Even As He Is Dying, Teddy Is Lying
by Blake on Jul 26, 2009 at 08:23 Political
Teddy Kennedy, the famous drowner of women and the Binge Drinker of Hyannisport, still wants to see health care reform before he dies from brain cancer. He no longer comes to the Capitol building in Washington, but instead works from home, after many surgeries that the regular people could not afford now, much less then when we must, under the new proposed plans, ration our care.
“I have enjoyed the best medical care money (and a good insurance policy) can buy. . . . Every American should be able to get the same treatment that U.S. senators are entitled to,” Kennedy wrote in an unusually personal essay published in this week’s Newsweek, adding near the end of the article: “We’re almost there.”
He cited his sophisticated course of treatment — risky surgery at Duke University Medical Center to remove part of the tumor, proton-beam radiation at Massachusetts General Hospital and multiple rounds of chemotherapy — as a privilege of the rich.
“My wife, Vicki, and I have worried about many things, but not whether we could afford my care and treatment.”
latimes.com
Don’t you just love the candor with which he just pours out the fact that you or I could not afford the treatment he got? “A privilege of the rich.” Yes, Teddy, I guess it is- how nice of you to point it out. It’s too late to challenge Teddy to use the same insurance that he wants to force others to have, but it truly should be written into the plan that our politicians should be subject to the same treatment options and restrictions that everyone else has to abide by. Perhaps then they would not scrimp, or ration care, or score people according to their “worth” to society.
The tragedies Kennedy experienced in his life — his brothers’ deaths, his son Ted Jr.’s partial leg amputation from bone cancer, his daughter Kara’s lung cancer — shaped a commitment to universal healthcare that spans nearly half a century. His wealth and influence enabled him to retain a brain specialist in an attempt to save his brother, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and find cutting-edge cancer care for his children, options he frequently has said every family deserves.
latimes.com
Yes, being rich doesn’t suck, as they say- if you have the money, you can hire who you wish, but in this “ObamaCare” bill, you wouldn’t get the same chances, or treatments Teddy has been able to obtain, due to his wealth. Instead, we would get waiting times a la Canada, incompetent doctors, (because of the Affirmative Action portions of this bill, which would require the hiring of “diverse” doctors, no matter their incompetence), and a “value” assessed on just what our “cost” to society might be.
What chafes me about Teddy, is the near reverence he has managed to evoke in the halls of Washington, simply because he, 1)- escaped being indicted for manslaughter, 2)- has a truly legendary liver, having consumed at least a distillery in his lifetime, and 3)- hasn’t (as far as we know) contracted a terminal STD (although I understand that syphilis affects the brain). Surely there should be something more to his legacy than the gist of a drinking song, and Teddy hopes that this shoddy healthcare bill is it.
Sorry- but the bill is as flawed as Teddy is- if he hadn’t been so blinded by his political partnerships with the unions, gay community, and every other liberal cause he could grope, perhaps he might have had a real- world reaction to health care reform, but, like every other liberal, he owed these special interest groups, and had to pay them back.
Ted Kennedy’s record on healthcare reform is hardly flawless. Critics believe his refusal to compromise with Presidents Nixon and Carter caused him to miss promising windows of opportunity. During the Reagan years, he bowed to labor unions and declined to back a plan for catastrophic health insurance, a move he later regretted.
latimes.com
Yep, now this healthcare thing has morphed into a blatant power grab by the liberal elites who will opt, because of their money, to seek better care for themselves because they can.
Just like in George Orwell’s book, Animal Farm, some animals are more equal than others.
And the Rich are the most equal of all.
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Tags: drunken driving, elites, euthanasia, kennedy, liberal
Ted said we should all have the insurance that they have but they have not proposed a bill to accomplish that. They could have the same health insurance by mandating that they participate in what they want for us but they have blocked that as well.
So while it is nice rhetoric, he really does not want us to have what he has. He wants us to think he does.
I fear he will die in the middle of this and the sympathy for Ole Uncle Teddy will allow it to pass.
Yea, and that would be a shame- both the misplaced sympathy, and the kneejerk reaction it might provoke.
Good to see Bigd pointing out to dim bulb Blake that Kennedy’s point was in fact that it *shouldn’t* only be the rich that have such access. Of course, with overwhelming opposition to any sensible effort toward fairness like that, such a thing will be decades away for this country.
GW Bush’s wife Laura ran a stop sign and killed someone. I wonder if Blake has spoken so viciously about that mistake too? The question is rhetorical.
D.
Darrell, you’re comparing a tragic auto accident vs leaving someone to drown after an accident without seeking help. Only you would make such a comparison. If you think those two incidents are the same you’ve lost any creditability you may have had.
