Thought #37                                                          August  2009
Author: Bill Thurston       

Ted Kennedy

Today, We lost a great dedicated public servant and well respected political leader.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy has represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate for forty-three years. Throughout his career, Kennedy has fought for issues that benefit the citizens of Massachusetts and the nation.

Edward M. Kennedy was the third longest serving member of the United States Senate in American history. Voters of Massachusetts elected him to the Senate nine times, a record matched by only one other Senator. He fought for voting rights, education, immigration reform, the minimum wage, national service, the nation's first major legislation to combat AIDS, and equality for minorities, women, the disabled and gay Americans. He called health care “the cause of my life,”. He was an opponent of the Vietnam War and an early champion of the war's refugees. He was a powerful voice from the beginning against the invasion of Iraq. He stood for human rights abroad, from Chile to the former Soviet Union and was a leader in the cause of poverty relief for the poorest nations of Africa and the world. He believed in a strong national defense and he also unceasingly pursued and advanced the work of nuclear arms control.

Known as the “Lion of the Senate,” Senator Kennedy was widely respected on both sides of the aisle for his commitment to progress and his ability to legislate.

Senator Kennedy was Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Previously he was Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and served on that committee for many years. He also served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Congressional Joint Economic Committee. He was a leader of the Congressional Friends of Ireland and helped lead the way toward peace on that island.

He was a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Virginia Law School. He lived in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, with his wife Vicki. He is survived by her and their five children Kara, Edward Jr., and Patrick Kennedy, and Curran and Caroline Raclin, and his sister Jean Kennedy Smith.

http://kennedy.senate.gov/senator/

Ted Kennedy had his share of difficulties to overcome during his life. He found it tough to compete with his two brothers. He was expelled from Harvard College for cheating on a freshman year exam, but was readmitted two years later, following service in the U.S. Army. He graduated from Harvard in 1956. His 1958 marriage to Virginia Joan Bennett produced three children and ended in divorce in 1982. The Chappaquiddick event ( http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/chappaquiddick.htm). He was seriously injured in an airplane crash in 1964 and suffered from lifelong back pain as a result. Ted lost the 1980 presidential election in a primary campaign loss to incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter.

It seems that those that knew him and worked with him treasured most of all his friendship. Ted leaves a great legacy.

Books to read for more information:
Kennedy, Edward M., Our Day and Generation: The Words of Edward M. Kennedy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1979

Kennedy, Edward M. America Back on Track. New York: Viking, 2006.

Ted Kennedy: The Dream That Never Dies By Edward Klein

Ted Kennedy: A Remarkable Life in the Senate By Lisa Tucker McElroy

The Senator: My Ten Years with Ted Kennedy By Richard E. Burke, Marilyn Hoffer, William Hoffer

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