A post by Maynard
If you believe Senator Craig‘s story, I’ve got some bridges I’d like to sell you. The man is clearly guilty of playing footsie in a toilet stall and lying about it. This is disgusting behavior, and you have to wonder how people like this rise to positions of power.
There are growing calls from within and without for Senator Craig to resign.
Of course, everybody is taking this occasion to trot out the history of sexual predators in government, and their party affiliations, and the consequences they faced (or lack thereof), and the double standards, etc. etc. I won’t try to add to the cacophony, except for a quick review of Teddy Kennedy’s Chappaquiddick disaster (see also Wikipedia). It happened like this:
Late in the evening of July 18, 1969, Senator Kennedy drove away from a party on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. A campaign worker, Mary Jo Kopechne, was his passenger. Kennedy was supposedly heading for the ferry to the mainland, but instead he turned onto a dirt road which led to a small bridge across a pond. His car went over the side and crashed into the water, which was just deep enough to submerge the car. (See the photo above, which shows the police chief sitting atop the vehicle.) Kennedy struggled out and returned to the party site, telling two men there what had happened. All three then returned to the bridge, but they accomplished nothing. Kennedy then went to the site of the ferry crossing and swam back to his hotel, having missed the last ferry of the night. Nobody called the police. The next morning, a passerby noticed the sunken car and called the authorities. A diver found the body of Mary Jo Kopechne inside. Meanwhile, Kennedy was on the phone to his lawyers, who swung into action. The court records of the subsequent legal charges were sealed, which is unprecedented in situations like this. Kennedy pleaded guilty to the charge of leaving the scene of an accident, and received a 2-month sentence, which was suspended. He returned to the Senate with broad sympathy and acclaim. He recently acquired a new pet, a Portuguese water dog, which he named “Splash”. Last year he wrote a children’s book about his dog Splash. Folks, you just can’t make this stuff up.
By the way, Kennedy stole the idea of having his dog write a book from Barbara Bush, who collaborated with her dog to write Millie’s Book.
Maynard – you really hate GWB. Now youre are attacking Chappaquidick Ted the man who won Bush’s 2 biggist victories (the “no school lawyer left behind” aka “full employment for trial lawyers act” and “hillary Care Part 1”) and almost got the Amnesty approved.
Bush will be history in 17 months pick on some other liberal: Harry, Rudy, Diane, Trent,John …. The list is almost endless. The Dem/GOP liberal field is a target rich field (as we used to say back when) no need to concentrate all your fire on Bush and his allies.
Rod,
Bush will be gone and so will thousands of our best young people who lost their lives in a mismanaged war. Gone also is $100 billion and still counting in mismanaged New Orleans rebuilding and billions more in reckless Republican Congressional spending Bush approved.
These colossal debacles are emblematic of this failed Presidency. Bush sees himself as the Decider who will be vindicated by history for having the right thoughts and taking bold initiatives. I supported Bush for a long, long time because I agreed with his stated vision and his bold initiatives. It was with growing horror that I realized he is incompetent in seeing it through.
We can’t reset back eight years. The history of Bush will continue being written long beyond the next few months. We’re burdened with the consequences of failure for a very long time to come–a humiliating defeat in the Middle East that will result in a catastrophic bloodbath, a resurgent hardline Russia filling a void in Europe, and an ascendant Democrat party salivating over the imminent prospect of installing a welfare state. We have victorious enemies on all fronts who win because of Bush’s incoherent leadership.
Sure, Bush meant well, but he wasn’t up to the job. Maybe it’s pointless to pound on the man but that’s what happens when all you love is threatened because of the ineptitude of someone you trusted. What’s the point of defending him? Political face-saving?
I hope God still loves America and our luck holds out. We’re going to need both.
It’s just wrong for Ted Kennedy to have a Portuguese Water Dog to begin with, and then to name him Splash, AND THEN to write a book about Splash going to spend the day at the Senate with him, which has probably earned royalties for the damp senator. In view of his past relationship with water, that’s wrong.
So what if Senator Craig is gay? Is Kennedy a better senator because he only drove his car off a bridge and left someone in it, and hasn’t propositioned anyone in airport men’s rooms? I’m sure he’s propositioned more than his share of women–is that any less an offense? Senator Craig may not have handled this situation in a brilliant manner, but I’m not sure Kennedy’s solution of swimming about aimlessly while the car sank was a brilliant way to handle Chappaquiddick. Is there anyone worth respect on either side of the aisle?
I am glad you brought this up. The Craig story brought it to my mind as well. I have heard Ann Coulter bring it up when mentioning Teddy. How can you not? He killed that girl. I remember this story well, even though I was a kid. I think I remember it especially well, because in my mind it was yet the Camelot era of the Kennedys, and I could not believe that a Kennedy could do such a terrible thing. It seems as though everyone has forgotten this tragedy. But I think of it often. Every time Ted Kennedy opens his mouth, I think of him as a killer and cannot take seriously a word that he speaks. I can’t believe he still has a day job, let only one of leadership!
I guess we all understand married men in power having drunken indiscressions with ladies. We give them an atta boy for those things. (thats what the ladies are for after all) But Craig’s goof was gay and he will not still be in office 40 years later.
Apples to Oranges, Maynard.
[More like fruits to nuts. —Maynard]
Whenever Teddy is quoted as saying ANYTHING, in my mind whatever BS he spews is followed by, “Mary Jo Kopechne was unavailable for comment.”
Maynard, thanks for that refresher on Kennedy. I had forgotten what a nasty little travesty of justice that one was. There are so many, but that one really needs to be kept fresh on our minds. Thanks again.