The Department of Justice has released a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1436006/dl">report</a> documenting how the Biden administration weaponized the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act against pro-life Americans. More than 95% of its 882 pages are actual documentary evidence: emails and texts, memos, you name it. But even that does not tell the whole sordid story.
President Bill Clinton signed the FACE Act into law in May 1994. Attorney General Janet Reno told a Senate committee that it was needed to combat a nationwide campaign by pro-life activists to shut down abortion clinics through “blockades, sabotage … stalking … arson, bombings, and finally …murder.” One senator at that hearing accused pro-lifers of “terrorism.”xxxxx
Rahm Emanuel, Clinton’s political director in 1993, would later famously counsel not to let a crisis go to waste. The abortion zealots used the controversy over some activities to create a weapon they would aggressively use to target and suppress the entire pro-life movement. <a href="https://www.heritage.org/sites/default/files/2025-03/LM373_0.pdf">Here’s how they did it</a>.
The first version of the FACE Act, introduced by then-Rep. Charles Schumer (D-NY) in February 1993, focused specifically on what the bill’s title said, protecting access to abortion clinics. It prohibited physical obstruction of facilities with the intent of preventing individuals from obtaining “reproductive health services.” It allowed civil suits only by private plaintiffs who had been concretely affected by such obstruction and did not permit punitive damages.
The House Judiciary Committee, without holding any hearing, began the process of radicalizing the Schumer bill. Physically obstructing a building became intimidating or interfering with any person or class of persons who were obtaining or providing reproductive health services. The bill neither defined intimidation nor interference nor limited where, how, or when it may have occurred. It allowed civil suits not only by anyone “aggrieved” by this undefined activity, but by any attorney general (federal or state) who believed that a “group of persons” had been so aggrieved. Oh, and the House Judiciary Committee added punitive damages to the plaintiffs’ arsenal.
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) introduced the FACE Act in the Senate in March 1993, merging into this radicalizing traffic. His version even had language that would specifically exclude pro-life pregnancy centers from the act’s coverage. As if allowing both private and public plaintiffs to sue over being “aggrieved” was not vague enough, the Kennedy bill would allow suits whenever the attorney general believed that a person or group “is being, has been, or may be” aggrieved by pro-life activities. Before you ask, no, the bill put no time limit on a past grievance nor did it provide any way of determining whether or how a group “may be” aggrieved.
The FACE Act that Clinton signed into law bore no resemblance to the bill Schumer had first introduced, but, then, that was the plan all along. Put something – anything – in the legislative hopper that could be morphed and twisted into a weapon that is so vague, and carries such draconian potential penalties, that it can be used to target and suppress ordinary pro-life expression and activities.
The new DOJ report documents that abortion radicals got exactly what they wanted, detailing several ways in which the Biden administration weaponized the FACE Act. These include biased enforcement, collaboration with pro-abortion groups to track and monitor pro-life activity, blatant anti-religious bias by prosecutors, treating peaceful pro-life activists much more harshly than violent pro-abortion activists, and even helping funnel money to pro-abortion groups.
Weaponizing the FACE Act happened by design, not by chance. And to top it all off, Congress did not have authority to enact it in 1993 and certainly lacks any authority to maintain it now. Reno testified back then that the FACE Act was “crucial to ensuring that women have an unobstructed opportunity to choose whether or not to have an abortion.” The so-called “right to abortion,” in fact, is by far the most frequently cited basis for Congress’s authority to enact the FACE Act. 
In 2022, however, the Supreme Court told us what we really knew all along, that the Constitution does not, and never did, confer any right to abortion. Congress has no authority to enforce a right that does not exist or to fashion weapons to suppress rights that do.
The FACE Act was an abuse of power when it was enacted, and the Justice Department has now documented the fruit of that poisonous tree. Congress should repeal this unconstitutional fraud.
* * *
Tom Jipping is a senior legal fellow at the Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law at Advancing American Freedom Foundation.
Jonah Wendt is the communications director at Advancing American Freedom Foundation.

Doctor used an Ultrasound  3d sonogram  monitor for  the fetus 22 weeks young adult patient pregnant

