Getting Mean and Distinctly Ugly (Free Republic Dissed as 'Chappaquiddick-Type people')

The Ottawa Citizen ^ | Friday, August 28, 2009 | Janice Kennedy

[kristinn]

Two kinds of people reacted to news of Ted Kennedy’s death last week. The first — not all liberals, either — spoke of Kennedy’s hard work in the United States Senate, his dream of universal healthcare, his commitment to working people, civil rights and equality.

This “most imperfect man,” wrote analyst William Bradley, was also a powerful advocate for progressive principles. Barack Obama predictably (though accurately) observed that “for America, he was a defender of a dream.” In another variation on the visionary theme, Joe Biden said of his old friend, “He was never small.”

The other kind of reaction to Kennedy’s death could be summed up in one word: “Chappaquiddick.”

Not “vision” or “health-care reform,” not “peacemaking” or even “Camelot.” Just the controversial 40-year-old event, the ugliest single moment from the late senator’s 77 years on Earth, nearly 47 of them in public service. The small souls who spend their days hanging out in discussion forums at Free Republic, one of the U.S ultra-right’s more popular online homes, greeted news of Kennedy’s death characteristically, flinging around words like “traitor,” “coward,” “disgrace”— and, yes, references to the 1969 event. Chappaquiddick minds in a narrow, ungenerous world.

But the Chappaquiddick faction is not limited to either the United States or the senior senator from Massachusetts. It’s a state of mind, a summation of everything that is small and cribbed and contemptible — not unlike the sour (and embarrassing) one-line statement of perfunctory condolence on Wednesday from our own prime minister.

Chappaquiddick-type people possess a meanness of spirit that goes beyond simple politics. They’re responsible for a creeping diminution of vision and values. In Canada, which used to appreciate largeness of soul, they even have a government platform, thanks to Stephen Harper and company.

Consider the dramatic case of Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr, picked up by the U.S. military in Afghanistan at 15, or child-soldier age. When Harper’s government announced last week it would appeal — again — a ruling that it demand the Canadian-born Khadr’s repatriation, lawyer Dennis Edney said he wasn’t surprised. “We are used to this mean-spirited approach.”

But this government’s disgraceful stand on Khadr — the only Western detainee still in Guantanamo — is just part of it. The limited worldview, the impulse toward whatever is most ungenerous, is how it operates.

SNIP

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Hey Janice - when was the last time a sitting Senator was an accomplice in someone’s death? If his name hadn’t been a Kennedy he would have been hounded out of office. I’m sure you’ve pooh-poohed the same people who hounded Tom DeLay and Bob Packwood out of office for far less, right?

[rlmorel]

"...ugliest single moment from the late senator’s 77 years on Earth...characteristically, flinging around words like “traitor,” “coward,” “disgrace”— and, yes, references to the 1969 event. Chappaquiddick minds in a narrow, ungenerous world..."

Yeah. There IS that one, little, itsy-bitsy thing about going off a bridge and leaving a girl to gasp her last breaths in the pitch black from a diminishing pocket of air while you figure out how to save your reputation.

Anyone could make a mistake, have a lapse in judgement, even make a serious enough one to get someone killed.

Anyone.

The circumstances of those events have to be borne and lived with no matter who you are. We are all human.

What is inexcusable, and makes his "ugliest single moment from the late senator’s 77 years on Earth" at Chappaquiddick such a heinous one is his behavior following the accident.

How instead of putting her LIFE first, he schemed, juggled, obfuscated, hedged, delayed and used every social and political scheme and resource at his disposal to save his reputation, even the wearing of the neck brace.

Not to pick nits with whoever wrote this, but I would have "coward" first, then "traitor" followed up with "disgrace".

"COWARD" for his actions that night in Chappaquiddick. Yeah, except for that, he was an "exemplary public servant" to some.

"TRAITOR" for his little backdoor repartee with Yuri Andropov back in the early eighties. Gee, funny how we don't hear much about that from the people bending over backwards to paint him as a saint.

"DISGRACE" covers all the rest from his personal attacks on the judicial nominees, his hand in the immigration disaster we face, and so much more.

Actually, this post isn't all that different from my post I asked to have pulled last night, but I am not doing it with this one.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

They can focus on macaca and a compliment to a centenarian, but we cannot mention deliberately leaving a woman to die in a car wreck.

[jonrick46]

It’s my observation that Teddy Kennedy, who spent 47 years in the US Senate, up to his neck in the muck of Democrat Party politics, is now undergoing a sanitation process. It is these useful tools of the press, the State Run Media, that will do everything they can to cleanse the past of Edward Kennedy's life as a Lion of the Left. If it took a Chappaquiddick effort, the State Run Media would be up to their eyeballs in murky waters. By the time the State Run Media is through with him, he will be as clean as an altar boy.

The redo of Kennedy is a necessary step if they are to use Teddy as the patron saint of Obamacare. Even the name, Teddy, makes one think of a soft cuddly bear. By no means would you want the American public associating Obamacare with a dirty old letch who spent his free time making waitress sandwiches and joking about Chappaquiddick. By no means would you want any association made to a Lion of the Left, with his clutches on such things (inane things to the Left) as freedom and its citizens who do not want to be slaves of the state.

[txroadkill]

The man killed a woman. Never mind that he tried to meet with the Soviets (whose former leaders to this day acknowledge was an evil empire and warn us not to travel down the same path they did) to undermine the national security of the United States and the President of the United States, he killed a woman, tried to cover it up and, according to his friends, joked about it.

[HiTech RedNeck]

She’s so squeaky clean that the media is resorting to waxing outraged over her alleged standing up of groups they heartily disagree with anyhow.

Lapdog press is nothing new. It’s as old as Chappaquiddick.

