# Ted Kennedy dead



## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Hey now here is some of that Obama change stuff.. looking good!! He's been brain dead for years I bet his family is happy he is at peace. I'm not disrespecting his death just his life!! :eyeroll:


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## ruger1 (Aug 16, 2006)

X2

To bad his family (and any for that matter) had to deal with this.

Off that note, it couldn't have happened to a better person.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

The world has not forgotten the things this man has done. It's interesting though that liberal ideals are so strong they forgive a murderer for advantage in politics. Others have asked in other threads if the blond in the pond will see justice. 
Since the young woman run with the likes of Kennedy she perhaps wasn't that innocent herself. I have the feeling they will meet again, if not already, and I think they will find global warming was nothing.

For the full story: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8212665



> In the summer of 1969, consiglieres of the former John F. Kennedy administration -- Robert McNamara, Arthur Schlesinger and Ted Sorensen, among others -- convened in Hyannisport to write the apology that would save the young Sen. Ted Kennedy from himself.
> 
> More PhotosOnly days before, Kennedy had left the scene of a fatal car crash on the small island of Chappaquiddick on Martha's Vineyard, taking the life of 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne.
> 
> ...


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## DecoyDummy (May 25, 2005)

I've never had an inch of respect for anything Ted Kennedy did, wanted to do or said. I'm relieved I won't have to spend any time or energy dealing with it now and on into the future.

As for his previous unsavory antics, I believe it's up to God and Mary Jo Kopechne to determine the disposition of that ... the meeting has finally been arranged.

Ted Kennedy was a sorry, sorry example of a Man in life 

Or so it seems to me.


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## whistler312 (Jul 15, 2009)

Where ever he is going, I hope they have him stop in Heaven long enough so Mary Jo can kick him in the balls!


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## bearhunter (Jan 30, 2009)

my mamma taught me if you can't say something good about someone don't say anything attal. so when i heard this p.o.s. died i said "good"


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

From Wikipedia............. Mary Jo Kopechne for all you young ens.

Life
Kopechne, born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania,[1] was the only child of insurance salesman Joseph Kopechne and his wife, Gwen.[1] The family moved to New Jersey when she was an infant.[1] She attended parochial schools growing up.[2]

After graduating with a degree in business administration from Caldwell College for Women in New Jersey in 1962,[1][3] Kopechne moved to Montgomery, Alabama, to teach for a year at the Mission of St. Jude[1] as part of the Civil Rights Movement.[4] In 1963, she moved to Washington, D.C., to work as secretary to Florida Senator George Smathers.[1] Kopechne joined New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy's secretarial staff, following his election in 1964.[1] There she worked as a secretary to the senator's speechwriters and as a legal secretary to one of his legal advisers.[1] Kopechne was a loyal and tireless worker for Robert Kennedy, in March 1967 having stayed up all night at his Hickory Hill home to type a major speech against the Vietnam War as the senator and his aides such as Ted Sorenson made last-minute changes to it.[2][5][6]

During the 1968 U.S. presidential election, she helped with the wording of Robert Kennedy's March 1968 speech announcing his candidacy.[2] During his campaign, she worked as one of the "Boiler Room Girls", an affectionate name given to six young women who worked from a central, windowless location in Kennedy's Washington campaign headquarters.[2][5][7] They were vital in tracking and compiling data and intelligence on how Democratic delegates from various states were intending to vote; Kopechne's responsibilities included Pennsylvania.[5][7] Kopechne and the other staffers were politically savvy; they talked daily with field managers and also served as conduits for policy statements being distributed to strategically-located newspapers.[7]

Kopechne was devastated by the June 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy and could not return to work on Capitol Hill.[5] However, as her father later said, "Politics was her life,"[5] and in December 1968 she used her expertise to gain a job with Matt Reese Associates, a Washington, D.C., firm that helped establish campaign headquarters and field offices for politicians and was one of the first political consulting firms.[1][4][8] She was on her way to a successful professional career.[9]

She lived in the Georgetown neighborhood with three other women.[1] She was a devout Roman Catholic with a demure, serious personality, rarely drank much, and had no reputation for extramarital activities with men.[8][9]

