May be a web email hoax, as Ms. Bomgardner and Ms. Kopechne are seriously different ages.
Posted on 01/26/2006 10:22:20 PM PST by Congressman Billybob
On 12 January, 2006, the New York Times ran an article entitled “Thrust into the Limelight, and for Some A Symbol of Washington’s Bite.” It was a mini-biography of Mrs. Martha-Ann Alito, and it purported to explain the reasons for Mrs. Alito’s tears during her husband Samuel’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. It blamed them on a follow-up question by Senator Lindsay Graham, rather than on the verbal savaging of Judge Alito by the Democrats on the Committee, led by Senator Ted Kennedy.
The Times should have gotten the story right, because one of the three reporters on the story was in their New Jersey Bureau, and based in Caldwell. But they didn’t. Here are the operative paragraphs from that article on the cause of her tears:
She has sat behind him [her husband] all week, a pleasant-looking woman in sensible clothes, peering through rimless glasses as Democrats grilled Judge Alito about his investments and his affiliation with a conservative Princeton alumni group and Republicans tried to provide him some relief.
On Wednesday, one of those Republicans, Mr. Graham, tried to mock the Democrats with a question about the alumni group, which opposed affirmative action.
"Are you really a closet bigot?" Mr. Graham asked, at which point Mrs. Alito drew her hands to her face and left the hearing room weeping.
Source: http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F20C14FD3C5B0C708DDDA80894DE404482
As the article explained, Mrs. Alito is “fiercely protective” of her husband. And she was upset by the attacks on him as if he were dishonest, or a bigot, or a poor judge. But there was an additional reason, much older and much darker than what happened at that hearing. It concerns the fact that Senator Kennedy led the attack against Judge Alito.
Mrs, Alito was born Martha-Ann Bomgardner in Ft. Knox, Kentucky. The family moved with her father’s profession as an air traffic controller to New Jersey, where she attended Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Kentucky, she returned to New Jersey and became a librarian in the US Attorney’s office, where she met her husband.
Through her husband’s family, she learned of their personal friendship with another young woman who was also an only child. This other woman and her family were staunch Catholics. On occasion, they attended the same church in Roseland, New Jersey, as the Alitos, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, one of only two churches in that town of 5,298. The Alitos live in Caldwell, population 7,584, where this other woman graduated from Caldwell College, probably as a commuter student from her home, rather than a resident student.
From the personal memories of this woman that Mrs. Alito got from her husband’s family, and from her own understanding of what it means to be an only child, Mrs. Alito knew of the worst thing that any human being could do to another. She also heard of its impact on the family.
That other woman’s name was Mary Jo Kopeckne. She was killed by Senator Ted Kennedy, in an auto accident on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, on 18 July, 1969. That was the other reason for Mrs. Alito’s tears.
[Author’s notes: The author did not bother any of the three families referred to here in writing this. All the information was gathered from reputable Internet sources. If the Times puts a competent reporter on the story, it can find the same information. It should also then apologize for its original article, in which the three reporters presented their personal assumptions as facts on the cause of Mrs. Alito’s upset at the hearing.]
John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
To my colleagues on FR: this began as no more than a "friend of a freind" rumor. But after five hours Internet research, I can publish it as accurate. I think you will find it of interest.
John / Billybob
Let me get this straight... Mrs. Alito KNEW Kopechne?
Oh my.
Nevermind, I see now, it was Mr. Alito's family.
Good stuff, CB. It has that Paul Harvey flavor written all over it. Man, does that sock 'em in the mouth.
If Kennedy were a republican, this would become the biggest news story for weeks.
From the article, his family knew the Kopechnes. She didn't know Mary Jo personally.
bttt
The Alito's (his family) knew the Kopechne's before a bridge too far.
wow - bttt
Hmmm... interesting.
I'm tired and my eyes don't want to work right, but I caught that and corrected myself.
I need to go to bed, lol.
It seems her husband's family did.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
Holy Moly, Batman!
Wish we could have got this out last week, but now is soon enough.
To horse, folks!
