This date in history

[CBT]

July 18th 1969 : Chappaquiddick Island


Shortly after leaving a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy of Massachusetts drives an Oldsmobile off a wooden bridge into a tide-swept pond. Kennedy escaped the submerged car, but his passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, did not. The senator did not report the fatal car accident for 10 hours.
On the evening of July 18, 1969, while most Americans were home watching television reports on the progress of the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, Kennedy and his cousin Joe Gargan were hosting a cookout and party at a rented cottage on Chappaquiddick Island, an affluent island near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The party was planned as a reunion for Kopechne and five other women, all veterans of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign. Bobby Kennedy was Ted Kennedy's older brother, and following Bobby's assassination in June 1968 Ted took up his family's political torch. In 1969, Ted Kennedy was elected majority whip in the U.S. Senate, and he seemed an early front-runner for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination.
Just after 11 p.m., Kennedy left the party with Kopechne, by his account to drive to the ferry slip where they would catch a boat back to their respective lodgings in Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard. While driving down the main roadway, Kennedy took a sharp turn onto the unpaved Dike Road, drove for a short distance, and then missed the ramp to a narrow wooden bridge and drove into Poucha Pond. Kennedy, a married man, claimed the Dike Road excursion was a wrong turn. However, both he and Kopechne had previously driven down the same road, which led to a secluded ocean beach just beyond the bridge. In addition, Kopechne had left both her purse and room key at the party.
Kennedy escaped the car and then dove down in an attempt to retrieve Kopechne from the sunken Oldsmobile. Failing, he stumbled back to the cottage, where he enlisted Gargan and another friend in a second attempt to save Kopechne. The three men were unsuccessful; her body was not recovered. The trio then went to the ferry slip, where Kennedy dove into the water and swam back to Edgartown, about a mile away. He returned to his room at the Shiretown Inn, changed his clothes, and at 2:25 a.m. stepped out of his room when he spotted the innkeeper, Russell Peachey. He told Peachey that he been awakened by noise next door and asked what time it was. He then returned to his room.
Was Kennedy trying to establish an alibi? In Leo Damore's Senatorial Privilege--the Chappaquiddick Cover-up (1988), the author recounts an interview with Joe Gargan in which Gargan claimed that Kennedy had plotted to make Kopechne the driver and sole occupant of the automobile. Whatever Kennedy's intentions, on the morning of July 19 he went back to Chappaquiddick Island and then returned to Edgartown. At 9:45 a.m., 10 hours after driving off Dike Road bridge, Kennedy reported the accident to Edgartown Police Chief Dominick Arena and admitted that he was the driver.
On July 25, Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident, received a two-month suspended sentence, and had his license suspended for a year. That evening, in a televised statement, he called the delayed reporting of the accident "indefensible" but vehemently denied that he been involved in any improprieties with Kopeche. He also asked his constituents to help him decide whether to continue his political career. Receiving a positive response, he resumed his senatorial duties at the end of a month.
There is "speculation" that he used his considerable influence to avoid more serious charges that could have resulted from the episode. Although the incident on Chappaquiddick Island derailed his presidential hopes, Kennedy continued to serve as a U.S. senator of Massachusetts into the 21st century.

[Bluerauder]

July 18th 1969 : Chappaquiddick Island

Yep, I remember it well. All over the news. I was 18 years old at the time.

[sailsmen]

What a man does with his personal life is just that personal.

Along with responsiblity of public office comes power. He is not a common man but a leader of the people and as such is entitled to a wide latitude.

The Kennedy's have sacrificed enough for the people of this country.

Who among us has not been in an automobile accident. It was a personal accident and no ones business but htose who were there!

The Politics of Personal Detruction must end.

Let the voters decide.:banana:

[hot-rauder]

i live in MA, and oddly enough it hasnt been mentioned all day. at all. hmmm...

[duhtroll]

There is "speculation" that he used his considerable influence to avoid more serious charges that could have resulted from the episode.

Duh. :)

It'd be worthy of more outrage if getting away with committing crimes wasn't the status quo for members of our government throughout its history.

[Bluerauder]

What a man does with his personal life is just that personal. Until it becomes a matter of public record.

