The Last Swim of the Cowardly Lion

Well, Ted Kennedy finally died at the age of 77. The last of the old school leftists is gone.

My own personal reaction to the news was a mixture of indifference and unhappy anticipation for the news blitz that would surely follow lionizing the now deceased Senator.

And oh how those sycophants came on today. To listen to them you would've thought Teddy was put in the Senate by God himself, to save the beloved institution from mortal hands. You might have even thought he was a good man.

Sadly, both things are false.

I did wonder about poor Mary Jo Kopechne. Would she finally be able to confront the man who let her drown in a river? The idea made for good theatre of the mind but if there is an afterlife, surely these two will not be bumping into each other anytime soon.

What of Mary Jo's family? Surely there must be some left. I hope they leave the TV off today and for a few days until Camelot mania ends.

All of this glowing coverage for Teddy, creating a myth out of whole cloth, is really a fitting end to the Kennedy ear, which was itself a myth. One of the greatest frauds ever foisted upon the American people.

What exactly have the Kennedy's done to deserve such praise?

Papa Joe was a Mob connected, elitist, Nazi sympathizer who made tons of money illegally and used his money to buy influence for his kids.

Brother John did get elected to the House, Senate and President. No small feat but what's the legacy? The bay of Pigs was a debacle, the Cuban Missile Crisis was a problem of his own making and questionable resolution. Tragically, he was gunned down before he had a chance to really develop a legacy. This doesn't even address his personal life which left much to be desired.

Brother Robert was mostly famous for being Johns right hand man in many questionable decisions. He was also a hypocrite, denouncing the Mob and Union thugs while secretly working with both even going so far as to use the Mob to try and kill Castro. He also carpetbagged a Senate seat in New York. He too was tragically killed before he could add to his legacy but we can't judge history on potential, only fact.

Then there is Edward. What to make of him. You could argue that he has been the most successful Kennedy just through longevity alone. Certainly he has had his finger in many a pie from creating HMO's, to fighting for amnesty for illegals, to writing No Child Left Behind. But all of those things were done within the Senate where he was just one of many and when those decisions worked out well, Ed was there to take the credit but when they failed, he was there to assign blame (not to himself).

So while others will focus on what they see as all that's right in government, projecting their own veil of ideals and ideology on a man who deserves neither.

I choose to remember Mary Jo Kopechne and her family. I will remember Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork, savagely attacked for being originalists when reading the constitution. Thomas for being a black originalist. I will remember all the other people on the opposite political spectrum from Kennedy he attacked as racist, bigot, homophobes for simply disagreeing with him. That's a legacy with real substance to it.

And of the Senate? The Dems need a new icon to rally around, a New Old Lion to replace the Old Old Lion.

How about Robert Byrd? I can think of nothing more fitting. After all, the liberals made a hero out of an intern drowning, drunken socialist, why shouldn't they try and turn the former KKK member into the new liberal standard bearer?

One lie is no bigger the last.