Sen. Ted Kennedy is dead.

[Brittain33]

I can't say that I particularly liked neither Kennedy's politics nor his character, but he must be respected for his clear devotion for his line of work.  He certainly made a difference to this country and stood as a strong figure for his cause.

I was thinking today that Republicans must feel similarly today as I did when President Reagan died. Respect for what he meant to his colleagues and followers, for his undeniable place in history as an agent of change, how much he meant to people like his wife and to Margaret Thatcher whose appearance at his funeral were unforgettable. Whatever I felt about his legacy didn't matter that day except that people know that lots of people disagreed with his policies and didn't mourn him. It was enough to acknowledge that there was disagreement, and to let people mourn. 

I respect that lots of Americans had no love for Senator Kennedy's policies, his rhetoric, or the scandals in his personal life from the 60s through the 80s. He was a flawed man in many ways and an opponent of many people's views. I can say much about why he did matter, but there will be no shortage of such speeches this week, so I don't need to. It's good that as a country we can communicate basic respect for someone who was considered a uniter among his colleagues in Washington, if not among the nation as a whole.

[Brittain33]

Just when I thought that nobody could sink lower than JohnFord and RowanBrandon.
I guess I should have known that when someone dies, the maggots come out.

I thought consensus was that he was a professional troll.

[Brittain33]

No those people were the scum of the Earth. Just like you are proving yourself right now.

For what it's worth, if the image of liberals spitting on Ronald Reagan's widow isn't hyperbole, I don't know what is... c'mon people, he's a joke poster.

[Brittain33]

In other news, my mother just compared Teddy Kennedy to Michael Vick, proving there are depths unplumbed by even some of our star trolls.

[Brittain33]

In other news, my mother just compared Teddy Kennedy to Michael Vick, proving there are depths unplumbed by even some of our star trolls.

Although I am now hoping that she asked what I think about Michael Vick to change the subject and not to say "well, he had a messy personal life but was good in his day job, so is that ok?"

[Brittain33]

To suggest that Ted Kennedy drove the car off the bridge with the intent of killing her is moronic, it was his course of action that he tried to cover his own ass rather than get her help that lead to her death.  Criminally neglient homicide is the correct term I believe

How soon after the crash did she die?

Kennedy certainly tried to cover up for what happened and to a serious extent succeeded, and that's the scandal of Chappaquiddick. But her death was not avoidable after the crash to any extent, certainly not to any sense anyone can know that he could have saved her if he only wanted to and lied about trying. It's the pure moral certainty of people about those last points, coinciding with their disagreement with Kennedy's political views and ambitions, that I find so often revolting.

Fault him for drunk driving, probably. (It was a different time then when it was considered acceptable to drive unsafely--ask George W. Bush--but she was no less dead as a result.) Fault him for trying to hide after the fact. But to fault him for murder, as if he could have saved her and chose not to, is a leap too far and too much sanctimony to put up with again and again and again.

[Brittain33]

I'm sure she could have been saved if he had gotten help right away, she died quite some time later.

She drowned. How much time is "some time later"? What was emergency response like in that place at that time?

Note that he obviously didn't have a car to get somewhere quickly, nor were cellphones invented yet, nor 911. The chance of anyone getting there within 20 minutes were nil.

[Brittain33]

I'm sure she could have been saved if he had gotten help right away, she died quite some time later.

She drowned. How much time is "some time later"? What was emergency response like in that place at that time?

I'm sure the emergency response was top notch, the Kennedy's wouldn't have it any other way

How much time do you claim it took her to die, and how would emergency response have gotten there in that time period? Sketch it out. You're clearly an expert on the Chappaquiddick incident and the area. Share your knowledge.

[Brittain33]

I'm not going to say anything, anything at all, other than to point out how few liberals on this forum, who are currently up-in-arms about the response of some posters of other political persuasions, how few of them held comment when Reagan, Ford, Buckley, or any other conservative figure died in the last five years.

I'm not sure if I'm one of the people you're not talking about, but for what it's worth, I made the comparison with Reagan in my first post here and there has been lots of interesting discussion of the same point here and on other threads. DWDL bumped all of the "_____ dead" for Republicans threads he could find right away. I think the inclusion of Helms is interesting and that's also been the subject of many discussions--I'm curious what you think about whether we can assess different political figures differently.
 
ON REVIEW: You said "Helms" in your first post, and then changed it to Buckley. Why?