The History Behind This Abortion Law Reveals Who It Was Built To Target

Abortion

Bill Clinton

Chuck Schumer

Congress

Democrats

DW Opinion

FACE Act

Heritage Foundation

Protest

Ted Kennedy

What is with the New England Democrat crime wave as of late? Over the past year, a string of Democratic officials and leftists from Rhode Island all the way up to Maine have been arrested for, accused of, or convicted of some pretty bizarre allegations. Here are seven examples:
Boston City Councilor Allegedly Crashes Car Without License, Insurance, Registration
On Friday, Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara (D) allegedly crashed her car into a home in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston. The only problem for Lara is that she was reportedly driving the vehicle with a revoked license, and the car was unregistered and uninsured. To make matters worse, Lara&#8217;s autistic child was reportedly in the car. 
Per Massachusetts-based outlet <a href="https://tbdailynews.com/boston-city-councilor-kendra-lara-crashes-into-house-with-unrestrained-son-while-driving-unlicensed-in-unregistered-car-belonging-to-man-she-made-sex-tape-with/">Turtle Boy Daily News&#8217;</a> Aidan Kearney, Lara, née Hicks, ran for office in 2021 on an anti-cop, pro-socialism platform. She will appear in court later this month, <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/07/03/boston-city-councilor-kendra-lara-car-driving-history">according</a> to WBUR.
Rhode Island State Senator Allegedly Lies About Keying Car With &#8220;Biden Sucks&#8221; Sticker
Speaking of car crimes, who could forget about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rhode-island-state-senator-faces-additional-charges-over-vandalism-incident-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rhode Island state Senator Joshua Miller</a>? A couple of weeks ago, Miller was arrested for allegedly keying a man&#8217;s car displaying a &#8220;Biden Sucks&#8221; bumper sticker.
When Miller was first questioned by police, he claimed that the alleged victim was possibly a &#8220;gun nut&#8221; who knew that Miller was a state senator and that the victim made up the whole incident. So in other words, Miller pulled a reverse, &#8220;Do you know who I am?&#8221; but a video review would appear to show he was lying.
See the saga below in a must-watch video for some great Boston accents:
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Surveillance video shows the moments Senator Josh Miller is accused of keying an SUV with an anti-Biden sticker at Garden City
He first tells Cranston PD he didn&#39;t do it, then when they show up at his house and say they have video, he admits to it <a href="https://twitter.com/wpri12?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@wpri12</a> <a href="https://t.co/Fn78uKFKrt">https://t.co/Fn78uKFKrt</a> <a href="https://t.co/vt8Zw3sZD0">pic.twitter.com/vt8Zw3sZD0</a>
&mdash; Amanda Pitts (@AmandaPittsTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmandaPittsTV/status/1672325061083123714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2023</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
Miller is now facing charges of vandalism and a potential charge of obstruction of justice. The official was first elected in 2006 and is set to be arraigned in court on July 18.
Boston’s Reparations Task Force Coordinator&#8217;s Wild Night At City Hall
Then there was the arrest of Boston’s Reparations Task Force project coordinator George Williams in May. The 35-year-old ex-college professor was appointed by Boston&#8217;s uber-leftist Mayor Michelle Wu to help advise the Reparations Task Force. Police say that Williams used his position to trespass in city hall, harangue custodians, burn sage, physically assault cops, and possibly do some drugs.
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Boston’s Reparations Task Force Coordinator Fired After Burning Sage, Harassing Custodians, Sleeping In City Hall, And Getting Arrested: Report <a href="https://t.co/S9opik8Zqd">https://t.co/S9opik8Zqd</a> <a href="https://t.co/X7ZSYr4u9O">pic.twitter.com/X7ZSYr4u9O</a>
&mdash; Daily Wire News (@DailyWireNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyWireNews/status/1662565101659099141?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Nation’s First Elected Transgender State Rep. Arrested On Child Porn Charges: Police
In Nashua, New Hampshire, an alleged pervert and the nation&#8217;s first elected &#8220;transgender-identifying&#8221; man was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nations-first-elected-transgender-state-rep-arrested-on-child-porn-charges-police">arrested</a> on child porn charges in June. 
Stacie Laughton might be the crème de la crème in terms of abject weirdos in Democrat politics in the Granite State — if not all of New England. Laughton was first elected in 2012, only to resign shortly after numerous credit card fraud allegations came to light.
He was later sentenced to six months in jail after reporting a bomb threat to a hospital in 2015. In July 2021, he was arrested for giving police false information.
Unbelievably, Laughton won election to the state house again in November 2022. Then Laughton had to step down in December after accusations of stalking. Laughton had been arrested on stalking charges twice in 2022, including an incident in September just months before the election. 
Now, the guy is being arrested on allegations of distribution of sexually explicit images of children. 
Ex-Democrat Maine Gubernatorial Candidate Guilty Of Child Porn Charges
Laughton isn&#8217;t the only Democrat in New England arrested on child porn charges. 
In May, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-donor-former-gubernatorial-candidate-pleads-guilty-to-child-pornography-charges" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eliot Cutler</a>, a Democratic donor who twice ran for governor of Maine, pleaded guilty to charges of possessing child pornography. Authorities discovered thousands of images of children under the age of 12 being sexually abused in his possession. He will now serve nine months in jail for four counts of possessing sexually explicit material of a child under 12.
Senate-Confirmed U.S. Attorney Resigns After DOJ Report
So far, we&#8217;ve discussed state and local Democrats in New England. But Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins has had her run-ins with the law as well — albeit no charges thus far. 
In May, the George Soros-backed attorney <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/soros-backed-u-s-attorney-resigning-after-doj-ig-accuses-her-of-election-interference-lying-to-feds-reports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resigned</a> after a Department of Justice Inspectors General report claimed that she effectively ran election interference, violated the Hatch Act, and committed other unethical moves while on the job.
The DOJ alleged that she &#8220;violated federal regulations, numerous DOJ policies, her Ethics Agreement, and applicable law, and fell far short of the standards of professionalism and judgment that the Department should expect of any employee, much less a U.S. Attorney.&#8221;
The supposedly apolitical DOJ under President Joe Biden declined to charge his Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney.
Racial Justice Warrior Scams The System—Allegedly
Rollins was close pals with another apparent New England ne&#8217;er-do-well: Monica Cannon-Grant, a prominent leftist activist in the Boston area, and her husband, Clark Grant. The two were federally charged and arrested on 18 counts of fraud and conspiracy in relation to her non-profit, Violence in Boston (VIB), in March 2022. Cannon-Grant was named the 2020 &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/progressive-activist-a-2020-bostonian-of-the-year-arrested-on-federal-charges-of-fraud-conspiracy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bostonian of the Year</a>&#8221; by the Boston Globe for her activism after the death of George Floyd and for her involvement with local protests associated with the Black Lives Matter movement.
In March 2023, authorities <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/03/10/activist-monica-cannon-grant-nonprofit-fraud-allegations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tacked</a> on some more charges after she allegedly misused city funds while lying about her income to get more government cash intended for impoverished people. 
Grant and her husband pleaded not guilty to the original 18 charges. Sadly on March 30, Clark Grant died in a motorcycle accident.
Is The Late Ted Kennedy To Blame For It All?
Of course, perhaps there is one man to blame for this apparent crime wave: ex-U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA).
Kennedy really set the gold standard for allegedly breaking several laws and endangering others while getting away with it. Just ask Mary Jo Kopechne. (See: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/craven-teddy-kennedy-wanted-to-say-mary-jo-kopechne-was-driving-at-chappaquiddick-book-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chappaquiddick</a>).
Every liberal in New England grows up yearning to be the next Kennedy. 
It turns out that committing alleged crimes is a package deal alongside Kennedy&#8217;s words that &#8220;the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.&#8221;
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Lara Kendra, Eliot Cutler, Rachael Rollins, Monica Cannon-Grant, Stacie Laughton, George Williams, Joshua Miller

What’s With New England’s Bizarre Democrat Crime Wave?

What's With New England's Bizarre Democrat Crime Wave?

