My dad owned a company that pioneered the privatization of public utilities ...water and sewer systems here and overseas.
He required EPA permits and contracts all the time and hired lobbyists and made his way through the Capital hallways pretty good and was very familiar with some Southern senators some of whom are still there.
The talk was:
A) Kennedy though a leftist pandering maniac was very genial to everyone which probably helped save his ass on the hill during this and he was the last one left so folks felt sorry for him since also he seemed sorta over his head and doing all this because it was expected of him.
B) Mary Joe was his mistress (probably not exclusively) and that she was pregnant. Not saying folks there thought he killed her on purpose but panicked, saved his ass and then tried to contain damage making it look even worse as if the truth wasn't bad enough.
I thought your first paragraph was largely a mistake, EPA to some extent serves a good purpose but too powerful and overreaching, more government bloating, and some of it was truly bad for the environment, have been too verbose today, but normally I'm for privitization; however, I hate the new phone system loved the prices and simplicity of the old phone company we had, think nobody was being burned by that, maybe behind the scenes. I can understand with all the wires and piping, why it's best not to have a free-for-all in the utilities market. Heaven help us if we put the energy companies under government control although to a certain extent they are. Still the government monopolies on all of it and skyrocketing prices are distressing, think them out of proportion to what they could be and what my energy bills once were compared to now, 4X the mortgage payment on my house in the winter, inflation and demand. I'm not complaining about gas prices except for those truly hurt by them. Of course I don't like them, have conservative driving habits, would not be a bad person if I used 2 or 3 times what I actually do, and a small car for years; of course I notice a difference.
I try to put the Mary Jo business behind me, don't have proof she was pregnant, but I know she is dead from what sounds to me like negligent homicide. That grates on me still, not that I can't forgive a mistake, but a big mistake rewarded over and over, wish my life had been that charmed. Well not the way things are with him now.