U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy: Eulogy of Robert F. Kennedy (1968)

Source:American Rhetoric-  U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (Democrat, Massachusetts) delivering the eulogy for his brother Robert F. Kennedy, in 1968.

Source:The Daily Journal 

“Your Eminences, Your Excellencies, Mr. President:

On behalf of Mrs. Kennedy, her children, the parents and sisters of Robert Kennedy, I want to express what we feel to those who mourn with us today in this Cathedral and around the world.

We loved him as a brother, and as a father, and as a son. From his parents, and from his older brothers and sisters — Joe and Kathleen and Jack — he received an inspiration which he passed on to all of us. He gave us strength in time of trouble, wisdom in time of uncertainty, and sharing in time of happiness. He will always be by our side.

Love is not an easy feeling to put into words. Nor is loyalty, or trust, or joy. But he was all of these. He loved life completely and he lived it intensely.

A few years back, Robert Kennedy wrote some words about his own father which expresses [sic] the way we in his family felt about him. He said of what his father meant to him, and I quote… 

From American Rhetoric 

“Ted Kennedy delivering the closing part of the eulogy at the funeral of his brother Bobby, using excerpts from Bobby’s famous speech to the students of a South African university in 1966.”

Source:Paddy Irishman- Robert F. Kennedy I believe running for the U.S. Senate in New York City in 1964. But I don't know for sure.

From Paddy Irishman 

“Many more… What exactly was it that they were talking about? Why would there be so many people that do not want peace? What motive power do these people have controlling them?

Now it’s Ron Paul, but it’s more than just a few people this time. Millions, billions of people calling for peace.

We have no more that we can learn from this journey. It’s time to move on… or up.”

Source:Payton Pearson- President John F. Kennedy (Democrat, Massachusetts) and his brother Robert F. Kennedy, the Attorney General, I believe at The White House. But I don't know for sure.

From Payton Pearson

Imagine being in Ted Kennedy’s position right there in 1968: you are 36 years old and you are giving the eulogy of one of your older brothers Robert. You’ve already lost two older brothers, one you barely knew to World War II and the second who also happened to be President of the United States and you lose him to an assassination almost 5 years before you lose your brother Robert.

If you Ted Kennedy here, are considered to be the weakest link, a bit of a dumbass (if you will)  and immature of the Kennedy sons and not someone who is considered to up for a task like this, but it’s given to you because you are seen as the only one who is even capable of handling it. And yet you go up to the plate like you are at Fenway Park playing for the Red Sox in game 7 of the world series and you are down 2 runs in the ninth inning and knock it out of the park to win the series.

Under ridiculous pressure that’s exactly what Ted Kennedy did here for his brother Bobby. We never know how strong we really are in life until we are tested and put under intense pressure where the only choice is to fail or succeed. At Bobby Kennedy’s eulogy, his brother Ted delivered a World Series caliber home run and gave not just one of the best speeches of his life, but speeches that has ever been given anywhere. 

The Daily Beast: 'Representative Dennis Kucinich Disappointed by President Obama's Jobs Record'

Source:The Daily Beast talking to current U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich (Democrat, Ohio) who was primaried out of his House seat by the Ohio Legislature, but still holds that seat until the next Congress is sworn in, in January.

"The former Ohio congressman, long known as an independent voice within the Democratic Party, told Beast TV that he wishes the president had done more to create jobs in America." 

From The Daily Beast

Other than our mutual hatred for the so-called War On Drugs and our belief in the right to privacy in America, I have almost nothing in common with Representative Dennis Kucinich. 

Senator Bernie Sanders (Democratic Socialist, Vermont) is the only self-described Socialist in the U.S. Congress. Self-described being the key here. There are plenty of Socialists in the Democratic Caucus in the U.S. House. Most of them are democratic oriented, but they all go by the label liberal or progressive. Representative Kucinich is one of those members who doesn't self-describe as socialist, but to be completely real here: he's to the left of Senator Sanders on foreign policy and national security and I'm sure other issues in Congress as well. 

