Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy, "The Liberal Lion of the Senate" Dies at 77

Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy, America's third longest serving Senator in U.S. history, died late Tuesday evening at age 77. He died of an incurable brain cancer which was diagnosed in May 2008. He was known as the "lion of the Senate". It was said he knew how to craft legislation and get things accomplished. He was a very strong liberal that believed the government was the solution to man's problems. It was also said he knew how to be "bipartisan" and work across the aisle with Republicans to pass legislation. However, since so many Republicans are like Democrats in so many ways I don't know how you can call that "bipartisan". It was the Republicans who worked with him on issues that he believed in. If he was called upon to be bipartisan when it came to drafting legislation to allow the U.S. to engage in offshore drilling, I believe that would be a different story. I don't know that he ever compromised on legislation that would benefit the conservative cause.

Ted Kennedy was born on February 22, 1932 to Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy, the youngest of nine children and the youngest of four brothers. The Kennedy family has had a name when it came to personal tragedy and reckless behavior. John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in a motorcade at Dallas. The other brother, Robert Kennedy, was asssassinated on June 4, 1968 by Sirhan Sirhan following his victory in the California Democratic primary for president. Ted's oldest brother, Joe Jr., was killed as a pilot in World War II in 1944. His oldest sister, Rosemary, was institutionalized a few decades ago and died in 2005. His other sister, Eunice Shriver died on August 11, 2009. Ted was known for indulging in liquor and womanizing. He married Joan Bennett in 1958 and had three children by her. They divorced in 1982. In 1992 he married a woman named Victoria Reggie who has two children from a previous marriage. On July 18, 1969, he was involved in an incident where he drove his mother's Oldsmobile off a bridge into the pond. One of his aides, Mary Jo Kopechne, was in the car and drowned. Kennedy didn't report the incident until 10 hours later. He later pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and as a result had a reduced sentence. That tarnished his image before the American public as being reckless and irresponsible. He was considering a run for president in 1972 but the Chappaquiddick Island incident set him back. He finally challenged Jimmy Carter in the 1980 presidential primary, but Carter defeated him handily. Since that time, he has devoted the rest of his years in the U.S. Senate.

Kennedy attended Harvard University but was later expelled due to cheating on a Spanish exam. He was told that if he had demonstrated good behavior he could later re-apply to Harvard. In 1951 he enlisted in the army and became a private until 1953. He then was re-admitted into Harvard and he graduated there in 1956. Afterwards he attended the University of Virginia Law School and he graduated there in 1959.

Kennedy was first elected to the Senate in 1962 in a special election to fill JFK's seat. He couldn't do it as soon as John became president because Ted was two years shy of turning 30, which was the minimum age requirement to run for the Senate. He never lost an election. The closest race he had was in 1994 when Republican Mitt Romney challenged him. Kennedy beat Romney 58% to 41%, which was his narrowest winning margin. During his tenure in the Senate, he's served on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee. He remained on this last committee until the time of his death.

Ted was an ardent liberal in the Senate. He supported all kinds of liberal causes. He supported gay rights, abortion rights, the feminist movement, the unions, the NEA, etc. He also voted no to authorizing George W. Bush to use force in Iraq to oust Sadamm Hussein in 2002. He believed government was the answer to solving people's problems. He wasn't a believer in the free market approach. He helped expand the size of government. His chief goal was to overhaul our nation's healthcare system and create national health care. That's been his motivation since he was involved in a plane crash in 1964. President Obama and many Democrats will be invoking Senator Kennedy as a means to pass a national healthcare bill. Some Senators speculate if he wasn't ill and could've sat under the committee hearings, then the present healthcare bill would've went much farther in Congress.

Kennedy was considered a lightning rod of ire to many conservatives because of his views on abortion, gay rights, gun control, and religious freedom, etc. He voted against President Reagan's Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork in 1987. Kennedy supported a nuclear freeze when it came to weapons. He was on the Armed Services Committee during Reagan's tenure as president. He led opposition to Reagan's foreign policy. Kennedy believed in appeasing America's enemies. Kennedy also supported the civil rights movement, the racial integration of the schools, gender equality, etc. In 1965, he pushed for an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws so they would no longer favor white Europeans coming into this country. That opened the door to other racial groups such as Asians, Indians (India), etc. He stated that the immigration overhaul he was seeking wouldn't change the demographics of the country. He was wrong. He also supports the open borders policy in our country. In 2007, he and Senator John McCain co-sponsored a bill called the McCain-Kennedy Amnesty bill which would given amnesty to illegal aliens living here in America.

Ted Kennedy was known to work with Republicans when it came to passing certain legislation. He and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in 1997, helped sponsor a State Children's Health Insurance Program. He helped former President George W. Bush fulfill a couple of his goals which were the "No Child Left Behind" education bill which was signed in 2002. Kennedy helped write that bill. Kennedy also helped Bush add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare in 2003. Kennedy would work with Republicans if it would benefit him in promoting his liberal agenda. Kennedy had an agenda that he wanted to accomplish and he would use Republicans' help if that's what it took to pass his agenda.

The last couple of days Kennedy's body has been lying in repose at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum. Funeral services are on Saturday August 29, 2009. It will be a Catholic mass. Later that day, there will be a graveside service for him at Arlington National Cemetery. He will be buried there by his two brothers, John and Robert. Kennedy had served in elected office which is why he will be buried there.