If it's possible, this makes Kennedy even more despicable.
ping
[gulp******!!] ,... thanks John
. ... yer a genuine gift for all of us,
... I hope to be of service , soon ,
... of course , I've got these wonderful kids
May be a web email hoax, as Ms. Bomgardner and Ms. Kopechne are seriously different ages.
You know what the worst thing is? He wouldn't care, even if his sotted rotted pickled "mind" knew.
And yes, the scare quotes around "mind" are intentional.
Interesting stuff, John. Good work. Would there be public interest in about a 45 minute documentary --- TED KENNEDY, CHAPPAQUIDDICK LIFEGUARD ?
Can this go in "breaking?" Or not enough in the way of sources?
Ping!
L
It's there. Great!
Read more carefully. The article draws a link between Kopechne and the Alitos, a family to which Samuel's wife (the former Miss Bomgardner) is related by law.
Sorry...this is lame.
I went to high school with a girl who won a gold medal in ice skating in the Olympics. We never met.
However...somebody could draw "a connection"....
Well written and timely. Teddy still has to face his Creator.
Good job. But it's sick, disheartening and evil if true. I look back over years and wonder if this is why Kennedys get killed. Criminals inside and smiley pictures outside. No wonder Massachusettes is Cuba without the sugar cane. It really fits together nicely.
Mary Jo would be about the same age as Judge Alito if she had lived.
what part of this sentence do you not understand.
". On occasion, they attended the same church in Roseland, New Jersey, as the Alitos, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, one of only two churches in that town of 5,298"
This has been discussed on FreeRepublic before, but not all of the facts were presented as you have done. Thanks. Earlier post:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1561685/posts
Posting your research links would be helpful.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1561685/posts?page=44#44 "A couple of problems with this theory:
1. Mary Jo Kopechne was born in 1940 while Martha Alito was born in 1953 - thirteen years later.
2. Ms. Kopechne was raised in Pennsylvania while Mrs. Alito was raised in Kentucky with family roots in Oklahoma and Texas." - writmeister
>>>Sorry...this is lame.
Your assessment is what's lame.
The connection is through her husband's family. She doesn't know what THEY think of Kennedy?
Nice article, sir. I have only one teensy issue.
She was killed by Senator Ted Kennedy, in an auto accident on Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, on 18 July, 1969. might be modified to read "...was killed by Senator Edward Kennedy, who chose not to seek her rescue following an auto accident in which she survived for a few desperate hours..."
I have no idea why Republicans use the familiar "Ted" when we are not friends with this (apparent) scoundrel.
I also have no idea just how Sen. Edward Kennedy sleeps at night. There can't be that much scotch in D.C.
.
Its easy, just sell your soul. Problem solved.
What a hoax the MSM played on the "American People" trying to claim they were "American Royalty" called "Camelot". I have met trashy crooks with better morals. At least, their whole family wasn't brain dead criminals (aka petrified old drunks/druggies) like the Kennedy's. Even John F. Kennedy's drug cabinet looked similar to that of Elvis'.
Thanks for this post. Bet that this thread hits "thousands" of replies, and at least Fox News.
1. Mary Jo Kopechne was born in 1940 while Martha Alito was born in 1953 - thirteen years later.
I was told that they were family friends. I have many family friends far more separated from me than 13 years. A family friend could be fifty years separated from you.
2. Ms. Kopechne was raised in Pennsylvania while Mrs. Alito was raised in Kentucky with family roots in Oklahoma and Texas.
I thought that might be a problem with the story too, but it's not:
Martha-Ann Bomgardner was born in Kentucky, but moved to Mount Holly Pennsylvania after her father, an air traffic controller in the Air Force, was transferred to McGuire Air Force Base. She is a 1971 graduate of Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly. Source: PhillyBurbs.com
57 posted on 01/20/2006 10:36:46 AM PST by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
Whoa. This stopped me in my tracks. Wonder why the NYT didn't want to dredge up Chappaquiddick again? All the news that fits our agenda.
Churches foster friendships among all age groups.
I don't know. I think I have to agree with that assessment. As much as I hate Kennedy, I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that Mrs. Alito was crying for someone she never met and had only heard of from her husband and his family.
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