Friday Night Music 9-25-2009

Ted Kennedy and Massachusetts

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Here in the Bay State aka Massachusetts there has been one hell of a GOP stink over Governor Deval Patrick filling Teddy Kennedy’s Senate seat. Most of it a joke in a state that boasts on being one of the bluest of blue states and the home of the Liberal Lion, Ted Kennedy. Being a Republican in Massachusetts is a rarity in government but not unheard of when you consider we elected Bill Weld to the Governor’s office twice, and Mitt Romney to the launching pad for his presidential campaign as a one term Governor. Where’s Waldo replaced on Beacon Hill with where the hell is Mitt?

Life in politics here is simple and the differences between a Massachusetts Republican and say for instance a Wyoming Republican are night and day. And in that difference is the strong belief that our state must have a torch bearer for Ted Kennedy’s seat in our nations capitol. Over at the Boston Herald they have a somewhat forever right leaning spin on Paul Kirk’s appointment by Governor Patrick…

By Laura Crimaldi

Sen. Paul G. Kirk Jr., D-Mass., was sworn in as the state’s interim senator this afternoon by Vice President Joe Biden in Washington D.C., after a Suffolk Superior Court judge in Boston denied an emergency request by state Republicans to stop Gov. Deval Patrick from appointing a U.S. Senate replacement for the late Edward M. Kennedy.

The four-page ruling by Judge Thomas E. Connolly cleared for Kirk’s formal swearing in. Kirk is due to serve until a new senator is picked to serve out the rest of Kennedy’s term in a special election Jan. 19.

In his decision, Connolly also allowed a motion from the state’s lawyers to dismiss the GOP lawsuit against Patrick. - Boston Herald

Paul Kirk will continue the life long mission of Senator Kennedy till January of next year when a special election will select his permanent successor. I have no doubts about that at all. Governor Patrick could have picked the Pope to replace Kennedy and that still would have suffered a GOP law suit. Vickie Kennedy and Edward Kennedy Jr. would not have endorsed the Governors choice if Senator Kirk was not willing to walk in his close friends footsteps. In selecting Paul Kirk, Governor Patrick restored the spirit of our Liberal Lion back to Massachusetts.

Papamoka

Rest in Peace Teddy

It might seem hard to understand how someone that has never met someone could feel such a great loss when that person passes away. Teddy Kennedy wasn’t just a senator or the lion of the congress that many news agencies have coined him to be. He was bigger than life even with the tragic legacy of his brothers as his shield and the love of the people that returned him to his office every six years for almost five decades. He was a simple man that just loved life and loved people and that was the ultimate source that made him a great man.

I spent the weekend watching the wake and celebration of his life at the JFK Library, the Mass in Boston, and eventually the burial in Arlington National Cemetery and I still can’t personally shake the loss of this man that some would call just another politician. I gave my own personal account of what he did for my father and my family without a second thought and I wonder how many other lives he touched? From the families that had loved ones on the planes that were hijacked on September 11th to people not even in his district he reached out to in order to heal their pain. Not just once but over and over again. Calling all of the families and loved ones personally to let them know that THEY were not forgotten. Their loved one was not forgotten. In doing so he formed a bond with the people and it was a bond that brought him closer to them as if he were family. It’s something that Teddy did his entire life.

His passing was like losing a father figure or the favorite uncle that you wished you had growing up. Teddy was bigger than life but he would be just as comfortable in a soup kitchen with homeless people as he would be dining at the Ritz. How anyone endures the loss of two of his brothers by assassination is beyond my personal comprehension and I‘m sure yours as well. How you lead a family and not implode after those events personally is a testament to his strength and spirit as a man and to his faith in God. Most people would have coward in fear and yet Teddy spent all of the days of his life in public service and in doing so sent a message to America, we can never give up if we believe our cause to be true. He carried the torch forward and honorably in the place of his three brothers.

My heart goes out to his family but especially to the love of his life Vickie. Without her, he would have been just another politician and the Kennedy legacy would have died. Yes, he could have still done great things but his mission would not be the same without her to heal him so he could help so many others. She saved him and he in turn saved countless others.

Rest in peace and you will be in our prayers Teddy.

Papamoka