Death
Main article: Chappaquiddick incident
On July 18, 1969, Kopechne attended a party on Chappaquiddick Island, off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, held in honor of the Boiler Room Girls. It was the fourth such reunion of the Robert Kennedy campaign workers.[10]

Kopechne left the party at 11:15 p.m. with Robert's brother Ted Kennedy, after he - according to his own account - offered to drive her to catch the last ferry back to Edgartown, where she was staying. Kennedy stated he made a wrong turn on the way and came upon a narrow, unlit bridge without guardrails. Kennedy drove the 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont 88 off the bridge and it overturned in the water. Kennedy extricated himself from the submerged car but Kopechne died, after what Kennedy said were several diving attempts to free her.[5]

Kennedy contacted several aides that night, but failed to report the incident to the authorities until the car and Kopechne's body were discovered the next morning.[5] Kopechne's parents said that they learned of their daughter's death from Ted Kennedy himself[1] before he reported his involvement to the authorities, but that they learned Kennedy had been the driver only from wire press releases some time later.[3]

A funeral for Kopechne was held on July 22, 1969, at St. Vincent's Roman Catholic Church in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, attended by Kennedy.[11] She is buried in the parish cemetery on the side of Larksville Mountain.

A week after the incident, Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury. He received a two month suspended sentence.[5] On a national television broadcast that night, Kennedy later said he was not driving under the influence of alcohol nor had he engaged in any immoral conduct with Kopechne.[5]

The Chappaquiddick incident and the death of Kopechne became the grist for at least fifteen books, as well as a fictionalized treatment by Joyce Carol Oates. Questions remained about Kennedy's timeline of events that night, about his actions after the accident, and the quality of the investigation and whether official deference was given to a powerful politician and family.[12] The events surrounding Kopechne's death damaged Kennedy's reputation and are regarded as a major reason that he was never able to mount a successful campaign for President of the United States.[13]


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## BigDaddy (Mar 4, 2002)

I can't help but think back to some of the threads on this board from when Ronald Reagan died. I did not see partisan, tasteless posts from liberals bad-mouthing Reagan. Now I see some of the classless posts from the conservatives on the death of Senator Kennedy. This says a lot about conservatives, none of it good.

Like him or not as a person, Ted Kennedy was a great Senator. He introduced over 2,000 pieces of legislation during his tenure, and he was lead sponsor on over 500 of them. He was instrumental in passing the Civil Rights Act and other monumental bills dealing with civil rights and labor. He was also instrumental in passing bills that ensured grants and low-cost student loans for public education. He believed that all americans have the right to access high-quality public education.

Kennedy was passionate about what he did. He really was the Lion of the Senate.


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## drjongy (Oct 13, 2003)

BigDaddy said:


> Like him or not as a person, Ted Kennedy was a great Senator.


Are you figgin' kidding me?!?!?!

And are you seriously trying to compare Regan to Ted....what a joke.

Regan was a good man with morals and a conscience. Ted was none of those!

People like him should be in Jail, and certainly not involved in any aspect of government. :eyeroll:


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## omegax (Oct 25, 2006)

That SOB and his Americans with Disabilities Act! I tell you what, if public buildings were meant to have wheelchair ramps, God would have put them there! Darn him and his support for Title IX. If women were supposed to play sports, they'd be men. I'm tired of girls basketball!

Honestly, the guy championed worthwhile causes too. There's more to his life than a 40 year-old accident. I'm not saying you have to forget about it, but it's unfair to ONLY talk about that.


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

omegax said:


> That SOB and his Americans with Disabilities Act! I tell you what, if public buildings were meant to have wheelchair ramps, God would have put them there! Darn him and his support for Title IX. If women were supposed to play sports, they'd be men. I'm tired of girls basketball!
> 
> Honestly, the guy championed worthwhile causes too. There's more to his life than a 40 year-old accident. I'm not saying you have to forget about it, but it's unfair to ONLY talk about that.


I wonder if it was an accident? I doubt it. There was a huge cover up. I read in Readers Digest that the coroner said she lived for over an hour sucking air in the floorboards of the overturned car, but he was not allowed to testify. While she struggled for life they planned their story.

