Kennedycare

The passing of Ted Kennedy has provoked some serious thoughts these last few days. As a Christian I realize that my innermost feelings about his death have filled my mind with thoughts which are not consistent with my faith. Or are they? I should really not take joy in outliving the last remnant of Camelot. Teddy and I were very nearly the exact same age—he was 38 days older.

As a beneficiary of privilege, he was the poster child. As murderers and accidents winnowed the family over the years—his brothers all died violent unnatural deaths—he plodded on, carrying the name, inflicting legislative grief from which he and his family suffered no personal pain. He became a prominent symbol of liberalism to the detriment of the nation. Protected by the family fortune, he could merrily impose his vile dogma on others without personal risk.

It has always been a mystery that he managed to gain such popularity in Massachusetts, a state renowned in history as an essential location in the formation of the United States. How can an electorate return an avowed socialist to the Senate term after term (nine) and yet put a strong capitalist (a Mormon no less!) in the governor’s chair?

This morning we see the proposal to rename the impending Health Care bill "Kennedycare." Inasmuch as the country will be “swimming” in debt and ultimately “drowning” in regulation, it seems more than appropriate. Kennedy had considerable expertise in both which he acquired during an incident on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969. With complicit and shameful cooperation from local authorities, the matter was resolved with a slap on the wrist and a funeral for Mary Jo Kopechne. The fate of the water soaked Oldsmobile remains unknown.

The sponsors of the bill no doubt believe the magic of the Kennedy name will prevail. In an attempt to wring out the last vestige of whatever popularity and feigned respect remain in that moniker, they choose it at their peril. The demographic that is fighting the proposal the hardest are those who have sufficient age to remember every significant detail of July 18, 1969. Even though overshadowed by the moon landing at the same time, the particulars gradually leaked out to destroy any hope that Teddy had to ever become president. It was insufficient to obtain an indictment for anything other than “leaving the scene of an accident.” Essentially it was a mere traffic citation.

We are, however, grateful to Pelosi and her cohorts for prompting thought as to what HR 3200 should be named: "The Kopechne Memorial Bill!" She didn't fare too well under Kennedycare



In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon