Guess Ol' Ted is finally down for the count

[kyfanatic]

While I wish no illness on any man,can't say I'll miss his views and vote in the senate

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090820/...etts_senate_12

Ailing Kennedy asks for speedy replacement process

BOSTON – BOSTON (AP) — A cancer-stricken Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has asked Massachusetts leaders to change state law to allow a speedy replacement if it becomes necessary for him to surrender his seat, fearing a months-long vacancy would deny Democrats a crucial vote on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

In a note to Gov. Deval Patrick and other state leaders, Kennedy wrote "it is vital for this commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election."

Health care has been Kennedy's signature issue. Although Democrats hold a potentially filibuster-proof margin in the Senate, the fate of a sweeping health care bill could hinge on a single vote and some moderate Democrats have been wavering. Another Democrat, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, has been seriously ill and often absent.

Kennedy's letter acknowledges the state changed its succession law in 2004 to require a special election within five months to fill any vacancy. At the time, legislative Democrats — with a wide majority in both chambers — were concerned because then-Republican Gov. Mitt Romney had the power to directly fill any vacancy created as Democratic Sen. John Kerry ran for president.

The letter was sent Tuesday, but Kennedy aides insist there is no material change in his condition since he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May 2008. Kennedy was initially treated with surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

"For almost 47 years, I have had the privilege of representing the people of Massachusetts in the United States Senate, Kennedy wrote in his letter. He added that serving in the Senate "has been — and still is — the greatest honor of my public life."

The 77-year-old has been convalescing at his homes in Washington and in Hyannis Port, as well as a rental property in Florida, but his absence from last week's funeral on Cape Cod for his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, prompted a flurry of questions about his own health.

An aide said the letter was one of several written by Kennedy in early July. Another was to Pope Benedict XVI and was hand-delivered by President Barack Obama during a visit to the Vatican.

In his succession letter, Kennedy suggests the governor ensure the fairness of any appointment to replace him by seeking an "explicit personal commitment" his appointee will not seek the position on a permanent basis.

Despite speculation that Kennedy's wife, Vicki, is interested in the seat, family aides have said she is not interested in replacing her husband either temporarily or permanently. One of Kennedy's nephews, former Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, has also been described as interested, along with a number of the state's remaining congressional members and local lawmakers.

Amid similar speculation about a Senate vacancy last fall, when Kerry was under consideration for secretary of state, Senate President Therese Murray was adamant that the law not be changed. After recent inquiries from The Associated Press, aides to both Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo said they are unlikely to back any change.

Aides to both leaders say an election was more democratic than a gubernatorial appointment, and they cited the legal and political problems that plagued former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and New York Gov. David Paterson when they filled vacancies for President Barack Obama and former Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, respectively.

Murray is also a strong backer of Martha Coakley, the first female attorney general in Massachusetts and someone who has quietly laid the groundwork for a special-election campaign.

In a joint statement to The Boston Globe, which first reported news of Kennedy's letter, both Murray and DeLeo were noncommittal.

"We have great respect for the senator and what he continues to do for our commonwealth and our nation. It is our hope that he will continue to be a voice for the people of Massachusetts as long as he is able," they said.

Patrick said in a statement: "It's typical of Ted Kennedy to be thinking ahead and about the people of Massachusetts, when the rest of us are thinking about him."

Patrick was the top civil rights official in the Clinton administration, and he has argued about the importance of the public vote. But last fall he noted more than 40 other states fill congressional vacancies by gubernatorial appointment. He also cited the state's deteriorating fiscal condition as one argument to skip a special election and empower the governor to fill vacancies.

"These are always sensitive calls, but there are sensitive calls and decisions that governors have to make," he said in December.

Under the current law, the governor must call an election within 145 to 160 days of receiving a resignation letter. A primary would be held five or six weeks beforehand, reducing the time candidates would have to raise money for a campaign.