If you were to put Kennedy's good legislation on one pan of a scale, and his bad legislation on the other pan, the good legislation would get flipped into the air and the pan on the bad side would crash through the floor. He was a menace to the republic.

If you want to talk no class you need only look at Paul Wellstones funeral. They had so little respect they tried to turn it into a political rally. Remember do it for Paul (cry), do it for Paul (whine) do it for Paul. All the while trying to pretend they really give a crap about the dead guy. As I said in another thead, the next thing you will hear is Kennedy and health care. Do it for Teddy, do it for Teddy. It will make no difference good or bad, but sympathy will be their chance to pass another piece of crap legislation in Teddy's name. Do it for Teddy, do it for Teddy. :eyeroll:


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## DecoyDummy (May 25, 2005)

BigDaddy
Ted Kennedy has been an enemy to the Constitution for his entire Political career ... most all that legislation you refer to is proof of that.


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## API (Jul 14, 2009)

BigDaddy said:


> Like him or not as a person, Ted Kennedy was a great Senator.


No he wasn't! Teddy's a worthless POS. So who's passing out the kool aid now?


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Now it takes a special selection committee to figure out who can continue his legacy!! uke:


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I hope no one continues his legacy.

Why is it the worst scoundrels are looked at as heroes if they die? The man was a bad person. I didn't wish him death, not even anything bad, other than political defeat. I think the liberals are blowing his importance and his humanitarian efforts way out of proportion simply for partisan purposes.

Speaking of Kennedy's what made president Kennedy so great. I think liberals exaggerate his importance and stature in history also. I remember him, and I remember his screw up at the Bay of Pigs. I also remember him telling Russia to get their missiles out of Cuba, but we never looked under those tarps. I don't remember him doing anything outstanding other than he was a good speaker. Sound familiar? Today I think he would be conservative compared to Ted. Compared to most liberals for that matter.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Could you imagine taking up business where he left off. I can't imagine the loose ends and connections Teddy had. He's been around so damn long he's probably been in office longer than any modern day Kings or Queens or Tyrants. He probably had the "goods" on a great many fellow con artists in D.C., I'm sure they are happy to see his book close too.

Condolences to the family, their suffering has been reduced somewhat.


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

Plainsman I agree. I think most of those on this site that idolise Teddy are to young to remeber the "Incident" Because of his name and money he got off with barely a slap on the hand.

This is the Incident from Wikipedia. Long but a must read for you Young uns.....

Chappaquiddick incident
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Chappaquiddick incident" is the name given to the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, a former campaign worker for the assassinated U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, and the surrounding circumstances.

In July of 1969, Kopechne's body was discovered inside an overturned Oldsmobile belonging to Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts under water in a tidal channel on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts.

After the body was found, Kennedy gave a statement to police saying that on the previous night he had taken a wrong turn and accidentally driven his car off a bridge into the water. Later, he pled guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury; he received a suspended sentence.

The incident became a national scandal and may have affected the Senator's decision not to run for President of the United States in 1972.

On July 18, 1969, Ted Kennedy attended a party on Chappaquiddick, a small island connected via ferry to the town of Edgartown on the adjoining larger island of Martha's Vineyard. The party was a reunion for a group of six women, including Kopechne, known as the "boiler-room girls", who had served in his brother Robert's 1968 presidential campaign. Also present were Joseph Gargan, Ted Kennedy's cousin; Paul Markham, a school friend of Gargan's who would become United States Attorney for Massachusetts under the patronage of the Kennedys; Charles Tretter, an attorney; Raymond La Rosa; and John Crimmins, Ted Kennedy's part-time driver. Kennedy was also competing in the Edgartown Yacht Club Regatta, a sailing competition which was taking place over several days.

Events of the night of July 18, 1969
According to his own testimony at the inquest into Kopechne's death, Kennedy left the party at "approximately 11:15 p.m." When he announced that he was about to leave, Kopechne indicated "that she was desirous of leaving, if I would be kind enough to drop her back at her hotel". Kennedy then requested the keys to his car from his chauffeur, Crimmins. Asked why he did not have his chauffeur drive them both, Kennedy explained that Crimmins along with some other partygoers "were concluding their meal, enjoying the fellowship and it didn't appear to me necessary to require him to bring me back to Edgartown". Kopechne told no one that she was leaving with Kennedy, and left her purse and hotel key at the party.

