HYANNIS PORT, Massachusetts - Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Senate who lost two of his brothers to assassins' bullets, has died after battling a brain tumor. He was 77.

 

 

 

For nearly a half-century in the Senate, Kennedy was a steadfast champion of the working class and the poor, a powerful voice on health care, civil rights, and war and peace. To the American public, though, he was best known as the last surviving son of America's most glamorous political family, the eulogist of a clan shattered again and again by tragedy.

 

 

 

His family announced his death in a brief statement released early Wednesday.

 

 

 

"We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever," the statement said. "We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all."

 

 

 

Long-serving senator

 

Kennedy was elected to the Senate in 1962, when his brother John was president, and served longer than all but two senators in history. Over the decades, he put his imprint on every major piece of social legislation to clear the Congress.

 

 

 

His own hopes of reaching the White House were damaged perhaps doomed in 1969 by the scandal that came to be known as Chappaquid[bleep], an auto accident that left a young woman dead.

 

 

 

Kennedy known to family, friends and foes simply as Ted ended his quest for the presidency in 1980 with a stirring valedictory that echoed across the decades: "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."

 

 

 

The third-longest-serving senator in U.S. history, Kennedy was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor in May 2008 and underwent surgery and a grueling regimen of radiation and chemotherapy.

 

 

 

His death late Tuesday comes just weeks after that of his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver on Aug. 11.

 

 

 

Surprise blessing

 

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Kennedy's son, Rhode Island Democratic congressman Patrick Kennedy, said his father had defied the predictions of doctors by surviving more than a year with his fight against brain cancer.

 

 

 

The younger Kennedy said that gave family members a surprise blessing, as they were able to spend more time with the senator and to tell him how much he had meant to their lives.

 

 

 

The younger Kennedy said his father's legacy was built largely in the Senate.

 

 

 

"He has authored more pieces of major legislation than any other United States senator," Patrick Kennedy said in the interview. "He is the penultimate senator. I don't need to exaggerate when I talk about my father. That's the amazing thing. He breaks all the records himself."

 

 

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32491712/?gt1=43001

 

 

 

 

 

This news is just breaking, as in the last ten minutes, so I'll be checking for updates periodically.

Doesn't really affect (or effect?) me.

 

 

 

Sorry that he died though.

[bleep] off with the news articles people

 

 

 

What else is there to post about this? I was just trying to share news, which I thought was important, because of what Ted Kennedy had done in his lifetime.

 

 

 

What did he do? :?

Doesn't really affect (or effect?) me.

 

 

 

Sorry that he died though.

[bleep] off with the news articles people

 

 

 

What else is there to post about this? I was just trying to share news, which I thought was important, because of what Ted Kennedy had done in his lifetime.

 

 

 

What did he do? :?

 

 

 

Instead of typing it all out, and I'm sure I'd miss something, I found this video from CNN:

 

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politi ... it.mxf.cnn

 

It really just shows his life, and there isn't a huge list of his accomplishments, but he seemed like an important person so I thought his death deserved a thread.

Maybe this will shove off all the Micael Jackson death specials! Then again, Anna Nicole was dead for like 2 months before she finially died. Not too sure who Ted Kennedy was (although I'm sure he was important, I just don't feel like watching a video telling me the magnitude of which) but it sucks that he died. Sucks that anyone dies really, but so goes life.

Well, he was JFK's brother if you didn't already guess that, he was a major campaigner for most kinds of reform, he majorly supported Obama in the election, and he continued to serve as a senator after he got the news he had a malignant brain tumor. Those are the things that pop into my mind at first.

Well, he was JFK's brother if you didn't already guess that, he was a major campaigner for most kinds of reform, he majorly supported Obama in the election, and he continued to serve as a senator after he got the news he had a malignant brain tumor. Those are the things that pop into my mind at first.

 

 

 

I thought JFK only had one brother (the one that got shot while campaigning near the time of Vietnam). Huh. Well, my respect of Ted Kennedy has been lifted. Sucks to loose someone so involved with American history.

Kennedy and his Senate staff have written about 2,500 bills, of which more than 300 have been enacted into law.[59] Kennedy has co-sponsored another 550 bills that became law since 1973.[59] Kennedy is known for his effectiveness in dealing with Republican senators and administrations, sometimes to the irritation of Democrats.[204] During the 101st Congress under President George H. W. Bush, fully half of the successful proposals put forward by the Senate Democratic policy makers came out of Kennedy's Labor and Human Resources Committee.[205] During the 2000s, almost every bipartisan bill signed during the George W. Bush administration had significant involvement from Kennedy.[33] A late 2000s survey of Republican senators ranked Kennedy first among Democrats in bipartisanship.[203] Kennedy strongly believed in the principle "never let the perfect be the enemy of the good," and would agree to pass legislation he viewed as incomplete or imperfect with the goal of improving it down the road.

