Dems will capitalize on anything for political gain, apparently...

[shagdrum]

Kennedy’s Death Spurs Calls to Pass Health Legislation
Jake Sherman reports on Congress.

The death of Sen. Edward Kennedy quickly became a rallying cry for Congress to pass health care overhaul legislation.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office sent an email to reporters at around 2:30 a.m. today, just hours after his death, calling for the passage of health care overhaul. “Ted Kennedy’s dream of quality health care for all Americans will be made real this year because of his leadership and his inspiration,” the statement read.

Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, also issued a statement this morning calling for the passage of health care overhaul. “Let us continue his cause,” Stern said. “Let us take action this year to pass health care reform. And let us continue to build Kennedy’s vision of America.”

South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, the House majority whip, said: “As we move forward with health reform legislation, his absence will be palpable. But let us use his inspirational words as our guide, to rise to our best ideals and finally provide decent quality health care to all Americans as a fundamental right, not a privilege.”

Kennedy, who spent the past year battling brain cancer, had frequently called health-care overhaul the “cause of my life.”

 

[shagdrum]

Byrd wants health bill renamed for Kennedy
by Michael O'Brien

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the only senator to have served longer than the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), mourned his friend Wednesday, saying his "heart and soul weeps."

Byrd said he hoped healthcare reform legislation in the Senate would be renamed in memoriam of Kennedy.

"I had hoped and prayed that this day would never come," Byrd said in a statement. "My heart and soul weeps at the lost of my best friend in the Senate, my beloved friend, Ted Kennedy."

Byrd's wistful statement focused on the work accomplished with Kennedy during decades together in the Senate, and called on the healthcare bill before Congress to be renamed in honor of Kennedy.

"In his honor and as a tribute to his commitment to his ideals, let us stop the shouting and name calling and have a civilized debate on health care reform which I hope, when legislation has been signed into law, will bear his name for his commitment to insuring the health of every American," Byrd said.

Byrd, who has himself suffered infirmities keeping him from active participation in the Senate in recent months, famously wept when his younger colleague Kennedy fell ill with brain cancer last year.

Those emotions were again on display in Byrd's statement this morning.

"God bless his wife Vicki, his family, and the institution that he served so ably, which will never be the same without his voice of eloquence and reason," Byrd said. "And God bless you Ted. I love you and will miss you terribly."

 

[Calabrio]

....not surprised.

 

[shagdrum]

And from Chris Matthews, in light of Teddy's death...

CHRIS MATTHEWS: You know there’s going to be a lot of talk about the tragic blessings of the Kennedy family, and the curse. And it’s all nonsense. These people were courageous risk takers. Kathleen Kennedy, the girl, the oldest daughter, she was killed with her lover traveling on a plane ride she never should have taken through terrible weather in Europe. Joe Kennedy, Jr. took a mission that nobody should have taken in a plane loaded with dynamite to go blow up the V-1 rocket sites. Jack Kennedy was killed in an open car in Dallas in the midst of the most hated–it’s like the mood we’re in right now...
​

And another telling moment...

MATTHEWS: He wanted to be his brother’s brother, and then he turned that torch over last year to Barack Obama. And the great thing about the Kennedys is that they always grew as a family. They tended to get better as they got older. Some families like the Long family of Louisiana dissipated. This family got better. The Kennedy commitment to civil rights was almost accidental. It began because of history — ‘63 and Martin Luther King’s march. By Bobby, it became passion, by Teddy it became real. And then Teddy turns it over to the first African-American and says, “You got the ball.” Amazing history. Barack’s now the last brother.​

 

[Calabrio]

People in the "blue areas" don't understand this but- EVERYONE ELSE, but the most devoted liberals, IN THE COUNTRY HATES TED KENNEDY.

There is no love.
There is no respect.
There is no reverence.

Now it's up to the media (ie. MSNBC) to TELL everyone how much they miss him, how important he was, and to gloss over his ugly personal story and lack of character.

Sticking his name on the abomination of a healthcare plan won't help it gain support. And, though it won't deter Democrats, doing so it the rank hypocrisy considering his age and health would have preventing him from getting the level of care that he did. As Obama would say, "Maybe you're better off not having the surgery (Uncle Teddy) but taking the painkiller."

 

[MonsterMark]

Barack’s now the last brother.[/INDENT]

At least we now know who Obama's daddy is.
Guess we don't need that darn birth certificate afterall.