Christopher "Huck" Look was a deputy sheriff working as a special police officer at the Edgartown regatta dance that night. At 12:30 am he left the dance, crossed over to Chappaquiddick in the yacht club's launch, got into his parked car and drove home. He testified that between 12:30 and 12:45 am he had seen a dark car containing a man driving and a woman in the front seat approaching the intersection with Dike Road. The car had gone first onto the private Cemetery Road and stopped there. Thinking that the occupants of the car might be lost, Look had gotten out of his car and walked towards it. When he was 25 to 30 feet away, the car started backing up towards him. When Look called out to offer his help, the car took off down Dike Road in a cloud of dust. Look recalled that the car's license plate began with an "L" and contained the number "7" twice, both details true of Kennedy's 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont 88.

The Dike Bridge, pictured here in 2008 with guardrail.According to his inquest testimony, Kennedy made a wrong turn onto Dike Road, an unlit dirt road that led to Dike Bridge (also spelled **** Bridge). Dike Road was unpaved, but Kennedy, driving at "approximately twenty miles an hour", took "no particular notice" of this fact, and did not realize that he was no longer headed towards the ferry landing. Dike Bridge was a wooden bridge angled obliquely to the road with no guardrail. A fraction of a second before he reached the bridge, Kennedy applied his brakes; he then drove over the side of the bridge. The car plunged into tide-swept Poucha Pond (at that location a channel) and came to rest upside-down underwater. Kennedy later recalled that he was able to swim free of the vehicle, but Kopechne was not. Kennedy claimed at the inquest that he called Kopechne's name several times from the shore, then tried to swim down to reach her seven or eight times, then rested on the bank for around fifteen minutes before returning on foot to Lawrence Cottage, where the party attended by Kopechne and other "Boiler Room Girls" had occurred. Kennedy denied seeing any house with a light on during his journey back to Lawrence Cottage.

"Dike House" along Dike Road.In addition to the working telephone at the Lawrence Cottage, according to one commentator, his route back to the cottage would have taken him past four houses from which he could have telephoned and summoned help; however, he did not do so. The first of those houses, referred to as "Dike House", was only 150 yards away from the bridge, and was occupied by Sylvia Malm and her family at the time of the incident. Malm later stated that she had left a light on at the residence when she retired for that evening.

According to Kennedy's testimony, Gargan and party co-host Paul Markham then returned to the pond with Kennedy to try to rescue Kopechne. Both of the other men also tried to dive into the water and rescue Kopechne multiple times. When their efforts to rescue Kopechne failed, Kennedy testified, Gargan and Markham drove with Kennedy to the ferry landing, both insisting multiple times that the accident had to be reported to the authorities. According to Markham's testimony Kennedy was sobbing and on the verge of breaking down. Kennedy went on to testify that "_ had full intention of reporting it. And I mentioned to Gargan and Markham something like, 'You take care of the other girls; I will take care of the accident!'-that is what I said and I dove into the water". Kennedy had already told Gargan and Markham not to tell the other women anything about the incident "*ecause I felt strongly that if these girls were notified that an accident had taken place and Mary Jo had, in fact, drowned, that it would only be a matter of seconds before all of those girls, who were long and dear friends of Mary Jo's, would go to the scene of the accident and enter the water with, I felt, a good chance that some serious mishap might have occurred to any one of them". Gargan and Markam would testify that they assumed that Kennedy was going to inform the authorities once he got back to Edgartown, and thus did not do so themselves.

According to his own testimony, Kennedy swam across the 500-foot channel, back to Edgartown and returned to his hotel room, where he removed his clothes and collapsed on his bed. Hearing noises, he later put on dry clothes and asked someone what the time was: it was something like 2:30 a.m., the senator recalled. He testified that, as the night went on, "I almost tossed and turned and walked around that room ... I had not given up hope all night long that, by some miracle, Mary Jo would have escaped from the car."

