Thank you, Sen. Kennedy.

[Drunken Irishman]

Many people, especially on our side of the field, pounced on you after Hillary won fairly decisively in Massachusetts. They claimed you were weak, your voice muted, however, you never gave in. Instead of folding it all up and heading back to DC, you still fought for Obama. You traveled up to Maine, a place once thought to be Hillary Country, and you campaigned your butt off, even after the licking you took Tuesday. Though many don't want to admit it, you helped Obama in other states and you helped him in Maine today. I hope you at least feel a bit vindicated now that Obama took that state by a wide margin.

Thank you, Senator Kennedy, you are not only a party hero, but an American hero as well and I hope you continue fighting for Sen. Obama.


Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., arrives at a campaign rally for presidential hopeful, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Friday, Feb. 8, 2008, in Portland, Maine, along his Portuguese water dogs, Splash, foreground, and Sunny.
(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

[jlake]

1. He is a big fat turd - and the reason that the Democratic Party has been on life

support for the past 25 years (save for the Clinton interlude)

[rox63]

6. WTF are you snorting?

Ted Kennedy is the fiercest fighter for progressive causes we have in the Senate?

[jlake]

7. He cost Carter re-election.

[NJSecularist]

15. Carter cost himself re-election

and Kennedy, to his regret, sped up the process.

[jlake]

19. If Kennedy had put is ego aside, and helped Carter - then maybe there

would not have been a President Reagan - if Obama supporters can blame Clinton for Bush it is MORE THAN FAIR to blame Kennedy for Reagan.

[Hutzpa]

89. You are some piece of work

you never seize to amaze me. You will do and say anything, even if it
distort the truth.

What a character you are.....no surprise then of the type of
friends the Clintons keep.

These are the characters she want to take with her to WH, thats the
change she wants shady characters.

[ChiciB1]

96. And Perhaps There Would Still Be Other Democrats Standing For The

nomination! My respect for him has been greatly diminished, and it has been for many others up there in the land of the D.C. Elites!!

[Carolina]

58. exactly

Carter was perceived as weak. Though a great man, he was not a great president and ripe for the pickings at the time.

[Hawkowl]

86. Carter should've stepped aside

It was obvious he had no chance in hell of winning. He should've refused to run a la LBJ. Stagflation PLUS Iranian hostage crisis, PLUS the "energy crisis". Carter never, ever had a chance.

[WinkyDink]

117. He didn't need to be shown as perceived weak BY HIS OWN PARTY, via Kennedy.

[rox63]

16. No - Reagan and his dealings with Iran lost Carter the election n/t

[jlake]

27. Ted sure didn't help.

If the Democrats would have stood behind the president instead of gone out on an ego trip - maybe we would have never seen President Reagan.

[sloppyjoe25s]

40. Stop living in the PAST

turn the page...

[jlake]

48. I'm trying - getting Hillary elected instead of the same old establishment candidate

will be a big first step.

[newmajority]

106. BushBushBush ClintonClinton BushBush

Uh.... who's the establishment candidate??

[stevietheman]

113. Hillary is THE ESTABLISHMENT CANDIDATE!!! n/t

n/t

[WillyT]

17. Your At A 10... You Need To Dial It Back To A 2...

:wtf:

[jlake]

25. You don't agree that Old Ted's ego led to President Reagan?

[provis99]

28. NO. The idiot "Reagan Democrats" led to Reagan's election

Blame them, not Kennedy.

[jlake]

34. There is no such thing as a "Reagan Democrat" - Stop spreading that RW Shit.

[provis99]

45. The Democratic party called them "Reagan Democrats" first

not the Republicans. They were white, blue collar Democrats who voted against their own economic interests, in favor of some vague "America is great" slogans from Reagan. Haven't you been paying attention to Howard Dean? His whole spiel these days is to win back the people who identify as Democrats, especially in the South, but vote Republican presidents in.

[jlake]

47. I call them "Republicans".

[provis99]

50. what you call them mean jack squat. What they call themselves means everything

[jlake]

53. Who they vote for defines them. Just like Larry Craig is not gay, right?

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

[Carolina]

59. thank you

the losing Team Hillary just can't handle the truth.

