Robert Byrd just burst out sobbing on the senate floor and had to call for an absence of a quorum to compose himself.  Now he is railing against the war.

I finally got to see him, just a short time ago. He came to California right after endorsing Obama, and I took a day off of work to go see him. He's an incredible orator - he makes Obama look timid and noncharismatic in comparison. When Ted gets going, there's nothing like him. He's truly a force of nature.

And you can't get around the feeling of royalty - not from him, but from the loving reverence with which he is greeted by others. It was amazing to behold.

I took a coworker who knew Ted Kennedy from one of his books. She's from France, and was a Hillary supporter, and didn't want to be at an Obama rally. But she LOVED Ted Kennedy and wanted very much to see him. The look on her face when she saw him for the first time was priceless. She was just enthralled. After sitting quietly and a little sullenly, she started whooping and yelling "Ted! Ted!" I didn't know she had it in her!

"If you look for the social economic motive, you will not have to wait for history to tell you what was propaganda and what was truth." - George Seldes

It is like it is happening to a member of my family.

What he has meant has been most recently.  He has been the reigning king of the Democratic Party.

Him and Byrd have been the two most outspoken against this regime.

Just the joy of hearing someone say, lie, after lie, after lie, after lie, after lie.

That should be in the Obama run against Bush.

Bobby will always be my favorite Kennedy.  He got me into politics and he smiled and waved at me when his car pulled next to ours at an intersection in Chicago.  A week later he was gone, but he will never be gone.

My first memory in life is seeing JFK's body being pulled down the streets of Washington in a funeral prossession.

Imagine Teddy having to see all that as a young man.  How many of us could have kept on and accomplished so much.

Teddy will keep fighting because that is what he has always done.

He is a member of my family and we will continue to fight.

Patriotism and religion, like whiskey, is best used in moderation. Mark Twain

It seems we grew up together. I've always admired Ted, who (but for some dubious youthful decisions) would have been President...

...and who has led like the Lion he is for so many years.

But I'll make you all a bet. For however many years Ted has before him (and none of us ever know) he'll be an example to us all.

Michaela

Ted kennedy for years has been my favorite senator. He's a great speaker, and enormous personality, and a complicated person. For all the stories of his womanizing, I don't think there is anyone who's a stauncher defender of women's rights in the Senate.  He's a friend of working people, a friend of the environment (although I have issues with his stance on wind power near Martha's Vineyard), and the 800 pound gorilla for liberals.

I am very sad today.

Brendan Calling John Mccain

It seems important to remind that there are indeed, as this article points out, few things that Kennedy's sphere of influence has not touched in a good way in all our lives.

I note that Andrea Mitchell just left the screen as she was overcome with emotion, she fought the tears as she interviewed Obama, they went for break and Matthews stepped in.

I was at a national teachers meeting (AFT-NEA) at Portland, Oregon in the early seventies and Senator Ted Kennedy was the main speaker.  You could feel his charisma from at least thirty feet away. What a wonderful gift for a politician to have.  Without question, JFK, and Bobby Kennedy had the same remarkable gift.

To their everlasting credit, the Kennedy's used their charisma to help others.  It's one thing that made them so admirable and so deeply loved by their fellow Americans.

Good luck to you, Senator Kennedy, from a grateful citizen.

Help and love are the most beautiful words in human language.

Follow your bliss

l first became truly aware of politics with jfk, then bobbie followed. ted kennedy has been a champion of my values for as long as l've been aware of politics, and have the utmost respect for the man.

this is terrible news. especially so as we find ourselves on the cusp of a new majority which would give him an even greater voice and influence than he's already had.

lTMF'sA...the revolution will not be televised...Peace

Among other things...there but for the grace of God go I.

I come from an Irish political family too. One of my maternal great-grandfathers was the mayor of New York in the late 1800s, the last Tammany Hall mayor. You could look it up. My grandfather...whose name I use on these blogs...was a contemporary of Joe Kennedy's, only he chose to walk away from that scene in disgust rather than become a bootlegger/gangster/millionaire/star fucker/political hustler.

Thank you, Grandpa!!!

JFK?

