NCLB and now this disastrous immigration bill...what is wrong with Ted Kennedy these days?

[Skidmore]

I'm sorry, but he has embraced two of *'s biggest boondoggles over these past years.

[yardwork]

1. Ted Kennedy has to get reelected, too.

Our entire political system is beholden to corporations. It's sickening.

[OzarkDem]

5. He's out of touch

He doesn't even seem to support good legislation anymore, he's too anxious to align himself with Bush.

Ted can please his constituents and promote good legislation, too. They aren't mutually exclusive categories.

[Ian David]

2. Ted Kennedy is an absolute genius

He knew that Republickers hate him more than they hate almost any other senator.

So, he co-sponsored the bill along with McCain to turn even more Republickers against Bush, AND to kill the bill.

I think Ted Kennedy should offer to co-sponsor every single bill the Republick Party proposes.

That way, it is sure to die.

[antigop]

3. Ted has not been our friend

He and Baucus were the chief negotiators of the awful Pension "Protection" Act. He and Baucus sold out the American worker.

Ted also support an increase in H-1B visas when thousands of US engineers and programmers are losing their jobs.

[earthside]

4. Good question.

Sadly, Teddy has become almost a parody or caricature of a "politically correct" "bleeding heart" liberal.

And, NLCB was big Bush initiative, too.

Does Kennedy think that somehow he is rising above partisanship when he goes along with Bush on these proposals?

It kind of smacks of a kind of patrician deference between two American political dynasties.

If we have learned one thing over the past six years it is that EVERYTHING Bush touches turns to manure ... which is why I simply do not understand why any Democrats are going along with this 'Importation of Cheap Labor' legislation, a.k.a. "immigration reform."

[enfield collector]

7. Our ruling elites no longer care about the American worker

they are more beholden to big business campaign contributuions.

[OzarkDem]

8. HELP committee is a mess now

They can't seem to get anything done there any longer, except to advance Bush's agenda.

Stalling of bills there is worse even than when the GOP was in charge. Its really bad.

[Jim Warren]

14. I agree with everything you said

and he is my senator. Teddy has become an anachronism.

[leftchick]

6. early onset Alzheimer's?

I can't figure it out either. All of the Democrats should be screaming about IRAQ, IRAQ, IRAQ! Global Warming too! All of these idiotic
distractions from real issues drive me insane.

[endarkenment]

9. Kennedy unfortunately believes in bipartisan cooperation.

Despite getting hornswoggled on No Child's Behind Left, he continues to try and find common ground with the nefarious asswipes on the other side. It is a sad and fatal flaw in his otherwise grand final chapter as the aged liberal lion of the senate.

[Solo_in_MD]

10. I don't buy him being hornswagled on NCLB, he and a lot of Dems actively supported it

[Solo_in_MD]

11. He actively opposed wind turbines that might be visible from Hyannis Port too

[erpowers]

12. Trying to Fix the Problem

I am not trying to give support to Ted Kennedy in that I do not like the immigration bill myself. I also have problems with NCLB, but it seems that it has not been proven whether the program is working or not. However, I think Kennedy might be trying to fix the problems. He may think that these quick fixes are better than taking time to really fix the problems. Also, he may not actually want to fix the problem at all. That was one of the question I had when the immigration bill first came out. I wondered if people in Congress really wanted to fix the immigration problem. It seemed to me that it was obvious that the bill would not work. However, I do wonder if Kennedy think he is actually trying to fix the problem.

[OHdem10]

13. It appears Sen. Kennedy has lost touch--

It makes him look as if he is so anxious to get credit for
some piece of Legistlation implemented--he does not think
of the unintended consequences. Whether he intends it or
not--being bipartisan and getting legislation is more important
than what is good for country and thereby good for the party.