[JVS]

93. But your distinguished colleague Proud2BAmurkin tells me that Reagan Democrats will give Clinton PA

[newmajority]

97. Carter's election was stolen by Poppy Bush

It wasn't as obvious as Florida 2000, but it was stolen all the same. If you know where the term "October Surprise" came from, you know the story. If you remember when the hostages were released from Iran, you know the results.

[provis99]

9. I take it Zell Miller and Joe Lieberman are more to your taste

I have issues with the glorification of JFK and Bobby Kennedy, but Ted Kennedy has always been reliably liberal, the heart and soul of the Democratic wing of the Democratic party.

And Carter lost his own re-election, Kennedy has nothing to do with it. I love Carter, but the guy was an incumbent who lost against a clueless clown like Reagan.

[jlake]

13. I have issues with the glorification of the Kennedys. PERIOD

Ted has done far more damage than good.

[provis99]

20. As in what? Chappaquiddick and his pantless partying?

That's the only criticism Republicans can come up with against Ted. Do you have others?

[jlake]

30. As in putting Reagan in the White House by stabbing President Carter in the back.

[provis99]

36. "Reagan Democrats" voted FOR Reagan, not because of anything Ted did

[LittleClarkie]

107. I've seen people here refer to Chappaquiddick to attack him

I just about had an aneurysm.

We shouldn't be using the same criticisms the Republicans would use just because the man is supporting someone other than OUR candidate.

[WillyT]

24. One Could Say THAT Of The Clintons, No ???

:wtf:

[jlake]

32. Has a Clinton ever run against a sitting Democratic president and torn the party apart?

NO. But Old Ted sure did!

[WillyT]

39. They May Be Tearing The Party Apart Right Now !!!

Or haven't you been looking around?

:shrug:

[jlake]

46. Hillary is ahead - so Obama should drop out if you're worried about the party being divided.

And it is NOT the same thing to run in a primary as against the SITTING president.
Ted's a fat bastard and you know it.

[WillyT]

54. And You Ain't Much Of A Democrat

You need to chill.

[Carolina]

61. Hillary is ahead????!!!!

you really are delusional

[jlake]

62. yes she is. She still leads Obama by 30 delegates.

[Carolina]

72. She's still a long way from the needed delegate count

to be the nominee. Your post was saying that Obama needed to drop out because HRC is winning but that measly 30 delegate lead will be wiped out in another Obama clean sweep on Tuesday.

He's got the message, momentum, media, money. He's the winner no matter how Team Hillary tries -- as usual -- to SPIN things.

[jlake]

77. I said she was "ahead" not winning - and it was in response to someone saying

that Hillary needed to drop out. It is obvious that it is a race - and either can win - and neither needs to drop out - I was just pointing out that accusing Hillary of "tearing the Democratic Party apart" is a stupid thing to say.

[Usrename]

109. 1031 to 944 with Obama ahead by a whole bunch.

You need to try and keep up! This is starting to move pretty fast.

http://www.barackobama.com/resultscenter/

[Carolina]

60. Touche

[rosetta627]

68. Your ignorance of history is showing jlake

But if you keep very very quiet maybe no one else will notice.

[juajen]

79. Actually,IMHO, Carter was set up.

Reagan's people made a deal with the Iranians to free hostages only on Reagan's watch. I think I remember that right, don't I?

[skooooo]

11. Kennedy is one of the best democrats around.

[rosetta627]

65. And Kennedy has been one of the best Democrats around

For decades. Damn right skooooo.

[Kittycat]

18. Wow. He's done so much good, and that's what you have to say about it?

[jlake]

37. I know Obama supporters love to praise Reagan - so I can understand your

praise for the guy responsible for Reagan.

[Kittycat]

49. And by your definition - we can thank Clinton for Bush.

You know - it's one thing to be disappointed that your candidate didn't get his support. It's quite another to be an ass and act like he's a worthless senator. Without Kennedy, I'd hate to think where our country would be right now. He's done THAT much good looking out for the poor and middle class. You however, can enjoy choking on your sour grapes.

