The Ghost of Mary Jo Kopechne Follows TED Kennedy Even After His Death.
by MikeScholtes on Aug.27, 2009, under Ted Kennedy
Mary Jo Kopechne
Although he was lauded as one of the greatest politicians of his generation, even after his death on Tuesday August 25th Senator Edward M Kennedy could not escape the ghost of Mary Jo Kopechne.
Back in 1969, Senator Edward Kenny was a young lion in the Senate, and still had his eyes glancing towards the ultimate prize – the Presidency of the United States. Indeed many in nation fully expected that the youngest Kennedy male was a natural to run for the office that his brother John had held and that brother Bobby was working towards before he was assassinated in June of 1968.
Mary Jo Kopechne was a Pennsylvania girl who had journeyed to Washington D.C to pursue her love of politics. She was a former member of Senator Robert Kennedy’s staff, part of a group of women referred to as the “Boiler Room Girls” ,as they worked in a small windowless office at Kennedy’s Presidential campaign headquarters.
On the evening of July 18th 1969 Mary Jo attended a reunion of Kennedy campaign workers held on Chappaquiddick Island, located just off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in the Kennedy’s home state of Massachusetts. Senator Ted Kennedy was also in attendance and by his account offered Miss Kopechne a ride to catch the last ferry to Edgartown where she was staying. Kennedy later told investigators that they left together at 11.15pm.
Kennedy said that on the journey he made a wrong turn in the darkness onto an unlit bridge that did not have guard rails or fencing. Somehow he drove his car, a 1967 Oldsmobile off the bridge and it plummeted down into the water.
Kennedy managed to free himself and always maintained that he made a number of attempts to rescue Mary Jo . He contacted a number of people that night, mainly political aides, but failed to report the incident to police until both the car and the young woman’s body were found the next day. At 28, Mary Jo Kopeche’s ambitions for a successful career in politics, and her life, was over.
Edward Kennedy pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury, for which he received a two month suspended sentence. The day of his sentencing he made a television address denying claims that he had been driving under the influence of alcohol or had engaged in any “immoral conduct” with Mary Jo Kopechne.
The incident gave rise to a number of books, including a fictional account of the night’s events written by popular author Joyce Carol Oates called “Black Water”. The stain left on Ted Kennedy’s reputation after the accident is often cited as the reason that the Senator from Massachussetts was never able to mount a successful campaign for President.
Even as tributes to the senior Senator flooded in from all of the world after his death from brain cancer a Google search showed that the number one search on Wednesday was for “Mary Jo Kopeche” and the third for “Chappaquiddick” , demonstrating that even in death the names Edward Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopeche will be linked forever.
August 27th, 2009 on 7:07 pm
May they both ‘rest in peace’ of the Lord our God.
August 27th, 2009 on 7:39 pm
Things happen that cannot be explained but for those who were there. I’ve narrowly missed going off of terribly built bridges…I’ve gotton lost in the dark with my car…oNE EVENING my car was demolished and I was hurt…I wondered away in a daze…then a few hours later (it was dark and on a less traveled country road)I found a house and called for help…I was fortunate that I had no passenger…they would have died! Was I negligent? I think not! I came back later…just as Ted did! Go find some other true accident and make something out of it again!
August 27th, 2009 on 7:46 pm
And the ghosts of over 1million innocent people follow George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and every Republican who supported a war based on lies. Remember all those ridiculas claims about weapons of mass destruction? I’m glad Ted didn’t have that following him aound, THAT will be a difficult thing to EVER forgive or justify.
August 27th, 2009 on 9:12 pm
HE WAS AND IMMORAL CAD AND GOOD RIDDENCE,IN THE PATTERN OF ALL THE KENNEDYS.
August 27th, 2009 on 9:14 pm
IT AN’T GOING TO HAPPEN,JUST DON’T PUBLISH IT
August 27th, 2009 on 9:37 pm
Well, Im sorry for anyone’s death, especcially to cancer. However, to be hailed in such a way as this man. Liberally speaking was very sad. He was a scandal in himself and got a way with murder. There was not much he did to get past it. Being in the light of Obama proves point. In hopes that ObamaCare follows him to his grave…. Am
en!
