Ted Kennedy is Gone

Wow. (4.00 / 1)

Too soon. May his courageous legacy live on. I look forward to hearing some great stories from BHers about Teddy.  

because who is to doubt the American Way is not the way?

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by: peacekeeper @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 02:54:48 AM CDT

Here's Chuck Grassley (0.00 / 0)

using Kennedy's illness as a way to fearmonger health care reform.

No shame.

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 05:00:27 AM CDT

The Party Was Theirs (4.00 / 5)

before they were the party's.

Older brother Jack and Robert spent their lives in public service and ran as Democrats. They shared the central beliefs of the party but, to my mind anyway, were still somehow apart from it. It was a vehicle for them to reach their destinations.

Teddy really became a Democrat - as interested in a race in some midwest town that would have no conceivable effect on his own career, as the bluest ward heeler is. He learned and breathed the parliamentary rules and the plain tradeoffs that make legislating function.

The Poet spoke of this sort of change over time, in the poem he read at Jack's inaugural:

The land was ours before we were the land's.
She was our land more than a hundred years
Before we were her people. She was ours
In Massachusetts, in Virginia,
But we were England's, still colonials,
Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,
Possessed by what we now no more possessed.
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found out that it was ourselves
We were withholding from our land of living,
And forthwith found salvation in surrender.

The Democratic Party was Teddy's land.

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by: elwood @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 05:35:48 AM CDT

I am too sad to write today (4.00 / 4)

He was the signal progressive fighter of our times.  I can't believe he's gone.

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 05:48:47 AM CDT

Thank you, Ted (4.00 / 3)

Rest in peace.

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by: JimC @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 05:58:49 AM CDT

The family statement (4.00 / 2)

Very eloquent.

http://www.boston.com/news/loc...

"He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it's hard to imagine any of them without him."

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by: JimC @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 06:01:17 AM CDT

What terrible news. (4.00 / 1)

We all have great sadness today.

Have you written a letter to the editor today? Have you donated today? Have you put up signs? Have you made calls? Have you talked to your neighbors?

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by: Ray Buckley @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 06:19:56 AM CDT

The Debate (4.00 / 3)

One of my favorite memories of Ted Kennedy was his debate with Mitt Romney. The Republicans were sure that Romney, young, photogenic, energetic, would show up Ted Kennedy. Instead, it was Ted Kennedy who dominated the stage, smart, articulate, funny, and just so spot on, while Romney came off as the light weight he was (and is).

We were lucky enough to have him as a speaker at one of the NHDP dinners.  A very gracious man - later, he actually wrote me and thanked me for inviting him, which was so kind, as it was obviously us who were thankful to him for helping us at a time when we were financially not very healthy! John Kerry wrote a wonderful piece for the state party newsletter about Senator Kennedy for that event.

In Denver last summer, there was a lot of buzz over whether he would be able to speak at the convention. Obviously, when he came onto the stage, it was a tremendous moment.




"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 06:29:25 AM CDT

A great loss for the nation (0.00 / 0)

a champion of the common man who could easily have chosen to stay home and relax long ago, but instead chose to work on behalf of the greater good right up to the end.

Only met him once during his primary run in 1980, probably not the high point of his career, but he was a presence.

If we ever do see health care reform, it will be one of his great legacies. Sad that he will not be there to celebrate.

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by: GreyMike @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 06:33:12 AM CDT

My father (0.00 / 0)

who is a Republican, always said the same thing about Kennedy choosing to give of himself for something he believed in.  He's always said that while he may disagree with Kennedy on policy issues, he admires him because of this.

For all the reasons I was saddened above moving to Boston, I'm glad that for a short time, I was able to call Ted Kennedy my senator.

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by: FrankLloydMike @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 08:17:28 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Our link to Camelot (4.00 / 3)

I know that the death of Sen. Kennedy should not be a shock to me, but in spite of everything, that is how I found myself when I read the news.

I think a part of me refused to believe that the Lion of the Senate would be defeated by brain cancer. I wanted to believe that through sheer force of will he would beat it back. I think I allowed myself to believe this because if anybody was capable of such a feat, it was Teddy.

Something else struck me as well. He was the last Kennedy brother and was - at least in my mind - our generation's link to the dream of Camelot. He was a bridge to Bobby and Jack. Teddy Kennedy was a living reminder of the hope of their era and inspired belief in the potential of the American people.

