Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on August 29, 2009

Mary Jo Kopechne, rest in peace

Fame, fortune, good looks, Ivy League education, a respected family name, political power… Edward “Ted” Kennedy had it all.

And he squandered much of his gifts with alcohol, womanizing, having umpteen extramarital affairs (to the point his wife left him). Sad that he died this week? Not really. Because he lived to be an old man, an extremely rich old man with power and prestige. We all die.

But, once again, Ted was one of the lucky ones because he knew when to expect to die.

Kennedy was given more than a year by his doctors to take care of his personal business, tell his loved ones his feelings for them, reflect on his seven-plus decades of living, make amends with God, receive dubious awards and accolades from his fawning Democrat colleagues in Washington.

Mary Jo Kopechne was never permitted any of those things. And had Ted Kennedy not callously left her to drown (he claimed he dove several times to save her… I don’t believe him) in a tidal channel on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts 40 years ago, she likely would have had the full, joyous life she and her parents and friends believed she would have.

Kopechne died in that submerged car just a week shy of her 29th birthday.

Grotesquely, Kennedy was pretty much absolved of any wrong doing by law enforcement for leaving the poor young woman in the submerged car (received a 2-month sentence, which was suspended, for leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury… pretty damned lucky he had Daddy Kennedy’s influence).

Even more grotesquely, he later could easily distance himself from what had happened to Mary Jo. In his mind, he was washed clean of any responsibility for the tragic accident. No guilt, no worries, no remorse. As remembered by one of his friends, Ed Klein, former Newsweek editor, Kennedy had a great sense of humor. Which included telling Chappaquiddick jokes.

Monster.

Summary and partial transcript from YouTube video uploader:

This isn’t an accusation from Ted Kennedy’s political opponents, but a nostalgic remembrance by one of his friends. Ed Klein, former Newsweek editor, tells the Diane Rehm Show:

“I don’t know if you know this or not, but one of his favorite topics of humor was indeed Chappaquiddick itself. And he would ask people, have you heard any new jokes about Chappaquiddick? That is just the most amazing thing. It’s not that he didnt feel remorse about the death of Mary Jo Kopechne, but that he still always saw the other side of everything and the ridiculous side of things, too.”

Cold-hearted, privileged, lucky… monster. Go ahead… sing his praises to the high heavens, heap accolades by the truckload on his left-wing ideologies, weep because his death signals the end of a contrivance by the mainstream media they called “Camelot.” His laughter at what happened at Chappaquiddick in 1969, at his failure to try to save Mary Jo but rather save his own hide, then to joke about it years later… that spells “monster” to me.

Kennedy liked to joke about Chappaquiddick?

Response about Kennedy’s jokes from Mark Hemingway, The Corner on National Review Online:

EXCUSE ME? If that’s true, it makes Kennedy kind of a monster. The odd thing is that if you listen to the whole show, the tone of everyone involved is nauseatingly hagiographic and reverential. Klein apparently let his guard down a bit; after he lets it slip Kennedy liked to joke about the woman he killed you can actually hear in his voice that he’s trying to backpedal. The show actually cuts to a break as he’s trying to explain himself, and I seriously wonder if it wasn’t the producers trying to do Klein a favor. But I’m sorry, there appears to be little to that could explain this. It goes way beyond “you had to be there.”

From fullgospelpreacher:

Ted Kennedy, Mary Jo Kopechne, and Chappaquiddick

No tears from me for Kennedy. I am shedding a few today for Mary Jo.

Related reading:
Smart Girl Politics: Mary Jo can finally rest in peace.
Washington Post: He Remains the Man Many Love to Loathe
Dan Gifford, Big Hollywood: Treasonous Teddy: Chappaquiddick Only the Beginning
Patterico’s Pontifications: Pelosi: Ted Kennedy Died? Great! That Ought to Help Us Pass Health Care! and The Tedward Lovefest: Candidate for Health Care Sainthood Has One Teensy, Weensy Little Blemish on His Health Care Record
Hot Air: “One of his favorite topics of humor was indeed Chappaquiddick itself”; Update: Audio added
Yervand Kochar, Big Hollywood: When the Universe Replaces God
Tammy Bruce: Henry Rollins Asks “Where’s Mary Jo Kopechne’s Eulogy?”
Jules Crittenden: Dems In Mourning
Bookworm Room: Ted Kennedy — monster
Synthstuff – music, photography and more…: Happy Birthday Mary Jo
Gateway Pundit: Kennedy’s Death a TV Ratings Flop
The Powers That Be: Chris Matthews is Wrong to Say Obama is the Last Kennedy Brother
Rosita the Prole: Mary Jo Kopechne to Ted Kennedy: “Welcome to the Afterlife.”
Verum Serum: Ted Kennedy: Life of the Party*
Common Sense Political Thought: They’re just so honest in Massachusetts
The Substratum: Senator Edward Kennedy Dies And I Can’t Lie, The Champagne Will Be Flowing Tonight At My Place
Ztower: Ol’ Ted could sure tell the knee slappers. Why I remember the one he used to tell about Chappaquiddick…what a hoot!
silent E speaks: Kennedy’s Dying Wish???
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Death Coverage Snit: Michael Jackson vs. Ted Kennedy, from Fried Green al-Qaedas and Obligatory Ted Kennedy Motorcade Funeral Route Information… No Mr. Potato Head Balloon? and “KennedyCare” Photo of the Day and Last of the Brothers of Camelot: Edward Kennedy, Rest in Peace
The Anchoress, First Things: Ted Kennedy, Healthcare & Purgatory
Vets On The Watch: And So It Begins
The Underground Conservative: The Last Kennedy Brother
Libertarian Humor: Anonymous Blogger on Ted Kennedy
Sister Toldjah: Only hiding out in a cave will save us from all this fawning Kennedy coverage
WSJ Blog, Washington Wire: Kennedy’s Death Spurs Calls to Pass Health Legislation
Gathering of Eagles: NY: They Will Use Any Wretched Event To Try To Pass Obamacare
Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Rush Was Right: Dems Call For “The Kennedy Memorial Health Bill”
Clinging to G & G: I opt for Kennedy-care
Bulletproof Diction: The Honorable Sir Edward Moore Kennedy Amendment
The Xtremist: Ted Kennedy’s Ghost Will Be Spotted Asking For ObamaCare
Michelle Malkin: The wretched excess begins

Categories: Government, Media & Communication, Notable Deaths
Tags: America, Boston, Chappaquiddick, Congress, Democrat, Edward Kennedy, Edward Kennedy dies, funeral, government-run health care, Kennedy dies, KennedyCare, Mary Jo Kopechne, Massachusetts, motorcade, Mr. Potato Head, nationalized health care, ObamaCare, patients, president, single payer health care, socialism, socialized health care, socialized medicine, taxes, Ted Kennedy, Ted Kennedy dies, Ted Kennedy Health Care Bill, Teddy Kennedy, universal health care