Besides Joseph Kennedy and Coakley, Democrats who might try to succeed Kennedy include Reps. Stephen Lynch, Michael Capuano, Edward Markey, James McGovern and William Delahunt.

Former Rep. Martin Meehan, now chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, has $4.8 million in his federal campaign account, the largest sum of any potential candidate. That would give him the advantage in any special election sprint.

On the Republican side, potential candidates include Cape Cod businessman Jeff Beatty, former Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan and Chris Egan, former U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Cooperation and Development.

[bassin_bug]

Watch for a news release, within a few days, that says he died peacefully surrounded by his loving family. I guess he's about to have his last cocktail, a mixture of medication that turns off his "lights." His obituary has already been written and ready to be released.

Remember he recently sent the Pope a letter by Obama. I guess it was his final confession and maybe to ask for sainthood. Ted has stated that he will not live until Labor Day. That sounds to me like he already has made his appointment with death.

[DJD]

On a personal note it's sad to lose a loved one but we all go through it. On a political note I'm glad to see his goofy ideas and wishy washy history be gone.

[Devils Horse]

I feel a good deal less sympathy for Mr. Kennedy.

It's wrong he's dying surrounded by his family and the fawning media instead of being trapped inside a car to drown in a muddy ditch like Ms. Kopechne did. He went to bed and slept it off, never even contacted the Police while she lay inside the car he'd driven off into the flooded canal. His punishment? A suspended sentence for leaving the scene of an accident.

Mr Kennedy is about to meet a very bad dude in a place without air conditioning. The sentence won't be suspended, and it'll be a bit more difficult to leave that scene.

[Grumpy]

Guess who got the law passed, that the Govenor can't appoint an interum replacement, which Kennedy is now trying to get repealed. It was Kennedy himslelf when John Kearry was running for President and Mass. had a Republican Gov which could have appointed a Republican to replace him. Now Mass has a Democrat Gov. and Kennedy wants his own law repealed. That's POLITICS my friends.

Grumpy

[kyfanatic]

I feel a good deal less sympathy for Mr. Kennedy.

It's wrong he's dying surrounded by his family and the fawning media instead of being trapped inside a car to drown in a muddy ditch like Ms. Kopechne did. He went to bed and slept it off, never even contacted the Police while she lay inside the car he'd driven off into the flooded canal. His punishment? A suspended sentence for leaving the scene of an accident.

Mr Kennedy is about to meet a very bad dude in a place without air conditioning. The sentence won't be suspended, and it'll be a bit more difficult to leave that scene.

Yes,I sort of forgot about Chappaquiddic (spelling),there are a few more Kennedy's that'll join Ted in the brimstone land.Pack of Bootleggers,Murderers,Rapists,and Drunks.

[slippedcork]

Yes,I sort of forgot about Chappaquiddic (spelling),there are a few more Kennedy's that'll join Ted in the brimstone land.Pack of Bootleggers,Murderers,Rapists,and Drunks.

I would really like to know what you think of the kennedys?

[DJD]

I would really like to know what you think of the kennedys?

I would like to know what you think??

[slippedcork]

I would like to know what you think??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Curse This is what I think.

[DJD]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Curse This is what I think.

Guess it's a free country so you can think like that if you wish.

[slippedcork]

For all you 40 to 60 yr olds I am up VERY LATE because I just got home from freedom hall. I went to see Journey and the opening act was Heart. Man was it ever good! Felt like I was 20 again! I feel like im 42 right now cause I am sleepy and tired, wouldnt have been that way 22 yrs ago.

[bassin_bug]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Curse This is what I think.

_________________
SlippedCork, my friend, I disagree with the theory that the Kennedy family is cursed. Everything negative that happens in a family is not a curse. There is a point in every human's life that it must come to an end; it happens by natural progression or by choices that people make.

Because of the Kennedy's wealth, the size of the family, and its political history, detailed records have been kept of significant events in their life. Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information because anyone can sign up with that website and post or change information. Just my opinion.