 

 

 

Ted Kennedy was the greatest and most effective legislator that the United States has ever had.

 

 

 

Thank you for everything you did, Ted. You are an American hero, and deserve much remembrance. Even though you never saw your dream of universal health coverage attained, I promise that I will work towards getting us there. I promise you. Thank you for everything that you and your family has done for this country. Say hello to Bobby and Jack for me; if there's an afterlife, that is.

Kennedy and his Senate staff have written about 2,500 bills, of which more than 300 have been enacted into law.[59] Kennedy has co-sponsored another 550 bills that became law since 1973.[59] Kennedy is known for his effectiveness in dealing with Republican senators and administrations, sometimes to the irritation of Democrats.[204] During the 101st Congress under President George H. W. Bush, fully half of the successful proposals put forward by the Senate Democratic policy makers came out of Kennedy's Labor and Human Resources Committee.[205] During the 2000s, almost every bipartisan bill signed during the George W. Bush administration had significant involvement from Kennedy.[33] A late 2000s survey of Republican senators ranked Kennedy first among Democrats in bipartisanship.[203] Kennedy strongly believed in the principle "never let the perfect be the enemy of the good," and would agree to pass legislation he viewed as incomplete or imperfect with the goal of improving it down the road.

 

 

 

Ted Kennedy was the greatest and most effective legislator that the United States has ever had.

 

 

 

Thank you for everything you did, Ted. You are an American hero, and deserve much remembrance. Even though you never saw your dream of universal health coverage attained, I promise that I will work towards getting us there. I promise you. Thank you for everything that you and your family has done for this country. Say hello to Bobby and Jack for me; if there's an afterlife, that is.

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, I didn't know his history with Congress. Thank you for posting that quote.

Doesn't really affect (or effect?) me.

 

 

 

Sorry that he died though.

[bleep] off with the news articles people

 

 

 

What else is there to post about this? I was just trying to share news, which I thought was important, because of what Ted Kennedy had done in his lifetime.

 

 

 

What did he do? :?

 

How the hell is it your first post and you already have a quote???

 

This always puzzled me about tip.it quotes in the first post.

Some mod deleted two posts -.- I hate it when they do that, but ever since those trainees became mods there seems to have been a [bleep]e in deletions..

Some mod deleted two posts -.- I hate it when they do that, but ever since those trainees became mods there seems to have been a [bleep]e in deletions..

 

I know a few that are a little trigger happy.

trigger happy? the dude told the op to rudely go away. that's not trigger happy, that's what a mod should do.

 

 

 

anyway, sucks that he died, but politics sucks to me as well, it's not something i've ever cared about. i really just posted here because people are far too uptight about the new mods and that bothers me.

RIP. Your accomplishments will not go unappreciated.

Among all of the things Ted Kennedy did well, being a womanizer was one of the top 3.

Sucks that he died, he could have potentially have helped Obama push the national health care plan much faster if healthy.

 

 

 

RIP.

trigger happy? the dude told the op to rudely go away. that's not trigger happy, that's what a mod should do.

 

 

 

anyway, sucks that he died, but politics sucks to me as well, it's not something i've ever cared about. i really just posted here because people are far too uptight about the new mods and that bothers me.

 

 

 

Rudely go away hehe

RIP

 

My hat goes off to him. He's been one of "my" senators for the past 10+ years, and I've agreed with him on just about every issue.

 

And he's done quite a lot for this country - just see mage's post. He's also been through a lot - a fatal airplane crash, a fatal car crash, the assassination of two of his brothers, and of course the brain cancer that finally defeated him.

 

As noted, he definitely wasn't too well known (less than he should've been, to be honest), but he was pretty important. At least for Americans. And he was a Kennedy...

When I first skimmed across OT, I thought "Omgwtfbbq, Ted Turner died?" :lol:

I just really want to hammer this out, because most people are too young to fully grasp what Kennedy did for this country; myself included. For example, if your parents immigrated to the US from Pakistan or India in the 60s or 70s, you can thank Senator Kennedy. Without him, they wouldn't have been able to come here. That is perhaps his most important achievement. It also subsequently was the first act he ever managed that passed: The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

 

 

 

He essentially created the ethnicity of America. People were discriminated against through racial quotas when they immigrated here. Northern Europeans were the most "superior," and Africans, Jews and Asians were among the "least superior."

 

 

 

This bill knocked that down, and renewed America's known characteristic as the melting pot, with the flocking of unwashed masses.

 

 

 

That is, in my opinion, his greatest achievement. Of course, this doesn't even scratch the surface of his legislation in civil rights, women's rights, health care, education and voting rights.