Ted Kennedy

Senator Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts died August 25, 2009 following a long battle with brain cancer. Kennedy was 77.

Considered by friends and foes alike as one of the most effective legislators of the past several decades, Ted Kennedy became known as the "lion of the Senate" following his crucial roles in the passage of such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Kennedy was also a longtime champion of health care reform, which the senator referred to as "the cause of his life."

As the younger brother of former President John F. Kennedy and 1968 presidential candidate and former Senator Robert Kennedy — both of whom were assassinated in the 1960s — Ted Kennedy was expected by many to follow a similar path towards the White House. However, those aspirations were cut short following a controversial car accident in 1969 where Kennedy's car was driven off a bridge at Chappaquiddick near Cape Cod. Kennedy survived the crash, but his female companion, Mary Jo Kopechne did not.

An attempt several years later to challenge incumbent President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination in 1980 would prove unsuccessful. Kennedy did however serve eight full terms in the Senate, making him one of only six senators to remain there more than 40 years (only Sen. Robert Byrd has served longer).

You'll find bloggers talking about the great Senator Ted Kennedy at sites like AmericaBlog.

by Glen Boyd Are you a writer, passionate about this or any other topic? Join Blogcritics!

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “Ted Kennedy”

• The Retro Man

  
  The New Republic - Health Care Feed — Authority: 727
  About 20 minutes into my sit-down with House Minority Leader John Boehner, I am overcome by the desire for a drink. Scotch, maybe. Or a bone-dry martini, extra olives. It’s not that the Ohio congressman is shaping up to be confrontational or unresponsive or in any way unpleasant.
  2 hours ago

• Superman may be human, but is he above reproach, questioning or the law?

  
  The Right Guy — Authority: 129
  The soap opera continues...His holy highness, the superman of golf, the most elitist of all sports, short of polo, released this statement today: As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries. I have some cuts, bruising and right now Im pretty sore. This ...
  10 hours ago

• Liberal turmoil clouds debate on climate bills

  
  Ohaiyo Business Magazine — Authority: 136
  The Federal Opposition looks set to change leaders, as the emissions trading legislation that sparked the Liberal row comes back before the Senate. The Upper House failed to meet the Governments deadline of passing the scheme by last week, prompting the Governments Senate leader, Chris Evans, to accuse the Opposition ...
  18 hours ago

• Obama escape the Oval Office again

  
  C.O.P.S. — Authority: 136
  He attended a basketball game and fed his face. President Obama attended todays Oregon State-George Washington University basketball game to cheer on his brother-in-law, Beavers coach Craig Robinson. The first lady, Malia and Sasha Obama, and President Obamas mother-in-law Marian Robinson were in attendance as well. ...
  1 day ago

• Rudd plays careful hand at CHOGM

  
  Ohaiyo Business Magazine — Authority: 136
  Prime Minister Kevin Rudds appearance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is an exercise in double-purpose diplomacy. First, he wants to keep a high profile among his Commonwealth colleagues, meeting all the big players of this 53-nation group: Britains Gordon Brown, Indias Manmohan Singh, South ...
  1 day ago

• Burn Baby Burn and Drill Baby Drill

  
  Bloodthirsty Liberal — Authority: 150
  Oh dear, what’s an environmental activist to do?The administration of Governor Deval Patrick, in a sharp disagreement with Patrick’s handpicked Senate appointee, said yesterday that it would be a mistake for President Obama to grant US Senator Paul G. Kirk Jr.’s request to delay federal approval of the Cape Wind ...
  1 day ago

• Obama’s Thanksgiving dinner has 50 guests

  
  C.O.P.S. — Authority: 136
  but no visit to our military – only a couple phone calls. The Obamas are having an equally plentiful meal. In addition to the traditional turkey, the family is having a honey baked ham. There will also be two kinds of stuffing (oyster and cornbread), macaroni and cheese, and six -- yes, six -- different kinds of ...
  2 days ago

• Oprah to host widow of Senator Edward Kennedy

  
  Buzz Beyotch — Authority: 131
  >An outgoing Oprah Winfrey has scored another career coup – an interview with the widow of the recently deceased Senator Edward Kennedy. The interview will be the first for Victoria Reggie, aka Vicki Kennedy, since her husband’s death at the age of 77 in August. Kennedy, a prolific Democrat, was viewed as ...
  2 days ago