MIKE: Darrell, you’re comparing a tragic auto accident…>>
DAR
To a tragic auto accident.
Mike: “…vs leaving someone to drown after an accident without seeking help.>>
DAR
Perhaps you would be better at diving at night in dark channel waters after a concussion. I doubt it.
And your claim is not correct. He did seek, and get, help. Note:
“Kennedy claimed at the inquest that he called Kopechne’s name several times from the shore, then tried to swim down to reach her seven or eight times…”
“Gargan and party co-host Paul Markham then returned to the pond with Kennedy to try to rescue Kopechne. Both of the other men also tried to dive into the water and rescue Kopechne multiple times.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chappaquiddick_incident
Mike: Only you would make such a comparison.>>
DAR
No, I think any reasonable person would make such a comparison. Two unintended auto accidents that resulted in death. One that the far right uses to smear and defame a person with and one that the other side would never use in the same way because it would be in poor taste.
You can bone up on the facts here if you want to get your story straight.
Mike: “…you’ve lost any creditability you may have had.”
DAR
With regard to credibility, best to demonstrate it rather than babble on about it.
Oh, and don’t worry about my “creditability”[sic]. It’s just fine. Last I checked my credit score was 810.
D.
If you believe TK’s version of what happened I’ve got a bridge to sell ya. And quoting your own source:
In addition to the working telephone at the Lawrence Cottage, according to one commentator, his route back to the cottage would have taken him past four houses from which he could have telephoned and summoned help; however, he did not do so.[8] The first of those houses, referred to as “Dike House”, was only 150 yards away from the bridge, and was occupied by Sylvia Malm and her family at the time of the incident. Malm later stated that she had left a light on at the residence when she retired for that evening.[9]
I remember when it happened and TK had little Dem support. But go ahead and find some poll on what the American people think happened.
And speaking of credibility you stated you didn’t cherry pick in an earlier post and said an article I referenced supported your point of view regarding Sweden’s healthcare system. Never mind that Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, compared the effects of Sweden’s welfare state to the plague and AIDS. If you have forgotten then:
http://www.onebigdog.net/ted-kennedy-speaks-out/#comments
Calling a girl’s name when she is underwater is just what a liberal would do and call that help. So then he gets some friends- “a friend will help you move, a good friend will help you move a body.”- but STILL doesn’t summon the police or ambulance services.
Come on, D- this was as bad as a straight hit and run.
Darrel sourced Wikipedia. More from Wikipedia:
Kennedy contacted several aides that night, but failed to report the incident to the authorities until the car and Kopechne’s body were discovered the next morning.[5] Kopechne’s parents said that they learned of their daughter’s death from Ted Kennedy himself[1] before he reported his involvement to the authorities, but that they learned Kennedy had been the driver only from wire press releases some time later.[3]
A funeral for Kopechne was held on July 22, 1969, at St. Vincent’s Roman Catholic Church in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, attended by Kennedy.[11] She is buried in the parish cemetery on the side of Larksville Mountain.
A week after the incident, Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury. He received a two month suspended sentence.[5] On a national television broadcast that night, Kennedy later said he was not driving under the influence of alcohol nor had he engaged in any immoral conduct with Kopechne.[5]
The Chappaquiddick incident and the death of Kopechne became the grist for at least fifteen books, as well as a fictionalized treatment by Joyce Carol Oates. Questions remained about Kennedy’s timeline of events that night, about his actions after the accident, and the quality of the investigation and whether official deference was given to a powerful politician and family.[12] The events surrounding Kopechne’s death damaged Kennedy’s reputation and are regarded as a major reason that he was never able to mount a successful campaign for President of the United States.[13]
Mike: [wiki excerpts]
DAR
Of course I read the entire wiki article so your extended excerpts are unnecessary and complete irrelevant to your bogus claim, which was, that Kennedy left:
“…someone to drown after an accident without seeking help.”
That’s not true. So why don’t you just be honest and admit your mistake?
MIKE: “[you] said an article I referenced supported your point of view regarding Sweden’s healthcare system.”>>
DAR
No, I specifically quoted a statement in the article that we would both agree with. I quoted:
“Like many societies, we went too far in our welfare-state ambitions,” say Borg.”
To which I responded:
“He’s right of course. You can go to far. The Swedes probably do, in several categories.”
D.
Darrel- I would say that Mike is right in that there was no effective help there until Mary Jo had begun to bloat, it was so long. Summoning a few drunken friends to “help” is not true assistance, and failing to phone the authorities at ANY of the houses proves in my mind at least that he wanted to burn off the alcohol he had consumed.
You could NEVER get me to believe that he did not get drunk that night, and if he did not have sex with Mary Jo, it was only because he managed to kill her first.