Back at his hotel, Kennedy complained at 2:55 am to the hotel owner that he had been awoken by a noisy party. By 7:30 am the next morning he was talking "casually" to the winner of the previous day's sailing race, with no indication that anything was amiss. At 8 a.m., Gargan and Markham joined Kennedy at his hotel where they had a "heated conversation." According to Kennedy's testimony, the two men asked why he hadn't reported the accident. Kennedy responded by telling them "about my own thoughts and feelings as I swam across that channel ... that somehow when they arrived in the morning that they were going to say that Mary Jo was still alive". The three men subsequently crossed back to Chappaquiddick Island on the ferry, where Kennedy made a series of phone calls from a payphone by the crossing to his friends for advice; he again did not report the accident to authorities.

Discovery of the body
Earlier that morning, two amateur fishermen had seen the overturned car in the water and notified the inhabitants of the nearest cottage to the pond, who called the authorities at around 8:20 am. A diver was sent down and discovered Kopechne's body at around 8:45 am. The diver, John Farrar, later testified at the inquest that Kopechne's body was pressed up in the car in the spot where an air bubble would have formed. He interpreted this to mean that Kopechne had survived for a while after the initial accident in the air bubble, and concluded that

" Had I received a call within five to ten minutes of the accident occurring, and was able, as I was the following morning, to be at the victim's side within twenty-five minutes of receiving the call, in such event there is a strong possibility that she would have been alive on removal from the submerged car. "

Farrar believed that Kopechne "lived for at least two hours down there."

Subsequent events
Police checked the car's license plate and saw that it was registered to Kennedy. When Kennedy, still at the pay phone by the ferry crossing, saw that the body had been discovered, he crossed back to Edgartown and went to the police station; Gargan simultaneously went to the hotel where the Boiler Room Girls were staying to inform them about the incident.

Kennedy's initial statement
At 10 am Kennedy entered the police station in Edgartown, made a couple of phone calls, then dictated a statement to his aide Paul Markham, which was then given to the police. The statement ran as follows:

" On July 18, 1969, at approximately 11:15 p.m. in Chappaquiddick, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, I was driving my car on Main Street on my way to get the ferry back to Edgartown. I was unfamiliar with the road and turned right onto Dike Road, instead of bearing hard left on Main Street. After proceeding for approximately one-half mile on Dike Road I descended a hill and came upon a narrow bridge. The car went off the side of the bridge. There was one passenger with me, one Miss Mary [Kopechne], a former secretary of my brother Sen. Robert Kennedy. The car turned over and sank into the water and landed with the roof resting on the bottom. I attempted to open the door and the window of the car but have no recollection of how I got out of the car. I came to the surface and then repeatedly dove down to the car in an attempt to see if the passenger was still in the car. I was unsuccessful in the attempt. I was exhausted and in a state of shock. I recall walking back to where my friends were eating. There was a car parked in front of the cottage and I climbed into the backseat. I then asked for someone to bring me back to Edgartown. I remember walking around for a period and then going back to my hotel room. When I fully realized what had happened this morning, I immediately contacted the police. "

Court proceedings
On July 25, seven days after the incident, Kennedy entered a plea of guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury. Kennedy's attorneys suggested that any jail sentence should be suspended, and the prosecutors agreed to this, citing Kennedy's age, character and prior reputation. Judge James Boyle sentenced Kennedy to two months' incarceration, the statutory minimum for the offense, which he suspended. In announcing the sentence, Boyle referred to Kennedy's "unblemished record" and said that he "has already been, and will continue to be punished far beyond anything this court can impose".[

Kennedy's televised statement
At 7:30 pm that evening Kennedy made a lengthy prepared statement about the incident which was broadcast live by the television networks. Among other things, he said that:

"only reasons of health" had prevented his wife from accompanying him to the regatta. 
there was "no truth whatever to the widely circulated suspicions of immoral conduct" regarding Kennedy's and Kopechne's behavior that evening. 
he "was not driving under the influence of liquor". 
his conduct for the hours immediately following the accident "made no sense to [him] at all". 
his doctors had informed him that he had suffered cerebral concussion and shock, but he did not seek to use his medical condition to escape responsibility for his actions. 
he "regard[ed] as indefensible that fact that [he] did not report the accident to the police immediately." 
instead of notifying the authorities immediately, Kennedy "requested the help of two friends, Joe Gargan and Paul Markham, and directed them to return immediately to the scene with [him] (it then being sometime after midnight) in order to undertake a new effort to dive down and locate Miss Kopechne". 
"[a]ll kinds of scrambled thoughts" went through his mind after the accident, including "whether the girl might still be alive somewhere out of that immediate area," "whether some awful curse actually did hang over all the Kennedys", "whether there was some justifiable reason for [him] to doubt what had happened and to delay [his] report", and "whether somehow the awful weight of this incredible incident might in some way pass from [his] shoulders". 
he was overcome "by a jumble of emotions-grief, fear, doubt, exhaustion, panic, confusion and shock". 
having instructed Gargan and Markham "not to alarm Mary Jo's friends that night", Kennedy returned to the ferry with the two men, and then "suddenly jumped into the water and impulsively swam across, nearly drowning once again in the effort, returning to [his] hotel around 2 a.m. and collapsed in [his] room". 
Kennedy went on to ask the people of Massachusetts to decide whether he should resign:

"If at any time, the citizens of Massachusetts should lack confidence in their Senator's character or his ability, with or without justification, he could not in my opinion adequately perform his duties, and should not continue in office. The opportunity to work with you and serve Massachusetts has made my life worthwhile. So I ask you tonight, the people of Massachusetts, to think this through with me. In facing this decision, I seek your advice and opinion. In making it I seek your prayers. For this is a decision that I will have finally to make on my own."

He concluded by quoting a passage from his brother John F. Kennedy's book Profiles in Courage.

Autopsy
The medical examiner, Dr Donald Mills, was satisfied that the cause of death was accidental drowning. He signed a death certificate to that effect and released Kopechne's body to her family without ordering an autopsy. Later, on September 18, District Attorney Dinis attempted to secure an exhumation of Kopechne's body in order to perform a belated autopsy, citing blood found on Kopechne's skirt and in her mouth and nose "which may or may not be consistent with death by drowning". The reported discovery of the blood was made when her clothes were turned over to authorities by the funeral director.

A Pennsylvania court under Judge Bernard Brominski held a hearing on the request on October 20-21. The request was opposed by Kopechne's parents.[25] Eventually Judge Brominski ruled against the exhumation on December 10, saying that there was "no evidence" that "anything other than drowning had caused the death of Mary Jo Kopechne"

Inquest
The inquest into Kopechne's death took place in Edgartown in January 1970. At the request of Kennedy's lawyers, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ordered that it be conducted in secret. The 763-page transcript of the inquest was released four months later. Judge James A. Boyle presided at the inquest. Among Judge Boyle's conclusions in his inquest report were the following:

the accident occurred "between 11:30 p.m. on July 18 and 1:00 a.m. on July 19". 
"Kopechne and Kennedy did not intend to drive to the ferry slip and his turn onto Dike Road had been intentional". 
"A speed of twenty miles per hour as Kennedy testified to operating the car as large as his Oldsmobile would be at least negligent and possibly reckless." 
"For some reason not apparent from [Kennedy]'s testimony, he failed to exercise due care as he approached the bridge." 
"There is probable cause to believe that Edward M. Kennedy operated his motor vehicle negligently ... and that such operation appears to have contributed to the death of Mary Jo Kopechne." 
Under Massachusetts law Boyle, having found "probable cause" that Kennedy had committed a crime, could have issued a warrant for his arrest, but he did not do so. District Attorney Dinis chose not to pursue Kennedy for manslaughter, despite Judge Boyle's conclusions.

The Kopechne family did not bring any legal action against Senator Kennedy, but they did receive a payment of $90,904 from the Senator personally and $50,000 from his insurance company. The Kopechnes later explained their decision to not take legal action by saying that "We figured that people would think we were looking for blood money."

Grand jury
On April 6, 1970, Dukes County grand jury assembled in special session to consider Kopechne's death. Judge Wilfred Paquet instructed the members of the grand jury that they could consider only those matters brought to their attention by the superior court, the district attorney or their own personal knowledge. Citing the orders of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Paquet told the grand jury that it could not see the evidence or Judge Boyle's report from the inquest (which at that time were still impounded). District Attorney Dinis, who had attended the inquest and seen Judge Boyle's report, told the grand jury that there was not enough evidence to indict Senator Kennedy on potential charges of manslaughter, perjury or driving to endanger. The grand jury called four witnesses who had not testified at the inquest: they testified for a total of 20 minutes, but no indictments were issued.