Boston

Crime

Democratic Party

Maine

Massachusetts

New Hampshire

Politics

Rhode Island

Social Justice

Have you ever seen a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/liberals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bunch of freeloaders</a> eat a meal? They tend to wolf it down so quickly that you have to wonder whether they even taste the food.
If you&#8217;re confused, then you&#8217;re probably a mooch yourself. Or, you just might be <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/am-i-a-b-pelosi-asks-explicit-question-after-phone-call-with-mike-pence" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi</a> (D-CA) and<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chuck-schumer" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer</a> (D-NY).
The two recently sat down for lunch at the &#8220;Hunan Dynasty&#8221; Chinese restaurant in Washington, D.C. for their &#8220;first-ever&#8221; joint interview together. It&#8217;s unclear who exactly paid for the lunch — perhaps they went Dutch or Pelosi footed the bill — but it is safe to say that the pair has bilked the taxpayers for plenty of dough since they entered politics.
This hard-hitting piece of journalism appeared on CNN — perhaps no surprise to our readers.
Pelosi and Schumer had Peking duck, hot and sour soup, shrimp dumplings, and more. Here&#8217;s a brief recap of the gruesome twosome&#8217;s meal at the restaurant located near Capitol Hill:
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Obsessed with this interview in which Pelosi and Schumer just ate Chinese food the whole time <a href="https://t.co/KCLV13shgk">pic.twitter.com/KCLV13shgk</a>
&mdash; Steve Morris (@stevemorris__) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevemorris__/status/1603802897690812416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
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We know Pelosi loves Chinese food because back in February 2020, she was encouraging all Americans to go down to <a href="https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/22420" target="_blank" rel="noopener">San Francisco&#8217;s Chinatown and eat dim sum</a> to prove they weren&#8217;t racist.
COVID was just beginning and at that point, the Left&#8217;s biggest concern was that fears of the virus — which was just starting to explode in Wuhan, China — would lead to anti-Chinese racism in Trump&#8217;s America.
Then the left realized they could politicize the issue and use the pandemic to amass government power and bash the 45th president, so they forgot about their virtue signaling on that front.
Anyway, now that the pandemic is over — or maybe it isn&#8217;t depending on whether you ask President Joe Biden or the folks actually running the show — Pelosi and Schumer are back to eating Chinese food.
At one point during the meal, Schumer said, &#8220;I&#8217;m eating too much,&#8221; which is a bit of an understatement.
The speaker took a break in between courses to voice her support for Biden&#8217;s potential 2024 run. She says he has done an &#8220;excellent&#8221; job.
The conversation featured the typical bashing of President Donald J. Trump that you can expect from the Dems.
At this point in the column, readers may be wondering about the photo choice for the story. What do current climate czar John Kerry and the deceased portly Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) have to do with any of this?
Well, the simple answer is that the photo of the cackling men was taken at Schumer&#8217;s book party thrown by then-Senator Hilary Clinton (D-NY- in 2007 at Hunan Dynasty — the same restaurant where the CNN interview took place.
Kerry and Kennedy joined Schumer to celebrate his book &#8220;Positively American.&#8221;
At the time, Schumer <a href="https://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/27376/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, &#8220;I felt a real yearning &#8230; I felt a real yearning and a passion to get my ideas out to help my country.&#8221;
Perhaps he was inspired by a &#8220;Seinfeld&#8221; re-run the night before the big bash:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Yearn" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ERsI3twlu34?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The other explanation of the photo selection is that Kerry and Kennedy are included to remind readers what sort of scoundrels the U.S. has been dealing with for decades now.
Kennedy <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/07/16/chappaquiddick-ted-kennedy-caused-death-mary-jo-kopechne-50-years-ago/1742106001/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed a woman in a drunken stupor</a> in Chappaquiddick and <a href="https://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-rennie-dodd-kennedy-waitress-sandwich-1119-20171115-column.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">even allegedly violently sexually assaulted</a> a waitress across town at a French restaurant.
Still, Kennedy is lauded by the Democratic Party to this very day.
Speaking of Chinese for lunch, Kerry has been having <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/john-kerry-blames-recent-covid-bout-for-failed-climate-change-talks-with-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his lunch eaten by the Chinese</a> as of late. The man has totally failed in getting the communist country on board his green energy gambit.
To close, you have to wonder why politicians ever agree to eat food on camera.
Between the clanging of the forks and knives as well as the shoveling of food in their faces, it is never a great look.
If you are interested in the rendezvous, watch here:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="‘He ultimately was a child’: Pelosi, Schumer describe dealing with Trump in exclusive interview" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dLZQjv6xNRs?start=365&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Pelosi, Schumer

Thanks To CNN, You Can Watch Pelosi And Schumer Scarf Down Chinese Food And Slurp Some Soup

Food

John Kerry

Nancy Pelosi

Restaurant

U.S.

Washington D.C.

The second presidential debate, scheduled for October 15, will be moderated by Steve Scully, the political editor at C-SPAN and host of Washington Journal, who once worked <a href="https://smpa.gwu.edu/steve-scully">as an intern</a> for Senator Joe Biden in college, later working as a staff assistant in Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s communication office.
&#8220;While attending college, he served as an intern in the office of Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden, and later a staff assistant in Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s media affairs office,&#8221; <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110920133809/http://www.uvu.edu/chss/adoption/2010/presenters.html">Utah Valley University</a> noted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
C-SPAN’s impeccable convention coverage &#8211; gavel to gavel, classy and smart&#8230;
 <a href="https://t.co/ZrRtMtwj3d">https://t.co/ZrRtMtwj3d</a>
 <a href="https://twitter.com/WashTimes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@washtimes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/harperbulletin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@harperbulletin</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cspan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveScully?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SteveScully</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DemocraticConvention?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DemocraticConvention</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/HowardMortman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HowardMortman</a>
&mdash; Jennifer Harper (@harperbulletin) <a href="https://twitter.com/harperbulletin/status/1295537062922379270?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
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In an interview with <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110507191214/http:/www.journalismjobs.com/steve_scully.cfm">Journalism Jobs</a> in May 2011, when he was asked, “Has the quality of broadcast journalism decreased over the past five years?”, Scully took the opportunity to rip Fox News, stating, “I think what has gone downhill is when cable networks get caught in all the titillating news of the day when they should be focusing more on the things that are important to people, like following the money and the state of the nation. Having said that, if you&#8217;re sick and tired of watching Laci Peterson on the Fox News Channel, then you can come on to C-SPAN and understand the process that we do in following it.”
Later in the same interview, he praised Tim Russert, then-host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” saying, “I think Tim Russert — who is paid a lot of money to do what he does — earns his money because he works hard and he understands the process. He&#8217;s probably one of the best interviewers out there.” Then he turned to Fox News again, claiming, “We are seeing more opinionated journalism on Fox, Sean Hannity, Bill O&#8217;Reilly, the whole incident with Dan Rather.”
Asked, “What will be the long-term impact on the credibility of journalists if the public&#8217;s perceived bias in reporting goes unchecked?”, Scully said, “Journalism in general will face more credibility blows. The most important thing you have is your reputation. How people view you and the organization you work at — they&#8217;re going to see things through the prism of that. It would be a shame if we go down the path where everyone looks at The Washington Post and the New York Times and dismisses them as being supportive or critical of Republicans.”
He added a criticism of CBS News, asserting, “The best thing any news organization can do is to try to maintain a level of credibility — make sure that the facts they put in the newspaper or on the air are accurate and verified. That&#8217;s one of the lessons CBS has realized. You could see the mistakes they were making every step of the way. They are going to pay a price for that.”
Scully mentioned former NBC News anchor John Chancellor, saying, “If you have a comment by a news anchor that is truly his opinion — and I personally don&#8217;t like that — you need to make sure it is clearly marked and identified. Having a John Chancellor commentary at the end of the newscast — which was still popular in the &#8217;70s — blurs the line.”
Scully is “in charge of the network&#8217;s White House coverage. He&#8217;s even served on the Executive Board of the White House Correspondents&#8217; Association, where he was the president of the association from 2006 until 2007,” <a href="https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a34222595/who-is-steve-scully/">Marie Claire</a> noted.
https://twitter.com/SteveScully/status/739184728641810432