My point here (and yes, I have a point) Dennis Kucinich is way to the left of me on so many issues, you would need Superman's supervision to find anything that we have in common with each other politically. But what I've always liked and respected about him, is his ability to throw out the garbage (to keep it clean) and tell people what he thinks. Even when he's the only person who actually believes and agrees with anything that he's saying. Which has happened a lot to him in his political career, being a Far-Left Democrat from Cleveland, Ohio. Not exactly Hippieville or some left-wing utopia. 

My Footage: 'This is Adlai Stevenson- 1956 Presidential Bid'

Source:My Footage- Governor Adlai Stevenson (Democrat, Illinois) running for President in 1956.

Source:The Daily Journal

"THIS IS ADLAI STEVENSON - 1959 Shots: Stevenson addressing crowds; Stevenson walking through streets, shaking hands, talking to supporters; Interview with Stevenson\\\'s three sons; CU Stevenson addressing camera."

From My Footage

Adlai Stevenson running on what would later be known as the Great Society in the LBJ Administration. He wanted to expand the safety net in America and perhaps even go further than the Great Society and social insurance and even create America's first welfare state. Where the Federal Government would become primarily responsible for taking care of the welfare and well-being of the people. Which is what the New-Left of the late 1960s and early 1970s wanted to create in America.

But when Adlai ran for president in 1952 and 56, he was basically running on what would be called the Great Society. Government guaranteed health insurance for the elderly and the poor. And more Welfare for people who were struggling in America.

There wasn't ever any real shot of Adlai defeating a very popular Army General in Dwight Eisenhower who commanded allied forces in Europe and defeat General Eisenhower for president in 1952. Or much of an opportunity for Adlai to defeat a popular president in Dwight Eisenhower in 1956.

What I believe was the real motivation for Adlai running for president in 1952 was to expand the progressive movement and to give Progressives real issues and policies to run on against then Vice President Richard Nixon in 1960. And in that case Adlai's 1956 presidential campaign was pretty successful. Because then Senator Jack Kennedy ran on those social insurance and economic issues when he ran for president in 1960 and defeated Vice President Nixon. 

CNN Early Start: 'DNC Chair Torn Apart Over Removal Of Jerusalem From Platform'

Source:CNN- U.S. Representative Debbie W. Schultz (Democrat, Florida) trying to make people believe her, instead of their own eyes and ears. That's what career, overly, ambitious, politicians do.

"Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz get questions over the Jerusalem in the Democratic Platform debacle on "Starting Point" (September 6, 2012)." 

From GOP War Room 

Just to start off with; I think CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien did an excellent job, trying to get Representative Debbie W. Schultz, to acknowledge the obvious and just move on from this. And instead of taking the life raft or rope and avoid politically drowning, she cut off her right arm and leg and wrapped the roper around her neck, while she was drowning (who says that politicians aren't multi-talented) and just continued to drown under the water. And it's rare that I ever give Soledad credit for anything, positive. 

To answer Soledad's question: God and Jerusalem, was taken out of the Democratic Party's platform, because President Obama needs the Far-Left in and outside of the party to get reelected. And far-leftists tend to be Atheists (especially Communists) and see Israel as a racist state, that doesn't even have the right to exist. 

But Soledad gave Representative Schultz the opportunity to clean up isle 4 before she went home for the day, (you know, politically speaking) and instead, she slams 10 cartons of milk and 10 jugs of orange juice all over the floor and then slips and falls in her own political mess.

The Nation: Ari Berman & Howard Dean: 'The Case For Barack Obama'

Source:The Nation- Howard Dean & Ari Berman?

