If you looked at conservative literature of the early 1960s, Kennedy was held in as much contempt as the Clintons, Obama, and Biden are today. The Kennedys and Martin Luther King are sometimes considered conservative heroes because their time in politics preceded the cultural Marxism that started to arise later. Had they lived to their natural lifespan, they may well have “evolved”.
Keep in mind that their successors, Ted Kennedy and Jesse Jackson, were anti-abortion prior to 1975. They both moved toward the cultural Left as the last century wore down.
Mlk Jr. Coddled Commies, RFK bugged him, as he knew that Mlk, Jr was a marxist lover.