Le sénateur Joe Biden

Moderator For 2nd Trump-Biden Debate Worked As Intern For Biden, Staff Assistant For Ted Kennedy

Donald Trump

Fox News

Joe Biden

Steve Scully

It’s been 10 years since former Sen. Ted Kennedy’s (D-MA) death. Even now, Democrats continue to ignore or downplay his faults because he pushed the “right” policies. Meanwhile, Democrats constantly criticize Republicans for supporting President Donald Trump’s policies but not his behavior. In addition, the Left has spent the better part of the last decade trying to erase people from history who supported the wrong policies, even when that is not what they were known for.
Surprisingly, NBC ran <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/ted-kennedy-died-10-years-ago-it-s-time-liberals-ncna1046106">an op-ed</a> from David Mark (who currently works at The Washington Examiner but previously worked for Politico and CNN) about how the Left needs to re-examine its lionization of the late Kennedy, younger brother to John and Robert. From Mark:
<blockquote>Progressives are rightly incensed that Republicans in Congress have mostly turned a blind eye to Trump&#8217;s behavior, focusing instead on legislative outcomes they favor, such as tax cuts and the confirmation of conservative judge — essentially declaring that policy achievements are more important than character and conduct.
But Democrats should be no more willing to forgive Kennedy for his personal transgressions because they agreed with the progressive policy outcomes he helped achieve. Moreover, that Kennedy was not only excused for his behavior but esteemed by his political peers reveals that it is not one party alone that has failed to uphold accountability and morality as guiding principles.</blockquote>
When Kennedy died in 2009, mainstream media outlets called him “<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nytimes.com_2009_08_27_us_politics_27kennedy.html&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=LO_8KzsOlAGvgA6hdGI4v02U_XLiES0sR51Zca0yIy4&amp;r=3ryep5HeMTXZCNtEV2iu-Z3o3tcuIlgcnNAMWpKKfDs&amp;m=GqY_ce_ATxZwU6WR6Uh74SpPlT5LPPQb2hFXDpq7P5M&amp;s=0NsfCIcKo56sS0FgLjOnD-CDjo-SLZwXoOhcfXeiDzY&amp;e=">one of the most effective lawmakers in the history of the Senate</a>” and “<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.washingtonpost.com_wp-2Ddyn_content_article_2009_08_26_AR2009082600063.html&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=LO_8KzsOlAGvgA6hdGI4v02U_XLiES0sR51Zca0yIy4&amp;r=3ryep5HeMTXZCNtEV2iu-Z3o3tcuIlgcnNAMWpKKfDs&amp;m=GqY_ce_ATxZwU6WR6Uh74SpPlT5LPPQb2hFXDpq7P5M&amp;s=MH_Uj_9zvVoA5JYPJDu77uOHpgN8t5OweH4S4A4ha70&amp;e=">a lawmaker whose achievements, authority and collegiality invited comparisons to Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and other titans</a>.”
Politicians such as President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave tributes to Kennedy as if he were a saint sent from the heavens.
But Mark argues that in a time when society wants to cancel people for their sins, Kennedy can no longer be considered a hero to the Left. Those obituaries mentioned earlier, Mark wrote, glossed over Kennedy’s bad behavior before quickly returning to his progressive heroism. Chappaquiddick, for example, is barely mentioned. Even now, media outlets describe the event – wherein Kennedy drunkenly drove his car off a bridge and left Mary Jo Kapechne to drown – as if it was something that happened to Kennedy and not something he caused. In July, The Associated Press commemorated the 50th anniversary of the tragedy by tweeting: “50 years ago today, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy left a party on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha&#8217;s Vineyard with Mary Jo Kopechne, 28; some time later, Kennedy&#8217;s car went off a bridge into the water. Kennedy was able to escape, but Kopechne drowned.”
This was not Kennedy’s only indiscretion. For all the terrible things of which Trump is accused, Kennedy actually left a woman to die, used his family’s influence to avoid criminal charges, sexually assaulted a waitress (with an actual witness to back up the claim), and exposed himself to several women in his home.
Mark concludes:
<blockquote>A more realistic look at Kennedy’s life does not mean his legislative accomplishments should be dismissed. He helped author the <a href="https://cis.org/Report/Legacy-1965-Immigration-Act">law in 1965</a> that ended the selection of immigrants on the basis of their national origin —<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.cfr.org_timeline_us-2Dpostwar-2Dimmigration-2Dpolicy&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=LO_8KzsOlAGvgA6hdGI4v02U_XLiES0sR51Zca0yIy4&amp;r=3ryep5HeMTXZCNtEV2iu-Z3o3tcuIlgcnNAMWpKKfDs&amp;m=GqY_ce_ATxZwU6WR6Uh74SpPlT5LPPQb2hFXDpq7P5M&amp;s=Gdnoqfr8E0qxT-8k031XijSVes_wbwgf347rzKKux4I&amp;e="> a system</a> the Trump administration is currently trying to overturn. He authored bills <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/14/us/hatch-joins-kennedy-to-back-a-health-program.html">expanding childrens’ health insurance</a>, and with George W. Bush, helped <a href="http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1918873_1918869_1918857,00.html">draft</a> the No Child Left Behind education act. His other<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.realclearpolitics.com_politics-5Fnation_Kennedy-2520Accomplishments.pdf&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=LO_8KzsOlAGvgA6hdGI4v02U_XLiES0sR51Zca0yIy4&amp;r=3ryep5HeMTXZCNtEV2iu-Z3o3tcuIlgcnNAMWpKKfDs&amp;m=GqY_ce_ATxZwU6WR6Uh74SpPlT5LPPQb2hFXDpq7P5M&amp;s=vst14a8Iv1QwJf-jUWgv_pUmNf5j6PWqjhTj6m49wUc&amp;e="> achievements</a> include <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/10/us/senate-passes-bill-for-raise-to-5.15-in-minimum-wage.html">a minimum wage hike</a> in 1996 and introduction of the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/29/kennedy.disabilities/index.html">Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990</a>.
But that doesn’t mean Kennedy’s legacy doesn’t deserve a far more open-eyed and realistic picture of a man whose born privilege helped save his Senate career and political viability.</blockquote>