I do not wish to diminish the incredible work he did in his own right. But, in him I felt a connection to the two men who first inspired me to look beyond myself and to work to help others. In short, it was because of three Kennedy brothers that I became a Democrat, and I want to thank him for that.

This, I think, is how I will best remember Teddy:

Teddy carried the flag, he kept the faith, and kept the dream alive. Today, he passed the torch on and now its our turn.

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by: Evan Carlson @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 06:49:40 AM CDT

The Joshua Generation (4.00 / 1)

as President Obama has described us.

Don't tell me that we can't do better by our children, that we can't take more responsibility for making sure we're instilling in them the values and the ideals that the Moses generation taught us about sacrifice and dignity and honesty and hard work and discipline and self-sacrifice. That comes from us. We've got to transmit that to the next generation and I guess the point that I'm making is that the civil rights movement wasn't just a fight against the oppressor; it was also a fight against the oppressor in each of us.

www.KusterforCongress.com - www.paulhodesforsenate.com

www.nikitsongas.com - www.devalpatrick.com

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 08:50:14 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

My Statement (4.00 / 8)

"Today America mourns the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. For most Americans there has never been a time when Ted Kennedy has not been the voice they have depended on in the United States Senate. We all lost a good friend but especially those who too often did not have a voice in Washington. Senator Kennedy forcefully stood up to take up their cause and changed America for the better.

"All New Hampshire Democrats appreciate the decades of support that Senator Kennedy gave to the New Hampshire Democratic Party. For fifty years Senator Kennedy was a good friend to NH Democrats. This is painful news to us all.

"New Hampshire Democrats express our deepest condolences to the Kennedy Family and the people of his beloved state of Massachusetts.

"We shall miss him terribly."

Have you written a letter to the editor today? Have you donated today? Have you put up signs? Have you made calls? Have you talked to your neighbors?

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by: Ray Buckley @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 07:30:49 AM CDT

It's Up To Us (4.00 / 4)

The body is gone, but we must make certain the spirit lives on in all of us.
It's our job now to nurture it, and give it plenty of exercise. The dream will never die.

One of the greatest Americans ever.  

No'm Sayn?

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by: BurtCohen @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 08:40:08 AM CDT

From My Left Wing (0.00 / 0)

I believe our old friend Maryscott O'Connor sums it up nicely.

We hear this phrase often in our lives, but only rarely is it really, honestly true: It is the end of an era.

And I will say of this man, as I say of people whom I admire and for whom I wish the best... I hope he's in a cool place.

It's late, I've nothing much more to say right now, except that I truly did admire him deeply. Perhaps more than any other Kennedy, Teddy exemplified, in my view, what is best about a human being: being riddled with every kind of human flaw one could ever imagine finding in a single human being... and yet managing to surmount those flaws to achieve every kind of tremendous, laudable, estimable goal a human being could hope to reach. Not a saint, not a villain: a robust, fully actualised human being.

She adds:

I think if there is a God, of the sort in whom the deists (especially the Catholics of the Kennedy ilk) believe, then by golly, by gum, by gosh... that God and Teddy have been arm in arm for hours by now, and that God has long since Teddy's arrival made it perfectly plain that She is WELL pleased with her newest arrival's accomplishments, and that he can rest easy knowing he done good. And the Scotch, by the way, is flowing freely.

http://www.myleftwing.com/show...  

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by: JimC @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 08:43:20 AM CDT

President Obama's Statement (4.00 / 4)

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release                       August 26, 2009

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON THE PASSING OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY

Blue Heron Farm

Chilmark, Massachusetts

9:57 A.M. EDT

    THE PRESIDENT:  I wanted to say a few words this morning about the passing of an extraordinary leader, Senator Edward Kennedy.

    Over the past several years, I've had the honor to call Teddy a colleague, a counselor, and a friend.  And even though we have known this day was coming for some time now, we awaited it with no small amount of dread.

    Since Teddy's diagnosis last year, we've seen the courage with which he battled his illness.  And while these months have no doubt been difficult for him, they've also let him hear from people in every corner of our nation and from around the world just how much he meant to all of us.  His fight has given us the opportunity we were denied when his brothers John and Robert were taken from us:  the blessing of time to say thank you -- and goodbye.

    The outpouring of love, gratitude, and fond memories to which we've all borne witness is a testament to the way this singular figure in American history touched so many lives.  His ideas and ideals are stamped on scores of laws and reflected in millions of lives -- in seniors who know new dignity, in families that know new opportunity, in children who know education's promise, and in all who can pursue their dream in an America that is more equal and more just -- including myself.

