The Lion Sleeps

Edward Moore Kennedy moved on late last night. He joins his two older brothers who served us and attempted to implement great change to our long broken political system. Jack and Bobby paid with their lives and America paid with her innocence.

I would like to take this moment to thank Senator Ted Kennedy, and by extension his family, for all they have done for our country. I would like to thank him for sticking around and working for us to the end.

I know what the tag line of this site is and I’m not gonna change it. Senator Kennedy and his family were old money. In spite of my opinion about today’s 1%ers, the Kennedy family, in particular Teddy, Bobby and John’s generation, understood that if the country club allowed you to become or achieve amazing things in life, you definitely need to pay your dues.

America was their country club and they forked over their lives to belong.

John’s took us to the moon. Bobby worked for truth and justice. All Teddy wanted for us was HEALTHCARE.

Thank you Senator.

“This is the cause of my life. It is a key reason that I defied my illness last summer to speak at the Democratic convention in Denver—to support Barack Obama, but also to make sure, as I said, "that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American...will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not just a privilege." For four decades I have carried this cause—from the floor of the United States Senate to every part of this country. It has never been merely a question of policy; it goes to the heart of my belief in a just society. Now the issue has more meaning for me—and more urgency—than ever before. But it's always been deeply personal, because the importance of health care has been a recurrent lesson throughout most of my 77 years.”

— Ted Kennedy