Mary Jo Kopechne (1940-1969): R.I.P.

A terrible anniversary to mark, but ABP reminds us that on this day, 36 years ago, an innocent woman's life ended because she made the mistake of getting into an Oldsmobile driven by Senator "Tailspin" Teddy Kennedy.

On July 18, 1969, Mary Jo Kopechne was in the passenger seat of the car when Kennedy drove it off a small bridge connecting Martha's Vineyard to Chappaquiddick Island. The car overturned and sank. Kennedy - by eyewitness accounts probably drunk off his ass at the time -managed to escape, flee the scene and spend the rest of the night trying to concoct on alibi with his buddy, Joseph Gargan - including mulling the possibility of saying that Gargan was actually driving.

Kopechne would have been 65 years old this year and likely would have lived a full and happy life had it not been for the reckless irresponsibility of a man who has been a chronic screw-up and an embarrassment to his family his whole life. Kicked out of Harvard for cheating, riding to a Senate seat on his brother's name and infamous for his role - sans trousers - in the evening that led to his nephew's arrest and trial for rape in South Florida, Teddy Kennedy escaped responsibility for his actions and, ultimately, justice for Kopechne's death.

By rights, Kennedy should have served at least ten years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. But in those days, the MSM was able to control the story and keep it muted. Back-slapping Massachusetts politics did the rest.

Unfortunately, this is a story that is unfamiliar to most people born after that time. And the media has done its damnedest to keep it that way. Well, enter the Blogosphere. If you don't know much of the story, go to the links and read about it. And educate those friends and family who haven't heard it either.

It's not about discrediting the reputation of a man who seeks the White House. That day is long past.

It's about shedding light on the absolute hypocrisy and lack of credibility of this Left-wing icon. Of all Democrats currently in office, Ted Kennedy most represents what went wrong with that party. And why so many people, like myself, walked away from it.

Posted by: Gary at 02:00 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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