[jlake]

51. Obama supporters have been doing that for months - so keep on blaming Clinton.

[TankLV]

73. umm - I'm a HILLARY supporter - and you should be ASHAMED for your bile against this fine Democrat

and American!

SHAME ON YOU!!!

[Occam Bandage]

23. He's cast more liberal votes than anyone alive. If you want to blame liberalism for the dark days

of the Democratic party, then I certainly understand your support of the Great Triangulator.

[ProSense]

26. Sore loser! Hillary's campaign can't be saved by sour grapes! n/t

[Carolina]

56. so typical of the Hillary-Loser mentality

name-calling!

And as for "the reason that the Democratic Party has been on life support for the past 25 years,"
put the blame where it belongs... with the triangulators, equivocators, spinners, the go-along to get along GOP-lite crowd and those who ran from and allowed the word liberal to become a slur akin to a four-letter word.

NONE of that fits Kennedy.

[K Gardner]

69. i *HEART* Teddy and ALL the Kennedys ! Thanks for being our voice after JFK and Bobby..

[TankLV]

70. That's just uncalled for...

regardless of who you support, Ted Kennedy has been a beacon for the noble causes for DECADES now...

shame on you!!!

I don't agree at all with his opinion of obama - but - SHAME ON YOU!!!

[donheld]

83. I've seen a lot of idiotic statements at DU in my time, but none

NONE as idiotic as that one. No wonder Mrs Clinton's campaign is about to be on life support if you're the only kind of supporters she has. Did you hear me? I said Idiotic!

[saltpoint]

90. Politically inaccurate, jlake. Note for instance his older brothers'

low threshold of tolerance with the chamber and Ted's acuity in managing solutions over long-term negotiation. A very under-estimated gift and dedicatory energy.

My family has been personally assisted by intervention by Senator Kennedy's staff. They went well above and beyond the call of duty in delivering us from a particularly threatening set of circumstances.

You underestimate a good man with one of Washington's absolutely best staffs.

[newmajority]

102. The reason the Democratic party is on life support is

[LittleClarkie]

105. I wouldn't describe one of our elder statesmen as a big fat turd, personally

no matter who he was supporting.

He's one of the good guys.

[dionysus]

110. and you sir, have exposed yourself as a douchebag...

[stevietheman]

111. Spoken like a true Hillbot. n/t

n/t

[Forkboy]

115. You're a fucking disgrace.

[Forkboy]

116. You're a fucking disgrace.

[Forkboy]

118. You're a fucking disgrace.

[Forkboy]

119. You're a fucking disgrace.

Get a fucking clue.

[NJSecularist]

2. Thank you, Liberal Lion!!!!

[FrenchieCat]

3. Yes, Thank you Ted! For standing up again and again for what is right

when others kept on sitting!

You are an American political jewel, and you always will be!

[bicentennial_baby]

4. w00t for my Senator!!

:bounce:

[AtomicKitten]

5. His endorsement was golden.

As was Caroline's. The Kennedys are the backbone of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.

[Saturday]

29. Yep, it was tarnished gold. ROTFLMAO n/t

[AtomicKitten]

43. Your disrespect for the Kennedy family is duly noted.

Shame.

[Skwmom]

8. An op ed slammed Kennedy for being "disloyal" to the Clintons.

Kennedy does not owe his loyalty to the Clintons.
Kennedy does not owe his loyalty to Obama.
Kennedy does not owe his loyalty to the Democratic Party.
Kennedy owes his loyalty to this COUNTRY and I believe Kennedy is supporting Obama because his love of country trumps all else (even though I do believe what is best for the country is also best for the Democratic Party)!

The Clintons - their love of self trumps all else.

[TexasObserver]

10. Teddy has always been one my heroes.

[SoFlaJet]

12. all of that "well senators Kennedy and Kerry couldn't help Obama"

win in Mass.crap that I was hearing on MSNBC...what about Washington State where two dem senators couldn't help stop a blowout and they've been in the Clinton corner for a lot longer than a week...jus sayin'

[grantcart]

14. well said

[JVS]

21. He's such a mensch

[Saturday]

22. Yes, thank you Senator Kennedy for helping Clinton win MA. n/t

[angie_love]

31. At 75 yrs old Teddy is still a fierce liberal lion, hes such a fighter

He really is a hero I look up to.