[DejaJude]

Said by a representative of those shown time and time again to be "generous" ONLY with other peoples' money and from the superior vantage point, such as Kennedy's high horse.

Not just with other peoples' money, but also with their life. How "generous" they are to forgive him the taking of lives (Mary Jo and countless abortions) because he has done so much "good" in their eyes. We will never know what Mary Jo and those babies might have done to better the world.

[Lancey Howard]

LOL, another scumbag Canadian socialist mouse weighs in.

So what if “Shovel-Ready” Teddy left a young woman to die alone in terror, sucking her last breaths from the air pocket in the submerged Lincoln’s back window while Teddy scrambled away and layed low for 10 hours in order to give his family’s team of lawyers a chance to cover his political rear-end and buy him out of trouble?

Who cares about such trivial nonsense?

The important thing is that Teddy worked hard behind the scenes with the Soviet Union during the early ‘80s, secretly counseling America’s cold war enemy on how to hurt President Ronald Reagan politically.

We here at Free Republic need to get our priorities straight, like this Canadian turd Janice Kennedy.

[Lakeshark]

If his name hadn’t been a Kennedy he would have been hounded out of office put in prison.

Sentence fixed for the sake of a greater truth..........

[RWGinger]

I have read that ol teddy liked to joke about that nurder but I never what the “ other side” of killing someone was.

I am proud to be a Freeper that posted exactly what I thought of that POS and even prouder that the idiot Janice kennedy might have read my words.

Freepers, WAY TO GO

[fanfan]

The author must never have gone to democraticunderground.com if she thinks Free Republic is bad

Janice Kennedy likely posts at DU and Daily KOS.

[3IDVET]

Now That hurts my feeling's and it will leave a mark,BOO HOO I'll be scard for life. Compared to some of the nasty things the COMMIE LEFT, thats what I call all of em now, says about ANY Conservative or repub that passes,gets sick or injured, I think we were down right polite. Hell look at what they were saying recently about Robert Novak, God rest his soul. One word for that blowhard HYPOCRITS

[FreeReign]

Is the author a relative or a wannabe relative?

No, she's just another statist from Montreal.

Biography

Janice Kennedy retired from full-time journalism at The Ottawa Citizen in January 2008. But since she can't really conceive of full-time retirement, she still writes a weekly column for the Sunday editorial page. A native Montrealer, she has been an Ottawan by choice since 1990, when she moved from the staff of The Gazette to the staff of The Citizen. In an earlier life, she taught high school English for 18 years. Since 1985, when she stepped into the wonderful world of journalism, she has been a news reporter, feature writer, theatre critic and weekly columnist. Her regular critics describe her as a feminist and unregenerate leftie. She agrees completely. Biography Janice Kennedy retired from full-time journalism at The Ottawa Citizen in January 2008. But since she can't really conceive of full-time retirement, she still writes a weekly column for the Sunday editorial page. A native Montrealer, she has been an Ottawan by choice since 1990, when she moved from the staff of The Gazette to the staff of The Citizen. In an earlier life, she taught high school English for 18 years. Since 1985, when she stepped into the wonderful world of journalism, she has been a news reporter, feature writer, theatre critic and weekly columnist. Her regular critics describe her as a feminist and unregenerate leftie. She agrees completely.

link

[central_va]

According to Massachusetts vehicular homicide laws, the penalties are as follows:

1. Vehicular Homicide while Operating Under the Influence: Mandatory minimum of 2 & 1/2 years in state prison, maximum up to 15 years; or mandatory minimum of 1 year in jail, maximum up to 2 1/2 years; substantial fines and license revoked for life.
2. Vehicular Homicide while Operating to Endanger only: Mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail, maximum up to 2 1/2 years; substantial fines, and license loss for 15 years.
3. (as of 10/28/05) Manslaughter by Motor Vehicle carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 years in jail.

Nearly half of all vehicular homicides in MA are alcohol related

[Noumenon]

This “most imperfect man,” wrote analyst William Bradley, was also a powerful advocate for progressive communist principles.

A small correction.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It was an Olds 98, not a Lincoln. I think Ford products float better anyhow.

[Madame Dufarge]

I guess living up here, seeing and hearing the hagiographic platitudes about him has been a trial.

You have my heartfelt sympathy.

I had a phone conversation today with a lifelong friend who lives there. She is, of course, a lifelong Democrat and was watching The Funeral on TV when I called. She was worshipfully noting all the "important" politicians who had came to rend garments and wail. At one point she noted how wonderful it was that Mrs. Kennedy was being attentive to the "common" people.

When she mentioned how dangerous it was for all the Dem potentates to be in one place - "What if someone bombed the church?" - I had to end the phone call.

You see, anyone not afflicted with Kennedy Worship is so obviously violent and unstable and well, anything could happen.

It's a trial maintaining the friendship sometimes.

[RichInOC]

Okay, I’m trying to figure out precisely what evil Ottawa did to deserve a newspaper columnist who appears to be, in both looks and politics, Roger Ebert in drag.

[VRWCTexan]

Hopefully she will re-visit FR, read this thread and get upset all over again - LOL

[saganite]

“peacemaking”

This one word caught my attention because it represents the most contemptible thing Kennedy ever did (yes, worse than Chappaquiddick). Offering to help the communist govt of the USSR undermine the authority of an American president. If that’s what a liberal means by peacemaking then that writer is beneath contempt.

It’s also illuminating that moving on beyond a cowardly act (yes I mean Chappaquiddick) is the mark of an enlightened mind from a liberal perspective and that those who hold that expecting someone to be held accountable for their actions is the hallmark of a small narrow mind.

Betrayal is celebrated as peacemaking. Abandonment of another human is something to be overlooked. Taken together, they disgust me. I hope the writer of this article is lurking. I believe she is. I’m sure she will appreciate my view of the Senator.