Senator Ted Kennedy Dies

[berniebrewer4life]

RIP

 

I think we all knew the end was coming soon when he wasn't well enough to attend his sister's funeral.

 

He put up one hell of a fight to survive over a year with a brain tumor.

[Invader3K]

I was kind of surprised to see this, even though I knew he was in failing health. He'd been in the Senate for 47 years.

[sgtcluels]

Anyone hear what happened to his proposed law change for faster election of his replacement?

[Invader3K]

I'm not sure, but I do know they have to have a special election. Under Massachusetts law the governor does not get to pick his successor.

[DocLuna7]

Though Kennedy was trying to change that Massachusetts law when it was no longer a Republican governor in office.

[mothershipconnection]

I'd like to remind everyone to take any political statements, or opinions on what kind of person you think he is to the politics board.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Whether you loved him or hated him, he certainly was an iconic figure in the political landscape for almost half a century.

[AdvantageSchneider]

Does anyone else think this coverage is just a little overblown? We've had presidents die that haven't gotten this kind of coverage. I don't get it.

[berniebrewer4life]

1. He's a Kennedy, right or wrong, that gives him extra coverage.

2. The guy served for 47 years. He was THE leader of his party in the senate for atleast the last 30 years. Politicians like that don't come along very often.

[Fatter than Joey]

Though Kennedy was trying to change that Massachusetts law when it was no longer a Republican governor in office.

 

This is correct. In 2004 when Kerry ran for president, the MA Dems were afraid that the GOP governor Romney, would appoint a GOP senator to take over Kerry's seat, if Kerry unseated Bush -- so MA changed their laws, taking the power of senate appointment from the governor -- now the governor is a DEM, so it makes sense to the MA Dems to give the power back to the governor.

 

Does anyone else think this coverage is just a little overblown? We've had presidents die that haven't gotten this kind of coverage. I don't get it.

 

Quite frankly Ted Kennedy has had more overall impact on a national level than any of our recently departed presidents -- given that he served at the national level, for almost 50 years. Ford had a long career in congress, and when he lost the 1976 Presidental Election, pretty much retired. Reagan of course was the governor of CA, then served the entire country for 8 years -- and once his term expired, he stayed out of the spotlight.

 

Ted Kennedy should have probably been the DEM candidate for president in 1980 -- as he was beating Carter pretty good in the polls, but then boned up his 60 minutes interview.

 

Also, Kennedy is a sitting senator -- consequently, his death is more newsworthy, as MA will have to replace him in the senate. If he had been retired, there would be no impact to our current government.

[sgtcluels]

The governor has up to 6 months to get a special election? I think he was looking to shorten the time frame between his passing and when the deadline is. Doesn't seem to unreasonable to me.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Does anyone else think this coverage is just a little overblown? We've had presidents die that haven't gotten this kind of coverage. I don't get it.

The Kennedys are the closest thing America's ever had to a 'Royal Family', and really, Ted's death pretty much marks the end of the line. I don't know of any other aspiring Kennedy politicians, but then, I don't care too much either.

[Fatter than Joey]

Ted's death pretty much marks the end of the line. I don't know of any other aspiring Kennedy politicians, but then, I don't care too much either.

 

Ted's son Patrick has been a congressman in RI for the last 10 years or so. Robert's eldest son, Joe was a congressman from MA for 10 years or so... I don't think though he has much left in the tank politically though.

[hawing]

Still, the surviving Kennedys are kind of second-tier, in terms of having that Kennedy mystique or star power or whatever you want to call it. Caroline's the only direct link left to the "Kennedy White House" and I imagine she will get the lion's share of Kennedy media attention after Ted is laid to rest.

 

Most of us here were either not alive or not old enough to really 'get' the sensation and the degree of hope that JFK's presidency inspired in the U.S. and the world. My mother, who is not heavily into politics in any way, shape or form, had a framed photo of JFK on the wall for decades, until she moved a few years ago. My library, which is nationally known for its research collection on North American history and culture, has an absolute ton of books on the Kennedys. I shifted them once a few years ago and tried to keep count of the number of different languages in which we have books on JFK...and I lost count. The only other Presidents to get that kind of written word representation are Lincoln and FDR.

 

Whether the Kennedys, or any family, warrant so much media attention is a valid question. If I were forced to choose between ongoing Michael Jackson coverage and ongoing Kennedy coverage, I'd opt for the Kennedys 100 times out of 100.

[mothershipconnection]

Also, Kennedy is a sitting senator -- consequently, his death is more newsworthy, as MA will have to replace him in the senate. If he had been retired, there would be no impact to our current government.

 

I'm pretty sure that's what is making all of the difference here. Plus, it marks the end of the Kennedy brothers in politics, who all seemed destined for things bigger than they were able to accomplish due to assassinations and Ted's mess-ups. Being a sitting senator with that many years in office and a member of the Kennedy family are pretty big things that make the amount of coverage seem to be about what you'd expect, helped by there being no other new big stories.

[AdvantageSchneider]

Yeah, I was born after JFK and RFK were killed, so I guess I don't get the whole American royalty thing. But then I don't get why anyone cares about Michael Jackson's death either.

[dadofandrew]

The minute ratings for the Kennedy specials indicate many of us had no interest in the coverage. Let's not forget, those Northeastern storms are covered for days, while a huge Midwestern snowfall is lucky to be mentioned. The networks truly think the US is incredibly interested in a Massachusetts' liberal senator's death...they lack an understanding of much of the country.

 

Wellstone's death got a mere fraction of the coverage, and it was far more interesting because of the election. It's a Kennedy, networks based in the Northeast thing.

[DHonks]

FTJ, don't forget that Reagan was out of the spotlight after the '88 election because he was already showing signs of alzheimers. So Nancy was protecting him.

 

Kennedy was a great politician, but it upsets me that he commits a crime that would have any of us in jail for vehicular manslaughter, and he not only gets off, but he gets re-elected.