NBC Runs Op-Ed Calling Out Liberals For Lionizing Of Ted Kennedy

Former GOP senator Alan Simpson is the living embodiment of &#8220;cantankerous.&#8221; You can literally picture the gruff 87-year-old from Wyoming yelling at kids to get off his lawn.
So when the veteran lawmaker appeared on a CNN show with a host intent on stirring up controversy, Simpson cut through her like a hot knife through butter.
Simpson was a guest on CNN host Alisyn Camerota&#8217;s show &#8220;New Day,&#8221; presumably to talk about his longtime friend George H.W. Bush, who passed away on November 30 at 94 years old. (If you didn&#8217;t see Simpson&#8217;s very funny and really moving eulogy, you can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ye2TrTCUjJ8">watch it here</a>).
He was also invited on to talk about an open letter he signed &#8212; along with 43 other ex-members of the Senate &#8212; that ran in The Washington Post on Tuesday in defense of special counsel Robert Mueller&#8216;s probe, urging senators to be &#8220;steadfast and zealous guardians of our democracy.&#8221;
Camerota immediately played a clip of Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) as he praised President Donald Trump and dismissed Mueller&#8217;s investigation into the alleged collusion between Trump and Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.
&#8220;Well, I don&#8217;t want to get into that kind of stuff,&#8221; Simpson said. &#8220;I can tell you one thing that would solve everything. Now, you want to hear this. Every U.S. senator who goes to the Judiciary Committee should have a full FBI investigation from birth until they go on the committee. That will take care of a lot of this crap.&#8221;
Like we said, this guy is funny.
Simpson then said it&#8217;s pointless to dredge up the distant past in an attempt to play gotcha&#8217;, telling Camerota that&#8217;s just a ploy to &#8220;pick old scabs.&#8221;
&#8220;You don&#8217;t go back into the life beyond,&#8221; Simpson said. &#8220;When I was on 18, I was on federal probation for shooting mailboxes. I fought a cop. I got thrown in the clink. &#8230; Let it play out. Orrin &#8212; I care deeply for. I care deeply for [former Vice President] Joe Biden. I loved them all. And I got along with them all and we made it work. So, if you want to pick old scabs, you better pick a new guy to get on the show.&#8221;
Simpson then referred to a recently released movie, &#8220;The Front Runner,&#8221; starring Hugh Jackman as former presidential candidate Gary Hart, a former senator who crashed and burned during the 1988 Democratic primary over his extramarital affairs.
&#8220;Now we have to watch a movie on Gary Hart. If that ain&#8217;t picking an old scab, you tell me what it is. I worked with him. We worked on nuclear regulation matters. We were good. We were friends. Picking an old scab &#8212; &#8216;Chappaquiddick.&#8217; Good. Go back and pick an old scab,&#8221; he said, referring to the late Ted Kennedy&#8217;s car crash in 1969 that left a young woman dead.
Then Simpson hit the CNN with a suggestion. &#8220;Why don&#8217;t you leave people alone and go find some new work?&#8221; Simpson said.

HILARIOUS: Former GOP Senator Tells CNN Host To Find A New Job

Robert Mueller

Rush Limbaugh was among the many pundits who has weighed in on the Michael Avenatti arrest, but, as usual, the inimitable talk radio host had his own unique angle custom-made for the entertainment of his audience. Avenatti, said Limbaugh, blew his initial response to the accusations because he failed to learn a key lesson from Ted Kennedy.
After being arrested Wednesday for suspected felony domestic violence, Avenatti emerged from the jailhouse after making his $50,000 bail and gave reporters a &#8220;very brief and very succinct&#8221; statement declaring his innocence.
&#8220;First of all, I want to thank the hardworking men and women of the LAPD for their professionalism and their work today,&#8221; Avenatti said. &#8220;They had no option in light of the allegations. Secondly, I have never struck a woman. I never will strike a woman. I have been an advocate for women&#8217;s rights my entire career, and I&#8217;m going to continue to be an advocate. I am not going to be intimidated from stopping what I am doing. I am a father to two beautiful, smart daughters. I would never disrespect them by touching a woman inappropriately or striking a woman. I am looking forward to a full investigation at which point I am confident that I will be fully exonerated. I also want to thank everyone for their support that has reached out. You know my character, you know me as a man, and I appreciate it. Thank you.&#8221;
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Michael Avenatti addresses Los Angeles arrest: &#8220;I have never struck a woman. I never will strike a woman&#8230;I am looking forward to a full investigation, at which point I am confident that I will be fully exonerated&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/cnwTiOuwxR">https://t.co/cnwTiOuwxR</a> <a href="https://t.co/7RSpTTWG74">pic.twitter.com/7RSpTTWG74</a>
&#8212; NBC News (@NBCNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1062891578904268801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 15, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Limbaugh was very disappointed with Avenatti&#8217;s performance.
&#8220;I think Michael Avenatti blew it,&#8221; said Limbaugh, in a short segment dedicated to the &#8220;creepy porn lawyer&#8221; story. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think he learned the lesson from Ted Kennedy.&#8221;
&#8220;Avenatti, when making his first public comment and his first public appearance after being charged with domestic violence, he should have come out with bandages on his head,&#8221; Rush explained. &#8220;You know, those new Band-Aid strips you put over the eyebrow, they put &#8217;em on you in the hospital. Maybe had his arm in a sling, bruise up his face with some makeup and stuff. Should have gone that whole route.&#8221;
Limbaugh gave a little more back story on Kennedy&#8217;s infamous neck brace: &#8220;I mean, Ted Kennedy came out after he had killed Mary Jo Kopechne at Chappaquiddick, the first sign of Ted Kennedy he was wearing a neck brace. He made himself out to be a victim. He had struggled valiantly to save that car, save Mary Jo. In the process he had done great, great damage to his senatorial neck and spine.&#8221;
But Avenatti &#8220;just blew a big opportunity here,&#8221; said Rush. &#8220;I mean, if you&#8217;re gonna play the victim, play the victim. You don&#8217;t half bake it. You gotta commit to your story. And if the woman turned on you and struck you, should have had some evidence of that out there. I warned people about this guy.&#8221;
Limbaugh&#8217;s reference to Avenatti being &#8220;struck&#8221; is a nod to TMZ&#8217;s initial report on the incident, in which the outlet said its law enforcement sources said Avenatti was shouting, &#8220;<a href="https://www.tmz.com/2018/11/14/michael-avenatti-arrested-domestic-violence-stormy-daniels-attorney/">She hit me first</a>!&#8221; as he attempted to get into an apartment building after the woman was escorted in by security:
<blockquote>
We&#8217;re told Wednesday afternoon the woman was on the sidewalk on her cellphone with sunglasses covering her eyes, sobbing and screaming on the phone, &#8220;I can&#8217;t believe you did this to me. I&#8217;m going to get a restraining order against you.&#8221;
We&#8217;re told security brought her inside the building, took her upstairs and Michael showed up 5 minutes later and ran into the building. He screamed repeatedly, &#8220;She hit me first.&#8221; We&#8217;re told he angrily added, &#8220;This is bulls***, this is f***ing bulls***.&#8221; We&#8217;re told he tried getting into the elevator but security denied him access.
</blockquote>
Avenatti has since suggested that he&#8217;s being <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38394/michael-avenatti-blames-jacob-wohl-assault-arrest-amanda-prestigiacomo">framed</a> by &#8220;right-wing Twitter troll&#8221; Jacob Wohl and his group Surefire Intelligence. &#8220;First Mueller and now me. When we are fully exonerated I am coming for you Jacob Wohl aka Surefire,&#8221; he tweeted Thursday.
Meanwhile, Avenatti&#8217;s most famous client, porn star Stormy Daniels, has responded to the allegations by saying that if they prove true, she&#8217;ll be &#8220;seeking new representation.&#8221;
&#8220;These are serious and obviously very troubling allegations, but right now that is all they are: allegations,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38382/stormy-daniels-responds-domestic-violence-james-barrett">said</a> Daniels in a statement reported by New York Magazine&#8217;s Olivia Nuzzi. &#8220;We should all reserve judgment until the investigation&#8212;an investigation Michael has said he welcomes&#8212;is complete, and that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m going to do. But of course I do not condone violence against women and if these allegations prove true I will be seeking new representation.&#8221;
UPDATE: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/38630/prosecutors-decline-felony-charges-avenatti-may-ryan-saavedra">Prosecutors Decline Felony Charges For Avenatti, May Face Misdemeanor Charges</a>
Transcript via <a href="https://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2018/11/15/avenatti-blew-it/">RushLimbaugh.com</a>

