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Barack Obama must abandon the Kennedy way, or he will fail
Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | August 28, 2009 | Fred Barnes

Posted on 08/28/2009 12:25:50 PM PDT by Schnucki

Teddy Kennedy was known as the liberal lion of the US Senate. But in fact, he hadn't roared in decades. Even though his funeral today marks the end of the Kennedy family's political saga, Kennedy liberalism, the brand of Left-wing politics with which the family was identified, died years ago.

Kennedy, who served as a senator from the Left-wing state of Massachusetts for 46 years, supported Barack Obama in last year's Democratic primaries in the hope that an Obama presidency would lift Washington to new heights of liberal progress, as Franklin Roosevelt had during the Depression and John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson did in the 1960s. He was wrong. A liberal president, and lopsided liberal Democratic majorities in the Senate and House, had indeed arrived. But the country, centre-Right for the past 30 years, hadn't changed.

Even before the senator's death from a brain tumour, at the age of 77, his hopes of a liberal revival had been dispelled. He had already been disappointed by the moderate Democratic policies during Bill Clinton's presidency in the 1990s – hence his endorsement of Obama over Hillary Clinton, which created a rift that never healed (after Kennedy's death, the Clintons were among the last prominent figures to offer their condolences). Under Obama, Kennedy's senate committee passed a health-care reform measure with his liberal stamp on it, his aides having written its provisions. But its chances of being enacted, even if renamed the Kennedy Health Care Reform Act, are poor.

The same is true for much of Obama's agenda. The Kennedy bill is fine with the President, as are other suggested versions of health-care reform that would increase spending, tighten the regulation of insurers and give the government in Washington a bigger role. But the public has taken a different view. Rather than

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: bho44; fredbarnes; kennedy; obama; tedkennedy

1 posted on 08/28/2009 12:25:50 PM PDT by Schnucki
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To: Schnucki

As Laura Ingraham said yesterday, imagine what our country would look like if everything Mr. Kennedy wanted was enacted.

That is a dreadful prospect.


2 posted on 08/28/2009 12:28:15 PM PDT by RexBeach
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To: Schnucki
Haven't seen any mention yet of how Teddy jokingly and cynically named Reagan's master initiative missile defense "Star Wars".

Well, Star Wars was brought up by the Ozero administration just a few weeks ago as a deterrent to the threat N. Korea made concerning Hawaii.

Was Teddy ever right?

3 posted on 08/28/2009 12:37:02 PM PDT by what's up
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To: Schnucki
the economic collapse six weeks before the election.

Slightly off the point, but I am still waiting for the Right Wing press to investigate that collapse and especially its timing. All the components were in place from many left-controlled institutions, all the oversight organizations either ignored or hid them, then BOOM, just in time for the election. I think the collapse got away from its creators (got too big) but it achieved its purpose.

I have yet to see a reasoned investigation.

4 posted on 08/28/2009 12:38:57 PM PDT by I am Richard Brandon
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To: Schnucki

Are you kidding? The difference between Ted Kennedy and BHO:

Ted Kennedy was a liberal.

BHO is a left wing Marxist. BHO’s politics is much closer to the likes of Castro, Ortega, Chavez, and Evo Morales.


5 posted on 08/28/2009 12:40:38 PM PDT by Welcome2thejungle
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To: I am Richard Brandon

Boy no kidding. There was a youtube video of some congress type talking about a HUGE withdrawal of cash from the federal reserve back in September. Who did that? No answers. And the story died. And the timing is very suspect, just before the election to scare the crap out of everyone and get them to vote for the party not in power at the time. This whole financial mess was created by dodd and frank on order to win an election. Now that they got this forest fire started, they cannot control it or put it out. So, now they are flailing about trying to put more and more controls on the American people. I think the reason is that they are trying to set the table for their own political survivability if the donkey poop really hits the fan. I couldn’t have believed that states would be serious about seccession prior to this past year. This whole situation is going to get a lot uglier.


6 posted on 08/28/2009 12:49:34 PM PDT by Texas resident ( Boys and Girls, it's us against them.)
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To: Schnucki
Teddy Kennedy was known as the liberal lion of the US Senate. But in fact, he hadn't roared in decades.

This drunken bloated gas bag still roared... it was from his liberal end though.

7 posted on 08/28/2009 12:53:19 PM PDT by skully (How much evil can an evil monger monger; if an evil monger can monger evil??!!)
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To: Schnucki
I want a free Ted Kennedy Senate-Style Cadillac Health-Care Plan for myself! ...don't you?
8 posted on 08/28/2009 12:54:21 PM PDT by TexasCajun
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To: Schnucki

Actually, if Obama were to embrace the JOHN Kennedy way, we’d be better off than we are with the way he is now doing things. JFK was at least not the socialist his brother Teddy was.


9 posted on 08/28/2009 1:06:34 PM PDT by MEGoody (Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.)
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To: MEGoody

Obama is going to do what he has always done when face with resistance (same as Jimmy Carter). He will blame America.

Obama may call it “right wing” or “extremists” but the fact is obama is not the hot feces he was on Jan 22, 2009.

Next will come the Obama MALAISE speech.


10 posted on 08/28/2009 1:11:17 PM PDT by longtermmemmory (VOTE! http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov)
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To: what's up
I'm sick of hearing about his greatness every time I turn on the television. He was a dirt-bag politician who got away with killing a young woman thanks to his family connections. Every time a liberal journalist or politicians dies we have to hear liberals talk about them like they are saints. It's pathetic.
11 posted on 08/28/2009 1:33:18 PM PDT by peeps36 (Democrats Don't Need No Stinking Input From You Little People)
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To: Schnucki

Nobama is the ultimate conclusion of Teddy’s vision of Amerika.


12 posted on 08/28/2009 1:46:49 PM PDT by Tolkien (Grace is the Essence of the Gospel; Gratitude is the Essence of Ethics.)
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