# Limbaugh and the "Ted Kennedy Memorial Health Care Bill". **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 6, 2009, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597 "2009-03-06T23:27:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/21 "2009-03-08T13:24:32Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Ted Kennedy is an awful human being by any reasonable standard. Yeah, he puts sugar on his porridge. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/22 "2009-03-08T13:26:59Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Ted Kennedy is an awful human being by any reasonable standard. I’m ashamed and embarrassed that his name will be on the most important piece of legislation of my lifetime. Guess my standards are unreasonable. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/23 "2009-03-08T13:27:30Z")
To bring the 'pubs on line; it should be the “Ronald Reagan” Memorial Airport, Bridge, School, Overpass, etc… Health Bill ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/24 "2009-03-08T13:47:17Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > In your memory, I add “hair-splitting” to my first post. > > And FTR, I don’t listen to Rush. But if Obama feels the need to target him specifically, Rush is saying things that threaten Obama. And maybe it’d be worth my while to find out exactly what Rush is saying. Of course, that goes double for all the dishonest people who criticize him WITHOUT EVEN FUCKING LISTENING TO HIM AND DEPEND ON THE INTENTIONALLY INACCURATE REPORTS OF OTHERS. Just out of curiosity, what about the people who defend him but don’t listen to him and don’t know what he said? Should they find out exactly what he said before defending him, too? ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/25 "2009-03-09T02:17:45Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > In your memory, I add “hair-splitting” to my first post. > > And FTR, I don’t listen to Rush. But if Obama feels the need to target him specifically, Rush is saying things that threaten Obama. And maybe it’d be worth my while to find out exactly what Rush is saying. Of course, that goes double for all the dishonest people who criticize him WITHOUT EVEN FUCKING LISTENING TO HIM AND DEPEND ON THE INTENTIONALLY INACCURATE REPORTS OF OTHERS. I listen to Rush Limbaugh. The only things that he is a threat to are logic and reason. He knew what he said. Just enough wiggle room for the dittoheads to become outraged at the willful misinterpretation of what he meant. Blah blah out of context blah blah drive by media blah blah. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/26 "2009-03-09T03:06:27Z")
Naming _anything_ a “memorial” _anything_ before the person supposedly memorialized is, in fact, dead, would be just another in a long line of ignorant blurts were it about someone who is not already known for (a) fighting for health care for all Americans; and (b) currently fighting brain cancer as well. When Republicans choose their enemies, they always betray an unspoken but obvious physical cowardice as well as their moral idiocy – **Mosier** , go ahead and _be_ ashamed, for a lot longer than expected, of one of the people who prolonged your life. Spit on the paramedic while you’re at it: they, and the rest of us, are used to it. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/27 "2009-03-09T03:14:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Did they have to guess the date of my death? One year, Principal Skinner, one more year. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/28 "2009-03-09T03:39:43Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Rush wins again. Thank you all for making yourselves look lazy, careless, stupid, and malicious. Can I call you a retard? Never mind, I just did. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/29 "2009-03-09T06:23:24Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > Guess my standards are unreasonable. Are you aware of the drunk driving death he was involved in? Does anyone care to explain why his actions, including trying to cover up the incident, hide from law enforcement, his neglect to try getting help, his continued lack of remorse, and the strings he pulled to keep from going to jail don’t make him a horrible person? Anything other than “well it all happened so long ago” is acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/30 "2009-03-09T07:10:57Z")
There’s a lot of maybe about all that, but you are welcome to think what you like. Tell you this much, had it been GW driving that car, he would have swum to shore, found a phone booth, and reported his car stolen. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/31 "2009-03-09T07:23:26Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > There’s a lot of maybe about all that, but you are welcome to think what you like. Tell you this much, had it been GW driving that car, he would have swum to shore, found a phone booth, and reported his car stolen. Maybe. “But THAT GUY would have been even worse!” isn’t really a good defense, though. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/32 "2009-03-09T07:36:17Z")
Cite that Kennedy was drunk? Cite that the accident was his fault? Cite that he has no remorse? I know it’s all cherished, right wing hateology that Teddy is a remorseless, sociopathic killer – I’ve even seen it alleged on this very board that he actually, physically drowned her with his bare hands after the accident — but when all is said and done, it was just a car accident. He obviously froze up at the time and let fear for his own career paralyze him into not immediately reporting it. That was a genuine act of cowardice which does him no credit, and which has tainted him for 40 years. But it doesn’t make him Ted Bundy. It doesn’t even make him GWB. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/33 "2009-03-09T08:27:08Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Cite that Kennedy was drunk? > Cite that the accident was his fault? > Cite that he has no remorse? > > I know it’s all cherished, right wing hateology that Teddy is a remorseless, sociopathic killer – I’ve even seen it alleged on this very board that he actually, physically drowned her with his bare hands after the accident — but when all is said and done, it was just a car accident. He obviously froze up at the time and let fear for his own career paralyze him into not immediately reporting it. That was a genuine act of cowardice which does him no credit, and which has tainted him for 40 years. But it doesn’t make him Ted Bundy. It doesn’t even make him GWB. I’m not a right winger by any stretch. I never called him a sociopath, and I never claimed he physically drowned anyone. The wikipedia article about the incident shows several witnesses who claimed he was drunk when he left the party. According to her family, he has never apologized for his role in her death. Every action he has taken regarding that tragedy has been to avoid or deflect blame, but mostly he just ignored on it and refused to comment. The accident was clearly his fault, considering it did not involve any other vehicles and he was the driver. Whether the accident was his fault doesn’t even matter, anyway. I wouldn’t call him a horrible person for simply causing an accident. I’m calling him a horrible person for the self serving cowardice when someone’s life was on the line and he could have helped. “Just Freezing Up” isn’t what happened here. You just freeze up when you’re watching porno and your wife walks in the room unexpectedly. Big difference from seeing a drowning person and deciding the best course of action would be to hide at a friend’s house and coach them all to deny your presence if anyone asks for you. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/34 "2009-03-09T12:40:05Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Maybe. “But THAT GUY would have been even worse!” isn’t really a good defense, though. That’s a strange statement, considering this thread started about how awful Rush Limbaugh is and is now about how awful Ted Kennedy is. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/35 "2009-03-09T13:03:16Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Ted Kennedy is an awful human being by any reasonable standard. I’m ashamed and embarrassed that his name will be on the most important piece of legislation of my lifetime. That’s exactly what Gordon Brown said when he conveyed the Queen’s message regarding Kennedy’s honorary knighthood a week or two ago. So, I suppose that is “Sir Awful Human Being” to you (if you are a British citizen, of course). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/36 "2009-03-09T13:24:05Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > That’s exactly what Gordon Brown said when he conveyed the Queen’s message regarding Kennedy’s honorary knighthood a week or two ago. What did Kennedy get a knighthood for? Anyway, I thought honors were more or less awarded at the PM’s discretion, no? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/37 "2009-03-09T14:18:14Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > The accident was clearly his fault, considering it did not involve any other vehicles and he was the driver. Whether the accident was his fault doesn’t even matter, anyway. I wouldn’t call him a horrible person for simply causing an accident. I’m calling him a horrible person for the self serving cowardice when someone’s life was on the line and he could have helped. “Just Freezing Up” isn’t what happened here. You just freeze up when you’re watching porno and your wife walks in the room unexpectedly. Big difference from seeing a drowning person and deciding the best course of action would be to hide at a friend’s house and coach them all to deny your presence if anyone asks for you. Her life wasn’t on the line, she was already dead. He couldn’t have helped. It was an accident, just like when Laura Bush killed a guy with her own negligent driving. And there is no proof that Kennedy was drunk, or even that he was the one driving. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/38 "2009-03-09T14:48:35Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Ted Kennedy is an awful human being by any reasonable standard. If he is such an awful human being why is conservative stalwart Orrin Hatch one of his best friends? By your standards is Laura Bush an "awful’ human being? Read all of this: [http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/laura.asp](http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/laura.asp) Negligence. Little sign of remorse. Insufficient police investigation. Lot’s of other parallels. Limbaugh apparently was eating Oxycontin like candy and **Clothahump** refers to it as “mild addiction to a prescription drug” (for which he was arrested). Geez! Who are the awful people and what are the reasonable standards? ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/39 "2009-03-09T14:58:31Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > What did Kennedy get a knighthood for? > > Anyway, I thought honors were more or less awarded at the PM’s discretion, no? > [@](#): > > Washington —- Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) will receive an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced during his address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday. > > Brown praised Kennedy’s role in bringing peace to Northern Ireland after generations of civil strife, and his decades of work to strengthen health care and education opportunities around the globe. [http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/03/05/kennedy0305.html](http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/03/05/kennedy0305.html) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597/40 "2009-03-09T15:47:48Z")
Is Teddy a great man? No, that is far too generous. But he has proved to be rather more than I expected of him, and that should be fairly noted. And he is a better man than he was, which is the most important thing I ask of another man: that he set his foot on the path and keep walking. Is Rush such a man? Is he a better man now than he was? Hardly. He may well have freed himself of his drug habit (however “mild” it may have been…), but it has only enabled him to do bad things more effectively. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limbaugh-and-the-ted-kennedy-memorial-health-care-bill/488597.md?page=3)