    The Kennedy name is synonymous with the Democratic Party.  And at times, Ted was the target of partisan campaign attacks.  But in the United States Senate, I can think of no one who engendered greater respect or affection from members of both sides of the aisle.  His seriousness of purpose was perpetually matched by humility, warmth, and good cheer.  He could passionately battle others and do so peerlessly on the Senate floor for the causes that he held dear, and yet still maintain warm friendships across party lines.

    And that's one reason he became not only one of the greatest senators of our time, but one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve our democracy.

    His extraordinary life on this earth has come to an end.  And the extraordinary good that he did lives on.  For his family, he was a guardian.  For America, he was the defender of a dream.

    I spoke earlier this morning to Senator Kennedy's beloved wife, Vicki, who was to the end such a wonderful source of encouragement and strength.  Our thoughts and prayers are with her, his children Kara, Edward, and Patrick; his stepchildren Curran and Caroline; the entire Kennedy family; decades' worth of his staff; the people of Massachusetts; and all Americans who, like us, loved Ted Kennedy.

                            END           10:00 A.M. EDT

Have you written a letter to the editor today? Have you donated today? Have you put up signs? Have you made calls? Have you talked to your neighbors?

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by: Ray Buckley @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 10:14:54 AM CDT

Nice touch (0.00 / 0)

I'm so touched that the letter mentions, in addition to family, the "decades' worth of staff" who are grieving today.  There must be hundreds, in DC and MA who had the honor of working with and for Senator Kennedy over all these many year.  They must be truly devastated.

Paula

Paula M. DiNardo
Dover NH

A Blue Hampster since 2007!

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by: pdinardo @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 12:16:04 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Fond Memories of Senator Kennedy (4.00 / 7)

Senator Ted Kennedy has provided inspiration to New Hampshire Democrats for fifty years. I remember campaigning for Ted when he ran for President in the N.H. Primary, driving his friend Al Lowenstein around the state and greeting voters at the polls.
We all send our love and fond memories to the entire Kennedy family as they gather again to honor another American statesman and leader.

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by: AnnMcLaneKuster @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 10:31:06 AM CDT

Welcome to BH, Ann! (n/t) (0.00 / 0)

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by: Jennifer Daler @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 10:56:57 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Allard Lowenstein (0.00 / 0)

Another great man.  Hopefully, he and Ted are enjoying a drink as we speak. . . .

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by: Dartmouth Dem @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 12:01:13 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

gone but never forgotten (4.00 / 1)

Here's my Ted Kennedy story from that day last year when his diagnosis was revealed.

The man may no longer be with us, but the dream shall never die.

"Where we are met with cynicism and doubt and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can." - Barack Obama

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by: Garth Corriveau @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 12:15:40 PM CDT

RIP (4.00 / 3)

I disagreed with him on almost every issue, but there is no denying that Ted Kennedy is perhaps the greatest senator to ever live. It can be argued that he was the most impactful of the Kennedy brotherhood. In 1980, he delivered one of my favorite lines of any speech, and today it is more fit for those who want to carry on his legacy than ever:

"The work goes on. The cause endures. The hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."  

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by: eyore33 @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 12:23:55 PM CDT

I was 20 years old... (4.00 / 1)

when I stood on the convention floor and heard him give that speech.  I immediately knew that it would be remembered for generations. I will be forever grateful for being there.

Have you written a letter to the editor today? Have you donated today? Have you put up signs? Have you made calls? Have you talked to your neighbors?

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by: Ray Buckley @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 12:27:58 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I had the honor (4.00 / 6)

of being at the RNC this year, and although tere were not speeches of that same magnitude this year, I can imagine the feeling of being on the floor for that speech.

Last year, when he came out onto the floor to deliver his speech at the DNC, I was deeply moved. Supposedly, Caroline and others had made the decision that he should not speak, but he made the final decision that he had to deliver his remarks. When he went out onto the stage, there was a stool there so he could sit down while he spoke, and when he got to the podium he showed it aside, stood strong, and delivered a rousing address.

I am an American before I am a Republican, and for that reason I was nearly brought to tears by that last glimpse of the true lion of the senate.  

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by: eyore33 @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 13:11:17 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

I think (4.00 / 2)

Eyore's comments are some of the most poignant on here today, because Eyore, if I am not mistaken, is not someone who naturally identifies with Senator Kennedy's politics, but nonetheless admires and respects him and his views, as I no doubt believe Senator Kennedy would have his.

