Don't read this if you like Ted Kennedy.

Are we not allowed to not like him, just because he has passed away? I truly feel for him, cancer is an awful thing, but his death, I think, does not require me to find him laudable.

After getting expelled from Harvard (for having someone else take his spanish exam for him), Kennedy did a short stent in the Army, but his father's connections made sure he didn't actually fight in the ongoing Korean War.

Then he returned to Harvard, where his most notable achievement was being offered a possible spot on the Green Bay Packers roster, thanks to his football prowess.

Did I mention that he got expelled from Harvard for cheating, or that he bought his way out of the Korean War? I feel like I should repeat those things.

Now, Ted Kennedy did some noble things, like getting minimum wage increased to $7.25 (higher wages mean higher tax revenue, certainly a noble ideal!), and sleeping with women outside his marriage (a Kennedy trait to the end!), and of course we can't forget when he drove his car off a bridge and killed his passenger.

But what Ted really did that bothered me was his constant anti-gun hypocrisy:
-Voted "no" on limiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers.
-Voted "no" on banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers for gun violence suits.
-Voted "yes" on background checks at gun shows.
-Voted "no" on loosening license and background checks at gun shows.
-Voted "no" on maintaining current law: guns sold without trigger locks.
-Voted "no" to the Vitter Amendment, which prohibited confiscating legally owned firearms.

I could go on, he was in office for...like...500 terms, and had plenty of time to write, sign, or vote on legislation. The bottom line is, Ted Kennedy was very against gun ownership, especially assault weapons. Which is all well and good, and his right. But apparently it's also his right to have his bodyguard carry assault weapons, as his own bodyguard was detained for carrying a "machine pistol." Essentially, what Ted Kennedy was saying, in fact what his whole life said, was this: "I want the fairest law for the American people, but, I just don't want the law to apply to me."

Now, before TPI, and other guns-a'blazing liberals (hilarious pun there) come after me, let me just say one final note: Ted Kennedy heroically served the American people for a paltry $168,000 a year, and only voted 100% of the time for his own raise when Senatorial raises were on the voting block. Ted Kennedy, a well-bred Irish Catholic, was of course pro-life...until Roe v. Wade, at which point he realized his liberal political career depended on being pro-choice. The Americans for Democratic Action rate Ted Kennedy as one of the all-time most left leaning voters. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence gave Kennedy their highest rating. Planned Parenthood also gave him their highest rating. This man, who many a sentimental sap argue liked to cross party lines, only seemed to do so if a liberal Republican was on the other side waiting for him.

Bottom line is, I have a huge amount of respect for my grandparents generation, as I have elucidated here many times. But for womanizing, hypocritical elitists, I have none.


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