# Ted Kennedy Dying? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2001, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-kennedy-dying/76667 "2001-08-17T01:09:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![IzzyR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@IzzyR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IzzyR)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-kennedy-dying/76667/1 "2001-08-17T01:09:45Z")
Source is admittedly not that great - [Matt Drudge](http://www.drudgereport.com/ted.htm) citing the National Enquirer. But it has profound implications for the political landscape of the senate if true, as the governor of Massachussetts is a Republican (I think). ---
**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-kennedy-dying/76667/2 "2001-08-17T03:37:26Z")
Umm… what’s the question again? Ted Kennedy has a well-documented history of substance abuse. If he eventually develops cirrhosis of the liver, it shouldn’t surprise anyone. The Acting Governor in Massachusetts is a Republican in name only - Jane Swift. She has no real authority or power to influence policy. The state is really run by Tom Birmingham. Until there’s a press release from the Senior Senator, there isn’t any way to answer this question with authority. Off to IMHO we go … ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-kennedy-dying/76667/3 "2001-08-17T03:52:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by evilhanz \* > \*\*The Acting Governor in Massachusetts is a Republican in name only - Jane Swift. She has no real authority or power to influence policy. The state is really run by Tom Birmingham. \*\* Actually, wouldn’t it be more accurate to state that the state is run by Ted? ---
**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-kennedy-dying/76667/4 "2001-08-17T03:59:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Montfort \* > \*\*Actually, wouldn’t it be more accurate to state that the state is run by Ted? \*\* No. Ted holds a federal office and has no authority at the state level other than to occassionally wave the bloody flag. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-kennedy-dying/76667/5 "2001-08-17T04:10:08Z")
Kennedy doesn’t run the state. His nephew, former Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III started working on a run for governor a couple years back, and backed out pretty quickly. Another nephew, Max Kennedy, decided against a run for Joseph Moakley’s recently vacated Congressional seat, presumably because the family didn’t feel he was electable. Birmingham, on the other hand, seems to have almost single-handedly gerrymandered Marty Meehan’s seat in Congress out from under him, out of revenge for Meehan’s support for election reform. And it’s not even a year that we’re losing or gaining a seat. Not sure what Massachusetts law says about replacing a senator mid-term though. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-kennedy-dying/76667/6 "2001-08-17T12:07:51Z")
[Now you’ve done it.](http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010816/pl/congress_spence_dc_4.html) ---
**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-kennedy-dying/76667/7 "2001-08-17T12:58:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by evilhanz \* > No. Ted holds a federal office and has no authority at the state level other than to occassionally wave the bloody flag. Although not part of the state government, he still has a lot of political influence in state affairs. ---
**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-kennedy-dying/76667/8 "2001-08-17T15:15:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phobos \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by evilhanz \* > > No. Ted holds a federal office and has no authority at the state level other than to occassionally wave the bloody flag. > > Although not part of the state government, he still has a lot of political influence in state affairs. \*\* And that’s what I meant. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ted-kennedy-dying/76667/9 "2001-08-17T19:44:16Z")
The answer to the OP is _yes_. Because, after all, we’re all dying - it’s just a matter of time. 😃