Limbaugh: Avenatti Failed To Learn The Lesson From Ted Kennedy

Michael Avenatti

Rush Limbaugh

Stormy Daniels

Is the new Donald Trump tape a big deal? Andrew Klavan argues that Trump&#8217;s bad character is actually protecting personal freedom &#8212; at least for now &#8212; on Wednesday&#8217;s episode of <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/33555/ep-548-new-tape-reveals-trump-trump&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1532642760634000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEpxDDD31NNkSI4AonGcJgLfNYA-Q" href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/33555/ep-548-new-tape-reveals-trump-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.
&#8220;I know the Left does not want to be free, they do not want me to be free,&#8221; Klavan said. &#8220;They want to be able to tell me what to think, when I can say certain things, what kinds of things I can say, and that&#8217;s what I want to stop, that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m here to oppose. It&#8217;s not everybody on the Left obviously, it is the people that we see at the top who really want the government to be in charge.&#8221;
Shortly thereafter in the segment, Klavan brought up the recently-released tape from Michael Cohen, Trump&#8217;s lawyer. The tape shows the two discussing payment to a Playboy model. Klavan said Trump was &#8220;bulletproof&#8221; when it comes to the type of character assassination the Left had deployed against other Republicans, such as President George W. Bush and Gov. Mitt Romney.
&#8220;But they don&#8217;t care about Bill Clinton, they don&#8217;t care about Teddy Kennedy, they don&#8217;t care about anybody on the Left,&#8221; Klavan said of the Left. &#8220;So when they try to assassinate Trump&#8217;s character, they can&#8217;t, he&#8217;s bulletproof! Because we already know what a bad guy he is. His badness, his personal badness protects my freedom, it is a weird, weird thing.&#8221;
Video and transcript below:
<iframe loading="lazy" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7R4V_BtRl8A?start=397" width="560"></iframe>

<blockquote>
Since we know, as I pointed out earlier this week, since we know from the experience of Teddy Kennedy &#8211; not to mention Bill Clinton &#8211; but Teddy Kennedy especially, we know the left doesn&#8217;t care about character. So we ask ourselves &#8220;what do they want?&#8221; and &#8220;what do I want?&#8221; Now here&#8217;s the thing, I&#8217;ve said this a lot but it&#8217;s important, I want freedom. When I say that, I feel I don&#8217;t explain that enough. That doesn&#8217;t mean I can do anything I want. I can&#8217;t run around punching people in the head or live any lifestyle. Freedom is part of a network, a community, a political entity, that allows me to think and speak and do what I want as long as I don&#8217;t physically harm somebody else. As long as I&#8217;m not immediately harming someone else, I can say anything I want, as long as I don&#8217;t threaten death to someone, and I can think anything I want, and I can do almost anything I want, but I have to consider &#8220;am I harming the structure that preserves my freedom?&#8230;&#8221;
I know the left does not want to be free, they do not want me to be free. They want to be able to tell me what to think, when I can say certain things, what kinds of things I can say, and that&#8217;s what I want to stop, that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m here to oppose. It&#8217;s not everybody on the left obviously, it is the people that we see at the top who really want the government to be in charge. They say it! When you cut back regulations they protest, when you say &#8220;we&#8217;re gonna obey the Constitution&#8221; they protest. We know that this is what they want, so that is the argument we&#8217;re having, we&#8217;re not having an argument about Donald Trump, I do not care.
So yesterday Michael Cohen released a secret tape &#8211; a lawyer taped his clients conversations, and the thing is, the tape is a little bit unclear. But it&#8217;s essentially saying that Trump slept with this Playboy model Karen McDougal, and she was gonna sell her story to the tabloids, and he wanted to buy the rights to the story so that this story wouldn&#8217;t come out&#8230;
Just remember how I started, talking about &#8220;what do I want?&#8221; That&#8217;s what I&#8217;m looking at. I&#8217;m thinking, &#8220;what do I want? I want my freedom.&#8221; So you&#8217;re telling me that this tape reveals that Donald Trump banged a Playboy model and then wanted to pay to keep her story secret before the election. I mean, call me a feather and blow me away, right? You are telling me that Donald Trump has a bad character? You&#8217;re trying to character assassinate Donald Trump? You can&#8217;t assassinate his character, his character sucks! He has a terrible character. I mean, the stuff he said about Ted Cruz during the election, the fact that he fired a guy like Rex Tillerson using a tweet, he used to brag about sleeping with other men&#8217;s wives! By the way, I don&#8217;t say this in a judgmental tone. You know, I spent the first 20-plus years of my life practically insane. I&#8217;ve done terrible things, I&#8217;ve done things that wake me up at night sweating. I don&#8217;t pass judgment on anybody about this stuff. But you know, I tried to become a better man, I think I have become a better man, I think I put that old guy away. I think I put him down, basically, I think I killed him.
But Donald Trump has been the same guy all his life! All his life we knew who he was, and the wonderful weird thing about Donald Trump is: his crappy character protects my freedom. Why? His crappy character protects my freedom because every time somebody gets up and does something on behalf of freedom, the left [character] assassinates them. They don&#8217;t care about Bill Clinton, they don&#8217;t care about Teddy Kennedy. But George W. Bush &#8211; Dan Rather sacrificed his career to get a thirty five-year-old plus story about him going AWOL in the national guard, like who cares? He sacrificed his career, anything he could do to assassinate that man&#8217;s character. Mitt Romney, they assassinate his character. But they don&#8217;t care about Bill Clinton, they don&#8217;t care about Teddy Kennedy, they don&#8217;t care about anybody on the left. So when they try to assassinate Trump&#8217;s character, they can&#8217;t, he&#8217;s bulletproof! Because we already know what a bad guy he is. His badness, his personal badness protects my freedom, it is a weird, weird thing.
</blockquote>
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/show/andrew-klavan-show&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1532642760634000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGfAG6pFp5hH-OwdH8uC1unhLmvrA" href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/show/andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Watch more of The Andrew Klavan Show here</a>.
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&amp;q=https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-andrew-klavan-show/id1045171376?mt%3D2&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1532642760634000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHkHAicr1gBuno0xLFdOWfGw5jzuA" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-andrew-klavan-show/id1045171376?mt=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen to more of The Andrew Klavan Show on iTunes here.</a>