"On Wednesday afternoon I caught up with Howard Dean, former presidential candidate and chair of the Democratic Party from 2005–08, for a conversation about Obama’s chances, Paul Ryan’s lies, the impact of unlimited Super PAC money and new voting restrictions on American democracy, and the status of the “Democratic wing of the Democratic Party.”

Ari Berman: You were chair of the Democratic Party during the last Democratic convention. How is this one different?

Howard Dean: Like Denver, this is a swing state. And I might add that Obama won Colorado last time, so we have high hopes for North Carolina.

If the election were today what would happen?

I think we’d win. Nate Silver has Obama winning 293 electoral votes [Editor’s note: Silver projects Obama winning 310 electoral votes]. If the election was held today, we’d win Virginia, which I think we will definitely win anyway, and Ohio and Florida. You can’t win if you’re a Republican if you don’t take even one of those states. I think we’ll win Virginia, and one of the two of Ohio or Florida, maybe both.

The problem for Romney is that middle-class people know he doesn’t care about them, and no matter what he does he can’t change that.

What does the president need to say in his speech tonight and about the economy in general going forward?

If I were the president, I would leave the attacking of Republicans to others. I think they’ve pretty much been shredded, some of which they’ve done themselves. I would pretty much just talk about my positive agenda for the economy. What specifically would he like to do? Some of the things he’d like to do he’s been trying to do for two years and McConnell has refused to let him do anything, which I think is un-American really. So I’d be really specific about my plans. The Republicans have no specifics whatsoever other than cut taxes for millionaires and I don’t think that’s a program most Americans can relate to.

Have Democrats done a good enough job of defining Paul Ryan?

I think Paul Ryan has done a pretty good job of defining himself. Oddly enough, Paul Ryan’s demise as a candidate who can be taken seriously happened at his own hands. The lies about the General Motors plant and the Simpson-Bowles study [during his RNC speech] were bad but they were sort of within a political context. Lots of people lie in politics. When he lied about his performance in the marathon, you can’t do that… It’s like cheating in golf. You do that and you kind of wonder why you should lead the country?

What impact will all the Super PAC money have on the last two months of the election?

It’s going to be tough. There’s going to be more mud thrown around than you can possibly imagine. The good news is that most people have already made up their minds about the election.

What impact will new voting restrictions passed by Republicans have in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida?

I think it will hurt too. I think we’re going to win in Pennsylvania anyway, but we have a lot of work to do. I think it’s pretty despicable of the Republican Party to decide they’re trying to disenfranchise people. We know it was a Republican strategy because we’ve seen the bills that ALEC has suggested. This is really a group of pretty repulsive people who think it’s OK to win by taking people’s right to vote away.

What do you think Democrats should do in response to those voting restrictions?

I think we continue to do what we’ve been doing. It’s another reason we need President Obama, so we have a Supreme Court that obeys the law and follows the Constitution. There’s nothing in the Constitution that says you ought to take away people’s right to vote. Voting is a right. It’s not like getting on an airplane…. Republicans say they want small government, but not when they want to invade your bedroom, and tell you when you can and can’t vote, and what picture you need to vote.

When you ran for president you famously said you wanted to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. What sort of shape is it in today?

Much better. Because this is a base election. We’ve gotten a lot. We can complain about healthcare but what I say to progressives is, You’ve complained for three years, now you get in line for the fourth year. This is the fourth quarter. The differences for the future of the country are enormous, not just for the people we care about but for our own families and democracy itself. Long-term, you can’t have a democracy which is based on the ability of corporations to buy elections. And that’s what the Supreme Court has allowed by a narrow 5-4 margin. We’ve got to reverse that and have a country where ordinary people matter again, and that’s what the Obama election is all about. 

Source:The Nation

"Howard Dean, former presidential candidate and chair of the Democratic Party from 2005-2008, met with The Nation's Ari Berman on Wednesday in Charlotte for a conversation about Obama's chances, Paul Ryan's lies, the impact of unlimited Super PAC money and new voting restrictions on American democracy, and the status of the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party." 

