Senator Kennedy has died

WCsweet<3 · #1 08-26-2009, 01:38 AM

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/...edy/index.html

Quote:

Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the patriarch of the first family of Democratic politics, died Wednesday at his home in Hyannisport, Massachusetts, after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. He was 77.

ihearttrisigma · #2 08-26-2009, 01:40 AM

I just heard this, very sad!

Thoughts are with his friends, family, and colleagues.

DaemonSeid · #3 08-26-2009, 06:09 AM

Wow...

AGDee · #4 08-26-2009, 06:43 AM

RIP Senator Kennedy. Reunited with your brothers and sisters... all of you gave so much of yourselves for your country.

We knew this was coming, it doesn't seem to make it any less sad.

I have so many thoughts and feelings .. none of them sound right typed out. The end of an era...

Munchkin03 · #5 08-26-2009, 07:03 AM

Wow. Again, we knew this was coming, but it was rough to see all of the texts announcing the fact this morning.

Can you imagine working the same job since you were 30?

pbear19 · #6 08-26-2009, 07:21 AM

Expected (eventually) or not, this one is hard for me. RIP Senator, you will be greatly missed. And here's hoping that for at least a day here on GC we can keep politics pushed to the side and just recognize that a very important person in our country is no longer with us, regardless of whether or not you agreed with his policy.

ThetaDancer · #7 08-26-2009, 08:40 AM

Rest in peace, Senator. Your legacy will live on.

DrPhil · #8 08-26-2009, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbear19

Expected (eventually) or not, this one is hard for me. RIP Senator, you will be greatly missed. And here's hoping that for at least a day here on GC we can keep politics pushed to the side and just recognize that a very important person in our country is no longer with us, regardless of whether or not you agreed with his policy.

Ditto.

I have been watching the coverage all morning with a heavy heart. I was saddened by the footage of the Kennedy brothers and the history of the family's struggles.

Leslie Anne · #9 08-26-2009, 09:12 AM

I'm so sad about this. What a loss. Rest in peace, Senator. Thank you for serving our country for so long and so valiantly.

KSigkid · #10 08-26-2009, 09:17 AM

I'm usually not someone who reacts to celebrity deaths. I will say, though that I saw this on the news this morning and felt some sadness.

Senator Kennedy worked extremely hard for Massachusetts, and I can't say enough good things about his work on behalf of the Commonwealth. We talk a lot about how a Congressman is supposed to represent his constitutents - I think Senator Kennedy did that better than anyone. The Commonwealth will miss him dearly...I just hope for the citizens of Massachusetts that they get an effective advocate in the Senate sometime in the near future. Even as a Republican, I gave no second thought to voting for him when I was living in the Commonwealth.

My wife and I, by virtue of our respective jobs, got to deal with Senator Kennedy's office quite a bit. We were always impressed by the professionalism, honesty and accountability in the office. Even if he didn't personally agree with a position, he was willing to compromise if he thought that the proposal was in the best interests of the people. I think especially of the close relationship that he had with Governor Romney; they disagreed on many issues, but they had a lot of respect and admiration for each other, and on big projects (like the MA healthcare reform), they worked together to accomplish big goals. We talk about reaching across the aisle as some sort of cliche, but Senator Kennedy actually did it.

By virtue of growing up in New England, attending college in Boston for 4years and living in Boston for 3 years afterward. I got to know a great many people who had worked for Senator Kennedy, at all levels. To a person, they spoke very highly of him. He expected a lot out of his staff, but he also was more than willing to help them out with their careers if they had proven themselves in his office. I can't even begin to count the number of stories I heard of the Senator, displaying kindness towards current and former staffers.

I think, even with someone as public as Senator Kennedy, it's tough for people outside Massachusetts to understand just how much he (and the Kennedy family, to this day) meant to the Commonwealth. You go to Boston, the Cape, Martha's Vineyard...the Kennedy thumbprint is everywhere. I only lived in the Commonwealth for 7 years, so I don't think I'm the best person to speak on that issue (someone like nme525 would be better). But there's still something about the Kennedy name that holds power in Boston, and around the Commonwealth. I have to say that my opinion of him changed quite a bit in the time I lived in Boston, and by the time I left, I had an immense respect for him.

I think if you'd asked Joe Kennedy if he thought his sons would make an impact on the country, he would have said "Yes," without a moment's pause. But, if you'd told him that Ted Kennedy would make the biggest impact of them all, I don't think he would have believed you.

DrPhil · #11 08-26-2009, 09:20 AM

It was so cute when his former aide (was it his aide?) this morning talking about Kennedy's old briefcase that they called "the bag." If you wanted Kennedy to read something personally and sign it, you put it in "the bag" so he could take it home. He would go home with 20-30 things to read.

The next day he would return the paperwork to them with his scraggly handwriting and "ugh..," "go for it," or "come see me" on it. That sounds SO MUCH like my mentor--must be a generational thing.

KSigkid · #12 08-26-2009, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrPhil

It was so cute when his former aide (was it his aide?) this morning talking about Kennedy's old briefcase that they called "the bag." If you wanted Kennedy to read something personally and sign it, you put it in "the bag" so he could take it home. He would go home with 20-30 things to read.

The next day he would return the paperwork to them with his scraggly handwriting and "ugh..," "go for it," or "come see me" on it. That sounds SO MUCH like my mentor--must be a generational thing.

I think it's definitely a generational thing - I've worked for a couple of different people from that era who had the same type of system. They were also the ones who resisted getting Blackberries because they were afraid of becoming "disorganized."

DrPhil · #13 08-26-2009, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSigkid

I think it's definitely a generational thing - I've worked for a couple of different people from that era who had the same type of system. They were also the ones who resisted getting Blackberries because they were afraid of becoming "disorganized."

Definitely. My parents and my mentor are among the least technologically savvy people ever because they don't think it's necessary and it can't be trusted. Email is the most that they will do and that's mostly to quickly answer your question or to say LET'S MEET.

I think that's why I'm not big on most forms of technology. I got a Blackberry months ago and use the Internet. That's enough.

MysticCat · #14 08-26-2009, 09:49 AM

I was saddened to see the news this morning, especially following so close after Eunice Kennedy Shriver's death. It truly seems like the end of an era. (I remember watching Bobby Kennedy's funeral on TV.)

Whether one agreed with his politics or not (sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't), I don't see how it can be denied that he spent his life doing his best to serve his country and its people -- especially those who so often had little voice among the more powerful.

Requiem aeternam.

epchick · #15 08-26-2009, 11:32 AM

RIP Senator Kennedy