Klavan: Trump’s ‘Bad Character’ Protects My Freedom

Andrew Klavan

Facts: In 1969, Ted Kennedy drove off a bridge, swam to safety, walked to his family&#8217;s cottage, and didn&#8217;t report the accident for 10 hours. A girl died in his car.
Those are facts and they are indisputable. Kennedy, in fact, would later plead guilty to fleeing the scene of the crash, which left a young campaign worker, Mary Jo Kopechne, dead.
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So any retelling of this true story would have to include those facts. The new movie &#8220;Chappaquiddick&#8221; does just that.
But Neal Gabler, who is writing a biography of Edward Kennedy, wrote a piece on Friday in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/opinion/chappaquiddick-ted-kennedy-distortortion.html">The New York Times</a> calling the film &#8220;character assassination&#8221; and &#8220;tragedy distortion.&#8221;
The movie, Gabler writes, &#8220;has been heavily promoted by conservative media outlets, and reviewers across the political spectrum have praised what they deem its damning but factual approach. Damning it is; factual it is not.&#8221;
&#8220;What is the relationship of fact to fiction, of the historical to the histrionic in art and entertainment? Ted Kennedy was a real man living out a real life. His political opponents could and did distort that life for their advantage. But just how many liberties can an artist or entertainer take when he or she deploys a biographical subject?&#8221; Gabler muses.
The writer claims many scenes &#8220;cross from dramatic interpretation to outright character assassination.&#8221;
<blockquote>
Instead of excavating Kennedy for larger artistic aims, it eviscerates him for narrow voyeuristic ones.
But this is about more than Ted Kennedy&#8217;s legacy. It is a case study in how society collectively shapes its own history. It is not merely, or even mainly, the realm of historians.
Because historical figures pass out of history and into popular culture, and because that process is accelerating, these figures are increasingly defined by popular culture. Artists and especially entertainers may not feel obligations to their subjects, but they do have responsibilities to us, one of which is honesty.
</blockquote>
Reaction to the column was brutal on social media.
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What part of driving drunk off a bridge and leaving her to die is in dispute? Do you have facts to the contrary to share?
&#8212; PatrickJC (@wire2wre) <a href="https://twitter.com/wire2wre/status/982307965922312192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The tragedy of a life without consequences ? He was responsible for the death of a young woman, walking away from both her [drowning] and any responsibility. The Lion of the Senate was, in fact, the Cowardly Lion.
&#8212; dantully (@dantully) <a href="https://twitter.com/dantully/status/982735391982800897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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When you literally leave a woman to drown in a car you crashed, then fail to report said drowning woman in said car for nine hours &#8211; suspiciously long enough for alcohol to metabolize after a late night party &#8211; you assassinated your own character.
&#8212; Amy Swearer (@AmySwearer) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmySwearer/status/982395788935430144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
The truth is finally told about arguably the greatest political cover up in US history&#8230;.
&#8230; and Neal Gabler calls it &#8216;character assassination&#8217;
Neal, baby &#8211; you&#8217;ve had it your way for half a century. Its time the American people get it the right way.
&#8212; Tony Camatto (@tonycamatto) <a href="https://twitter.com/tonycamatto/status/982478201740967937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I mean, c&#8217;mon! He only got loaded like a 80&#8217;s hair metal singer, drove a chick off a bridge, left her at the bottom of a lake to die, ran home to get his powerful/rich family to cover it up only to become the Sea Lion of The Senate. 
Totes kewl! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MeToo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MeToo</a>
&#8212; Rants Outloud (@RantsOutloud) <a href="https://twitter.com/RantsOutloud/status/982342191879278592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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NYTimes Writer Calls Chappaquiddick Film ‘Character Assassination,’ ‘Tragedy Distortion’

Ted Kennedy biographer Neal Gabler, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/opinion/chappaquiddick-ted-kennedy-distortortion.html?smid=tw-nytopinion&amp;smtyp=cur">whining</a> in The New York Times on Friday, accused Chappaquiddick of &#8220;outright character assassination.&#8221; He insinuates that the critically-acclaimed film dishonestly portrays the night Kennedy killed a young campaign secretary by drunkenly driving her off a bridge and leaving her to drown, but Gabler fails to point to any historical inconsistencies other than the amount Bruce Dern&#8217;s Joseph Kennedy Sr. should have slurred his speech. The charge rings hollow, as Ted Kennedy&#8217;s character committed suicide long ago, no assassination necessary.
Everything about Chappaquiddick &#8212; writing, acting, directing, casting, etc. &#8212; is quite good. Most importantly, the film accurately depicts the events that took place the night of July 18, 1969. Ted Kennedy, then the senior senator from Massachusetts, invited a group of six single, female campaign secretaries to join him and five married, male friends for a party at a cottage on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha&#8217;s Vineyard. At 11:15 p.m., Kennedy drunkenly took Mary Jo Kopochne, who left her purse and hotel key at the cottage, for a late night drive in his mother&#8217;s car. He drove off the bridge, swam to safety, and left Kopechne to drown. Kennedy then walked past four houses without alerting any neighbors to the accident, returned to the cottage, told his cousin and friend what had happened, and eventually returned to his hotel room in Edgartown. Throughout the night and early next morning, Kennedy attempted to establish an alibi and made several phone calls to friends for advice on how best to cover it all up. He lied in official testimony, temporarily donned an obviously unnecessary neck brace, and played the victim. At no point before police discovered the submerged car and Kopechne&#8217;s body did Kennedy report the crash to authorities.
Since that hazy night, Ted&#8217;s co-partisans have likewise attempted to cast him as the victim in the whole affair: the persevering public servant who overcame tragedy to emerge as the &#8220;Lion of the Senate.&#8221; When Kennedy died in 2009, accolades poured in from Democrats and the mainstream media &#8212; but I repeat myself &#8212; almost all of which lauded the &#8220;the Lion of the Senate.&#8221; Now at last the popular culture honestly depicts Ted Kennedy as the womanizing, man-slaughtering, duplicitous, lying, cheating, cowardly drunk that he was.
So why now? It certainly is not because some crypto-conservatives have managed to sneak one by Hollywood&#8217;s left-wing gatekeepers. Virtually everyone involved in the film appears to lean politically to the left, from star <a href="http://deadline.com/2018/03/chappaquiddick-jason-clarke-senator-ted-kennedy-scandal-movie-1202355677/">Jason Clarke</a> to director <a href="http://www.indiewire.com/2018/04/chappaquiddick-movie-ted-kennedy-jason-clarke-byron-allen-right-wing-press-1201949529/">John Curran</a>, who responded to an interview request from Fox News&#8217; Sean Hannity with a curt, &#8220;No f***in&#8217; way. I&#8217;m not embracing the Right.&#8221; Even the notoriously left-leaning critics <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/chappaquiddick/">like it</a>. No, Chappaquiddick got made, not because Hollywood has embraced the Right, but because Democrats have embraced the Left. The Democrat Party still excuses all sorts of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dY77j6uBHI">evil</a><a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2013/dec/12/lie-year-if-you-like-your-health-care-plan-keep-it/">doers</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2018/03/11/elizabeth-warren-rejects-dna-test-to-settle-native-american-heritage-claim/">ne&#8217;er-do-wells</a>, but &#8220;<a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/chappaquiddick-tells-an-eerily-modern-story-in-the-age-of-metoo/">time&#8217;s up</a>&#8221; at least for the degenerate, straight, white men in its ranks. Intersectional hyenas are devouring their own &#8212; even their lions of the Senate. Conservatives should grab some popcorn and enjoy the show.