Along with responsiblity of public office comes power. He is not a common man but a leader of the people and as such is entitled to a wide latitude. He is entitled to absolutely nothing more than every other citizen.

The Kennedy's have sacrificed enough for the people of this country. What the heck does this have to do with anything?

Who among us has not been in an automobile accident. It was a personal accident and no ones business but htose who were there! Until he walked away from the scene of the accident and failed to report it for 10 hours. Let's not forget that a girl died.

The Politics of Personal Detruction must end. Unless it suits your needs, huh !!!

Let the voters decide.:banana: Gimmee a break -- all he was doing was posting a Historical Fact.
:argue: 789

[sailsmen]

What you won't read in the press. The Senator has been the sponsor of all the immigration reform bills since 1965.

The Citizens of Mass are quite happy with is performance as a Senator.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy has represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate for forty-three years. He was elected in 1962 to finish the final two years of the Senate term of his brother, Senator John F. Kennedy, who was elected President in 1960. Since then, Kennedy has been re-elected to seven full terms, and is now the second most senior member of the Senate.

Throughout his career, Kennedy has fought for issues that benefit the citizens of Massachusetts and the nation. His effort to make quality health care accessible and affordable to every American is a battle that Kennedy has been waging ever since he arrived in the Senate. In addition, Kennedy is active on a wide range of other issues, including education reform and immigration reform, raising the minimum wage, defending the rights of workers and their families, strengthening civil rights, assisting individuals with disabilities, fighting for cleaner water and cleaner air, and protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare.

Kennedy is currently the senior Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the Senate. He also serves on the Judiciary Committee, where he is the senior Democrat on the Immigration Subcommittee, and on the Armed Services Committee, where he is the senior Democrat on the Seapower Subcommittee. He is also a member of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee and the Congressional Friends of Ireland, and a trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Kennedy is the youngest of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, and is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Virginia Law School. Kennedy lives in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, with his wife Victoria Reggie Kennedy. Together, they have five children – Kara, Edward Jr., and Patrick Kennedy, and Curran and Caroline Raclin. They also have four grandchildren.

[AzMarauder]

What a man does with his personal life is just that personal.

Along with responsiblity of public office comes power. He is not a common man but a leader of the people and as such is entitled to a wide latitude.

The Kennedy's have sacrificed enough for the people of this country.

Who among us has not been in an automobile accident. It was a personal accident and no ones business but htose who were there!

The Politics of Personal Detruction must end.

Let the voters decide.:banana:

This idea of "entitlement" is exactly what is wrong with our government today. The only "service" people like Ted understand is "self-service".
It sure isn't about PUBLIC service.

[knine]

What you won't read in the press. The Senator has been the sponsor of all the immigration reform bills since 1965.

The Citizens of Mass are quite happy with is performance as a Senator.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy has represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate for forty-three years. He was elected in 1962 to finish the final two years of the Senate term of his brother, Senator John F. Kennedy, who was elected President in 1960. Since then, Kennedy has been re-elected to seven full terms, and is now the second most senior member of the Senate.

Throughout his career, Kennedy has fought for issues that benefit the citizens of Massachusetts and the nation. His effort to make quality health care accessible and affordable to every American is a battle that Kennedy has been waging ever since he arrived in the Senate. In addition, Kennedy is active on a wide range of other issues, including education reform and immigration reform, raising the minimum wage, defending the rights of workers and their families, strengthening civil rights, assisting individuals with disabilities, fighting for cleaner water and cleaner air, and protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare.

Kennedy is currently the senior Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the Senate. He also serves on the Judiciary Committee, where he is the senior Democrat on the Immigration Subcommittee, and on the Armed Services Committee, where he is the senior Democrat on the Seapower Subcommittee. He is also a member of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee and the Congressional Friends of Ireland, and a trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Kennedy is the youngest of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, and is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Virginia Law School. Kennedy lives in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, with his wife Victoria Reggie Kennedy. Together, they have five children – Kara, Edward Jr., and Patrick Kennedy, and Curran and Caroline Raclin. They also have four grandchildren.