[Raffi Ella]

33. Yeah,

the Old Guard Kennedy's backs this CHANGE and Look to the Future Candidate while the Young Kennedy's back Hillary.

That says it all.

[angie_love]

41. Aren't Patrick and Caroline Kennedy the same age as Bobby Kennedys children?

I think you are mistaken. Anyway come on, JFK's childrens endorsement are more important the Bobby's kids endorsement. Anyway Bobby's wife endorsed Obama.

[cali]

66. wrong. Bobby is 54, Kathleen is 57 and Kerry is 49

Caroline, Patrick and Kerry are all younger.

[Bluerthanblue]

35. I add my thanks-

:hi:


This is a group effort.
Yes WE can!

peace~

[democrattotheend]

38. Here, here

Kennedy (and Kerry) took a big risk endorsing Obama when he was clearly the underdog. He was down 30 points in Massachusetts when Kennedy endorsed him, and I was kind of irked at the way the media made him look like a loser when Clinton won Massachusetts. I still think Kennedy's endorsement helped turn the tide for Obama, and he might not be where he is today without Kennedy's support.

[blogslut]

42. Thank you, Senator Kennedy

Thank you. And while you're at it, give our thanks to Caroline.

[alteredstate]

44. K & R!

[melody]

52. Teddy is a human with faults but he has often stood alone for liberal ideals

Without him, we'd have often had no voice at all in the senate.

[Freida5]

55. Kennedy dynasty has failed America and Democrats again

[Carolina]

63. Bullshit

[rosetta627]

71. How have they failed America?

By getting murdered by CIA thugs?

Blaming the victims much?

[Freida5]

78. Teddy failed at getting health care passed, help bring in the Reagan era and

brought us the failed campaign of John Kerry 4 years ago.

[rosetta627]

80. You know what, I totally agree about Teddy's support for Kerry

I just can't fathom it.
IMO Kerry took a dive, did not even try to beat his Skull and Bones "rival" Bush.
Did not make an issue of the blatant vote fraud.
And all the while Teddy is backing him up.

I have no explanation for that.
I don't blame you for holding it against him.

Appreciate the reply.

[democrattotheend]

82. How often do senators not endorse their colleagues from the same state?

When both are the same party?

John Kerry was far from my first choice in 2004, but looking back, I'm not sure any of the Dems running could have won.

[rosetta627]

85. That's probably true democrattotheend

Still, it shouldn't be pro forma. It should mean something. He's asking us to trust his sincerity and judgement. He's vouching for someone.

And Teddy went way beyond a simple endorsement. He went down to Iowa and campaigned hard for Kerry.
Then Kerry didn't even try to win.
It's not just that he lost. It's that he didn't even try to win...

[fedupinBushcountry]

87. BS

So you back one good Dem and tear down another total hypocrisy. BTW Teddy would of endorsed Kerry if he ran again in an instant, you have no idea what you are talking about. Take your childish disappointment into a high school forum. Sheesh.

[rosetta627]

88. It's BS 'cause I distinguish between Dems?

Tell ya what fedupinBushcountry.
Kiss my ass.

[MBS]

101. Kerry worked his tail off in 2004

Kerry himself has admitted that the campaign made some mistakes, but still: he was fighting a valiant, uphill battle against fear, ignorance, history (no sitting president in a time of war has ever been defeated for re-election. . ) and a dysfunctional Democratic party. And, with all of this, he still almost won. No Democrat could possibly have done better against W in 2004 than Kerry did.

Oh, yeah. And both Kennedy and Kerry have been working their tails off for Obama. Both of them walk the walk, daily, for our country, often taking political heat for their work, and rarely receiving adequate thanks or recognition for what they do. I'm proud to have both of them as my senators, and, in my opinion, it's high time that people stop the juvenile bashing, and give both these patriots the appreciation they so richly deserve.