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by: FrankLloydMike @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 16:48:18 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Knowing how (0.00 / 0)

to disagree without being disagreeable is a good lesson to learn from Senator Kennedy, especially at this moment in history.

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by: GreyMike @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 17:59:01 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thank you very much for your kind words. (0.00 / 0)

I just read a book on the senator, and although he has personal flaws and I disagreed politically, he was one of the best senators ever - and much more bipartisan than many believe. Rest In Peace.  

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by: eyore33 @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 22:29:50 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Hope (4.00 / 2)

Eyore33, that was a great comment; if everyone carries with them the spirit of that speech, whether we be D, R or I, the country will be well served. Thank you.



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

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by: Kathy Sullivan 2 @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 12:42:15 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

To express your condolences to the Kennedy family (0.00 / 0)

http://www.tedkennedy.org/

Have you written a letter to the editor today? Have you donated today? Have you put up signs? Have you made calls? Have you talked to your neighbors?

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by: Ray Buckley @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 12:42:04 PM CDT

VP Biden's remarks (4.00 / 2)

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

_________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release                     August 26, 2009

REMARKS BY THE VICE PRESIDENT

ON THE PASSING OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY

The Department of Energy

Washington, DC

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, Mr. Secretary, thank you and your staff for the privilege of being with you today on what, as I prepared last night, was to be a joyous occasion, announcing another step in the direction of energy independence.  And you said the President made a wise choice.  The wisest choice the President made was asking you to be -- I mean that sincerely -- to be the Secretary to the Department of Energy.  You've assembled a first-rate staff, and you've taken on a role that is going to be a -- is going to, in large part, determine the success of these next three-and-a-half years, whether or not we make a genuine dent, genuine progress in moving toward an energy policy that can help America lead the world in the 21st century as it did in the 20th century.

    Some suggest we're trying to do too much.  But my response is, is there any possibility of America leading the world in the 21st century without a radically altered energy policy?  It is not possible.  And that charge has been given to one of the most remarkable men to serve in a President's Cabinet, a Nobel laureate who is as articulate as he is obviously bright, and a man who has assembled a staff that can corral the bureaucracy -- and we're all -- deal with bureaucracy, we're all part of it -- in a way that I haven't seen in awhile.  

    And I had planned on speaking to the Clean Cities Program as one of the several initiatives we have to begin to reshape our energy policy.  But as if Teddy were here, as we would say in the Senate, if you'd excuse a point of personal privilege, I quite frankly think it's -- would be inappropriate for me to dwell too much on the initiative that we're announcing today and not speak to my friend.

    My wife Jill, and my sons Beau and Hunter, and my daughter Ashley -- and I don't say that lightly, because they all knew Teddy, he did something personal and special for each one of them in their lives -- truly, truly are distressed by his passing.  And our hearts go out to Teddy Jr., and Patrick and Kara, and Vicki, with whom I spoke this morning, and the whole Kennedy family.

    Teddy spent a lifetime working for a fair and more just America.  And for 36 years, I had the privilege of going to work every day and literally, not figuratively sitting next to him, and being witness to history.  Every single day the Senate was in session, I sat with him on the Senate floor in the same aisle.  I sat with him on the Judiciary Committee next -- physically next to him.  And I sat with him in the caucuses.  And it was in that process, every day I was with him -- and this is going to sound strange -- but he restored my sense of idealism and my faith in the possibilities of what this country could do.  

    He and I were talking after his diagnosis.  And I said, I think you're the only other person I've met, who like me, is more optimistic, more enthusiastic, more idealistic, sees greater possibilities after 36 years than when we were elected.  He was 30 years-old when he was elected; I was 29 years-old.  And you'd think that would be the peak of our idealism.  But I genuinely feel more optimistic about the prospect for my country today than I did -- I have been any time in my life.  

    And it was infectious when you were with him.  You could see it, those of you who knew him and those of you who didn't know him.  You could just see it in the nature of his debate, in the nature of his embrace, in the nature of how he every single day attacked these problems.  And, you know, he was never defeatist.  He never was petty -- never was petty.  He was never small.  And in the process of his doing, he made everybody he worked with bigger -- both his adversaries as well as his allies.

Don't you find it remarkable that one of the most partisan, liberal men in the last century serving in the Senate had so many of his -- so many of his foes embracing him, because they know he made them bigger, he made them more graceful by the way in which he conducted himself.

