Posted on 04/04/2018 5:37:35 AM PDT by Kaslin
On April 6, a bombshell will hit America's theaters.
That bombshell comes in the form of an understated, well-made, well-acted film called "Chappaquiddick." (Full disclosure: They advertise with my podcast.) The film tells the story of Ted Kennedy's 1969 killing of political aide Mary Jo Kopechne; the Massachusetts Democratic senator drove his car off a bridge and into the Poucha Pond, somehow escaped the overturned vehicle and left Kopechne to drown. She didn't drown, though. Instead, she reportedly suffocated while waiting for help inside an air bubble while Kennedy waited 10 hours to call for help. The Kennedy family and its associated political allies then worked to cover up the incident. In the end, Teddy was sentenced to a two-month suspended jail sentence for leaving the scene of an accident. The incident prevented Kennedy from running for president in 1972 and 1976, though he attempted a run in 1980 against then-President Jimmy Carter, failing.
So, why is the film important?
It's important because it doesn't traffic in rumors and innuendo -- there is no attempt to claim that Kopechne was having an affair with Kennedy, or that she was pregnant with his child. It's important because it doesn't paint Kennedy as a monster but as a deeply flawed and somewhat pathetic scion of a dark and manipulative family. But most of all, it's important for two reasons: It's the first movie to actually tackle a serious Democratic scandal in the history of modern film, and it reminds us that Americans have long been willing to overlook scandal for the sake of political convenience.
First, there's the historic nature of the film. Here is an incomplete list of the films made about George W. Bush's administration since his election in 2000, nearly all of them accusatory in tone: "W," "Fahrenheit 9/11," "Recount," "Fair Game" and "Truth." There has still not been a movie made about former President Bill Clinton's impeachment (though one is apparently in the works). There's been no movie about former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's internment of the Japanese, former President Lyndon Johnson's dramatic mishandling of the Vietnam War (though we have had two hagiographies of LBJ, one directed by Rob Reiner, the other starring Bryan Cranston) or former President Woodrow Wilson's racism and near fascism.
And it only took nearly 50 years to make a film about a Democratic icon leaving a woman to die in a river. It's amazing it was made in the first place.
Most importantly, though, "Chappaquiddick" reminds us that confirmation bias and wishful thinking aren't unique to one side of the aisle. In the era of President Trump, media members have had fun telling Republicans that they have abandoned all of their moral principles in order to back a man whose agenda they support. But Democrats beat Republicans there by decades: They not only overlooked a man who likely committed manslaughter but also made him into a hero, the "Lion of the Senate." We can't understand how morals and politics have been split in two without reckoning with this history.
"Chappaquiddick" is a must-see. It's just a shame it took half a century for it to see the light.
I never read or heard any testimony that says Look so them arguing. Did he say this at the inquest?
Look so the parked car. It was around 12:30 AM. Kennedy says he left the party before midnight to catch the Ferry, even though she left her purse and keys at the party.
This means they had parked the car. WEre they talking, necking, sleeping? Who knows. We know only that Look got out of his car and walked to Kennedy’s.
Look says he read the plate “L7***7 of the black olds. He sees two people in the car and maybe a third in the back or a coat. Then the car “speeds” off quickly.
At the inquest, he’s asked if he’s sure it was Kennedy’s car and not the white Valiant that Kennedy later says he and two others were driving.
Where did you hear that he heard the two arguing?
I agree, he was heading down the dirt road to the secluded beach to have sex with her.
“The 67/68 Olds Delmont 88 had power windows.”
Wonder if they were standard or an option? Electric windows would be another possible reason among many others for her demise. Bottom line though is Teddy the Drunk got away with negligent homicide at the very least.
Standard.
<<< Mary Jo got banged around. >>>>
Indeed !
Your theory is so drastically wrong that it’s probably impossible to convince you otherwise. Kennedy was in that car until it got to the bridge. Only he ever knew if he pushed it over or drove it over in a DUI accident. Either way, he killed Mary Jo. She was not driving. If she was, even drunk, she could have easily gotten out of the car on her own because the driver’s side was not damaged. Why you want to invent a theory totally at odds with all the facts is a mystery, but you do wind up clearing Kennedy of any wrongdoing except trying to unnecessarily make himself a hero while putting himself in the car. It’s screwy.
Just like his brothers, he was a wonderful Rat politician.
Yes, another mysterious suicide.
Obviously this movie is made for those too young to know about it or those sworn to the Democratic Party. Most right thinking people don’t need to pay Hollywood their $$$ to see what they already know. Once again Hollywood is selling what is already free if you care to look.””
Agree, why support homowood to restate the obvious. Homowood has been a huge supporter of the Kennedy clan.
Americans seem to have a knack for picking some of the most flawed, morally bankrupt human beings on the planet to be their leaders. Ted Kennedy is just one example of many.
As Ted said, I will drive off that bridge when I come to it. How is the water down there Mary Jo?
ping!!!!
“Americans seem to have a knack for picking some of the most flawed, morally bankrupt human beings on the planet to be their leaders. Ted Kennedy is just one example of many.”
Americans never picked Ted Kennedy to be a leader. The media and the Democrat Party promoted him for president for two decades but the American people never elected him.
The Kennedy family wanted to keep Jack’s Senate seat in the family. Father Joe said he paid a lot for that seat and he intended to keep it. The Massachusetts Democrat Party kept nominating Ted and he kept the seat for the rest of his life.
But he was never elected to any other office.
https://mythresults.com/episode72
The underwater car episode with results listed. Didn’t use a vintage vehicle, but still interesting...
Obama's half-brother Malik holds up photo of Obama in Muslim dress.
Teddy endorses a befuddled Obama as niece Caroline and son Patrick watch.
FReeper LS .... (Larry Schweikart)
teddy said it was deep water ....
http://www.montrealgazette.com/Kennedy+Chappaquiddick+statement/1932129/story.html
lol............ “a fifty”? Where was she going?
LS knows of what he speaks...
What a disgusting human stain Ted Kennedy was. Shame on the Left for embracing him for so many years.
I knew who you meant...I have read that book three times, the last time was last year.
One of the most competently written, factual books on the subject. It is the final word, as long as I am concerned.
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