Like undoubtedly every other member of this site, I was devastated to hear of the loss of Senator Kennedy. I am far too young to have experienced Camelot, but one of my dearest instructors and mentors was one of the many political activists in the '60s that never gave up their ideals once they discovered the comforts of a big screen and shiny car. This man, whom I respected greatly, spoke of the Kennedy family with such admiration that they became (to me, at least) legends... giants. When I visited D.C. years ago, and saw Teddy cast a vote on the Senate floor, the feeling of wonder I felt couldn't be matched if I met George Washington himself.
Many of us have posted touching diaries of remembrance today, and I'm sure many more will come. For some reason that I regret incredibly, I wondered what our good friends at Redstate had to say of Teddy. After all, the news is full of comments along the lines of "both allies and opponents admired him greatly," right?
I was happy to see that a diary entitled "In Memory: Senator Edward Kennedy" was making its way up the Redstate rec list. I thought I'd read it, and perhaps gain some measure of respect for our counterparts.
What I saw filled me with hatred and rage.
Copy/paste below the fold.
I have to take mild issue with some of the posts at this site that have criticized Senator Edward Kennedy on the day of his death. Some conservatives I have talked to about this troubling phenomenon have suggested that there’s simply nothing positive for them to say about Kennedy, but that’s just not true. I consulted with some fellow conservatives and we came up with a rather impressive list of charitable things that any conservative could say about Ted Kennedy, as a way to honor his memory. I hope that my fellow conservative bloggers can put aside their pettiness for this one day and follow suit.
He was adamantly opposed to slavery.
He was a tireless converter of oxygen into carbon dioxide.
He knew how to make a sandwich.
He never killed a man.
He never spent any time in prison.
He filled a much-needed void.
He was always one of his State’s two most effective Senators.
To offset his carbon footprint, he personally and regularly produced organic material that was suitable for use as plant fertilizer.
He was a shining example of dental hygiene.
He was an enduring supporter of the distilling industry.
He often remembered to tip his bartenders and waitresses.
The elevator buttons at the Senate office buildings will miss his loving jabs.
He never shoplifted, committed insurance fraud, or rolled drunks.
He regularly changed his socks.
He was a consistent eyeglasses-wearer.
He never gave substantial money to pro-Nazi organizations.
He never used weapons of mass destruction in anger.
It’s not said of him that he took more than one newspaper at a time from the box.
He never threw a shoe at anyone in public.
No one ever saw him beat a dog or a horse.
There is no indication that he tortured mice.
He was apparently one of the most diligent Democrats at paying his taxes.
He refrained from taking his clothes off for money.
He never accosted women he thought found him unattractive.
You could count on him to give even the homeliest cocktail waitress a self-esteem boosting rear-slap.
He rarely drank whiskey from the bottle in public.
He was a firm believer in yachting.
He was adamantly opposed to the genocide and/or displacement of non-Protestants.
See there? That wasn’t so hard at all. Please feel free to drop your own favorite complimentary thought concerning Senator Kennedy into this thread. POSITIVE COMMENTS ONLY, PLEASE. If you can’t think of anything at least as positive as the above, maintain a respectful silence.
Another diary making its way up the rec list is titled "A comment or two about a great man." I opened this one with some hope, but even more trepidation. It begins "Today — on this particular day — there seems to be some confusion about what constitutes a “great man”. I thought I might clear that up some." It then goes on to praise Robert Bork, and lament the great injustice that those mean Democrats inflicted upon him by blocking his Supreme Court nomination.
By any measure, Senator Kennedy was a great man. By any measure, he has earned the respect of anyone that calls themselves an American. He served this country for so long, and continued to do so practically on his death bed, because he loved this country, and its citizens, so very, very much.
He was a true american patriot, and these clowns who throw American Flag bumper stickers on their pickups and salute Rush Limbaugh with tears in their eyes show their true colors when they mock him so on the day of his death.
It's disgusting, it's sickening, and it's wrong.
I can only hope that the inhabitants of this site would refrain from such petty, vile behavior should a legend of the right (few and far between as they are) pass away.
--Keille