ted kennedy

[brinstar]

jesus was a taoist

[Arlos]

There's no context for any of those votes, Mindia.

The bush tax cuts, for example, if he opposed those, more power to him, as they were idiotic. Who knows what other riders or provisions were in some of those bills as well that could have caused him to vote no, despite the general concept being good. Without knowing the context, you can't know what those votes MEANT.

You need to also look at votes he was instrumental in bringing about. The Civil Rights Act in in 1964. The voting rights act in 1965. The Americans with Disabilities act. The Family and Medical Leave act. SCHIP to give health care for kids (done jointly with one of THE most conservative republicans, Orrin Hatch). That's not even a comprehensive list.

Face it, the man accomplished some great good in his life. Yes, he got drunk and had an accident and someone died, and it was his fault. Remember, though, as we discussed on this board, Leonard Little, a player for the Rams in the NFL did exactly the same thing, never even got suspended from football, and no one even thinks about it now. He wasn't penalized even as much as Kennedy was.

Sure, you didn't agree with Kennedy's politics, that's fine. That's no reason to celebrate the man's death. I hated Reagan's politics, but I wasn't dancing a jig when he died, was I?

-Arlos

[Gypsiyee]

Oh, but this was "JUST AN INCIDENT" right?

Let's also look at the shitbag's voting record:

Voted not to require photo ID for voter registration. (Feb 2002)

Military
Voted to allow more military base closures. (May 1999)

Military
Voted no to authorize military force against Iraq. (Oct 2002)

Retirement
Voted no to allow Roth IRAs for retirees. (May 1998)

Retirement
Voted no to allow personal retirement accounts. (Apr 1998)

Taxes
Voted no on $350 billion in tax cuts over 11 years. (May 2003)

Taxes
Voted no on cutting taxes by $1.35 trillion over 11 years. (May 2001)

Taxes
Voted no on $790 billion in tax cuts. (Jul 1999)

Welfare
Voted no to limit welfare for immigrants. (Jun 1997)

Welfare
Voted no on welfare reform (Sep 1995) (rollcall #443)

Deficit
Voted yes for a Congressional permit to allow unlimited deficit spending (March 26, 1979) (rollcall #20)

Death Penalty
Voted no to make it harder for Death Row inmates to extend appeals (Apr 17, 1996) (rollcall #66).

He also wanted to amend the constitution to take away our gun rights.

So, tell us again GYPSIYEEE, how this fucking asshole was a diligent servant to the civil rights of American Citizens.

Do you think I don't know about Chappaquiddick or something? It's common knowledge, and of course has been heavily circulated lately as an excuse for self righteous douchebags to celebrate his death. Yes, he was wrong. Yes, it was a horrendous accident that should've never happened. Despite how tragic it is and how it will forever taint his name, it doesn't just undo the work he's done in the 40 years since.

As far as the list, as Arlos said much of it is taken out of context but even out of context I can say to a handful of those - good.they were the right votes.

Voted no to Iraq - uh.. in what world do you think yes to Iraq was a good vote? Tell that to the families of dead soldiers who have no justifiable reason that they'll never see their beloved husband/wife, daughter/son, mother/father again.

Welfare to immigrants? Highly controversial, but if you had to go through the immigration process you'd probably agree that it's no picnic and the people who go through it and work hard and pay taxes to support it deserve any rights to it that we do. Immigrants are not lepers - you wouldn't even exist in the states if it wasn't for immigration, so get off your fucking high horse.

Tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts - why do people whine about tax cuts all the time? We have one of the lowest personal tax rates IN THE WORLD. Taxes serve a purpose - if you want to pay no taxes, I hope you also enjoy driving on dirt roads, having no military, watching gramma die due to no healthcare (oh look, death panel propaganda works both ways), and no defense programs - you're scared of foreigners now? Imagine a tax free world that couldn't afford to defend your racist ass from Pedro.

As far as the death penalty vote, if more people would've voted that way, I guess Cameron Todd wouldn't be unjustifiably dead today, would he? And that's only one case.

If you want to overlook all the good TK has done, you're just choosing to be ignorant. This man worked tirelessly for civil rights, for healthcare, for AIDS legislation, for the disabled, for equal rights for women.. basically worked his entire career for equal treatment for all Americans.

Political disagreement aside, Kennedy is a man who loved his country and its people. He's a guy who repeatedly, regardless of his liberal leanings, worked across the aisle and reached out to republicans - he had a very respectflul and close relationship with your beloved republican messiah, and even Nancy Reagan has nothing but good things to say about him.

Congratulations on copying and pasting some forwarded email you received, though.

[Narrock]

Gyps, his voting record, as I posted it, was NOT taken out of context. The guy from that site merely posted some of the hot-button voting records. And this wasn't from an email. You can Google "Ted Kennedy's voting record" and get a couple hundred sites. Here's one (and yet another example of why this guy was a piece of shit). Now, not everything he voted on was "bad" but most of his votes defined who he was as a person, and his overall voting record clearly indicates he was a socialist and an anti-American... typical of most democrats and left-wingers.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Ted_Kennedy.htm

[10sun]

Gyps, his voting record, as I posted it, was NOT taken out of context. The guy from that site merely posted some of the hot-button voting records. And this wasn't from an email. You can Google "Ted Kennedy's voting record" and get a couple hundred sites. Here's one (and yet another example of why this guy was a piece of shit). Now, not everything he voted on was "bad" but most of his votes defined who he was as a person, and his overall voting record clearly indicates he was a socialist and an anti-American... typical of most democrats and left-wingers.

http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Ted_Kennedy.htm

Anti-American as he might have been, he was a much better American and Christian than you could ever aspire to become.

[Gypsiyee]

typical of most democrats and left-wingers.

anything credible you ever say just goes out the window with bullshit like this.

[araby]

I saw Jesus in the voting booth and he said, "fuck this, let's go to the bar and turn the wine into whiskey." I followed Him.

[araby]

but ya'll have to admit, it was pretty shady stuff, that story with that girl.

[Drem]

yeah it's pretty hard to overcome the "i'm a murderer" part of your life i'd imagine. i'd probably drink a lot too if i were him

[Ginzburgh]

Murder is premeditated. It was an accident.

[Harrison]

Second-degree murder is still murder. Semantics don't bring back the dead.

[Ginzburgh]

Second-degree murder eh? And how did you arrive at that legal conclusion Matlock?

[Tossica]

Vehicular manslaughter or something to that effect.

[brinstar]

1st degree murder - premeditated killing
2nd degree murder - "heat of the moment" killing, or when the commission of another felony (i.e. robbery) results in killing
manslaughter - accidental killing (i.e. traffic)