• Terrorized By The ‘War On Cancer’

  
  e-Patients.net — Authority: 551
  How a Three-Word Mantra Has Undermined America’s Ability To Make Sound Healthcare Decisions with apologies to Zbigniew Brzezinski In his original article about the war on terror Brzezinsky argues that the use of the term War on Terror was intended to generate a culture of fear deliberately because it ...
  2 days ago

• Friday Morning News and Views

  
  The Confluence — Authority: 620
  Good morning Conflucians! I’m a bit late this morning, because I stayed up practically all night reading a murder mystery that I couldn’t put down. At least I wasn’t working. It looks like a pretty slow news day, as you might expect. There’s still quite a bit of talk about the couple who crashed the White ...
  2 days ago

• Do it for Ted

  
  Bloodthirsty Liberal — Authority: 150
  How does a Massachusetts Republican possibly get elected to Ted Kennedy’s seat in the US Senate? He doesn’t, probably.But if he does, he does so by running as a Kennedy Democrat—John Kennedy:And if the voters didn’t get the point:Scott Brown is right, of course, but this is the same electorate that sent Ted ...
  2 days ago

• The Road to Health Care Reform Cartoon

  
  Everyday Citizen — Authority: 486
  This is a more detailed version of a cartoon that I did for the November 11, 2009 of the Tri-City Voice .
  3 days ago

• George Washingtons 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

  
  C.O.P.S. — Authority: 136
  Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a ...
  3 days ago

• Security breach at Obama’s 1st state dinner

  
  C.O.P.S. — Authority: 136
  Heard there were cuts to the Secret Service. Tareq and Michaele Salahi appear to have taken a more direct route to fame by allegedly gatecrashing President Obamas first White House dinner on Tuesday night. The US Secret Service is investigating how the couple, who its spokesman, Ed Donovan, confirmed were not on ...
  3 days ago

• Thanksgiving 2009 (UPDATED)

  
  Democrashield.com — Authority: 432
  In honor of the holiday I’m reposting one of my most popular posts ever, entitled Thank A Democrat:If you’re not a wealthy landowner and you vote, thank a Democrat: Andrew Jackson got rid of laws that discriminated against working-class Americans by restricting voting to wealthy landholders.If you’re a woman and ...
  3 days ago

• Planned Parenthood director quits

  
  C.O.P.S. — Authority: 136
  A preborn child fighting for it’s life changed her mind. Abby Johnson quit her job. That simple act has become a national news story because Johnson, 29, was the director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Texas who said she experienced a "change of heart" while participating in an abortion procedure. "I had ...
  4 days ago

• No support for Obamacare

  
  C.O.P.S. — Authority: 136
  Majority of the people know it will raise costs and harm quality of HC. Just 38% of voters now favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. That’s the lowest level of support measured for the plan in nearly two dozen tracking polls conducted since June. The latest ...
  4 days ago

• Under the big top – Obama’s 1st state dinner

  
  C.O.P.S. — Authority: 136
  His “big” circus tent did include republicans. Its being billed as the mother of all dinner parties as President Obama has invited 400 of his closest friends tonight to the first state dinner of his presidency at the White House. You might ask where are 400 guests going to sit down and eat dinner in the White ...
  4 days ago

• Kentucky Census Worker wasn’t hanged by rightwing nutbags

  
  C.O.P.S. — Authority: 136
  Will Democrat Underground admit their error? Something horrible happened to Bill Sparkman, who worked part-time as a Census worker in rural southeastern Kentucky. He was found dead. Tied to a tree. Preliminary tests show he died of asphyxiation. A speculative rumor spread by the Associated Press that Sparkman may ...
  4 days ago

• Ted Kennedys widow Vicki tells Oprah about cancer battle

  
  Daily Telegraph | Telegraph.co.uk — Authority: 969
  Senator Edward Kennedys told Oprah Winfrey on Wednesday that even as her husband knew he was dying of brain cancer, he was determined to attend the inauguration of Barack Obama.
  4 days ago

Comments about Ted Kennedy