DAR
Perhaps you would be better at diving at night in dark channel waters after a concussion. I doubt it.
What concussion? It was never claimed he had a concussion. Admit your mistake.
DAR
He did seek, and get, help.
Wiki
Kennedy contacted several aides that night, but failed to report the incident to the authorities until the car and Kopechne’s body were discovered the next morning. Kopechne’s parents said that they learned of their daughter’s death from Ted Kennedy himself before he reported his involvement to the authorities, but that they learned Kennedy had been the driver only from wire press releases some time later.
Wiki
A week after the incident, Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury.
Also there was wide spread speculation that she was pregnant by TK. It’s merely speculation, but it was out there even so much that it wasn’t an accident.
DAR
Kennedy claimed at the inquest that he called Kopechne’s name several times from the shore, then tried to swim down to reach her seven or eight times…
He claimed. I rest my case.
DAR
No, I specifically quoted a statement in the article that we would both agree with. I quoted:
Forbes article
“Like many societies, we went too far in our welfare-state ambitions,” say Borg.”
DAR
To which I responded:
“He’s right of course. You can go to far. The Swedes probably do, in several categories.”
But then the article went on that Sweden has gone way too far. A comparison to the plague or aids is not a little bit too far. Your statement implies too far not way too far. Misleading at best.
Once again Darrel, you take something out of context. I pointed out that Kennedy only says that it should be the same but that he does not feel that way because he will not opt in to the gvt plan (he will be dead by then anyway) and he will not introduce legislation to give everyone the care he has. He is an elitist. He talks about Bush breaking the law but used all his wealthy family connections to get away with manslaughter. Kennedy believes that the wealthy should be treated differently. His rhetoric does not match his actions.
I do not believe that everyone should have the same coverage and I do not believe we are all entitled to it. We all have access to health care. If you are Bill Gates then you should be able to pay for what you want. Why should a 30k a year worker get the same things that Gates can afford? What next, everyone has a right to a house like Gates’?
We can tweak the system we have to provide the minimal required items to people and let the more affluent but what they want.
Life is not fair and people should not all be getting the same thing out of it.
Bigd: “he will not introduce legislation to give everyone the care he has.”>>
DAR
Of course not. Why would anyone waste time with something unpassable when, against the entrenched rightwing interests, it is a struggle to get something even moderately sensible passed?
Bigd: “We all have access to health care.”>>
DAR
Of course we don’t. Don’t confuse getting patched up and stabilized in emergency with having comprehensive health care. You should know the difference.
Oh, and we have another 25 million that are underinsured.
Bigd: Why should a 30k a year worker get the same things that Gates can afford?>>
DAR
No one has suggested that. The rich will do fine, as usual. Like your Bill Gates plan? Keep it. The 30k a year worker however, is not doing fine for a country this wealthy. See the example of an insured person at the link above.
D.
Darrel, it would be the “entrenched LEFT-wing interests” that would prohibit any truly good care bill from being passed.
If the Liberals had their way, “Soylent Green” wold be reality, and we would be grist for their mill.
They already want fetal farms- what’s next?
Darrel, I wasn’t vicious- I was truthful. Kennedy has used that liberal chestnut, …” the same care we in the Senate get… since I don’t know when, and he has lied every time, as has Hussein. They had absolutely NO intention of doing this.
At least Laura wasn’t blind drunk, and waited 14 hours to notify police with his attorney in tow- what an overblown, worthless POS.
Darrel, Teddyboy has been saying that same liberal propaganda for the last thirty years, and lying the whole time. Just as he would lie about trying to raise the minimum wage- he had thirty years to tie that one to inflation, but nooooooo.
Darrel- the overwhelming opposition to “Kennedy- style” healthcare is opposed by Kennedy himself, or haven’t you read any of his proposed bill? It is rationing, plain and simple.
Damn, the LA Times like to gush over the Admiral of Chappaquiddick:
The tragedies Kennedy experienced in his life…
The fact: he got away with causing the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. And Lord only knows what else.
His Bloatedness is getting the best of medical care for his brain cancer. He’s buying that medical care, but these ObamaKare bills in Congress would deny the rest of us that same right to buy superior medical care — even if we could afford it (which this family cannot).
When these liberals, who are trying to kill people off, die I wouldn’t want to have to face what they will. I don’t wish that on anyone, but it will happen. They will be held responsible for every life that was taken including all the unborn babies that have and will be killed. Also, all of Kennedy’s money isn’t going to heal him and he will die.
Kennedy’s whole family is riddled with drunks, rapists, and God knows what else- talk about faulty genetics- there is proof that some people should just say no.