REVIEW: In ‘Chappaquiddick’, Ted Kennedy Finally Depicted As The Degenerate He Was

Hollywood

Kennedy Family

Media

One measure of how old we&#8217;re getting is realizing how many voters today have no familiarity with the Chappaquiddick scandal. In July of 1969, then-Sen. Ted Kennedy drove off a bridge into a pond with a young woman in the passenger seat and left the scene of the accident alone. Kennedy waited 10 hours to report it, and Mary Jo Kopechne died.
This is one compelling reason why many older voters thought liberals sounded preposterous when they suggested Donald Trump&#8217;s presidential campaign should be canceled over the &#8220;Access Hollywood&#8221; tape of him boasting of grabbing women in the crotch. Kennedy had a woman&#8217;s death on his resume, and it never stopped the left from boosting him as the finest presidential timber.
How far has the manipulative Kennedy dynasty fallen? Somehow, the movie &#8220;Chappaquiddick&#8221; was made with well-known actors and distributed to movie theaters. Seven years ago, pressure caused the History Channel to deep-six a dramatic Kennedy miniseries (it ended up on the obscure cable channel Reelz).
This movie is drawing favorable reviews from the movie critics. That&#8217;s in part because they recognize the filmmakers didn&#8217;t make a hard-edged cartoon &#8212; like, for example, the way Oliver Stone smeared then-President George W. Bush in 2008. From the first moments, the Ted Kennedy in this film is haunted by his older brothers, who were inflated into political giants, and spurned as a loser by his nearly mute father, who suffered a stroke in 1961.
Staying close to the historical record is brutal enough. Kennedy left the scene of a fatal accident, failed to report it for hours, lied to investigators and the public about how and when it happened, and then expected that everyone would accept what he had done and re-elect him. The film notes at the end he was re-elected overwhelmingly and became known (to some) as the &#8220;Lion of the Senate.&#8221;
It also shows how the Kennedy political machine arrived to manipulate the press, and even the Kopechne family. There was no autopsy. This was pitched as another Kennedy tragedy, and the national media eagerly xeroxed the narrative.
One of the things that the moviemakers get wrong is the idea that the press were hostile. The only named reporter in the movie was James Reston of The New York Times, who the script suggests was skeptical of Kennedy&#8217;s claim of having suffered a concussion. In real life, Reston was, in the words of media critic Jack Shafer, one of those who &#8220;attended to the family&#8217;s legend like priests on retainer.&#8221;
Reston&#8217;s first draft on Chappaquiddick began, &#8220;Tragedy has again struck the Kennedy family.&#8221; Mention of the actual victim was submerged in paragraph four. Luckily, the Times advised Reston to edit it and mention the actual victim in the lede. After Kennedy spoke to the nation with his dishonest narrative about what happened, Reston oozed again that he was a &#8220;tragic &#8216;profile in courage.'&#8221;
For the rest of Sen. Kennedy&#8217;s life, the media treated Chappaquiddick as an extremely distasteful subject only conspiracy-obsessed right-wingers thought was important. Whenever the scandal surfaced, journalists turned it into a story of &#8220;redemption.&#8221;
That&#8217;s still happening. Former Boston Globe reporter Peter Canellos, now executive editor of Politico Magazine, did a write-up on the movie and oozed that it &#8220;marked the start of one of the most remarkable revivals in American politics, as Kennedy settled down to the hard work of legislating and, almost as penance, went on to amass the most impressive list of accomplishments in Senate history.&#8221;
As long as a politician can pass &#8220;landmark&#8221; liberal bills, his personal scandals are washed away by liberal journalists. And they call themselves idealists.
L. Brent Bozell III is the president of the Media Research Center. Tim Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and executive editor of the blog NewsBusters.org. To find out more about Brent Bozell III and Tim Graham, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

BOZELL: A Brutal Revisitation Of Chappaquiddick

On April 6, a bombshell will hit America&#8217;s theaters.
That bombshell comes in the form of an understated, well-made, well-acted film called &#8220;Chappaquiddick.&#8221; (Full disclosure: They advertise with my podcast.) The film tells the story of Ted Kennedy&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;s important because it doesn&#8217;t traffic in rumors and innuendo &#8212; there is no attempt to claim that Kopechne was having an affair with Kennedy, or that she was pregnant with his child. It&#8217;s important because it doesn&#8217;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&#8217;s important for two reasons: It&#8217;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&#8217;s the historic nature of the film. Here is an incomplete list of the films made about George W. Bush&#8217;s administration since his election in 2000, nearly all of them accusatory in tone: &#8220;W,&#8221; &#8220;Fahrenheit 9/11,&#8221; &#8220;Recount,&#8221; &#8220;Fair Game&#8221; and &#8220;Truth.&#8221; There has still not been a movie made about former President Bill Clinton&#8217;s impeachment (though one is apparently in the works). There&#8217;s been no movie about former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt&#8217;s internment of the Japanese, former President Lyndon Johnson&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;s amazing it was made in the first place.
Most importantly, though, &#8220;Chappaquiddick&#8221; reminds us that confirmation bias and wishful thinking aren&#8217;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 &#8220;Lion of the Senate.&#8221; We can&#8217;t understand how morals and politics have been split in two without reckoning with this history.
&#8220;Chappaquiddick&#8221; is a must-see. It&#8217;s just a shame it took half a century for it to see the light.
COPYRIGHT CREATORS 2018

The Grisly History Of Chappaquiddick

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