Kennedy married Virgina Joan Bennett on Nov. 29, 1958, and on Nov. 8th, 1960, he saw his brother, John F. Kennedy, elected President. After passing his bar exam and briefly serving as an assistant district attorney, Kennedy was elected to Senator in 1962, with the help of his Presidential brother's maneuvering,[8] and was re-elected to that office eight times. On. Nov. 22. 1963, Ted Kennedy suffered the death of his brother and President, due to assassination. Kennedy was seriously injured in a plane crash in 1964, which broke his back in nineteen places. As a result Kennedy suffered back and neck pain for the remainder of his life.
June 5,1968 saw the assassination of his brother, Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The following year Kennedy drove his car off a bridge at Chappaquiddick, Mass., and managed to escape, but failed to attempt to rescue his passenger, campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne from drowning, or notify authorities till the next day.
In 1980, Kennedy campaigned to become the Democratic nominee for president, but lost to incumbent Jimmy Carter. Problems with alcohol and martial fidelity followed him,[9] and in 1984 he divorced his wife of 24 years. He later became the object of more controversy in 1991, when after the end of a night out with the senator, his nephew William Smith was charged with raping a woman. Although Smith was acquitted, the media attention negatively affected Kennedy. In 1992, Kennedy remarried, to Washington lawyer Victoria Reggie.[10][11][12] Kennedy also was the subject of controversy regarding his alleged advisement to the Soviet Union during the Presidency of Ronald Regan.[13]
During his career as Senator, Kennedy is credited with several legislative endeavors, primarily in liberal goals in welfare, civil rights, and education. He was instrumental in passing Head Start (part of the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act), and promoted the No Child Left Behind Act, as well as increases in minimum wage, and fought for unrestricted access to abortion, even in late term, and voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. He repeatedly sought to pass hate crimes legislation, such as would penalize discrimination against homosexuals and women[14], and voted against DOMA. Kennedy was a strong supporter of the 1965 Hart-Celler Act, which signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, which dramatically changed US immigration policy and numbers.[15]
During his tenure on the Senate Judiciary Committee Kennedy was an outspoken critic of conservative Supreme Court nominees, such as Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito. He also supported nuclear reduction treaties, and worked for more student aid for GIs, and led opposition to the Iraq war.
Kennedy success as a Senator was partly attributed to his ability to manage people. Thomas M. Rollins, former staff director of the Labor Committee, stated, "He's a genius at managing people." "Kennedy uses staff people the way Pony Express riders used horses: Ride 'em hard and then leap to another horse". His staff was one of the Senate's largest, with nearly 100 professionals and several dozen interns and visiting fellows.[16]
A related and very tragic, ans scary story, is that of Rosemary_Kennedy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemary_Kennedy
I might add that Kennedy was FUI “Flying under the Influence” which caused him to crash his plane.
Still a steaming turd on a Boston sidewalk.