Fatal accident hearing
On July 23, 1969, the Registrar of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles informed Senator Kennedy that his license would be suspended until a statutory hearing could be held on the accident. This suspension was required by Massachusetts law in any fatal motor accident where there were no witnesses. The in camera hearing was held on May 18, 1970. It found that "operation was too fast for existing conditions" in the accident. On May 27 the Registrar informed Sen. Kennedy in a letter that "I am unable to find that the fatal accident in which a motor vehicle operated by you was involved, was without serious fault on your part", and that as a result, his driver's license was suspended for a further six months.

Significance and legacy

National Lampoon's fake VW Beetle ad mocking the incident.The case resulted in much satire of Kennedy, including a National Lampoon page showing a floating Volkswagen Beetle with the remark that Kennedy would have been elected president had he been driving a Beetle that night; this satire resulted in legal action by Volkswagen, claiming unauthorized use of its trademark.

After Kennedy's televised speech on July 25, 1969, regarding the incident, telephone calls and telegrams to newspapers and to the Kennedy family were heavily in favor of his remaining in office, and he won reelection the next year with 62% of the vote. Nonetheless, the incident severely damaged his national reputation Before Chappaquiddick, public polls showed that a large majority expected Kennedy to run for the presidency in 1972.[4] After the incident, he pledged not to run in 1972 and declined serving as George McGovern's running mate that year. In 1974, he pledged to not run in 1976, in part because of renewed media interest in Chappaquiddick.

Kennedy finally announced his candidacy for the American presidency in late 1979, challenging incumbent President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination for the 1980 election. On November 4, 1979, CBS aired a one-hour television special entitled Teddy, presented by Roger Mudd. The program consisted of an interview with Kennedy, interspersed with visual materials. Much of the show was devoted to the Chappaquiddick incident. During the interview, Mudd repeatedly questioned Kennedy about the incident and at one point directly accused him of lying. During the interview, Kennedy also hurt himself by giving an "incoherent and repetitive" answer to the question, "Why do you want to be President?", and by calling the American-supported Shah of Iran "one of the most violent regimes in the history of mankind". Teddy is credited by several sources with inflicting serious political damage on Kennedy Time Magazine reported that Carter alluded to the Chappaquiddick incident twice in the space of five days, once declaring that he had himself never "panicked in a crisis." Kennedy lost the nomination to Carter, but remained in the Senate until his death late at night on August 25, 2009.*_


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Plainsman wrote early today: 


> If you want to talk no class you need only look at Paul Wellstones funeral. They had so little respect they tried to turn it into a political rally. Remember do it for Paul (cry), do it for Paul (whine) do it for Paul. All the while trying to pretend they really give a crap about the dead guy. As I said in another thead, the next thing you will hear is Kennedy and health care. Do it for Teddy, do it for Teddy. It will make no difference good or bad, but sympathy will be their chance to pass another piece of crap legislation in Teddy's name. Do it for Teddy, do it for Teddy.


This evening:


> 'Win One for Teddy,' Say Dems Pushing for Health Reform


For the full story about the sick classless *^%(*^: 
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TedKenne ... id=8420408


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## whistler312 (Jul 15, 2009)

A little stroll down memory lane. I wish I had kept the LIFE magazine when it happened. They had a great article with lots of pictures.


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## Alaskan Brown Bear Killer (Feb 22, 2005)

Add treason to his resume
http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/27/ted-ke ... inson.html


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

The Last of The Kennedy Dynasty

As soon as his cancer was detected, I noticed the immediate attempt at the canonization of old Teddy Kennedy by the mainstream media. They are saying what a "great American" he is. I say, let's get a couple things clear & not twist the facts to change the real history.

1. He was caught cheating at Harvard when he attended it. He was expelled twice, once for cheating on a test, and once for paying a classmate to cheat for him.