You forgot "and he has a huge fan on this site that thinks he could never do any wrong"

[Merc-O-matic]

:shake:Kennedy continues to be a self-serving power monger.....
"a friend of the working man", (born with a sliver spoon
in this mouth) but lives like a king above the law. The only "good" thing that came out of the Chappaquiddick was it kept him from becoming president. The people who vote for him should be ashamed of themselves!
Lets not forget his nephew who "got off" after rapping a woman in
south Florida a few years back. Also, JFK, Jr. was buried "at sea"
from a U.S. Navy ship ( Man-o-War) right after his accident, while worthy veterans who served their country had to wait up to six months for the Navy to find time for their sea burials. Like most "blue bloods" today, JFK, Jr. never served a day in the United States Military... but got all the "perks" because
of the family name/money/power. One last note on the Kennedy legacy....
the old man Joe P. Kennedy, the father, had his retarded daughter get
a lobectomy (brain) which caused her to live like a vegetable the rest of
her life. He was so ashamed of her....they moved her to Wisconsin to
live(hide her) so she wouldn't be an embarrasment to their political ambitions.

GOD BLESS AMERICA....land of the Free and home of the Brave!
CAPT A. Saleker, USN, (Ret.)

[sailsmen]

Senator Kennedy served in the Army from 1951-53.

Senator Kenedy was not in charge of the medical treatment of his sister. Sadly treatment for the mentally disabled was lacking and misunderstood.

This same procedure and sterilizations were preformed by the state of VA in the 1960's.

[DEFYANT]

This guys money is blood money. Joe Kennedy was a criminal. Ted Kennedy is the poster child for term limits.

[Haggis]

The Kennedy's have sacrificed enough for the people of this country.



Yea!!!! Like providing alchol during Prohibition.

[CBT]

Ted Kennedy is turd. Anyone who pushes to grant mass amnesty to 12-20 million illegal immigrants has a hidden agenda. Save that 'Ted is a humanitarian' crap for the uninformed. He also blocked a proposed offshore wind turbine plant, why? Cause it messed up his view of the ocean. Save that 'Ted is for the environment' crap for the rest of the uninformed. But I digress, I didn't post this as a political slam, just a friendly history reminder that happened to have an automobile involved in the story...;)

[sailsmen]

Senator Kennedy sponsored Immigration reform in 1965, 1986 and currently.

He is the master mind of the current Immigration policy that has been in effect since 1965.

He has been the champion of social change via Federal government programs. Picking up where LBJ and McGovern dropped off.

He is responsible for largest transfer of wealth in the history of man kind. All done peacefully and by the democratic process.

[sailsmen]

Ted Kennedy is turd. Anyone who pushes to grant mass amnesty to 12-20 million illegal immigrants has a hidden agenda. Save that 'Ted is a humanitarian' crap for the uninformed. He also blocked a proposed offshore wind turbine plant, why? Cause it messed up his view of the ocean. Save that 'Ted is for the environment' crap for the rest of the uninformed. But I digress, I didn't post this as a political slam, just a friendly history reminder that happened to have an automobile involved in the story...;)

Now you are begining to sound like a polititian!

Senator Kennedy's public reason was for the birds, the number killed by the windmills was unacceptable. They also confuse the bats ability to navigate.

[RCSignals]

Now you are begining to sound like a polititian!

Senator Kennedy's public reason was for the birds, the number killed by the windmills was unacceptable. They also confuse the bats ability to navigate.

Birds and Bats in Holland must have it real bad

[Bluerauder]

Senator Kennedy sponsored Immigration reform in 1965, 1986 and currently.

He is the master mind of the current Immigration policy that has been in effect since 1965.

He has been the champion of social change via Federal government programs. Picking up where LBJ and McGovern dropped off.

He is responsible for largest transfer of wealth in the history of man kind. All done peacefully and by the democratic process.

And your point is exactly what??? :shake:

[sailsmen]

My point is it is very easy to take an emotionally based position esp if you throw out a few dates and figures.

At the age of 17 I walked the entire "drive" and went across the bridge. I stayed with 2 natives and they told me the local sheriff was driving a new Mercedes 6 months after and the recovery diver said all her finger nails were broken off.

I counted 5 houses he passed by on the way back to the ferry.

At the time I looked under the bridge it was less than shoulder deep.

Regardless of the above I am certain had he gone to trial he would have been found innocent. Look at how many jurors continue to vote for him.

Had he gone to trial he may have become President.