You know, he changed the circumstances of tens of millions of Americans -- in the literal sense, literally -- literally changed the circumstances.  He changed also another aspect of it as I observed about him -- he changed not only the physical circumstance, he changed how they looked at themselves and how they looked at one another.  That's a remarkable, remarkable contribution for any man or woman to make.  And for the hundreds, if not thousands, of us who got to know him personally, he actually -- how can I say it -- he altered our lives as well.

Through the grace of God and accident of history I was privileged to be one of those people and every important event in my adult life -- as I look back this morning and talking to Vicki -- every single one, he was there.  He was there to encourage, to counsel, to be empathetic, to lift up.  In 1972 I was a 29 year old kid with three weeks left to go in a campaign, him showing up at the Delaware Armory in the middle of what we called Little Italy -- who had never voted nationally by a Democrat -- I won by 3,100 votes and got 85 percent of the vote in that district, or something to that effect.  I literally would not be standing here were it not for Teddy Kennedy -- not figuratively, this is not hyperbole -- literally.

He was there -- he stood with me when my wife and daughter were killed in an accident.  He was on the phone with me literally every day in the hospital, my two children were attempting, and, God willing, thankfully survived very serious injuries.  I'd turn around and there would be some specialist from Massachusetts, a doc I never even asked for, literally sitting in the room with me.

You know, it's not just me that he affected like that -- it's hundreds upon hundreds of people.  I was talking to Vicki this morning and she said -- she said, "He was ready to go, Joe, but we were not ready to let him go."

He's left a great void in our public life and a hole in the hearts of millions of Americans and hundreds of us who were affected by his personal touch throughout our lives.  People like me, who came to rely on him.  He was kind of like an anchor.  And unlike many important people in my 38 years I've had the privilege of knowing, the unique thing about Teddy was it was never about him.  It was always about you.  It was never about him.  It was people I admire, great women and men, at the end of the day gets down to being about them.  With Teddy it was never about him.

Well, today we lost a truly remarkable man.  To paraphrase Shakespeare:  I don't think we shall ever see his like again.  I think the legacy he left is not just in the landmark legislation he passed, but in how he helped people look at themselves and look at one another.

I apologize for us not being able to go into more detail about the energy bill, but I just think for me, at least, it was inappropriate today.  And I'm sure there will be much more that will be said about my friend and your friend, but -- he changed the political landscape for almost half a century.  I just hope -- we say blithely, you know, we'll remember what we did.  I just hope we'll remember how he treated other people and how he made other people look at themselves and look at one another.  That will be the truly fundamental, unifying legacy of Teddy Kennedy's life if that happens -- and it will for a while, at least in the Senate.

Mr. Secretary, you and your staff are doing an incredible job.  I look forward to coming back at a happier moment when you are announcing even more consequential progress toward putting us back in a position where once again can control our own economic destiny.

Thank you all very, very much.  (Applause.)

 

Have you written a letter to the editor today? Have you donated today? Have you put up signs? Have you made calls? Have you talked to your neighbors?

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by: Ray Buckley @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 12:43:33 PM CDT

Dennis Kucinich's remarks (4.00 / 6)

I thought it was a sweet story and a great picture.

"I first met Senator Kennedy on May 4, 1971, when he visited me at St. Alexis Hospital in Cleveland. I was then a Cleveland City Councilman recovering from an injury and, somehow, he discovered I was in the hospital and paid a surprise visit to my room. He was visiting hospitals as part of his national effort to raise awareness of the need for reform of our health care system. I was elated to meet him. The visit began a friendship which has spanned four decades, during which time I had the privilege of serving with Senator Kennedy in the United States Congress.

His compassion and caring was always personal and always real. When my brother Perry died unexpectedly in December of 2007, Ted Kennedy was one of the first to call with condolences, sharing his sympathetic understanding of what it means to lose a sibling.

He had a powerful sensitivity to human emotion and his life writ large the range of human experience: great triumphs and sudden reversals. His tenacity often came against the heavy burden of deep personal tragedy, which enlarged the quality of his spirit, and made his frequent expressions of humor poignant and profound. Yes, he made himself into one of the greatest Senators, with his advocacy for human rights for health care, education and worker protections.

But Ted Kennedy was more than a great Senator. He was a great friend."

because who is to doubt the American Way is not the way?

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by: peacekeeper @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 20:11:31 PM CDT

Mem was at the arrival of the hearse (0.00 / 0)

Link to dKos.

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by: elwood @ Thu Aug 27, 2009 at 20:49:49 PM CDT