August 27th, 2009 on 11:27 pm
Just one comment. That night,Ted’s true character
shown brightly. It high lighted, a COWARD that left Mary Jo to die and never tried to help her or come back later, a liar and a cheat at Harvard (where he was expelled), a DUI front runner, a womanizer so they say and a man that never held a real job. Now we want to bury him in Arlington!!! The man never served a day in the military and should not lay with real American heroes. A true insult to all our veterans.
August 27th, 2009 on 11:30 pm
Just one comment. That night,Ted’s true character
shown brightly. It high lighted, a COWARD that left Mary Jo to die.
August 27th, 2009 on 11:35 pm
Accidents can happen to anyone, this is a sad story but if had been obama instead of him,,,the press would have found their way to make him prez nonetheless
August 27th, 2009 on 11:36 pm
Nancy, you hit the nail right on the head. You’re a very smart women. JennyT, to sum it up, you’re an idiot.
August 27th, 2009 on 11:58 pm
The Kennedys ruined the country…. Now look at it ! ! And they got away with murder i think 4 or 5 of them did… Now he can answer for what he did ! ! It is sad when your name and money can get you out of everything…
August 28th, 2009 on 12:09 am
I graduated from high school just a month or so from the tragic death of MaryJo. I felt then, as I do now, that Ted Kennedy was a coward and a murderer. The Kennedy money bought his freedom. Thank God the American people did remember Chappaquiddick for all these years. Their good sense kept us all from having “Teddy” lead our country. This speaks volumes for Obama, too. He’s just as crooked as Ted was.
August 28th, 2009 on 12:48 am
good riddence to a drunken piece of shit the world is a better place withiout it!
August 28th, 2009 on 1:54 am
In this lifetime we all have to be accountable for our actions…to both ourselves and to our maker. The cowardly actions of Ted that night showed his true colors. He should have been tried and convicted of 2nd degree manslaughter…without question.
But of course being part of the mob bought him his freedom physically. If he had any conscience which is doubtful he may have suffered from the taking of the life of MaryJo. I hope so. The Kennedy’s disgust me to say the least. Good riddens Ted and to all the other Kennedy’s that the Kennedy curse removed form our midst.
August 28th, 2009 on 2:19 am
I think Jenny T. forgot to mention Teddy’s brother, JFK, and his successor, LBJ, who got us into Vietnam. Oh but I guess she is only talking about Republicans, sorry!
August 28th, 2009 on 2:25 am
A man’s entire life should not be judged by his worst moment. For all of you out there who are judging Senator Kennedy so harshly, ask yourself this, “What is my worst moment?” and “What have I done for my country?” Rest in peace Senator and condolences to his family.
August 28th, 2009 on 2:38 am
Senator Kennedy had more integrity than anyone else in the Senate. He championed a lot of causes and got important legislation passed that made this nation a more just and democratic place.
People who want to judge him based on an accident are moral cowards. He should have handled the aftermath of Mary Jo’s death differently, but nothing could have saved her, even if he had called the Police as soon as he could. We’re all humans, we all make mistakes. If he was drunk, she should not have gotten in the car with him.
I’m sure he felt remorse over her accidental death. Do George Bush or Dick Cheney feel any remorse for killing one million Iraquis in an immoral war for oil? You can bet he does not. There’s no comparison between what they did by design and what Ted Kennedy did by accident.
August 28th, 2009 on 4:27 pm
instead of a health care named after him i think they should name a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island after him
August 28th, 2009 on 4:44 pm
the only thing he did for this country is put it futher in the hole, we will never be able to pay our way out of this hole he and obama put us in.
kennedy was a weasel.
another bleeding heart liberal out of the way.
August 29th, 2009 on 5:14 pm
The media keeps referring to the Kennedy’s as the closest thing to royalty we have. They are not kings or Gods to me. They buy their way out of the law, live a life of luxery, but have taken liberties with other people’s lives most of us would be behind bars for those wrongful actions. I have and always will think of the poor woman at the bottom of a cold dark lake whenever I see the face of THAT Kennedy. Instead of praising his goodness, wonder what kind of future the Mary Jo might have enjoyed. He took that away from her and her family. His maker is below ground folks.
August 29th, 2009 on 5:39 pm
God is his Judge, we are not!
August 29th, 2009 on 6:41 pm
you are so wrong, pal, so very very wrong