His murder was the first intrusion of the big-time political scam that passes for America on my young life, and I drove to Toronto after he was shot with a friend and partied myself unconscious rather than even LOOK at it.  Forgive me. I was eighteen and crazy like a motherfucker.

RFK?

A few years later?

Along with MLK and Malcolm X?

The FINAL blows to my faith in the American system. I have been a radical ever since.

Teddy?

God rest him. He tried, but he just didn't have it.

So it goes.

I hope he can die peacefully without the cruel ministrations of Dr. Big Brother and the nasty Pharma Gang, and I hope he can die with a clear conscience.

Rest in peace, youngest brother.

Youngest cousin.

Rest in peace.

AG

P.S. I just got a call from a very perceptive friend. When I told her about Teddy Kennedy her first words were "Hmmmm. All of 'em shot in the head."

Think about it.

Hmmmm....

Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie.-Mae West

Sorry my head is still muddy with primary junk, but one of the many things I admire about Kennedy is how again and again, he has used the power he has for others.  After many reversals, including his own problems, he has chosen to keep working for those whose voices are not being heard.

http://kennedy.senate.gov/index.cfm

On his Senate website, the staff created a space for people to leave their get well wishes.

It is a nice thought to do this.  Although I feel fairly certain that no Kennedy would ever think it inappropriate to discuss politics, no matter what the circumstances.  :)

Ted has been the most influential senator of my lifetime - and he has been in the Senate almost my entire lifetime.  Even more than the legislation he has sponsored, I've appreciated his strong stand on issues.  To come from a safe seat and, let's face it, to be a Kennedy, gives him a security that no other Senator has.  I especially respect his strong opposition to Robert Bork's appointment to the Supreme Court.  

I can't imagine the Senate without him.  

 

Help me raise money for Jay Nixon, the next Democratic governor of Missouri

I am heart sick about this.  I am sending warm thoughts of love and Healing to Sen. Kennedy and his family.  Sen. Kennedy has been larger than life most of my life but is one incredible man and has done so much for America.  

Doing My Part For The Left,Left Of The Rainbow

Based on my experience with the cancer of family members and his age, if I were him I would not undergo chemotherapy.  The time added with not be quality time.

Obama is a Patriot

Obama on Kennedy, from Jake Tapper's interview of Obama to air on ABC tonight:

JAKE TAPPER: What is your reaction to the news that Sen. Kennedy has a brain tumor?

BARACK OBAMA: Well, it's heartbreaking. Ted Kennedy is not only a giant of the Senate but he's a good friend. You couldn't have a better supporter than Ted Kennedy. And I had spoken to him just a couple of days ago, right after the seizure and had been staying in touch with Vicki. We were a little more optimistic at that point. Obviously the news came in today and it's a lot worse, but he's a fighter. He's been fighting on behalf of working families all his life, (he's been working for) civil rights for people who don't have a voice in Washington. It's a testament to how beloved he is that you are seeing well wishers from across the aisle from everyone in political life and Massachusetts. I hope he will be O.K. and I will do everything I can to make sure his family has support at this difficult time.

TAPPER: The statement from the hospital made no mention of surgery, which may indicate doctors don't hold out much hope that would be a successful course of action. What's your understanding of the treatment he will pursue?

OBAMA: I'll leave that to the doctors to talk about but obviously it's a serious situation. Vicki and the rest of the family are going to need a lot of support at this time. Ted Kennedy has supported so many people, including me, through the years, we have to be there for him during this difficult time.

Source: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/05/interview-with.html


"If you look for the social economic motive, you will not have to wait for history to tell you what was propaganda and what was truth." - George Seldes

Whatever the fortunes of Democrats in Congress, Teddy was there -- a strong, charismatic, wise, and reliable liberal voice. I guess I always felt safer because he was there, especially in recent years when many Democrats seem to have lost their spines. His courageous and principled stands were a bulwark against the total domination by the right. Strange, but recently I've been concerned that some of the strongest voices for justice, in the House as well as the Senate, are nearing the end of their careers. Let's hope that some of the newcomers will take on the mantle.

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts - Bertrand Russell