2. While expelled, Kennedy enlisted in the Army, but mistakenly signed up for four years instead of two. Oops! The man can't count to four! His father, Joseph P. Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to England (a step up from bootlegging liquor into the US from Canada during prohibition), pulled the necessary strings to have his enlistment shortened to two years, and to ensure that he served in Europe, not Korea , where a war was raging; No preferential treatment for him! (like he charged that President Bush received).

3. Kennedy was assigned to Paris , never advanced beyond the rank of Private, and returned to Harvard upon being discharged. Imagine a person of his "education" NEVER advancing past the rank of Private!

4. While attending law school at the University of Virginia , he was cited for reckless driving four times, including once when he was clocked driving 90 miles per hour in a residential neighborhood with his headlights off after dark. Yet his Virginia driver's license was never revoked. Coincidentally, he passed the bar exam in 1959. Amazing!

5. In 1964, he was seriously injured in a plane crash, and hospitalized for several months. Test results done by the hospital at the time he was admitted had shown he was legally intoxicated. The results of those tests remained a "state secret" until in the 1980's when the report was unsealed. Didn't hear about that from the unbiased media, did we?

6. On July 19, 1969, Kennedy attended a party on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts . At about 11:00 PM, he borrowed his chauffeur's keys to his Oldsmobile limousine, and offered to give a ride home to Mary Jo Kopechne, a campaign worker. Leaving the island via an unlit bridge with no guard rail, Kennedy steered the car off the bridge, flipped, and into Poucha Pond.

7. He swam to shore and walked back to the party, passing several houses and a fire station. Two friends then returned with him to the scene of the accident. According to their later testimony, they told him what he already knew - that he was required by law to immediately report the accident to the authorities. Instead Kennedy made his way to his hotel, called his lawyer, and went to sleep. Kennedy called the police the next morning and by then the wreck had already been discovered. Before dying, Kopechne had scratched at the upholstered floor above her head in the upside-down car.

The Kennedy family began "calling in favors", ensuring that any inquiry would be contained. Her corpse was whisked out-of-state to her family, before an autopsy could be conducted. Further details are uncertain, but after the accident Kennedy says he repeatedly dove under the water trying to rescue Kopechne and he didn't call police because he was in a state of shock. It is widely assumed Kennedy was drunk, and he held off calling police in hopes that his family could fix the problem overnight. Since the accident, Kennedy's "political enemies" have referred to him as the distinguished Senator from Chappaquiddick. He pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, and was given a SUSPENDED SENTENCE OF TWO MONTHS. Kopechne's family received a small payout from the Kennedy's insurance policy, and never sued. There was later an effort to have her body exhumed and autopsied, but her family successfully fought against this in court, and Kennedy's family paid their attorney's bills... a "token of friendship"?

8. Kennedy has held his Senate seat for more than forty years, but considering his longevity, his accomplishments seem scant. He authored or argued for legislation that ensured a variety of civil rights, increased the minimum wage in 1981, made access to health care easier for the indigent, and funded Meals on Wheels for fixed-income seniors and is widely held as the "standard-bearer for liberalism". In his very first Senate roll, he was the floor manager for the bill that turned U.S. immigration policy upside down and opened the floodgate for immigrants from third world countries.

9. Since that time, he has been the prime instigator and author of every expansion of an increase in immigration, up to and including the latest attempt to grant amnesty to illegal aliens. Not to mention the pious grilling he gave the last two Supreme Court nominees, as if he was the standard bearer for the nation in matters of what's right. What a pompous ***!

10. He is known around Washington as a public drunk, loud, boisterous and very disrespectful to ladies. JERK is a better description than "great American". "A blonde in every pond" is his motto.


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

I don't normally speak ill of the dead, but, Teddy is one of those that I would willingly walk a hundred miles for the opportunity to piss on his grave.

He was one of the most hypocritical people around. Four years after he killed that young campaign worker and then used his family name and money to avoid being prosecuted as a murder he come up with this little jewel.



> Do we operate under a system of equal justice under law? Or is there one system for the average citizen and another for the high and mighty. Senator Ted Kennedy - 1973


He is far from a great american, in fact, he should have rotted away in prison.

huntin1


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