[Bicoastal]

75. You mean he failed YOU. You're not the only person in the party. nt

[TankLV]

76. HOW?!?! The Kennedy's have given MORE than anybody else to help this country...

what a fucked and IGNORANT thing to say!!!

but reading a lot of your posts, I'n not at all surprised by your bile...

this is just inexcusable!!!

[dionysus]

114. go away troll

[Forkboy]

120. Idiot.

[BeyondGeography]

57. Check out Mr. Tartan in the front row!

and hooray for Teddy!

K&R

[rosetta627]

64. Great thread. Love you Senator Kennedy

You are a courageous and principled man.

[saltpoint]

67. Ya want a true blue liberal over several decades to stand up for

people and fight the good fight?

Ted's the lion.

[Coexist]

74. I love you dearly, old Lion!

[Sultana]

81. Amazing picture

the Kennedys are fighters!

Thank You, Senator Kennedy :-)

[stillcool]

84. Wow...reading these posts..

is so sad. I wonder how some of these people judge themselves? I can't imagine having that much hate in your heart.

[mzmolly]

91. Kennedy has some long coat tails. His endorsement certainly wasn't about

Mass. ;)

[Drunken Irishman]

92. Yup, the big picture helps Obama.

[JVS]

94. BTW, I love your sig pic. Do you know where I can get some pins like that?

I might be attending a St. Pat's party in PA

[Drunken Irishman]

95. I don't.

You can e-mail this site http://www.irishamericansforobama.com/ and ask them, that's where I got the pin image.

Here's their e-mail address: mailto:[e-mail]

[mzmolly]

99. Thanks "Drunken" I've wondered the same thing.

Have you seen this?

Ancestry.com revealed on March 12, 2007, it had found records confirming Obama’s Irish roots. Canon Stephen Neill, a local Anglican rector, said church documents he found - along with census, immigration and other records tracked down by U.S. genealogists - show that Obama's great-great-great-grandfather, Fulmouth Kearney, came from Moneygall in Ireland.

On March 20, 1850, a 19-year-old farm hand named Fulmouth Kearney landed in New York Harbor from famine-wrecked Ireland. He went to Ohio to live with relatives, married and had eight children. Three of his daughters married brothers in the Dunham family and one of them eventually produced Ann Dunham (Obama’s mother). Ann Dunham married a Kenyan student called Barack Obama and they had Barack Obama Jr.

He does have quite an interesting heritage. ;)

[Drunken Irishman]

100. Yup! Very proud of the fact some of his line traces back to Ireland. :)

Maybe that's why Kennedy endorsed him?

:D

[mzmolly]

103. Perhaps?

;) I'm a bit o' Irish myself, so of course this is worth some points to me!

[Freetospeak]

98. Agreed!

[LittleClarkie]

104. I would honor him no matter who I was supporting.

We should be able to have a disagreement with our fellow Dems without bashing them

[newmajority]

108. Thank you Senator Kennedy!

Like you, and like your brothers, I'm PROUD to be a Liberal!! :patriot:

[suston96]

112. I just caught how funny this is...a poster named Drunken Irishman extolling Ted Kennedy...LMAO! nt

[Forkboy]

121. The people attacking Kennedy are shallow, clueless fucks.

No better than the fucking Repubs.

[dailykoff]

122. The guy is unstoppable.

Unkillable, uncorruptible, and still going strong after all the horrible crap they've put him through. Thanks Teddy, you're the best!!!

And thanks D-I for an honest thread, and thanks to whoever just gave me a heart!!!! :hi: :grouphug:

[Forkboy]

123. The people attacking Kennedy are shallow, clueless fucks.

No better than the fucking Repubs.

[Forkboy]

124. The people attacking Kennedy are shallow, clueless fucks.

No better than the fucking Repubs.

[Fearless]

125. Rock on TK

:yourock:

TK 2012!

[Fearless]

126. Rock on TK

:yourock:

TK 2012!

[Freida5]

127. Thanks for Kerry and Dukakis also