From The Nation

Maryland Democrats: ‘Hubert Humphrey 1968 Political TV ad’

Source:Maryland Democrats- man in the commercial apparently trying to figure out what Richard M. Nixon ever did for him. But I'm not a mindreader, so don't quote me on that.

Source:The Daily Journal

“Hubert Humphrey 1968 Political TV ad: What has Richard Nixon ever done for you? Nixon, Nixon, Nixon….. 

From Maryland Democrats

Hubert Humphrey running as the Washington insider in 1968: “What Have You Done For me Lately?” Which is a Janet Jackson song, but that could also be the title for this political commercial in 1968.

Hubert Humphrey, was a U.S. Senator during the first half of the 1960s and is a big reason why the 1964 Civil Rights Act was passed. By 1968, Richard Nixon was out of political office completely for almost eight years. His last job in government was as Vice President of the United States under President Dwight Eisenhower. And he was an effective Vice President and had real responsibility under President Eisenhower as his counselor and adviser on all issues and chief political enforcer if not strategist, but by 1968 America even though it was moving right was still in the Progressive Era.

Dick Nixon, was out of office for most of the 1960s when a lot of popular progressive legislation was passed: Medicare, Medicaid, the Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the 1968 Fair Housing Law. Humphrey, either in the Senate, or as Vice President, had a role in all of this legislation that was passed in Congress that was signed by President Lyndon Johnson.

Unless you were Barry Goldwater, or another Conservative Republican with a safe seat like in the West in Congress, you needed to show voters that you at the very least wouldn’t try to repeal all of this legislation. Nixon at the very least wasn’t quick to support all of these bills even though he did.

So what the Humphrey Campaign was trying to do with this commercial, was to say that Humphrey and other Progressive Democrats were responsible for all the popular legislation from the New Deal and Great Society. While Dick Nixon was either on the sidelines or trying to defeat it.

I don’t know how effective this commercial was, but at the very least Humphrey has a very good case here: What Have You Done For Me Lately? Nixon didn’t have an answer to that. He was almost a Washington outsider at this point even though her served in Congress for six years and was Vice President for eight. But in the 1960s he made a lot of money in the private sector and campaign for other Republicans while he was out of office. 

Russia Today; Thom Hartmann: 'The Republican Plan to Put 98% of Their Agenda Through The Next Congress'

Source:Thom Hartmann on Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin's Russia Today. Just another example of how so-called American Progressives (Socialists, in actuality) aren't very Progressive.

"Thom Hartmann will be leaving The Big Picture TV show (on RT TV and Free Speech TV) at the end of September. We’ve had a great run with The Big Picture and earlier this summer we decided to discontinue that evening show so we could focus more directly on our daily 3-hour midday show, The Thom Hartmann Program. 

Having complete editorial control over a TV show syndicated internationally into more than 700 million homes was a great (and rare) opportunity.  We worked hard not to do "sports" or "soap opera" when covering politics, and instead focus on issues; we believe we accomplished a lot in that regard.  We're grateful to RT for the opportunity, and for fully honoring our contractual independence at all times.

You’ll still be hearing and seeing me on The Thom Hartmann Program, which is growing weekly in the noon-3 PM ET daypart." 

From Thom Hartmann

"Hartmann hosted a one-hour daily TV show at 7 pm. ET Monday to Friday, The Big Picture with Thom Hartmann, which was editorially directed by his wife and was broadcast from the Washington, D.C., studios of the RT America news network. The show featured many conservative guests who routinely sparred with Hartmann. Hartmann co-produced the program with RT, who provided studio and carriage, while Hartmann retained full editorial control of his programming. The RT network aired the program via Dish Network, DirecTV, and on selected local-origination and public-access television cable TV channels globally.[31] After hosting the program for seven years, Hartmann announced his departure as host on September 29, 2017."

From Wikipedia 

This post was updated July 5th, 2023.