for over four decades. On the one hand, his reputation was pretty partisan. One of his most famous speeches was against REAGAN'S nomination of Robert Bork for the Supreme Court in 1987.
Kennedy said in part, "Robert Bork's America is a land in which women would be forced into back-alley abortions, blacks would sit at segregated lunch counters . . . [and] schoolchildren could not be taught about evolution."
On the other hand, he also built a strong reputation as a Democrat willing to work across the aisle with Republicans on big pieces of legislation, like GEORGE W. BUSH'S No Child Left Behind Act.
More recently, he broke ranks with the Democratic establishment to back BARACK OBAMA against HILLARY CLINTON in the primaries last year.
Around the same time, he underwent successful brain surgery after being diagnosed with a malignant tumor last May. He lived longer than doctors had anticipated and remained an active Senator, but his health continued to deteriorate.
You probably remember how during the luncheon after Obama's inauguration ceremony this past January, he suffered a seizure, collapsed, and had to be taken to the hospital.
Basically, his death means that the MAJOR players of the "Kennedy dynasty" . . . or, "America's first political family" . . . have all passed on. (ABC / CNN)
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